Battle of Jasr
After the defeat of the Persians in the Battle of Namarraq, they again met the Muslims under the command of Bahman. The Euphrates lay between the two armies. Leaders of the Muslim army wanted to stay on the bank of the river where they were encamped. But, against the advice of the Muslim leaders, their commander Abu Ubaid, decided to fight across the river.
A bridge of boats was built across the river and the Muslims crossed it. But then, they found themselves at a disadvantage. The ground was uneven and the army could not move freely. A thick wall of war elephants shielded the Persians. Each elephant carried a howdah in which sat soldiers armed with bows and arrows. The Arab horses, who had never seen elephants before, got frightened and went out of control. This led to confusion and the Muslim cavalry got disorganised.
At that stage, Abu Ubaid ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack on foot. Abu Ubaid, himself led the attack. The Muslim soldiers cut the ropes of the howdahs, brought down the riders and killed them. The elephants started trampling the soldiers to death. In the scuffle that followed, a white elephant, who was the leader of the herd, knocked down Abu Ubaid and trampled him. His brother picked up the standard and led the fight. After sometime, he too fell fighting and the command was taken over by the son of Abu Ubaid.
The battle went on, and one after another, the Muslim commanders were martyred. This made the Muslim army lose heart and they rushed for the bridge. But a man of Banu Saqif had broken it so that the Muslim army might not be able to run away.
Musana, who was now the commander of the Muslim army, ordered the re-building of the bridge. In the meantime, he held back the enemy with a small force asking others to cross the river. He himself was the last to cross.
The Muslims suffered heavy losses. Out of a total strength of nine thousand, only three thousand could be saved. Some two thousand men fell fighting. two thousand were drowned in the river and two thousand fled away to Madinah and elsewhere.
This Battle is also known the Battle of Bridge.
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