Godherja Encyclopedia

Battle of the Mubaaizun (concept)

In 656 IS, the armies of Khuzaima al-Zuhra met the Wardenite army of Nasir ibn Nasir at the fields of Ad Vojessin, where Nasir ibn Nasir rode before Khuzaima's army and challenged his Mubaaizun to single combat. Fihr ibn Kilab ibn Zayd, foremost of Khuzaima's Mubaaizun, accepted the challenge and duelled Nasir ibn Nasir, beheading him a minute into the duel. Nasir ibn Nasir's own champions - Yuqub ibn Hasan, Jafar al-Sarlata, Suleiman ibn Yusuf, Aziz of the Pillars, and Haqim ibn Nasir - subsequently challenged Fihr to single combat. Slaying each of them, Fihr cut off their heads and demanded that more combatants step forward, and despite the injuries he suffered during the duels, no one else challenged him.

Following the conclusion of the duels, Khuzaima's forces charged the Wardenites and nearly routed them, though the bannerman Ghalib managed to rally the Wardenites. This rally was short lived when Khuzaima and his retinue routed the enemy cavalry, turning around and attacking the Wardenite rear. In the ensuing tumult, Khuzaima was thrown from his horse and broke his leg, but Wardenite forces were routed and suffered high casualties.

The battle has since gone on to be one of the most famous in Sarradonian history, mainly because of the unusually large number of duels between Mubaaizun, leading to both Ritualists and Wardenites romanticizing it. Neither Khuzaima nor Nasir employed any interesting strategies, and the battle is rarely studied.

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