CASUALTY RECORD // May 1, 0633
Battle of Walaja
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 22,000 estimated
Rashidun Caliphate
2,000
Medium-confidence figure
Sasanian Empire
20,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Walaja, fought in Mesopotamia in May 633 CE, delivered a decisive blow to Sasanian control in lower Mesopotamia during the opening phase of the Muslim conquest of Persia. Khalid ibn al-Walid's forces inflicted casualties estimated at 20,000 on the Sasanian side against a loss of roughly 2,000 Rashidun troops, a disparity that reflects the completeness of the Rashidun victory. The outcome directly weakened Sasanian military power in the region and contributed to the subsequent Muslim advance deeper into Persian territory. Coming early in the conquest, the battle demonstrated the Rashidun forces' capacity to defeat a Sasanian army that may have outnumbered them by a factor of two, accelerating the momentum of the campaign in Mesopotamia.
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