Spy satellites locate the field of a crucial battle for Islam that occurred in the 7th century

Archaeologists of the Durham universitiesalong with Iraqi colleagues, have located the location of a famous early Islamic battle using declassified images of spy satellites.

The team, led by Dr William Deadman from Durham University’s department of archaeology, has precisely identified what they believe to be the location of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.

The battle, which took place in the year 637/8 AD. C., was a crucial victory for Arab Muslims in the expansion of Islam beyond Arabia. Until now, its precise location was unclear.

Dr Deadman, an archaeological remote sensing specialist, was conducting a remote survey to map the Darb Zubaydah pilgrimage route when the discovery was made.

The study involved comparing declassified American spy satellite images from the 1970s with current historical images and texts to help identify stopping points along the pilgrimage route.

However, the team realized that they could also use the sites and structures detailed in historical texts and visible in satellite images to accurately identify the location of the Battle of Al-Qadisiyah.

Their analysis places the site of the battle 30 km south of Kufa, in the Najaf Governorate.

During their research work, the team identified a nine-kilometre-long double-wall formation that connected a military complex on the periphery of the desert and a large settlement on the edge of the southern Mesopotamian floodplain.

This find corresponded remarkably well with the details within the rich body of historical sources relevant to the Battle of Al-Qadisiyah and the staging points along Darb Zubaydah.

Colleagues at Al-Qadisiyah University in Iraq were able to provide additional evidence from on-the-ground research to support the original findings.

The team was also able to confidently identify the location of two stopping points along Darb Zubaydah: al-Qadisiyyah and al-‘Udhayb.

“This discovery provides a geographic location and context for a battle that is one of the founding stories of the spread of Islam in modern-day Iraq, Iran and beyond,” Deadman said in a statement.

The research was published in the journal Antiquity.