Battle of Nahavand

The Battle of Nahavand, known in Arabic sources as 'Fath al-Futuh' (Conquest of Conquests), was the decisive final engagement that broke the last organised Sasanid resistance in Persia. The Sasanid Emperor Yazdegerd III assembled a large force, reportedly 100,000 to 150,000, in a last-ditch attempt to repel the Muslim advance. The Muslim army of approximately 30,000 under Nu'man ibn Muqarrin was initially engaged at a disadvantage by the Persian defensive formations and elephant corps. Nu'man ibn Muqarrin was martyred in the fighting but his deputy, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, took command and completed the victory. The Persian force was shattered. Yazdegerd III fled eastward and was eventually assassinated by one of his own subjects in Merv in 651 CE, ending the Sasanid dynasty. The battle opened the Persian heartland to Muslim settlement and the subsequent peaceful spread of Islam among the Persian population over the following generations.