Bahman Jadhuyih

Bahman Jadhuyih (also known as Bahman Jadhuya or Dhu al-Hajib) was a senior Sassanid Persian general who commanded the imperial forces during some of the most critical early battles of the Muslim conquest of Iraq. He was among the most capable of the Sassanid commanders and played a central role in two of the most decisive early engagements between the two powers.

He commanded the Persian forces at the Battle of Walaja in 12 AH, where Khalid ibn al-Walid employed a double envelopment maneuver that destroyed the Persian army. Despite this defeat, he remained in command and is associated with the subsequent Battle of Ullays, one of the bloodiest early engagements on the Euphrates plains. He continued organizing Persian resistance during the tumultuous early campaign period.

He played a role in the devastating Muslim defeat at the Battle of the Bridge (Ma'rakat al-Jisr) in 13 AH, where the Muslims under Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi were pushed back across the Euphrates with heavy losses. Bahman Jadhuyih's forces were able to exploit the chaos of the Muslim retreat. This battle was one of the few early Sassanid successes in the Iraq campaign.

He is one of the few Persian commanders who inflicted a significant defeat on the early Muslim forces. His career represents the last effective phase of Sassanid military resistance before the crushing defeat at al-Qadisiyyah in 15 AH ended organized Persian power in the lowland Iraq. The record of his activities in the early sources provides some of the clearest accounts of Sassanid military organization and tactics in this period.