The Conquest of Rhodes and the Demolition of Its Fort

فتح رودس وهدم حصنها

53 AH

Rhodes

In al-Baladhuri: Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan sent Janada ibn Abi Umayya al-Azdi to Rhodes; he opened it by force — it being a thicket in the sea — and Mu'awiya ordered him to settle Muslim people in it, in year 53. Rhodes is among the most fertile islands, about sixty miles, with olives, vines, fruits and sweet waters. Via al-Waqidi and others: the Muslims stayed at Rhodes seven years in a fort taken for them; when Mu'awiya died Yazid wrote Janada ordering him to demolish the fort and return — Mu'awiya used to rotate the people there, and Mujahid ibn Jabr resided in it teaching the people Qur'an.