The Battle of Fihl

وقعة فحل

c. January 635 CE · Dhu al-Qa'da 13 AH

In al-Baladhuri: the battle of Fihl of al-Urdunn fell two nights remaining of Dhu al-Qa'da, five months after Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him)'s accession, the people's commander being Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah (may God be pleased with him) — Umar having written to him investing him with Syria and the commanders concurring, together with Amir ibn Abi Waqqas (may God be pleased with him), Sa'd's brother; some say Abu Ubayda's command reached him while the people were besieging Damascus and he concealed it from Khalid for days since Khalid commanded in war, telling him when asked 'I disliked to break you and weaken your standing while you were upon heights'; the battle's cause was Heraclius, come to Antioch, summoning the Romans and the people of the Jazira and setting over them a man of his intimates and trusted men, who met the Muslims at Fihl and fought them hardest until God gave them victory, their patrician and near ten thousand with him falling, the rest scattering through Syria's towns or joining Heraclius; Fihl's people fortified themselves and the Muslims besieged them until they asked safety on paying jizya for their heads and kharaj for their land, securing themselves and their wealth with their walls not to be demolished — Abu Ubayda concluding the compact, some say Shurahbil ibn Hasana (may God be pleased with him).

Overview

The sources report that the battle of Fahl, in the land of Jordan, took place two nights before the end of Dhu al-Qa'da, five months after the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. The commander of the people was Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah. It is part of the conquest of Syria. ¹

The cause

al-Baladhuri relates that when Heraclius reached Antioch he called up the Byzantines and the people of the Jazira, and sent over them a man of his household. They met the Muslims at Fahl. ¹

The fighting and the peace

The fighting grew fierce until the Muslims prevailed. The Byzantine patrician and about ten thousand men with him were killed. The rest scattered among the cities of Syria, and some joined Heraclius. ¹

The people of Fahl fortified themselves, and the Muslims besieged them until they asked for safe-conduct in exchange for paying the jizya for their heads and the kharaj for their land (jizya). They were granted safety for themselves and their property, on condition that their walls not be demolished. ¹

Differing reports

Abu Ubayda gave the safe-conduct, though it is also said that Shurahbil ibn Hasana did. al-Baladhuri says that a letter appointing Abu Ubayda over Syria was written to him, and that the amirs were ordered to be with Amir ibn Abi Waqqas. Some say the appointment reached him while the people were besieging Damascus, and he kept it from Khalid for some days. ¹

Battle of the Yarmuk

A great battle between the Muslims and the Byzantines at the Yarmuk river. After the defeat Abu Ubayda called for withdrawal, and the Muslims moved until they set their camps at Marj al-Suffar, then encamped at Damascus. Al-Waqidi reported that it was in 15 AH; al-Tabari's report of the account of Sayf places it in 13 AH. According to al-Baladhuri: Heraclius gathered a host of Byzantines, Syrians, people of al-Jazira and Armenia numbering some two hundred thousand, put one of his intimates in command, and sent Jabala ibn al-Ayham al-Ghassani at its vanguard, with the Arabized Syrians of Lakhm and Judham. The Muslims numbered twenty-four thousand. The Byzantines and their followers were chained together so that they would not be tempted to flee. They fought at the Yarmuk with the fiercest of battles; God slew some seventy thousand of them, and their remnant fled to Palestine, Antioch, Aleppo, al-Jazira and Armenia. Muslim women also fought hard on the day of the Yarmuk, and Hind bint Utba, mother of Mu'awiya, kept calling out: bite the sheaths with your swords. On that day the eye of al-Ash'ath ibn Qays was lost, as were the eye of Hashim ibn Utba ibn Abi Waqqas al-Zuhri, called al-Mirqal, and the eye of Qays ibn Maksuh. Amir ibn Abi Waqqas, who had carried Umar's letter to Abu Ubayda confirming his governorship of Syria, was martyred; it is also said that he died in the plague, or at Ajnadayn, but this is not established. Abu Ubayda appointed Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri over the pursuing cavalry, to kill whoever they overtook. Jabala ibn al-Ayham sided with the Ansar and said: you are our brothers and the sons of our father; he showed Islam, then apostatised and entered Byzantine lands when Umar sought retaliation from him. In another account, Umar found him still a Christian; he refused the jizya out of pride and entered Byzantine lands with thirty thousand men. Umar regretted it, and Ubada ibn al-Samit reproached him that had he accepted his alms, he would have become a Muslim. So Umar sent Umayr ibn Sa'd al-Ansari with an army in 21 AH and ordered him to coax Jabala and bring him back, on condition that he pay what he had offered in alms and keep his religion; but Jabala refused except to stay, and Umayr reached a place known as al-Himar, fell upon its people and laid it waste. On the day of the Yarmuk the Muslims returned to the people of Homs the tribute they had taken from them, saying they had been too occupied to aid them. The people of Homs replied that the justice of their rule was dearer to them than the oppression they had suffered, and that they would repel Heraclius's troops from the city alongside their governor. The Jews rose and said: by the Torah, Heraclius's governor shall not enter the city of Homs unless we are overcome and worn out; they shut the gates and guarded them, and the Christians and Jews of the other cities under treaty did likewise. When news of the Yarmuk reached Heraclius he fled from Antioch to Constantinople, and when he crossed the pass he said: farewell, O Syria. The battle was in Rajab of 15 AH.

The Battle of Fihl

At a glance

In time

Overview

The cause

The fighting and the peace

Differing reports

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

Battle of the Yarmuk