Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Nahrawan

Battle of Nahrawan was a battle fought in AD 659 at Nahrawan Canal, in what is now Iraq. It was part of First Fitna, which ran from AD 656 to AD 661. The recorded result: Victory for Ali. Recorded strength: 14,000 against 2,800.

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Source: Or. 7238, f.10v Caption: The Battle of Nehrevan (658 A.D.), between Ali and the Havaric (Kharijites). Ali, mounted on Duldul, is wielding his double-bladed sword, Zulfikar. A miniature paintin
Source: Or. 7238, f.10v Caption: The Battle of Nehrevan (658 A.D.), between Ali and the Havaric (Kharijites). Ali, mounted on Duldul, is wielding his double-bladed sword, Zulfikar. A miniature paintin. British Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtAD 659
WhereNahrawan Canal, Iraq34.521N, 43.784E
OutcomeVictory for Ali
BelligerentsRashidun CaliphateagainstKharijites
Casualties and losses7 killedand2,400 killed
Part ofFirst FitnaAD 656 to AD 661

Where it sits in First Fitna

Battle of the Camel, AD 656Battle of Siffin, AD 657Umayyad invasions of Egypt, AD 658Mu'awiya I's Southern Campaigns, AD 658Battle of Nahrawan, AD 659AD 656AD 659Battle of Nahrawan, AD 659
5 placed engagements of First Fitna in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateAD 659 (year precision)
PlaceNahrawan Canal, Iraq
34.521N, 43.784E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength14,0002,800
Casualties and losses7 killed2,400 killed
Commanders
  • Ali
  • Qays ibn Sa'd
  • Abu Ayyub al-Ansari
  • Hujr ibn Adi
  • Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi
  • Hurqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di
  • Zayd ibn Hisn al-Ta'i
  • Shurayh ibn Awfa al-Absi
Battle of NahrawanBattle of NahrawanBattle of IstabulatBattle of SamarraBattle of al-AnbarBattle of MaskinBattle of the Stragna RiverBattle of IstabulatBattle of SamarraBattle of MaskinBattle of the Stragna RiverBaghdadKirkukAr RamadiMandaliSamarra100 km34.521N, 43.784E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Nahrawan
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Nahrawan today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-06-24. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 96 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 73 to 103 m, 29 m of relief, flat country and today it is 49% cropland, 27% bare ground, 12% grassland.

cropland: 49%bare ground: 27%grassland: 12%water: 8%cropland 49%bare ground 27%grassland 12%water 8%
west to east, 10.0 km75 to 97 mnorth to south, 10.0 km86 to 100 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Nahrawan is one of 203 engagements of the 7th century in the atlas and one of 206 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2484843, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Nahrawan, revision 1382060382, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.