—once; rather, he exhorted them time and again, urging them to fight and to place their trust in Allah. The Persians, meanwhile, had bound themselves by covenant and oath, swearing by the fire that they would never flee until they had annihilated the Arabs.

When the final encounter arrived—the Day of Decision and Distinction—they confronted one another from the very first light. The battle was so intense that nothing like it had ever been seen: the arrows of both sides were soon exhausted, the spears of both armies splintered, and they turned to swords and ṭabarzīnāt (battle-axes) (1). When the time for the ẓuhr prayer came, the Muslims performed it with mere gestures. One Magian contingent withdrew, and another took its place.

At that point al-Qaʿqāʿ b. ʿAmr rose among the Muslims and said, “Has what you have just witnessed unsettled you, O Muslims?” They replied, “Yes; we are fatigued (2) while they are rested.” He responded, “No! We shall charge them and press them relentlessly until Allah judges between us. Charge them as one man so that we mingle with them.” He charged, and the people charged with him. Al-Qaʿqāʿ himself drove the attack home with a company of horsemen, champions, and gallant fighters until he reached the gate of the trench. Night set in with its darkness, and the remaining champions, along with their men, moved about among the ranks, seeking to disengage because of the approaching night. Among those champions (3) that day were Ṭulayḥa al-Asadī, ʿAmr b. Maʿdīkarib al-Zubaydī, Qays b. Makshūḥ, and Ḥajr b. ʿAdī. They had no idea what al-Qaʿqāʿ had achieved under the cover of night and would not have known
had it not been for his herald calling out, “Where are you, O Muslims? (4) Your commander is at the gate of their trench!”

When the Magians heard that, they panicked and fled. The Muslims rushed toward al-Qaʿqāʿ b. ʿAmr and found him at the gate, now in their possession. The Persians scattered in every direction, while the Muslims intercepted them on every side and lay in wait at every pass. One hundred thousand were killed in that encounter, so that the slain covered the face of the earth; for this reason the place was named Jalūlāʾ. They captured wealth, weaponry, gold, and silver in an amount nearly equal to what they had taken earlier from al-Madāʾin (5).

Hāshim b. ʿUtbah then dispatched al-Qaʿqāʿ b. ʿAmr in pursuit of those who had fled behind Chosroes. He pursued them until he overtook Mihrān in flight, and al-Qaʿqāʿ killed him, while al-Fīrūzān escaped and continued his retreat. Many captives were taken and sent to Hāshim b. ʿUtbah, and an exceedingly large number of mounts were seized. Hāshim forwarded the spoils and wealth to his uncle Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ; Saʿd gave extra shares to those distinguished for bravery and then ordered the remainder to be divided among the victors.

Al-Shaʿbī said, “The wealth obtained from the Battle of Jalūlāʾ amounted to thirty million, and the one-fifth thereof was six million.” Another narrator said, “Each cavalryman on the day of Jalūlāʾ received the same share he had been allotted at al-Madāʾin—that is, twelve thousand for every cavalryman.” It was also said that each cavalryman obtained nine thousand and nine mounts (6). And the one who undertook the distribution of all that among the Muslims