Early conquests · 651
Fall of Merv
Yazdegerd III was killed near Merv while on the run, ending a dynasty that had ruled Iran for over 400 years.
Key facts
- When
- 651
- Where
- Near Mary, Turkmenistan
- Sides
- Rashidun Caliphate vs the last Sasanian shah
- Commanders
- Campaigns of Abdullah ibn Amir and Ahnaf ibn Qays
- Result
- Sasanian dynasty ended
- Type
- Early conquests
- Chapter
- 1. The Rightly Guided Caliphs
Who led it
- Uthman ibn Affanc. 576 to 656
Married two of the Prophet's daughters, which earned him the title Dhu al-Nurayn, the possessor of two lights.
The wider picture: Uthman, Ali and the first civil war
Under Uthman the frontier reached Khurasan in the east and Libya in the west, and the first Muslim navy beat the Byzantine fleet in 654. Anger at provincial governors ended in Uthman's killing at his home in Madinah in 656. Ali moved the capital to Kufa and spent his caliphate fighting rival Muslim armies.
More early conquests battles
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