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The Conquest of Shimshat

فتح شمشاط

c. 647 CE · c. 27 AH

Shimshat (Arsamosata)

In al-Baladhuri: when Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) 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 (may God be pleased with him) 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.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

630640650660 c.
The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate

Overview

al-Baladhuri relates that when Uthman ibn Affan became caliph, he gathered for Mu'awiya Syria, al-Jazira and their frontiers, and ordered him to raid Shimshat, which is the fourth Armenia. 1

The conquest

He sent against it Habib ibn Maslama and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal, and they took it after some days on terms like those of Edessa. Safwan remained there and died there at the end of Mu'awiya's caliphate. It is said that Mu'awiya himself raided it, with them in his company. 1

al-Baladhuri mentions that Constantine encamped against it in 133 AH and could not take it. It remained a kharaj land until al-Mutawakkil made it tithed land. It is part of the conquest of al-Jazira, and its place is Shimshat. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Shimshat (Arsamosata)
Part of
The Conquest of the Jazira
Had participant
Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri· Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· Uthman ibn Affan

People and things also explored

The Conquest of Harran· The Taking of Qaliqala and the Opening of Armenia· The Conquest of Antioch· The Taking and Settling of Mar'ash· The Death of Habib ibn Maslama at Damascus· The First Raid on Cyprus· Muawiya's demand that the killers of Uthman be surrendered· Umar ibn al-Khattab

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.259
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Conquest of Shimshat”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/conquest-of-shimshat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Conquest of Harran

In al-Baladhuri: Iyad marched on Harran, halting at Ajda and sending his vanguard ahead — its people shut the gates against them, and when he invested it the Harranian faction among them sent word that they held part of the city and asked him to make for al-Ruha so they could compound with him secretly and leave him and the Christians apart; the Christians heard, consented to what the Harranians offered and outbid it, so he went to al-Ruha whose people had gathered, shot at the Muslims a while, sent out their fighters whom the Muslims routed back into the city, and soon sued for peace and aman; another report has Iyad finding Harran empty — its people removed to al-Ruha — so when al-Ruha fell they compounded for their city from within it on the like of its treaty; he compounded with Harran on the like of al-Ruha's terms, they opened its gates, he set a man over it and went on to Sumaysat where Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal and Habib ibn Maslama held villages and forts, its people compounding likewise — Sumaysat later apostatised and he returned and besieged it till he took it — and he came to Saruj, Ra's Kayfa and the White Land, mastering its land and compounding with its fort-dwellers on al-Ruha's terms.