At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as "Meshan", which was an alternative name of the kingdom of Characene. Akkaz was a Partho-Sassanian site; the Sassanid religion's tower of silence was discovered in northern Akkaz. In 636 AD, the Battle of Chains between the Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate was fought in Kuwait near the town of Kazma. At the time, Kuwait was under the control of the Sassanid Empire. The Battle of Chains was the first battle of the Rashidun Caliphate in which the Muslim army sought to extend its frontiers. As a result of Rashidun victory in 636 AD, the bay of Kuwait was home to a city known as "Kadhima" or "Kāzimah" in the early Islamic era. Medieval Arabic sources contain multiple references to the bay of Kuwait in the early Islamic period. The city functioned as a trade port and resting place for pilgrims on their way from Iraq to Hejaz. The city was controlled by the kingdom of Al-Hirah in Iraq. In the early Islamic period, the bay of Kuwait was known for being a fertile area. The city was a stop for caravans coming from Persia and Mesopotamia en route to the Arabian Peninsula. The poet Al-Farazdaq was born in the city. Al-Farazdaq is recognized as one of the greatest classical poets of the Arabs. In 1521, Kuwait was under Portuguese control. In the late 16th century, the Portuguese built a defensive settlement in Kuwait. In 1613, the town of Kuwait was founded in the present-day location of Kuwait City. Kuwait was initially under the control of the Bani Khalid clan, who built a fishing village in present-day Kuwait Bay. The beginning of the eighteenth century witnessed the contention of Kuwait by the Bani Utub confederation. They migrated to Kuwait in 1682. As a result of successive matrimonial alliances, they were able to wrest control of Kuwait sometime after the death of Barrak Bin Urair [Bani Khaled] and the fall of the Bani Khaled Emirate. The Al Jalahma and Al Khalifa families relocated to Zubarah in 1766, leaving the only remaining Utub of Al Sabah as sole proprietors of Kuwait. In the eighteenth century, Kuwait prospered and rapidly became the principal commercial center for the transit of goods between India, Muscat, Baghdad and Arabia.