Second Invasion of Mesopotamia (636)
According to the will of Abu Bakr, Umar was to continue the conquest of Syria and Mesopotamia. On the northeastern borders of the Empire, in Mesopotamia, the situation was deteriorating day by day. During Abu Bakr’s era, Khalid ibn al-Walid had been sent to the Syrian front to command the Islamic armies there. As soon as Khalid had left Mesopotamia with half his army of 9000 soldiers, the Persians decided to take back their lost territory. The Muslim army was forced to leave the conquered areas and concentrate on the border areas. Umar immediately sent reinforcements to aid Misna ibn Haris in Mesopotamia under the command of Abu Ubaid al Saqafi. The Persian forces defeated Abu Ubaid in the Battle of Bridge. However, later Persian forces were defeated by Misnah bin harisah in the Battle of Baiyoub. In 635 Yazdgerd III sought alliance with Emperor Heraclius of the Eastern Roman Empire. Heraclius married his daughter (according to traditions, his grand daughter) to Yazdegerd III, an old Roman tradition to show alliance. While Heraclius prepared for a major offense in the Levant, Yazdegerd, meanwhile, ordered the concentration of massive armies to pull back the Muslims from Mesopotamia for good. The goal was well coordinated attacks by both emperors, Heraclius in the Levant and Yazdegerd in Mesopotamia, to annihilate the power of their common enemy Caliph Umar.
Read more about this topic: Muslim Conquest Of Persia
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