Note 286 — Chapter XVII · EVENTS FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF CADESIYA—CAPTURE OF MEDAIN. A.H. XV., XVI. A.D. 636–7.

Among the single combats, a singular one is mentioned, in which Zohra challenged Shahryâr, a mighty champion. They closed, and each slew the other. But the story, though told with some detail, is uncertain; for, according to other accounts, Zohra was killed many years after by a fanatic (Khârijite) in the time of Hajjâj.

The Arabs had twenty catapults—an instrument of war not unknown in Arabia; see the siege of Tâyif (Life of Mahomet, p. 433). In Mesopotamia, now at Sád’s command, there were ample materials for their construction. The ramparts must have been of great thickness; for, composed of sun-dried bricks, their outline can be still distinctly traced on either bank. Of buildings, however, there are, besides the Tâk i Kesra, no other remains of any kind whatever, the materials having all been carried off to build the city of Baghdad, 16 miles above it. But coins and coffins abound.

In the siege we are told that the people, reduced to the utmost distress, were driven to feed on cats and dogs. But, with the whole river front open to them by boat, and the other half of the city with plentiful supplies safe on the opposite bank, it is difficult to understand how this could have been.