page_title: Muslim conquest of Persia
section_title: Conquest of Central Iran
hierarchical_section_title: Muslim conquest of Persia / Conquest of Persia (642–651) / Conquest of Central Iran
context_page_description: The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab invasion of Iran, led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire of Iran in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
  The rise of Muslims coincided with an unprecedented political, social, economic, and military weakness in Persia. Once a major world power, the Sasanian Empire had exhausted its human and material resources after decades of warfare against the Byzantine Empire. The internal political situation quickly deteriorated after the execution of King Khosrow II in 628 AD. Subsequently, ten new claimants were enthroned within the next four years. With civil war erupting between different factions, the empire was no longer centralized.
  Arab Muslims first attacked the Sassanid territory in 633, when general Khalid ibn Walid invaded Mesopotamia, which was the political and economic center of the Sassanid state. Following the transfer of Khalid to the Byzantine front in the Levant, the Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Sasanian counterattacks. The second invasion began in 636 under Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, when a key victory at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah led to the permanent end of Sasanian control west of Iran.
context_section_description: In the wake of Khalid's demise, Umar appointed Abdullah ibn Uthman as commander of the Muslim forces for the invasion of Isfahan. From Nahavand, Nu'man ibn Muqaarin marched to Hamadan, and then proceeded 370 kilometres (230 mi) southeast to the city of Isfahan, defeating a Sasanian army there. The enemy commander, Shahrvaraz Jadhuyih, along with another Sasanian general, was killed during the battle. Nu'man, reinforced by fresh troops from Busra and Kufa under the command of Abu Musa Ashaari and Ahnaf ibn Qais, then besieged the city. The siege continued for a few months before the city surrendered.
  In 651, Nu'aym ibn Muqaarin, Nu'man's brother, marched northeast to Rey, Iran, about 320 kilometres (200 mi) from Hamadan, and laid siege to the city, which surrendered after fierce resistance. Nu'aym then marched 240 kilometres (150 mi) northeast towards Qom, which was captured without much resistance. This represented the boundary of the Isfahan region. Further northeast was Khurasan, and southeast lay Sistan. Meanwhile, Hamadan and Rey had rebelled. Umar sent Nu'aym, whose brother Nu'man had recently died, to Hamadan to crush the rebellion and clear Isfahan's western frontier. Nu'aym recaptured Hamadan after a bloody battle, and then proceeded to Rey. There too the Persians resisted but were defeated outside the fort, and the Muslims recaptured the city. The Persian citizens sued for peace, agreeing to pay the Jizya. From Rey, Nu'aym moved north towards Tabaristan, south of the Caspian Sea. The ruler of Tabaristan then signed a peace treaty with the Caliphate.
caption: The ziggurat of Choqa Zanbil in Khuzestan
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