Content area
Abstract
The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, an engagement between the Arab-Muslim armies and the Sasanian Empire of Iran waged during the 630s, became quickly a celebrated victory in the annals of the nascent Islamic civilisation. In fact, the perceptions of the battle in the first few centuries after its occurrence, much less those common in the modern Middle East, suggest that the memory we possess of the encounter differs starkly from the actual event. I examine the development of this process, both in the classical Islamic period and in contemporary history, against the background of several currents, from the need of the early Muslim polity to define and distinguish itself against its neighbours to the efforts of modern state and other actors to attract and mobilise their followers. In the first two parts, I examine the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah from within the context of early Islamic historiography, deconstructing the narrative. In the third part, I review the pressures upon the early shapers of the myth, their influences, and the gradual metamorphosis of the event into legend. In the final part, I investigate the abuse and manipulation of the battle's memory with a particular focus on the discourse of Ba'thī Iraq under Saddām Husayn (Saddam Hussein). This analysis allows me to draw conclusions regarding the dynamic of religion and nationalism in modern Middle Eastern identity, as well as the important role that memory—such as that of al-Qadisiyyah—plays in connecting the two. At the end of this study, I have included an appendix that details numerous examples of how Qādisiyyah nomenclature has worked its way into Middle Eastern society.
