The Formation of the Bata'ih (Great Swamp)

حدوث البطائح

In al-Baladhuri: the Persians used to foretell their kingdom's end, relating earthquakes and floods among its signs; the Tigris had flowed into Basra's Tigris called al-Mawra' in branching channels. Under Qubad ibn Fayruz a great breach opened in lower Kaskar and was neglected until its waters drowned many cultivated lands — Qubad being weak and little attentive — until his son Anushirwan had it dammed with embankments and some lands returned to cultivation. Then in the year the Prophet ﷺ sent Abdallah ibn Hudhayfa al-Sahmi to Khosrow Aparviz — year 7, some say 6 — the Euphrates and Tigris rose in a flood unseen before or after; great breaches burst. Aparviz strained to dam them but the water defeated him, spread to the Bata'ih's site, covered buildings and crops and drowned several tasasij. Khosrow rode out himself to plug the breaches, scattered money over the execution-hides, worked the laborers to death and crucified — it is said — forty diggers on one breach in a day; yet he found no device against the water. Then the Arabs entered Iraq, the Persians were consumed by war, the breaches burst unattended and the dihqans proved too weak to dam the greatest — so the Batayih widened and grew.

Overview

Al-Baladhuri describes how the marshes (al-Bata'ih) between the Tigris and the Euphrates spread after breaches burst that were never closed. ¹

The time of Qubad and Anushirvan

The Persians used to speak of the end of their kingdom, and reported earthquakes and flooding as its signs. In the time of Qubad ibn Firuz a great breach burst at the lower end of Kaskar, and it was neglected until many cultivated lands were drowned. Al-Baladhuri describes it as weak and little attended to. ¹

When his son Anushirvan came to power, he ordered the water blocked with dams, and some of the lands returned to cultivation. ¹

The time of Parviz

In the year that the Prophet sent Abd Allah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi to Khosrow Parviz, which is 7 AH or, it is said, 6, the Euphrates and the Tigris rose by a great amount such as had not been seen. Great breaches burst. Parviz strove to close them, but the water overcame him, and it turned toward the marsh region and drowned several districts. ¹

Al-Baladhuri says that Khosrow rode out himself to close the breaches, scattered money, and killed some of the officials and crucified some of them, and the water found no remedy. The report says, "it is said" that he crucified forty dam-builders in one day. ¹

After the conquest

Then the Arabs entered the land of Iraq, and the Persians were occupied with wars, so the breaches burst without anyone attending to them, and the local landowners could not close the great ones, and the marsh spread. ¹

Anushirwan's Building of the Bab wa-l-Abwab Wall

In al-Baladhuri from those versed in Armenia's affairs: a general of Qubadh ibn Fayruz the king trod Arran's land with twelve thousand and took what lay between the river called al-Rass and Shirwan; Qubadh followed and built in Arran the city of al-Baylaqan, Bardha'a — the frontier's city entire — and Qabala, built the wall of al-Lubn between Shirwan's land and Bab al-Lan, and built upon it three hundred and sixty cities, ruined after the later building of Bab wa-l-Abwab; then his son Anushirwan Kisra ibn Qubadh ruled, built al-Shabiran and Masqat, then the city of Bab wa-l-Abwab and the Durzuqiyya, built in Jurzan's land the city of Sughdabil settling Sughdians and sons of Persians as a muslaha, built toward the Romans Bab Fayruzqubadh, Bab Ladhiqa, Bab Bariqa on the sea of Trebizond, Bab al-Lan and Bab Samsakhi, and the fortresses of al-Jardaman and Shamshalda, conquered all Armenia in Roman hands, settled and fortified Dabil, built Nashwa the city of Busfurrajan's district, built Hisn Ways and castles in Sisajan — among them Qal'at al-Kilab and Sahiyunis — and garrisoned these forts with the warlike and bold of the Siyasijiyya; Anushirwan wrote to the Turk king asking peace and sought his daughter's hand, sending him a slave-girl adopted by one of his wives as his daughter, then came and they met at al-Barshaliyya feasting for days; he ordered his intimates to night-raid and burn part of the Turk's camp, then denied and apologised, then had fire thrown into a part of his own camp where only straw huts stood, and in the morning complained to the Turk: 'your men nearly destroyed my army, and you have requited me with treachery' — the Turk swearing ignorance — so Anushirwan said: 'brother, your soldiers and mine hate our peace for the plunder lost in the raids and wars between us, and I fear they will make mischief to corrupt our hearts after our sincerity and friendship, returning us to enmity after kinship and affection — my counsel is that you let me build a wall between us with a gate through which none comes to you from us nor to us from you save whom we will'; he agreed and went home, and Anushirwan set to building the wall of rock and lead at the sea's edge, three hundred cubits wide, joined to the mountain-tops — ordering stones carried in ships and sunk until they rose above water to be built upon, so the wall ran three miles into the sea — and when finished hung iron gates at its entry, posted a hundred riders to guard where fifty thousand soldiers had once been needed, and set an armoured redoubt upon it; afterwards the Khaqan was told 'he deceived you — married you to one who is not his daughter, and fortified himself against you' — and he could contrive nothing.

The Formation of the Bata'ih (Great Swamp)

At a glance

Overview

The time of Qubad and Anushirvan

The time of Parviz

After the conquest

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

Anushirwan's Building of the Bab wa-l-Abwab Wall