The Taking of Qaliqala and the Opening of Armenia

فتح قاليقلا وبدء فتوح أرمينية

c. 645 CE · c. 25 AH

In al-Baladhuri: when Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) acceded he wrote to Mu'awiya — his governor over Syria, the Jazira and their frontier — ordering him to send Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri (may God be pleased with him) to Armenia, Habib having a fine record in Syria's conquests and the Roman wars known to Umar then Uthman and after — or, it is said, and it is the sounder, Uthman wrote to Habib directly ordering the raid — so he marched with six thousand, or eight, of the Syrians and Jazirans to Qaliqala, camped on it, fought its sallying people and drove them into the city, whereupon they sought aman on evacuation and jizya, many departing for Roman lands; Habib stayed months with those with him until word came that the patrikios of the Armeniakoi had gathered a great host joined by auxiliaries of the Alan, the Abkhaz and Samandar of the Khazars, so he wrote Uthman asking him to send men of Syria and the Jazira desiring jihad and spoils, and Mu'awiya sent two thousand men whom he settled in Qaliqala with land-grants as its garrison; the Romans and their allies had come and camped on al-Fudhat — the reinforcements slow to Habib — so the Muslims struck them by night, overran them and killed their great man; Umm Abdallah bint Yazid al-Kalbiyya, Habib's wife, that night asked him 'where is your tryst?' — he answered 'the tyrant's pavilion or Paradise', and when he reached the pavilion he found her there; in al-Waqidi's chain — from Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far from his father — Habib besieged Dabil's people, sat on it, and the Roman Maurian met him, night-attacked and killed him and spoiled his camp, whereupon Salman came up — the sounder version with them being that he met him at Qaliqala; and after Qaliqala Habib marched to Mariyala where the patrikios of Khilat came to him bearing Iyad ibn Ghanm's writ — Iyad having given him aman on himself, his wealth and his lands for a tribute — and Habib conveyed it to him.

Overview

al-Baladhuri relates that when Uthman became caliph he wrote to Mu'awiya ordering him to send Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri to Armenia. It is also said that Uthman wrote to Habib directly, and that is the more firmly established. Habib set out with six or eight thousand men. ¹

The conquest

Habib came to Qaliqala and fought its people until he drove them back into the city. They asked for safe-conduct on condition of leaving and paying the jizya, and many of them left for the land of the Byzantines. Habib remained there for several months. ¹

Reinforcement and battle

When he learned that the patrician of Arminaqis had gathered a great host against the Muslims, he wrote to Uthman. Mu'awiya sent him two thousand men, whom he settled at Qaliqala as a garrison. Then the Muslims made a night attack on the Byzantines at al-Fadhhat and overwhelmed them. ²

al-Baladhuri, quoting al-Waqidi, gives another report about the siege of Dabil, and says that the most firmly held view is that the encounter was at Qaliqala. The date is approximate and derived.

The Conquest of Shimshat

In al-Baladhuri: when Uthman ibn Affan acceded he wrote to Mu'awiya with Syria's governorship and gave Umayr ibn Sa'd al-Ansari the Jazira, then removed him and joined Syria, the Jazira and their frontier to Mu'awiya, ordering him to raid Shimshat — the fourth Armenia — so he sent Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami, who took it days after arriving on the like of al-Ruha's treaty; Safwan settled it and died there late in Mu'awiya's caliphate — some say Mu'awiya himself raided it with the two and appointed Safwan, who made it home; Constantine the tyrant later camped on it after alighting at Malatya in year 133, gained nothing there, raided its environs and withdrew; Shimshat stayed kharaj-land until al-Mutawakkil made it tithe-land like the rest of the frontier.

The Taking of Qaliqala and the Opening of Armenia

At a glance

In time

Overview

The conquest

Reinforcement and battle

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Time

The Conquest of Shimshat