In a historic discovery, US spy satellite imagery from the 1970s revealed the exact location of a decisive battle in the seventh century that marked the spread of Islam throughout the known world. The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah saw the unlikely triumph of a small Arab Muslim army over the dominant power in what is now southwestern Iraq.

Archaeologists have located the site of an important seventh-century battle in southern Iraq by using Cold War satellite imagery to "wind the clock back" to trace its whereabouts. The Battle of Al Qadisiyyah,

Qadisiyah, the Arab army emerged victorious and continued its march into Persia, contributing to the spread of Islam beyond West Asia.