The Early Muslim conquests were unquestionably among the most decisive conquests in history.
We covered two of the key battles at Yarmouk and Al-Qadissyah in our previous videos, but
we missed out an especially crucial conflict
in our that coverage. One particular siege in the summer
of 634AD played a critical, but lesser known, role in opening the wealthy Byzantine Syria
up to the Muslim invaders - the Siege of Damascus.
During January of 634 at a place called Firaz, a combined Sassanid-Roman force was annihilated
by the Muslim general - Khalid Ibn al-Walid, who would become known as the ‘Sword of
Allah’. This was both his first contact with the Eastern Roman forces, and the last
move in his campaign to lay waste to the weakened Sassanid
armies in Mesopotamia. Khalid was about to attack deeper into Persian
territory, but he soon after received a letter from
the Caliph, Abu Bakr. The letter ordered him to cease his attacks on the Sassanids and
to move into Syria to battle the Romans. So, Khalid
and a small contingent of his army prepared to move
west. As with the Mesopotamian invasions, there had probably been no better opportunity
for a strike into Roman lands, as the destructive
quarter-century long conflict from 602 to 628 had
undermined crucial defences in both regions. The Roman east, with all its religious, cultural,
financial and strategic significance, was now dangerously vulnerable.
During 633, the Muslims sent four separate corps to invade Palestine, in addition to
the areas around the Sea of Galilee, the River Jordan
and the Dead Sea. Though they achieved success, assaults on the large urban settlements of
the region could not be considered until reinforcements were brought up. So, both for the additional
troops and for Khalid’s expertise in warfare, Abu
Bakr sent the order for him to move west. To save time and to bypass Roman defences,
the Muslim general chose a more dangerous route
through an especially desolate, waterless stretch of the Syrian desert, much to the
alarm of his sub-commanders. In order to survive, it is
reported that Khalid, in his ingenuitive way, ordered
20 camels be forced to drink large amounts of water so that they could be used as makeshift
storage tanks. The beasts were then periodically slaughtered along the journey when nourishment
was needed, and the water was then harvested from the camels.
After five grueling days of marching through this desolate landscape, the 9,000 strong
Muslim army emerged at Suwa. Then, they swiftly inflicted
a minor defeat on the Roman Arab clients - the Ghassanids - at Marj al-Rahit, while they
were celebrating easter. Proving his strategy correct, Khalid’s improbable desert crossing
had also neutralised the Byzantine defences on the
Arabian border. Now he turned south, towards the Syrian town
of Bosra, where the arrival of his reinforcements led to its capture by mid-July of 634. Despite
this success, the Muslims had little time to
celebrate. Roman Emperor Heraclius, who was now in Emesa, sent his brother Theodore, and
an Armenian general named Wardan, south towards
Ajnadayn, 25 miles southeast of Jerusalem, where they began to gather a large army. Spies
reported this gathering force to the invaders, and
the burgeoning Caliphate’s army marched to meet their Byzantine opponents.
Very few hard facts are known about this battle, but we can reconstruct a version of the
fight using the available sources. Muslim accounts vastly exaggerate the number of Roman
troops they faced, and it is likely even that the weakened Byzantine forces in Syria - 10,000
strong and commanded by Wardan and Theodore - were outnumbered by the 15,000
Muslims. Both armies formed up in extended lines with their camps to the rear, and both
sides stood ready with three divisions of infantry - right, left and centre - while
each wing had a cavalry flank guard. Behind the Muslim
centre was a small reserve, and in front of their centre was a small group of champions.
Before the battle began, a Christian bishop rode over to Khalid’s army and attempted
to negotiate a Muslim withdrawal. However, the
Rashidun general simply responded by offering the traditional choice - conversion
to Islam, payment of the Jizya tax, or death in
battle. The fighting at Ajnadayn began when the Byzantine
auxiliary missile units, stationed ahead of the main line, began to rain arrows
and stones on their adversaries. As the superior Byzantine ranged units loosed, the
Muslims suffered losses and were unable to respond. However, one Muslim warrior named
Zarrar, heavily armoured and brandishing a heavy shield stolen from a Roman soldier,
marched directly into the arrow fire, shouting his war cry. After the hail of missiles ceased,
Zarrar and his entourage of fellow champions were met by their Byzantine counterparts,
and it is said the Muslims got the better of the
fighting, slaying several Roman elite warriors and two generals.
As the dueling came to an end, the Rashidun army attacked, and the subsequent fighting
was a slogging match with little maneuver, and lasted until nightfall. The next day,
Byzantine commander Wardan attempted to lure Khalid into a trap by offering a parley,
but the plan went wrong and he was instead killed by the fearsome Zarrar.
Aiming to exploit the confusion which this loss of leadership caused in the Roman ranks,
the Arabs attacked again with their flanks in front and centre behind. After savage hand
to hand fighting, which exhausted and depleted
both armies, Khalid deployed his 4,000 strong reserve in the centre and drove deep wedges
through the Roman formations in this area. Unable to withstand the pressure any further,
their line collapsed. After this defeat, Emperor Heraclius sent
his brother Theodore back to Constantinople in
disgrace. At the same time, the remnants of his shattered army, in addition to the local
Roman population, withdrew to the apparent safety
of the walled cities, which subsequently became crowded with refugees. Perhaps an omen of
things to come, Heraclius then retreated with his
headquarters further north, to the city of Antioch, due to the fact that Muslim forces
now controlled the countryside and were expected
to advance on the most prominent urban centre in
the area. A week after their victory at Ajnadayn, the
Arab forces began to march north in the direction of
Damascus. On their way, they had to leave a mounted detachment at the city of Fahl,
ancient Pella, to keep the Roman garrison there tied
down while the main army marched onward. After this was done, the Muslims reached Yaqusa
on the southern bank of the Yarmouk River. Here he
was opposed by a blocking force of Byzantine troops on the northern shore. They were in
no real position to offer serious permanent resistance,
but they were there to delay the invaders, and to
allow the great city to further prepare for a coming siege. After a short battle here
and another
battle against 12,000 Romans at the Yellow Meadow - otherwise known as Marj-us-Suffar
- the road was clear to Damascus.
When the invading Arabs neared the city, the Muslim commander realised that his forces
were not numerous enough to encircle it entirely. Instead, each of the Muslim sub-
commanders stationed their contingents outside of the city’s various gates, fully blockading
the crucial thoroughfares by August 21st, with a total of around 20,000 soldiers - 16,000
infantry and 4,000 ‘mobile guard’ cavalry. Damascus immediately began starving due to
the lack of supplies and unpreparedness for a siege, while the Muslims were well supplied
due to their domination of the fertile and productive local countryside.
As the swift Arab light horsemen were relatively usel ess in a siege, Khalid Ibn al-Walid
sent a few hundred of them to the Eagle’s Pass to the north, in order to act as scouts.
Here, they watched for any Byzantine relief force
aiming to pass through this choke point. The other half stayed near the city as a reserve,
ready to help repel any sortie made by the Romans.
In Antioch, the Roman Emperor learned of the siege and sent a 12,000 strong relief force,
along with plentiful supplies, to help Damascus on September 9th. When this force reached
the narrow pass where the Muslim scouts were stationed, it pushed the cavalry back. One
of these scouts managed to send notice to al-Walid and he, gambling that repelling the
relief attempt was more important than maintaining too tight a blockade, took the
remaining cavalry at night to the Eagle Pass, where he managed to rout the Romans.
Despite their apparent success, the besieging Arab forces were now stretched thin by
Khalid’s withdrawal. Historians believe that if the garrison’s general Thomas had
chosen to launch a sortie at this point, the Byzantines
could have broken the siege, but they did not
and therefore lost the opportunity. It seems that al-Walid realised he had put the siege
in danger with his gamble and he hurriedly returned
to Damascus after he attained victory at the Eagle’s Pass.
As the garrison and Thomas realised that no relief was coming, morale among the
defenders of Damascus became weaker and weaker; it was clear action would be needed.
So, the Emperor’s son in law decided to launch a counteroffensive of his own. For
this first attack, Thomas decided to concentrate on one
specific section of the city, drawing men together from all sectors of the city towards
the Gate of Thomas, where he was faced by around 5,000 soldiers under Shurahbil.
After the defending soldiers gathered in the area, the Byzantine commander began his
sortie by ordering his archers to rain down a constant stream of arrows against their
enemy, to which the Arabs responded accordingly. Using the cover granted by the Roman
missile units, the infantry rushed through the Gate of Thomas and fanned out into battle
formation, with Thomas himself leading the assault. During the subsequent skirmish, it
is reported that Thomas both broke through a
section of the Muslim line and almost killed Shurahbil, but he was then shot in the eye
by the widow of a slain Arab soldier. Despite some level of success, the sortie had failed
to break the siege and the Byzantine forces retreated into the city. As they did, it is
said that the injured Roman leader swore to take a
thousand eyes in return for his own.
That night, another plan to break the siege was devised by the defenders. As a concentrated
attack on one of the gates had failed, Thomas would this time launch simultaneous strikes
from four of the gates. Two large forces were gathered at the eastern gate, where Khalid
was in command, and at the Gate of Thomas, where the main attack against exhausted
enemy units would be undertaken. The other forces at the Small Gate and the Jabiyah Gate
were designed to pin their besiegers in place. As Thomas sounded the attack, a grinding battle
took place at the Jabiyah gate, with both sides suffering many losses. After a while
of this slaughter, Abu Ubaidah and his forces at
this gate managed to doggedly repulse the Byzantine assault, driving them back into
the city.
The situation was far more serious at the Eastern gate, where the Byzantines had a larger
force. This larger contingent of defenders managed to break the Arab infantry and drive
them back, but Khalid himself then arrived with 400 elite mobile guard cavalry, and with
them, struck the Roman flank. This weakened the sortie irreversibly and the defenders
were slowly driven back inside the gates.
Once again however, the worst of the fighting once again occurred at the Gate of Thomas.
Here, the Byzantine forces were led by the one-eyed Thomas himself and, after intense
fighting, there was still no weakness in the Muslim ranks. At this point, the Roman
commander seems to have realised there was no point in continuing the grinding melee,
and commanded a slow, steady withdrawal. All the while, the Arab archers continuously
showered his men with arrows. This was the last effort by Thomas to break the Muslim
siege, and it had failed with the loss of thousands of men. With this defeat, he could
no longer afford any more attempts at a breakout.
A Greek in Damascus known as ‘Jonah the Lover’, in Arab sources, climbed over the
wall and informed Khalid that on the night of the
18th of September, there would be a Christian religious ceremony which would leave the walls
relatively unguarded. He supposedly betrayed his city because his marriage to
his fiancee had been interrupted by the siege and,
frustrated, asked for the Muslims’ help in obtaining said bride. This man soon converted
to Islam, but the details are incredibly vague.
Whatever the case, details of the opportunity led Khalid to borrow ladders from a local
monastery and to purchase ropes in order to form an assault party. That night, a 100
strong contingent, led by the Muslim general himself, climbed the walls, dropped into the
city and killed the guards at the Eastern Gate. Then the attackers flung open the gate
and let the remainder of Muslim forces at the
Eastern Gate inside the city. The other Byzantine detachments stationed elsewhere were unaware
of this surprising development and, instead of helping, stayed at their posts.
At the same time, Khalid began to fight his way toward the centre of the city. Now
attempting to save the city for a final time, Thomas sent envoys to Abu Ubaidah at the
western Jabiya gate offering surrender and a payment of Jizya in exchange for a
capitulation by terms. This was given by the supposedly peace-loving Abu Ubaidah.
However, Khalid, who had finished slaughtering his way to the centre of the city, was
furious that a surrender had been allowed even though the city had technically been
taken
by storm. Nevertheless, the many Muslim unit commanders agreed that a surrender would
be honoured - Khalid reluctantly accepted this judgement.
No civilians in Damascus would be enslaved, no harm would be done to non-Muslim holy
places, nothing would be taken as loot and three days of safe passage would be given
to Thomas, and any other inhabitant of Damascus not willing
to live under Muslim rule. Jonah, who had helped the invaders capture the city, also
informed Khalid of a shortcut to Antioch. Using this
path, Khalid caught up with the Roman refugee column after the three day truce, destroyed
it and killed Thomas in a duel. For his assistance
and conversion, Jonah received his fiancee. However,
she promptly committed suicide for unknown reasons. This apparent Greek traitor would
die two years later during the great Muslim victory
over the Byzantine army at Yarmouk, in August of
636, which we have previously covered on our channel.
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