The history of the Kurds starts with the late Sasanian Empire and the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia. Arab armies first fought against the Kurds in the late 630s. At that time, the Arabs overcame the tribes of Kurds in the mountains near Mosul. Arab armies took control of Mesopotamia in 637. Kurdish tribes helped the Sasanian armies fight against the Arabs in 639 and 644, but the Arabs had more success. Utba bin Farqad led the Arab armies that took control of the Shahrizor (a plain now in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan) and the lands around Hulwan (a town now in Kermanshah Province, Iranian Kurdistan).