US Spy Satellite Imagery Helps Archaeologists Find Ancient Battlefield

With the help of declassified images collected by United States spy satellites, a team of researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom and the University of al-Qadisiyyah in Iraq have identified the site of one of the most important battles in the history of the Islamic world.

Based on a careful analysis of this satellite data, the researchers believe that the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, which took place around the year 636, was fought approximately 19 miles (31 km) south of Kufa, in Iraq's Najaf governorate.

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In Search of the Legendary Battle of al-Qadisiyyah

In this legendary battle for territory and political control, the Arab Muslims of the Rashidun Caliphate, who were led by hand-picked successors to Muhammed,  soundly defeated the forces of the Sasanian Empire that had previously ruled ancient Persia. In the seventh and eighth centuries conquests like these hastened the spread of Islamic rule across the Middle East and North Africa, and even into parts of Europe and Central Asia, and this set the stage for the ultimate triumph of Islam in the region.

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Depiction of the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah from a manuscript of the Persian epic Shāh-nāmeh from Astarabad. Source- British Library. (Public Domain)

After a series of smashing successes in battles with the declining Sasanian and Byzantine empires, the Rashidun Caliphate dramatically expanded their territorial holdings, which were later ruled by their successors in the Umayyad Caliphate.

In this stunning and world-changing string of events, the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah was considered particularly decisive, as it enabled the Muslims to seize the historic lands of Persia (modern-day Iraq).

"The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah has strong cultural significance to the Islamic, particularly the Arab Muslim, world," said study author William Deadman of Durham University's Department of Archaeology in an interview with Newsweek. "It is celebrated as a crucial moment in the expansion of Islam beyond Arabia that led to the conversion of modern-day Iraq and Iran, and then into the rest of the Middle East, Africa and Asia."

Despite how well-known this battle was, knowledge about where exactly it was fought ended up lost to history. Finding the site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah has been the equivalent of the search for the Holy Grail in Christian lore, and now finally the location has been identified, thanks to 50-year-old United States spying missions that took place over the territory of Iraq.

Historical texts did provide enough information to at least point searchers in the right direction. And now, thanks to the detail provided in the declassified images, archaeologists have been able to identify the site where the battle happened almost exactly (the margin of possible error is less than one kilometer).

Spying on the Past

To help find the battle spot, archaeologists conducted a survey of the area with remote sensing equipment. Their purpose was to accurately map the Hajj pilgrimage route known as Darb Zubaydah, which was active more than 1,000 years ago and connected to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. So in the early stages of this research, no one was thinking much about the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.

In addition to the remote sensing survey, the archaeological team also examined declassified spy satellite imagery collected by the United States in the 1970s, which proved more helpful than anyone imagined. Openly available in the public domain, this once top-secret imagery allowed the archaeologists to compare older pictures of the region with modern-day photographs, to see precisely how land use patterns have obscured elements of the landscape that might have been more apparent in the past.

"Along with most archaeologists, we used [U.S. spy satellite imagery] as it predates much of the agricultural and urban expansion that has occurred in the Middle East over the last 50 years—it winds the clock back and allows us to see the archaeological landscape as it would have been for most of the last century, which itself is closer to how it would have been when these sites were occupied," Deadman said.

The spy satellite data proved especially useful, because if its high degree of definition and resolution. This has made tracing the route of the Hajj pilgrimage far easier.

But it also empowered the quest to discover the actual site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, as the precise satellite images allowed for detailed and accurate mapping of the region as it appeared in the mid-to-late 20th century, and by extension many centuries before given the undisturbed state of the landscape in the 1970s.

While the location of the Battle of  al-Qadisiyyah had never been explicitly spelled out, historical texts had provided a lot of details about the surrounding territory where it had been fought. The sites and structures described were revealed by the satellite photos as well, and a comparison between the ancient texts and these products of modern space technology allowed the archaeologists to finally locate their version of the Holy Grail—the al-Qadisiyyah battlefield.

"During our survey work we were able to identify a six-mile-long double wall feature linking a military complex on the desert fringe and a large settlement on the edge of the southern Mesopotamian floodplain," Deadman stated. "This corresponded remarkably well to details within the rich body of historical sources relevant to the battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the stopping points along the Darb Zubaydah."

Annotated spy satellite imagery from 1974 reveals the historic city of al-Qadisiyyah, including a Sasanian fortress to the south, a defensive ditch, and the likely location of the seventh-century battlefield, as described in historical accounts. (Deadman William et al./Antiquity Publications Ltd)

What this data did was allow the archaeologists to positively identify the locations of two stops along the Hajj trail, one of which was the outpost of al-Qadisiyyah.

"To be able to use our survey work to not only identify a key historical battle site, but also the locations of two key settlements along the Darb Zubaydah, is hugely exciting," Deadman said.

In follow-up ground surveys, Iraqi researchers have found some intriguing physical evidence that backs up what has been seen on the satellite images.

"Our Iraqi colleagues' work was absolutely pivotal in confirming what we had found remotely," Deadman said. "Not only were they able to confirm that our remote interpretation of the satellite imagery was accurate, but they were also able to find additional supporting evidence. All the main features they visited had pottery from the right period on the surface, which provides further confirmation of our findings."

According to Deadman, the next step will be to complete an exhaustive archaeological investigation at the ground level, to see if a detailed map of the battlefield can be created.

Top image: Photograph by J. Jotheri, showing a northward view along the trench and rampart.

Source: Deadman William et al./Antiquity Publications Ltd

By Nathan Falde