| Battle of Ray | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofIslamic conquest of Persia | |||||||
 Picture of theRay Castle, constructed under theParthian Empire, the kinsmen of the Mihran family. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Rashidun Caliphate House of Ispahbudhan | Sasanian Empire House of Mihran | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin Farrukhzad | Siyavakhsh † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Low | Heavy | ||||||
TheBattle of Ray was fought between theSasanians and theRashidun Caliphate in 651.[1] It was also part of the rivalry between theIspahbudhan family and theMihran family.
In 642/643, theMuslim Arabs had conqueredMedia, and continued to penetrate into theIranian plateau. In 651,Farrukhzad, thespahbed ofKhorasan, and minister ofYazdegerd III, mutinied and left forTabaristan. On his way to Tabaristan, he met the Arab general Nu'aym nearQazvin, and made peace with him.[2] He then agreed to aid the Arabs against his rivalSiyavakhsh, who had murdered his father in 631.[3]
The combined Ispahbudhan-Arab army engaged in a night battle against Siyavakhsh's army at the foot of the mountain just outside Ray. Farrukhzad led some of Nu'aim's cavalry by a little-known route into the city, from whence they emerged to attack the defenders' rear, causing great slaughter. To set an example, Nu'aym ordered the destruction of the Old Town, which called "al-Atiqah" by the Arabs, (perhaps the aristocratic quarter of Ray). However, the town was later rebuilt byFarrukhzad, whom became the ruler of Ray.[4]
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