Muslims at large took Bay'ah )oath of allegiance( at the hand of 'Umar
in Al-Madeenah on Tuesday, 23 Jumaadaa Al-Aakhirah, 13 AH. After
accepting the oath of allegiance for his Caliphate, 'Umararoused in
the people the determination for taking part in Jihaad. He desired to
continue theconquests begun by Abu Bakr. 'Umarhad to face the two
superpowers -- the Byzantine andPersian Empires. Actually, he was
politically and militarily gifted -- afact that will be proven through
this article.
Important events during the Caliphate of 'Umar
Conquest ofDamascus)13 AH(
After a major defeat at the hands of the Muslim troops in the battleof
Yarmook )mentioned in detail in an article on the Caliphate of Abu
Bakr(, the Roman soldiers took to their heels and stopped only at
Fihl. Shocked anddisappointed, Heraclius issued fresh orders to the
Roman soldiers to assemble again.Damascuswas refortified and large
reinforcements fromPalestineand Hims were arranged. Nastas bin
Nasturas was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Roman forces.
Mahan, the governor ofDamascuswas already there.
The Muslim army under the command of Abu 'Ubaydah bin Al-Jarraahlaid a
siege aroundthe city. Although the city contained large barracks, the
Romans could not muster enough courage to face the Muslims in the
open. They had to take refuge in their strong fortifications and use
defensive means of war. At times, the besieged Romans hurled stones
through catapults and shot arrows at the Muslim soldiers, which were
countered effectively and without delay. The siege dragged on for
about six months.The reinforcements dispatched by Heraclius
toDamascuswere effectively intercepted by Muslim troops. At last, the
people ofDamascuslost hope of Heraclius' help and their zeal for
battle began to dissolve. On being informed of their distress and
despair, Abu 'Ubaydahissued orders to all the commanders to launch a
full-scale attack the nextmorning.
When the besieged Romans cameto know of the Muslim army's next step, a
deputation appearedbefore Khaalid bin Al-Waleedat Tuma gate and sought
peace, which the Muslim commander immediately granted and enteredthe
city without any fight.
About the same time that Khaalidbin Al-Waleed entered the city with
the peace agreement, other commanders and their men forced into the
city through ladders and by breaking the gates open. Khaalid and Abu
'Ubaydahcame across each other in the middle of the city.
When the two commanders met in the middle of the city, the question
arose whether the city was peacefully seized or conquered by force.
Some people argued that since Khaalid was simply a commander, he had
no right to write a peace document when the commander-in-chief was
there to make a final decision. However, Abu 'Ubaydah bin
Al-Jarraahrejected this point by saying that if peace or shelter was
provided even by an ordinary member of the army, it applied to
everyone. He declared peace to prevail in the entire city according to
the peace documentsigned by Khaalid, and every point therein was
handled with due care. The citizens ofDamascusenjoyed perfect peace.
Yazeed bin Abu Sufyaanwas appointed as the governor ofDamascus, who
not only broughtpeace to the city but let the Roman soldiers go at
will.
Conquest of Saida, Irqah andBeirut)inLebanontoday(
Soon after exercising full control overDamascus, Yazeed bin Abu
Sufyaan sent his brother, Mu'aawiyah bin Abu Sufyaanto Irqah at the
head of a squadron who conquered Irqah without facing any resistance.
Yazeed then turned to Saida, Habil andBeirut, and these territories
easily yielded to the Muslim attack. Thus,Damascusand the
entireterritoryofJordancame under control of the Muslims.
Campaigns inIraq
In the very first week after assuming the Caliphate, 'Umardispatched
Muthannaa bin Haarithah, Sa'eed bin 'Ubayd, Sulayt bin Qays and Abu
'Ubayd bin Mas'oodtoIraq. Even though Abu 'Ubayd bin Mas'ood, the
commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, left Al-Madeenah along with
Muthannaa bin Haarithah, he stopped to take with him men from the Arab
tribes along the way and made brief halts at different places, he
reached Iraq one month after Muthannaa. On reaching Hirah, Muthannaa
bin Haarithahsawwith anxiety that the Persians had roused all the
Iraqi chiefs against the Muslims, and Rustam,an eminent Persian leader
and the governor of Khurasaan, had taken his position in Madaa'in, the
Persian capital, after making massive military preparations. With the
arrival of Muthannaa, Rustam sent a large army to combat him. Rustam
sent another huge army to Kaskar headed by Narsi, a very brave and
experienced general of the royal family. The third strong army he
entrusted to Jaban and sent it towards theEuphrates, they pitched
their camp at Namariq. Muthannaa bin Haarithahon the other hand came
out from Hirah and camped at Khaffan.
Meanwhile Abu 'Ubayd bin Mas'oodarrived and took charge of the entire
Muslim army.He left Muthannaa at Khaffan, entrusting him with the
command of the Muslim cavalry and he launched a massive attackon Jaban
at Namariq and tore apart their ranks, causing the Persians to flee
the battlefield.
Abu 'Ubayd bin Mas'oodfought fierce battles against Persians and
inflicted them with heavy losses. But the Persians had begun to put
elephants ahead of their army with archers sitting on them. The horses
on the Muslim side had never seen elephants before and they began to
flee in terror at the sight of the huge animals. With this scenario of
the battle, Abu 'Ubaydasked his men to fight on foot. When the
elephants began to trample the Islamic ranks under their feet, Abu
'Ubayd called out to strike their swords at the elephants' trunks and
he was himself the first to do this. He cutoff the trunks of several
elephants and inflicted deep injuries on their feet, which resulted in
the riders being thrown off and killed.
Inspired by the matchless braveryof their commanders and commanding
officers, the Muslimsoldiers made heroic assaults on the elephants.
During these fateful moments, Abu 'Ubayd bin Mas'oodcame under the
attack of a combat elephant. He fell upon the elephant and struck its
trunk off with one stroke of his sword. Despite this, the aggressive
animal knocked him down and put its foot on him, crushing his chest.
This battle took a toll of 6000 Muslim combatants.
TheBattleof Buwayb
When 'Umarcame to know ofthe martyrdom of Abu 'Ubaydand the heavy
losses incurred by the Muslims, he became infuriated and with all his
energy and resources he commenced preparations for a fresh campaign
against the Persians. He dispatched heralds and messengers to all the
tribes and roused them to fight for Islam. Several tribes poured into
Al-Madeenah and were dispatched toIraqto lend their help to Muthannaa,
who had already launched a recruiting drive, which resulted in a large
army.
When the Persians were informed of these preparations, Rustam sent a
huge army under the command of Mehraan Hamadaani. The reason Mehraan
was nominated to the command,was that he was brought up inArabiaand
could, therefore, realize the power and strength ofthe Arabs and
appreciate the magnitude of the task before him. Informed of the
Persian movements, Muthannaa bin Haarithah marched with his armyand
encamped at Buwayb, along theEuphrates. Mehraan, marching from the
capital, advanced straight upon Buwayb and pitched his camp on the
other side of theEuphrates. Mehraan then sent word to Muthannaa to
either come to his side or let him come to his)Muthannaa's( own side.
In the light of the bitter experience of the past, Muthannaa invited
him to his side. Mehraan crossed the river with his entire army and
combat elephants. Then, he arranged his forces in such a manner that
he put his infantry in front, followed by elephants with archers
sitting on them, andboth right and left flanks occupied by cavalry
divisions.
The Islamic army was also ready to fight. The Persians initiated the
attack, which was answered by the Muslims. The battle grew intense and
both sides displayed bravery. However, the Muslims were crowned with
victory. WhenMuthannaa bin Haarithah noticed the Persians running
away, he rushed forward and broke the bridge, with the result that a
large number of the enemy soldiers were either killed or drowned.
Mehraan Hamadani was also killed on the battlefield. The Persian
fugitives were given chase up to Sabat. At that point, the entire
territory from Sawad toTigriscame under the Muslim forces. This battle
took place in Ramadan 13 AH.
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