Modern usage of al-Qadisiyyah
Encyclopedia
The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah ' onMouseout='HidePop("76683")' href="/topics/Arabic_transliteration">transliteration
, Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyyah; ; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sassanid
Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia
.
that make up a common schema of the Arab Muslim conquests (see Donner; Noth). These literary layers appear to have accumulated since the period immediately following the Battle, when story-tellers (quṣṣāṣ) embellished their narrative, often in an attempt to glorify past ancestors. The modern usage of the al-Qādisiyyah, thus, has heavy emotional baggage
and invoking its name grants deep meaning.
The most notable use of Qādisiyyah's emotive power was the dubbing by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn of his eight-year war against Iran as Qādisiyyat-Ṣaddām (Ṣaddām's Qādisiyyah). The first instance of this naming occurred on 2 April 1980, a half-year before the outbreak of hostilities, on the occasion of a visit by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn to al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdād
, where a bomb attack on the previous day had injured his vice-president, Tarīq ʿAzīz
. Ṣaddām blamed the newly-founded Islamic Republic of Iran
(IRI) and, drawing the parallel to the 7th-Century battle, he announced:
has commented on the significance of various building and architectural projects that evoked al-Qādisiyyah, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
that contains a sword allegedly belonging to Saʿd
right next to Ṣaddām's personal machine gun. Makiya
has called this an attempt to make Ṣaddām 'the Sa’ad ibn-abi-Waqas
of the 1980s' (see Makiya, 11).
Arabic transliteration
Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English or other European...
, Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyyah; ; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sassanid
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia
Islamic conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, the fall of Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia...
.
Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah
Academic studies of the Battle have revealed numerous topoiLiterary topos
Topos , in Latin locus , referred in the context of classical Greek rhetoric to a standardised method of constructing or treating an argument. See topos in classical rhetoric...
that make up a common schema of the Arab Muslim conquests (see Donner; Noth). These literary layers appear to have accumulated since the period immediately following the Battle, when story-tellers (quṣṣāṣ) embellished their narrative, often in an attempt to glorify past ancestors. The modern usage of the al-Qādisiyyah, thus, has heavy emotional baggage
Emotional baggage
Emotional baggage can be defined as 'Painful memories, mistrust and hurt carried around from past sexual or emotional rejection'.It is an image of 'a big sack that you carry around with you at all times...[with] every disappointment, trauma, and wrong that you've ever experienced....This image, the...
and invoking its name grants deep meaning.
Qādisiyyat-Ṣaddām: The Iran–Iraq War
The most notable use of Qādisiyyah's emotive power was the dubbing by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn of his eight-year war against Iran as Qādisiyyat-Ṣaddām (Ṣaddām's Qādisiyyah). The first instance of this naming occurred on 2 April 1980, a half-year before the outbreak of hostilities, on the occasion of a visit by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn to al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdād
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, where a bomb attack on the previous day had injured his vice-president, Tarīq ʿAzīz
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party...
. Ṣaddām blamed the newly-founded Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(IRI) and, drawing the parallel to the 7th-Century battle, he announced:
- In your name, brothers, and on behalf of the Iraqis and Arabs everywhere we tell those [Persian] cowards and dwarfs who try to avenge Al-Qadisiyah that the spirit of Al-Qadisiyah as well as the blood and honor of the people of Al-Qadisiyah who carried the message on their spearheads are greater than their attempts. (See Ṣaddam, E3)
Other examples of the usage of al-Qādisiyyah
Support for Ṣaddām's historical characterisation of the modern war was further bolstered through several cultural symbols. An Egyptian film released at this time cast the Battle in ethnic terms (Arab against Persian) and Iraqi scholar Kanan MakiyaKanan Makiya
Kanan Makiya is an Iraqi academic, who gained British nationality in 1982. He is the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University...
has commented on the significance of various building and architectural projects that evoked al-Qādisiyyah, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a grave in which the unidentifiable remains of a soldier are interred. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified...
that contains a sword allegedly belonging to Saʿd
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas
Saad ibn Abī Waqqās was an early convert to Islam in 610-11 and one of the important companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sa'd was the seventeenth person to embrace Islam at the age of seventeen...
right next to Ṣaddām's personal machine gun. Makiya
Kanan Makiya
Kanan Makiya is an Iraqi academic, who gained British nationality in 1982. He is the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University...
has called this an attempt to make Ṣaddām 'the Sa’ad ibn-abi-Waqas
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas
Saad ibn Abī Waqqās was an early convert to Islam in 610-11 and one of the important companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sa'd was the seventeenth person to embrace Islam at the age of seventeen...
of the 1980s' (see Makiya, 11).
Art, architecture, literature, cinema, and media
- Ṣaddām's victory archHands of VictoryThe Arc of Triumph; , also called the Swords of Qādisīyah، and Hands of Victory in some Western sources, are a pair of triumphal arches in central Baghdad, Iraq. Each arch consists of a pair of hands holding crossed swords...
, called The Sword of Qādisiyyah, opened August 1989, and one of the largest art pieces in the world. (See Makiya, 1) (image) - EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian mega-film al-Qādisiyyah, released in 1981. - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i newspaper al-Qādisiyyah, established in 1981. - Mural depicting Ṣaddām surveying the ancient Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground. (photograph)
- Al-Qādisiyah Palace, designed by TIGRIS Enterprises in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
between 1983 and 1993. (website)
Government institutions and symbols
- Ṣaddām-era 25-Iraqi dinarIraqi dinarThe dinar is the currency of Iraq. It is issued by the Central Bank of Iraq and is subdivided into 1,000 fils , although inflation has rendered the fils obsolete.-History:...
note depicts the original Battle with Ṣaddām in the foreground as a field marshal. (image) - BaghdādBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
government compound called 'Mujammaʿ al-Qādisiyyah' ('The Qādisiyyah Compound') (map) - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i government-issued commemorative stamps of both ancient and modern Battles of al-Qādisiyyah. (image #1 image #2) - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i medal commemorating 'ṢaddāmSaddam–Saddam is an Arabic name which means "One who confronts", other meanings include: "One who frequently causes collisions", "Powerful collider", "One who causes a collision that had bad results", "Powerful confronter", "One who frequently crashes", or "Powerful commander"...
's Qādisiyyah'. (image)
Geographical locations
- Al-Qādisiyyah Province, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, with a population of nearly 900,000. (official CPA website, Google Satellite image) - City of al-Qādisiyyah, in KuwaytKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. (map) - Al-Qādisiyyah Square, Bin Ashūr, TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, in LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. - Al-Qādisiyyah residential district in BaghdādBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, located near the Tigris River and al-Yarmūk Hospital (itself named after the Battle of al-YarmūkBattle of YarmoukThe Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border...
. - Al-QādisiyyahAl-Qadisiyyah (historical city)Al-Qādisiyyah, a historical city in southern Mesopotamia, southwest of al-Hillah and al-Kūfah in Iraq, is most famous as the site of the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in circa 636, which saw a force of Arab-Muslim invaders defeat a larger army sent by the Sāsānian Empire.-Commercial importance:Prior to...
was also a historical town, near the battle-site and an important location on a Mesopotamian trade-route.
Educational institutions and recreational organisations
- Al-Qādisiyyah University, in ad-DīwāniyyahAl DiwaniyahAl Diwaniyah is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002, its population was estimated at 440,927. The area around Al Diwaniyah, which is well irrigated from the nearby Euphrates river, is often considered to be one on the most fertile parts of Iraq, and is heavily cultivated...
, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. (website) - Al-Qādisiyyah University, in ʿAmmānAmmanAmman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. (website) - Al-Qādisiyyah primary school in BahraynBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
– in addition to schools named after Qādisiyyah general Saʿd ibn Abī WaqqāṣSa`d ibn Abi WaqqasSaad ibn Abī Waqqās was an early convert to Islam in 610-11 and one of the important companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sa'd was the seventeenth person to embrace Islam at the age of seventeen...
and his predecessor Khālid ibn al-WalīdKhalid ibn al-WalidKhālid ibn al-Walīd also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl , was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is noted for his military tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar...
. (See 'Plan') - Al-Qādisiyah Girls School, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. (photograph) - Al-Qādisiyyah (Saʿūdī ArabianSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
football club), part of the Asian Football ConfederationAsian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
. - Al-Qādisiyyah (KuwaytiKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
football club), part of the Asian Football ConfederationAsian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
. - Al-Qādisiyyah Boy Scouts Group, established in March 1994, at the al-Fāraʿah refugee camp north of NablusNablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. (website) - Al-Qādisiyyah car-racing club in Saʿūdī ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. - Al-Qādisiyyah Sporting Club in KuwaytKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
Military forces and installations
- Palestine Liberation Army 'al-Qādisiyyah' Brigade, financed by IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - Al-Qādisiyyah Airbase, IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. (website) - Husn al-Qādisiyyah, ruins of an ʿAbbassidAbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
walled fort, in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. (website)
Miscellaneous
- Hotel al-Qādisiyyah, BaghdādBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. (website)
See also
- Battle of al-QādisiyyahBattle of al-QadisiyyahThe Battle of al-Qādisiyyah was fought in 636; it was the decisive engagement between the Arab muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and was key to the conquest of Iraq...
- Islamic conquest of PersiaIslamic conquest of PersiaThe Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, the fall of Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia...
- Muslim conquestsMuslim conquestsMuslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
- Islamic conquests
- Sāsānian Empire
- Shāh-nāmehShahnamehThe Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
- Shi'a–Sunni relations
Academic and primary references
- Baram, Amatzia. Culture, history, and ideology in the formation of Baʿthist Iraq, 1968 – 69. New York City: St Martin’s Press, 1991.
- Bengio, Ofra. Saddam's word. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Donner, Fred McGraw. The Early Islamic conquests. Princeton: Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Press, 1981. - Makiya, KananKanan MakiyaKanan Makiya is an Iraqi academic, who gained British nationality in 1982. He is the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University...
. The Monument: Art, vulgarity, and responsibility in Iraq. Berkeley: University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Press, 1991. - Lewental, D Gershon. ‘The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and modern Middle Eastern discourse’.
- Noth, Albrecht (in collaboration with Larence I Conrad). The Early Arabic historical tradition: A Source-critical study. Translated from German by Michael Bonner. Studies in late antiquity and early Islam, 3. 2nd edition. Princeton: Darwin Press, 1994.
- ‘Plan for 34 disabled students’. BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
Tribune, 5 October 2001. - Rida, Muhammad. ‘Qadisiyya: A New stage in Arab cinema’. Ur 3 (1981): 40-43.
- Ṣaddām Ḥusayn. ‘Address given’. BaghdādBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Voice of the Masses in Arabic, 1200 GMT 2 April 1980. FBIS-MEA-80-066. 3 April 1980, E2-3. - Streck, Maximillian. ‘al-Ḳādisīya’. EI¹.
- at-Tabarī, Abū Jaʿfar Muhammad. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and the conquest of Syria and Palestine. Edited and translated by Yohanan Friedmann. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany: State University of New YorkState University of New YorkThe State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
Press, 1992. - Vaglieri, Laura Veccia. ‘al-Ḳādisiyya’. EI².