We lashed our ships to theirs, and then we and they closed in with swords, men vaulting across with blades and daggers. The waves hammered the very bow-ports of the vessels until they were driven toward the shore, and the surf cast the bodies of the slain upon the beach until they lay piled like a mighty mountain. Blood overpowered the color of the water. That day the Muslims showed a patience the like of which had never been witnessed: many of them were killed, while the Byzantines lost several times that number. Then Allah sent His help to the Muslims, and Constantine and his army—now reduced to but a few—fled, he himself grievously and deeply wounded (1) and for some time thereafter under treatment. ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd remained at Dhāt al-Ṣawārī for a few days, after which he returned supported, victorious, and triumphant.
Al-Wāqidī said: Maʿmar related to me from al-Zuhri that Muhammad ibn Abī Ḥudhayfah and Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr were present on this campaign. They (2) openly criticized ʿUthmān for the innovations he had introduced and for departing from the practice of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, declaring that his blood was lawful because he had appointed ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd—who had apostasized, denied the Noble Quran, and whose blood the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—had deemed permissible. They added that the Messenger of Allah had expelled certain individuals whom ʿUthmān later reinstated, and that he had removed Companions of the Messenger of Allah while (3) installing Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿĀmir.
When this reached ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd he said, “You two shall not sail with us.” The pair therefore boarded a vessel in which there were no other Muslims. They met the enemy, yet they proved the most reluctant (4) of all the Muslims to fight. When reproached for this they replied, “How can we fight under the command of a man we do not consider fit to rule?” ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd sent for them, rebuked them severely, and said, “By Allah, were I certain of the Caliph’s view, I would have punished and imprisoned you both.”
Al-Wāqidī said: In this same year Armenia was conquered at the hands of Ḥabīb ibn Maslamah. In this year as well, Kisra, king of the Persians, was killed.
How Kisra—namely Yazdegerd—king of the Persians, was killed (5)
Ibn Isḥāq said: Yazdegerd fled from Kirmān with a small band until he reached Marw. There he asked some of its people for money, but they refused and feared for themselves. They therefore sent word to the Turks, urging them to attack him. The Turks came, killed his companions, and he fled until he reached the house of a man who used to tap the millstones (6) on the riverbank. He sought shelter with him for the night; when Yazdegerd had fallen asleep, the man killed him.
Al-Madāʾinī said: After his companions had been slain he set off on foot, still wearing his crown, his belt, and his sword, until he came to the house of