Queen Hatshepsut

Battle of Yarmouk Part 1

The Battle of Yarmouk, occurred in 15 AH (636) between
 Muslims and the Romans (the Byzantine Empire), and considered by some historians of the most important battles in the history of the world because it was the beginning of the first wave of victories for Muslims outside the Arabian Peninsula, and authorized the rapid progress of Islam in the Levant. The battle took place four years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

The Islamic armies decided to withdraw from Jabiya near Damascus to Yarmouk after the Roman army advanced towards them. Khalid bin al-Walid assumed command of the army after Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah surrendered.


The Sassanid Persians invaded the island of northern Iraq and in 611 they invaded Syria and entered Anatolia, conquering the tsarist city of Mazaka. Heraclius was able to remove the Persians from Anatolia, but was defeated in a major attack on Syria in 613. In the following decades, Persians invaded Palestine and Egypt. In the meantime, Heraclius prepared a counterattack and rebuilt his army. After a decisive victory over the Persians and its allies in the Caucasus and Armenia, in 627 Heraclius launched a winter offensive against the Persians in the Gezira region, winning a landslide victory in the Battle of Nineveh. As such, the Persian capital was also threatened. Feeling ashamed of these defeats, Khosra II was ousted and killed in a coup led by his son Gabbaz II, who immediately drifted to peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied Byzantine lands. He returned to Hercules the true cross - which was believed to have been crucified - and then returned to Jerusalem with a solemn royal ceremony in 629.

Meanwhile, rapid political developments were taking place in Arabia, where the Prophet Muhammad was still spreading Islam, and by 630 he had successfully unified most of the Arabian Peninsula under one political authority. When the Prophet died in June 632, Abu Bakr Khalifa succeeded Muslims as the successor to the Holy Prophet. As soon as Abu Bakr took over, problems arose when many Arab tribes publicly rose up against Abu Bakr, who declared war against the rebels. Which was later known as the wars of apostasy. Abu Bakr was able to unite the Arabian Peninsula under the central authority of the Islamic Caliphate, based in Medina. Once the insurgency was subdued, Abu Bakr began the era of conquests, beginning in Iraq, the richest province of the Persian Empire. By sending his most brilliant and brilliant general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Iraq was conquered with a series of successful campaigns against the Sassanid Persians. Abu Bakr's confidence grew, and once Khalid ibn al-Walid was able to establish a stronghold in Iraq, Abu Bakr proclaimed an armament for the invasion of Syria in February 634.

The Islamic conquest of the Levant was a series of carefully planned and well-coordinated military operations that used strategy rather than abstract force to deal with Byzantine defense standards. The Islamic armies, however, were found to be too little to deal with the Byzantine response, and their commanders demanded reinforcements. Khaled bin Al Waleed was sent from Iraq to Syria with reinforcements and to lead the conquest. In July 634, the Byzantines were decisively defeated at the Battle of Agnadine. Damascus fell in September 634, followed by the Battle of Fahal, where it defeated and destroyed the last important military strongholds of the Byzantines in Palestine. Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq died in August 634. His successor, Umar ibn al-Khattab, decided to complete the deeper expansion of the Islamic caliphate to the Levant. Although earlier successful campaigns were led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, he was replaced by Abu Obeida. By securing southern Palestine, the Islamic forces now advanced to the commercial road, where Tiberias and Baalbek fell without much trouble.

The Islamic conquest of the Levant began during the reign of the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, who decided to fight the Rum after they attacked the army of Khalid bin Said bin al-Aas camped in the land of Taima. 8,000 fighters. The first army was led by Sharhabeel bin Hasna and was directed by the Jordan Valley in the south of the Levant; Abu Bakr told them that they would be independent if there was no need for a meeting, each leading his own army and being a prince on the areas he opens. But when the Muslim armies reached the Levant, they found very large armies of the Romans mobilized to meet them in all its destinations.When the Muslims heard this, they decided to unite.They met their armies in Yarmouk, and asked for more durations.Then Abu Bakr then confused Khalid bin Al-Walid to walk with half of his soldiers from Iraq. Khalid marched his famous journey through the desert of the Levant, and on his way defeated the Ghassanids in the battle of Marj Rahat, and opened the city of Bosra. After opening Bosra, he went with Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah to Damascus, besieging it, but here the news of the crowds of rum in Ajnadin, withdrew and gathered all his armies there.There were 33,000 Muslim troops and 100,000 rum, the battle of Ajnadin, which defeated the Romans and killed their commander Wardan. During this phase of conquest Abu Bakr died, and after he took over the caliphate after him quickly isolated Khaled bin Al-Walid from the leadership of the armies of conquest, and replaced him Abu Obeida bin Jarrah.

After Ajnadin, Abu Obeida went with Khaled to besiege Damascus, and we were able to finally open it after it had been besieged several times before. However, they received reports of a large Roman army gathering in the city of Baalbek, and that it was moving south to Palestine to meet the army of Amr ibn al-Aas and Sharhbeel ibn Hasna, a 5,300-strong army. Abu Ubaida and Khalid decided to walk quickly with their army of 27,000 fighters, and Khaled Abu Ubaida was at the head of 1,500 cavalry for speed, and Muslim and Roman armies met near the Fahal site south of Syria, and some negotiations took place before the battle, but did nothing. The two armies met on 28 of Dhu al-Qi'dah in 13 AH (January 23, 634 AD), about 32,000 Muslims against 50,000 to 80,000 of the Romans, and the Muslims won a great victory. Escapes them except the homeless. " After that, Abu Obeida went over some of his commanders to Damascus, Palestine, and Jordan. He walked with Khaled towards Homs and opened it, then to the Bekaa Valley.

The fall of Homs and Baalbek was rapid after the conquest of Damascus, and Roman resistance to Muslim armies became weak. After the conquest of Damascus, or more specifically during the siege of Homs before its conquest, in late 635 Heraclius began to mobilize all his forces in the area of ​​Antioch and northern Syria in preparation for a decisive battle, having been stationed in the city of Antioch on the northern outskirts of the Levant to manage the war from there. He began a compulsory recruitment movement throughout the Byzantine Empire, sending orders to his workers on the states to recruit every man who had reached the dream in the empire. The narrators in describing the Byzantine armies going to the battle of Yarmouk: "I accept from the crowd what the land does not carry."

Heraclius did not wish at the beginning to fight, but the people of the island and Qinsrin and the north of the Levant insisted on him, he accepted their fight in the event of their appearance, otherwise he returned to Constantinople. Mahan assumed command of the armies and gave him 200,000 dirhams. He then gave another 100,000 dirhams to each of his commanders.
«O rum, the Arabs have appeared on the Levant and did not satisfy them until they abused the ends of your country, they are not satisfied with the land and cities, land, barley, gold and silver until they insult the sisters and mothers and daughters and husbands and take free and sons of kings as slaves. And forbid your harem, your authority, and the kingdom of your kingdom. ''

Muslims had an effective and powerful intelligence, so Abu Obeida knew early on all the movements of the Romans, their plan and their itineraries. However, their leaders disagreed on the appropriate plan to face the situation, according to a novel mentioned Azdi Yazid bin Abi Sufyan saw the introduction of women and children into the city of Homs, while the battle with the Romans outside the city. However, Sharhabeel feared that the people of Homs would betray Muslims if they prevailed, and that they slaughter their women and children. Abu Obeida suggested that the people of Homs should be taken out and the Muslims be brought in. Sharhabil objected because this violated the terms of reconciliation. Finally, Maisarah ibn Masroq al-Absi offered to withdraw to the outskirts of Syria, waiting for reinforcements from the caliph. It is worth noting, however, that the authenticity of this novel is not consistent and may be entirely developed.

At the Battle of Yarmouk, the Byzantine armies included many ethnicities, including Russians, Slavs, Franks, Romans, Greeks, Georgians, Armenians and Christian Arabs. Their forces were distributed to five equal armies, and their commanders were: Vahan (king of Armenia) at the head of an Armenian army and commander-in-chief of Byzantine armies, Qanater (a Russian prince) at the head of a Russian Slavic army, and Jeblat ibn al-Ayham (king of the Ghassanids) at the head of an army of Arab Christians, as well as Gregory and Dirjan at the head of two European armies. It is not known exactly who was the supreme commander of the army.It is a common narrative that he was the Armenian king Vahan, but this is not quite certain, and perhaps the skelet Theodore Terturius was one of the main commanders in the army, and perhaps Nkita bin Shahbraz and Jebel ibn al-Ayham also important leaders Historians differed greatly in the number of Roman armies at the Battle of Yarmouk, but there are six basic sayings: 100,000 led by Saqqar, the eunuch of Heraclius (narrated by Ibn Ishaq), and 120,000 led by Mahan and Saqlar (narrated by Ibn Asaker, Saif, Walid, and Beladri). 200,000 led by Vahan (narrated by Tabari), 240,000 led by Vahan (narrated by Saif), and 300,0 00 led by Vahan (Narrated by Azadi), and 400,000 led by Vahan (Narrated by Azadi).

The Muslim armies were few compared to the Byzantine armies. The original Muslim forces that entered Sham to conquer Fatah consisted of four brigades with a total of 24,000 fighters, and then increased slightly after Khalid arrived from Iraq to help in the battle of Ajnadin. Some of the basic sayings in the number of Muslim armies in the battle are: 24,000 (narrated by Ibn Asaker), 36,000 including 27,000 from the four brigades, 9,000 with Khalid (narrated by al-Tabari), and 46,000 (narrated by al-Tabari). Among them were 1,000 companions, and about 100 who witnessed the Badr invasion.

By conquering Homs, the Muslims were only one march to reach Aleppo, and from the Byzantine stronghold of Antioch, where Heraclius lived. The series of setbacks seriously alarmed Hercules, who prepared for a counterattack to recover the lost areas. In 635 Yazdegerd III, Emperor of the Persians, sought an alliance with the Byzantine emperor. Heraclius's husband, his daughter (according to tradition, his granddaughter) Maniana to Yazdegerd III, a Roman tradition of holding an alliance. As Hercules prepared for a major attack in Syria, Yazdegerd III was supposed to carry out a counterattack at the same time in Iraq, in what was supposed to be a coordinated effort. However, Umar ibn al-Khattab had an insight into this alliance, where Yazgurd III was engaged in peace negotiations, where he clearly invited him to convert to Islam. When Heraclius launched his offensive in May 636, Yazdegerd was unable to coordinate with the maneuver because of the painful conditions in his government, which wasted what would have been a tight plan. Omar bin al-Khattab won a decisive victory against Heraclius at the Battle of Yarmouk, and used a great strategy to occupy Yazdegerd III and his trap. Three months later, Yazdegerd III lost his imperial army at the Battle of Qadisiyah in September 636, and the end of Sassanid rule in western Persia.

The Byzantine preparations began in late 635 and by May 636 Heraclius had assembled a large force in Antioch in northern Syria. The complex army consisted of the Slavs, Franks, Georgians, Armenians and Christian Arabs. This force was co-ordinated into five armies, Commander-in-Chief Theodore Triturius, the Caesar's brother, and Mahan of the Armenians and former military commander of the city of Homs, who commanded the overall field command, under which a purely Armenian army was under command, the slaves of the Slavic Prince, led by the Slavs, Jibla ibn al-Ayham. The King of the Arab Ghassanids led an exclusively Christian Arab power. The remaining force was all Europeans placed under the leadership of Gregory and Dragan. Heraclius personally supervised the operation from Antioch. According to Byzantine historical sources, the son of Persian General Shahrbaraz was also a commander, but it is not known which army was under his command.

The Muslim Army was divided into four groups: one under the leadership of Amr ibn al-Aas in Palestine, one under the leadership of Sharhabeel bin Hasna in Jordan, the other under the leadership of Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan within the Damascus region, and the other under the leadership of Abu Obeida bin Jarrah along with Khalid bin Alwaleed in the city of Homs. Because Muslim armies were geographically divided, Heraclius tried to exploit this situation and planned to attack. He did not want to engage in a single sticky battle but to use the central position tactic and fight the Muslim armies separately by concentrating a large force against each Muslim division before they could unite their soldiers. By forcing Muslim forces to either withdraw or destroy them separately. He then fulfills his strategy of recovering lost land. Reinforcements were sent to the city of Caesarea under Constantine III - the son of Heraclius - most likely to defeat the forces of Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan who were besieging the city. The Byzantine Imperial Army moved from Antioch to northern Syria sometime in June 636 AD.

The Byzantine imperial army was operating as follows: Jablah ibn al-Ayham's lightly shielded army of Christian Arabs would set off to Homs from Aleppo via Hama and hold the main army of Muslims in Homs. Dirjan makes twisted movements between the coast and the Aleppo road, where he reaches Homs from the west, changing the left wing of the Muslims while they are confronted from the front by Jibla ibn al-Ayham. And to change Gregory on the right wing of the Muslims and reach Homs from the northeast through the island. Qanater rushes along the coastal road and dissolves Beirut, from which he attacks the weakly fortified city of Damascus from the west and separates the main Muslim army in Homs. The Mahan Division operates as a backup force and reaches Homs via Hama.
Muslim Strategy

Muslims discovered Hercules's preparations by Roman captives. This raised the alarm that they might be caught in separate forces that could be defeated. Khalid ibn al-Walid invited to the war council. He advised Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah to withdraw troops from Palestine and from northern and central Syria and then unite all Muslim armies in one place. Abu Ubaida ordered the assembly of soldiers on the vast plain near Jabia, where space control makes cavalry attacks possible and also paves the way for reinforcements from the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. Thus a strong unified force could confront the Byzantine armies in the field. The location was also marked by its proximity to the ISIS center in Hijaz in case of withdrawal. The Caliph was instructed to return the tribute paid to its owners. Anyway, the gathering in the area of ​​Jabia. Muslims were vulnerable to attack by the Byzantine allies. Camping in the area was also dangerous because a strong Byzantine force was still present in Qasariyya which could attack Muslims from behind while they were preoccupied with the Byzantines from the front. On the advice of Khalid ibn al-Walid, Muslim forces withdrew to al-Darra and Deir Ayyub, taking advantage of the gap between the Yarmouk and Sahl volcanic plains, and built a line of tents in the eastern part of the Yarmouk plain. This was a strong point of defense and these maneuvers dragged Muslims and Byzantines into decisive confrontations, which the latter wanted to avoid. During these strategic maneuvers there were no confrontations except a small skirmish between the elite Cavalry Division of Khaled and the vanguard of the Byzantine army.
Deploying soldiers

The oldest Islamic calculations put the size of the Islamic armies between 24,000 and 40,000 and the size of the Byzantine forces between 100,000 and 200,000. Recent calculations of the size of both armies vary: estimates of the Byzantine army are often between 80,000 and 120,000, with some estimates reaching 50,000 and 15,000 - 20,000. The Islamic Army estimates between 25,000 and 40,000. These figures come from the logical capabilities of the fighters, the sustainability of the foundations of operations, and the overall manpower to limit the influence of both Romans and Arabs. However, the consensus is that the Byzantine army and its allies outnumber the Muslim army by a large margin, and since the Battle of Yarmouk is one of the decisive battles in Fattouh al-Sham, the Byzantine defense of the Levant necessitates the enormity of the Byzantine army, which was one of the two most powerful forces in the world at this time and the Byzantines As usual, they used large numbers of mercenaries and peoples under their empire.
Muslim Army

During the war council, Khalid was sacked by the Commander of the Faithful, Omar ibn al-Khattab, and the army took over Abu Obaidah ibn al-Jarrah.The Muslim Army was divided into 36 infantry battalions and four cavalry battalions. Khaled organized the army to form a printer, a strong defensive formation of the infantry. The Islamic Army lined along the 12-kilometer-facing west, and its left wing to the Yarmouk River toward 1.5 km from the beginning of the Wadi Al-Wadi valleys. The right wing of the army on the side of the Jabiya road to the north along the hills of Friday Hill, and with spaces between the military divisions so that the front of the army corresponds with the Byzantine army along 13 km. The army center was under the leadership of Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, who took command (left center) and Sharhabeel Ibn Hasnah took command (right center). The left wing was under Yazid's brigade while the right wing was under the command of Amr ibn al-Aas. The center and both wings were assigned to the cavalry teams to be used as a backup force during the opposite attack in case of retreat under the pressure of the Byzantine army. Behind the center, the mobile cavalry stands under the personal leadership of Khalid bin Al Waleed. In the event of Khaled's preoccupation with the primary army command, Dirar ibn al-Azwar leads the Mobile Cavalry Division. Throughout the battlefield, Khaled uses his installed standby power for critical and critical uses. Khaled sent several riders to keep the Byzantines under surveillance. In late July 636, Mahan sent Jibla ibn al-Ayham with his light force of Christian Arabs to make a mandatory exploration of the Muslim army, but this force was repulsed by the mobile cavalry. After the skirmish, there were no further skirmishes during the month.
Arming Day

Battle of Yarmouk Part II Click here