and Hormuz—Kisrā’s deputy—mustered a great host and led them to Kāẓimah (1). On his two flanks he placed Qubādh and Anūshjan, both from the royal house, and he had the army linked together with chains (2) so they could not flee. The Muslims took this as a good omen, saying, “What a baleful sign for them: they have shackled their own souls in iron.”

Hormuz was one of the vilest of men in disposition and the staunchest in unbelief. Among the Persians he ranked as a noble, and the more exalted a man’s status, the more lavish his ornaments; Hormuz’s cap alone was worth one hundred thousand. Khalid arrived with his force—eighteen thousand strong—and camped opposite them at a place without water. His companions complained [to him] about that, but he said, “Engage them until you drive them from the water, for Allah will grant the water to whichever of the two parties shows the greater patience.”

When the Muslims had settled in their camp, still mounted on their horses, Allah sent a cloud that rained upon them until pools (3) of water formed. The Muslims’ strength and joy grew immensely. When the two lines faced one another (4) and the armies closed, Hormuz dismounted and called for single combat. Khalid likewise dismounted and advanced toward him; they exchanged (5) two blows, after which Khalid seized him in his arms and killed him, undistracted even by the arrival of Hormuz’s guard. Qaʿqāʿ ibn ʿAmr (6) charged that guard and laid them (7) low. The Persians fled, and the Muslims pursued them until nightfall. Khalid and the Muslims seized their baggage and weapons, amounting to the load of a thousand camels. The campaign was named Dhāt al-Salāsil, “the Battle of the Chains,” because so many Persian horsemen had been fettered together; their chains kept them from escape, and thirty thousand were slain, apart from those who drowned. Khalid sent the chains to al-Ṣiddīq [Abū Bakr]. Qubādh and Anūshjan managed to get away.

When the pursuit ended, a crier for Khalid announced the march. He set out with the army, the baggage following, until he halted at the site of what is today the Great Bridge of Basra. He dispatched the news of victory, the glad tidings, and the one-fifth share of the booty with Zirr (8) ibn Kulayb to al-Ṣiddīq, and he sent along a live elephant. When the women of Medina saw it they exclaimed, “Is this a creature of Allah’s creation, or something man-made?” Abū Bakr sent it back with Zirr. After the news reached him, Abū Bakr wrote to Khalid, granting him Hormuz’s personal spoils; Hormuz’s jewel-studded cap alone was worth one hundred thousand. Khalid then sent commanders to the right and the left to besiege the nearby forts. They opened them, some by storm and others by treaty, acquiring abundant wealth. Khalid never harmed the peasants—those who had not fought—or their children (9); his war was only against the combatants of Persia.