Battle of Walaja | |||||||
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Part of the Islamic conquest of Persia Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid | |||||||
Map showing the region in Iraq where Battle of Walaja was fought. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Rashidun Caliphate |
Sasanian Empire, Christian Arab allies | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Khalid ibn al-Walid |
Andarzaghar † Bahman Jadhuyih | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
15,000[2] | 15,000–30,000[3][page needed][4] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
~2,000+[3][page needed] | 20,000[3][page needed] |
The Battle of Walaja (Arabic: معركة الولجة) was fought in Mesopotamia in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha against the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies.
Khalid defeated the Sasanian forces by using a variation of the double envelopment tactical manoeuvre, similar to the manoeuvre that Hannibal had used to defeat the Roman forces at the Battle of Cannae.
Perhaps only the defeat at Walaja and the fall of Hira saw to it that Yazdgerd and his generals began to take the business of the Arabs more seriously.