THE GREAT CONQUESTS 21fair to say that Muthanna was a less capable leader than Khalid, but he
was nonetheless a resolute man and one of considerable personal valor.
Refitting his reduced force from Hira and Anrab, he moved to the ruins
of ancient Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates, and awaited the Persian
response.
This came in the spring of 634 when the new boy-king, Yezdegird,
brought up such troops as he could, and attempted to drive the raiders
away. His forces included an elephant, which must have seemed strange
indeed to the Arabs. One also assumes that the Persians had a significant
numerical superiority over the invaders, for Khalid had gone off with his
chosen troops and Babylon was nearly in the heart of the Persian Empire.
In the event, the Persians advanced with their ferocious elephant and
caused some dismay among the Arabs, but Muthanna himself ran forward
and killed the huge beast. Perhaps as a Beni Bekr tribesman Muthanna
would have had some familiarity with the Persians and may even have
seen elephants. However it was that he dispatched the beast, its death
heartened the Arabs, who pushed the enemy back and held the field.
Now victorious, Muthanna must yet have known that his isolated force
could not long resist the enemy in their own heartland. After the battle at
Babylon, he rode to Medina to see the Caliph Abu Bekr and beg for
reinforcements. He arrived in late July and met the caliph. Old and frail,
Abu Bekr died in August 634, to be succeeded by Umar ibn al Khattab.
The new caliph recognized the value of Muthanna’s requests and called
up additional levies for the Iraqi front.
There is an interesting anecdote from this visit. As recruits came for-
ward, the old friends and companions of the Prophet were notably absent.
Umar was asked who would command the new force, and the names of
several of these companions were brought forward. But the new caliph
would have none of it, and he said that the man who had first volunteered
should lead. In this manner the obscure Abu Ubaid ibn Masud found
himself a leader of men—in fact he was to lead the whole army on the
Persian front, with Muthanna as his subordinate. It was a casual process
by any standards!
With reinforcements being gathered, the two commanders returned to
the front, and none too soon. The King of Kings, as the Persians called
their monarchs, had appointed a wise old general named Rustem to com-
mand his armies. Rustem had been harrying the much-reduced Arab force
with mobile columns while a large army gathered under command of a
general named Bahman. As the fresh Arab warriors arrived, the two armies
consolidated and prepared to fight.