The Death of Habib ibn Maslama at Damascus

Name: The Death of Habib ibn Maslama at Damascus
Start: 0662

وفاة حبيب بن مسلمة بدمشق

662 CE · 42 AH

In al-Baladhuri: when Habib had taken what he took of Armenia's land he wrote of it to Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him), whose answer reached him with Salman's death reported — Uthman near giving him all Armenia, then judging it better to make him a raider of the Syrian and Jaziran frontier for his worth in such service, and gave Armenia's march to Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman (may God be pleased with him) al-Absi, who repaired to Bardha'a posting his agents over what lay between it and Qaliqala and to Khizan, until Uthman's writ came ordering his return and the leaving behind of Sila ibn Zufar al-Absi who was with him — and he left him; Habib marched back to Syria raiding the Romans, camped at Hims, and Mu'awiya moved him to Damascus where he died in year 42, being thirty-five years old; Mu'awiya had earlier sent Habib at the head of an army to Uthman's aid when he was besieged, but at Wadi al-Qura word of Uthman's killing reached him and he turned back.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Rashidun Caliphate
Region: Levant & Iraq
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In time

The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period

In space

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

Habib ibn Maslama died in Damascus in 42 AH at the age of thirty-five, according to al-Baladhuri. ¹

Before his death

al-Baladhuri relates that Habib wrote to Uthman ibn Affan about what he had conquered in the land of Armenia. Uthman judged that he should be a raider on the frontiers of Syria and al-Jazira, and he appointed Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman over the Armenian frontier. Then he ordered Habib to withdraw and leave Silat ibn Zufar al-Absi there, and Habib returned to Syria to raid the Byzantines. ¹

In Damascus

Habib settled in Homs, and then Mu'awiya moved him to Damascus, where he died. al-Baladhuri says that Mu'awiya sent him with an army to aid Uthman while Uthman was besieged. When he reached Wadi al-Qura, news came of Uthman's killing, and he turned back. ¹

The Gregorian date is derived from the Hijri date.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman· Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan
Occurred at: Damascus

People and things also explored

The Conquest of Antioch· The Taking of Qaliqala and the Opening of Armenia· The Conquest of Shimshat· Death of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· Muawiya· the Cave of Qasyun (Jibril's Cave)· Qasr Hiraql / Qasr Shams al-Muluk· The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus

Sources

Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.288

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Death of Habib ibn Maslama at Damascus”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/death-of-habib-ibn-maslama/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Conquest of Antioch

In al-Baladhuri: Abu Ubayda went from Aleppo to Antioch, where a body of the people of the Qinnasrin jund had fortified themselves; at Haruba — near two farsakhs from the city — an enemy gathering met him and he scattered them back into the city, besieging it at all its gates, the bulk of the army at Bab Faris and the gate called Bab al-Bahr; they then compounded for jizya and evacuation, some departing and some staying, and he secured them setting on each adult a dinar and a jarib; when they broke the covenant he sent Iyad ibn Ghanm and Habib ibn Maslama, who retook it on the first treaty — others say they broke it after he returned to Filastin and Amr ibn al-As was sent from Iliya' to take it; Umar wrote to Abu Ubayda to station at Antioch a company of Muslims of right intent and scruple as murabita, withholding no mounts from them, and Mu'awiya received the same when in office while Uthman ordered him to settle men there and grant land — which he did; Mu'awiya transferred to Antioch in year 42 companies of Persians and people of Ba'labakk, Hims and the two Misrs, and al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik granted troops land at Saluqiyya by the coast rating the filthir at a dinar and two mudds of wheat — they cultivated it and he built Hisn Saluqiyya; among the transferees was Muslim ibn Abdullah — grandfather of Abdullah ibn Habib ibn al-Nu'man al-Antaki — whom a Byzantine killed with a stone on the wall, a gate of Antioch being named Bab Muslim after him.