NAHAVAND, BATTLE OF

Nahavand also spelled Nahawand, or Nehavend (AD 642), military clash in Iran between Arab and Sasanian forces that was a major turning point in Iranian history. The battle ended in disastrous defeat for the Sasanian armies and paved the way for the Arab conquest, which resulted in the Islamization of Iran. At Nahavand some 30,000 Arab troops, under the command of Nu'man, attacked a Sasanian army alleged to number 150,000 men. The Sasanian troops, commanded by Firuzan, were entrenched in a strong fortified position. After an indecisive skirmish, Nu'man pretended to be defeated and withdrew from the battlefield. Firuzan then abandoned his position and pursued his foe. The pursuit proved to be a major tactical error because the Sasanians were forced to fight on unfavourable ground; the Sasanian army, caught between two mountain defiles, was massacred by the Arabs. Both Nu'man and Firuzan died in the battle, and Iranian casualties were said to number 100,000. After the battle the Arabs consolidated their position, and by 651, with the death of Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian emperor, their conquest of Iran was completed.