The Dispatch of the Armies to Syria

توجيه جيوش الشام

c. 12 April 634 CE · 1 Muharram 13 AH

In al-Baladhuri: when Abu Bakr had finished with the apostates he resolved to direct the armies to Syria, writing to the people of Mecca, al-Ta'if, Yemen and all the Arabs of Najd and the Hijaz summoning them to jihad and stirring their desire for Byzantine spoil, and they hastened from every quarter; he bound three banners for three men — Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As, Shurahbil ibn Hasana (may God be pleased with him) (per al-Waqidi son of Abdullah ibn al-Mutta' al-Kindi with Hasana his mother, per al-Kalbi son of Rabi'a ibn al-Mutta' of the children of Sufa) and Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) al-Sahmi — the binding being on Thursday at the opening of Safar year 13, after the armies had camped at al-Jurf the whole of al-Muharram, with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah (may God be pleased with him) leading their prayers; Abu Bakr had wanted to bind a banner for Abu Ubayda who begged off — some report he did bind it, which is not established — and Abu Yakhnaf records Abu Bakr telling the commanders 'if you join in battle your commander is Abu Ubayda, otherwise Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan (may God be pleased with him)', while Amr is said to have been only a reinforcement and commander over those joined to him; when he bound Khalid ibn Sa'id's banner Umar disliked it and spoke to Abu Bakr of deposing him — 'he is a proud man who carries his charge with contentiousness and partisanship' — so he deposed him and sent Abu Adwa' al-Dawsi to take his banner, who met him at Dhu al-Marwa and took it, and it was given to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, who marched with his brother Mu'awiya bearing it before him — others say it was handed to him at Dhu al-Marwa and he took over Khalid's army, Khalid ibn Sa'id marching on as a volunteer in Shurahbil's army; he ordered Amr to take the Ayla road toward Filastin, Yazid the Tabuk road and Shurahbil likewise; each commander set out with three thousand men, then he kept sending reinforcements until each had seven thousand five hundred, and their total completed at twenty-four thousand; al-Waqidi reports Abu Bakr gave Amr Filastin, Shurahbil al-Urdunn and Yazid Dimashq — 'if you have fighting, your commander is the one in whose charge you stand' — and that he ordered Amr verbally to lead the people in prayer.

Depth

At a glance

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

In time

The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate

Overview

Al-Baladhuri relates in "Futuh al-Buldan" that when Abu Bakr had finished with the apostates, he decided to send armies to Syria. He wrote to the people of Mecca, Ta'if, Yemen, and the Arabs of Najd and the Hijaz, calling them to the holy war, and they hurried to him. ¹

Appointing the commanders

Abu Bakr appointed three banners: for Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As, for Shurahbil ibn Hasana, and for Amr ibn al-As. This was on Thursday, at the beginning of Safar 13 AH, while the armies were camped at al-Jurf. Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah led them in prayer, having declined the banner. ¹

Al-Baladhuri gives a difference over the lineage of Shurahbil: according to al-Waqidi he was the son of Abd Allah ibn al-Mutta'im al-Kindi, with Hasana as his mother; according to al-Kalbi he was the son of Rabi'a ibn al-Mutta'im. He says that the report that Abu Ubayda was given the banner "is not established". ²

Removing Khalid ibn Sa'id

Al-Baladhuri says that Umar disliked appointing Khalid ibn Sa'id, and spoke to Abu Bakr about removing him. He said that he was a proud man who drove his command toward rivalry and partisanship, so Abu Bakr removed him. His banner was given to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, and his brother Mu'awiya carried it before him. Khalid went with Shurahbil's army seeking reward. ²

Routes and numbers

Abu Bakr ordered Amr to take the road of Aila toward Palestine, and Yazid and Shurahbil the road of Tabuk. Each commander had three thousand at first; then reinforcements reached them, until each had seven thousand five hundred, and their total reached twenty-four thousand. ²

Al-Baladhuri relates from Abu Yakhnaf that Abu Bakr told the commanders: if you gather to fight, your commander is Abu Ubayda, and otherwise Yazid. From al-Waqidi, he appointed Amr over Palestine, Shurahbil over Jordan, and Yazid over Damascus. ²

The date

The beginning of Safar 13 AH, with a Gregorian equivalent (around April 634 CE) that is derived. ¹

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan· Abu Bakr al-Siddiq· Shurahbil ibn Hasana· Amr ibn al-As· Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As· Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· Umar ibn al-Khattab

People and things also explored

The Conquest of Caesarea· The Conquest of Damascus· The Expedition of Dhat al-Salasil· Mecca· The Battle of Badr· The Battle of Uhud· The Conquest of Syria· The Hijra

Sources

Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p. 149
Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Dispatch of the Armies to Syria”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mobilisation-for-syria/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Conquest of Caesarea

In al-Baladhuri: the conquest of Caesarea is disputed — some ascribe it to Mu'awiya, others to Iyad ibn Ghanm after Abu Ubayda's death, others to Amr ibn al-As or his son Abdullah; what the scholars agree is that the first to besiege it was Amr ibn al-As, camping against it in Jumada I year 13 and staying as long as he did, marching off whenever the Muslims massed against an enemy — attending Ajnadayn, Fihl, the Marj, Damascus and the Yarmuk — then returning to Filastin to besiege it after Iliya', before leaving from Caesarea for Egypt; Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, succeeding Abu Ubayda, charged his brother Mu'awiya with the siege and went plague-stricken to Damascus, dying there at the end of year 18, leaving Mu'awiya over Caesarea, who took it and wrote of it to Yazid who wrote to Umar; al-Waqidi reports that when Umar gave Mu'awiya Syria he besieged it until he took it — it had been besieged near seven years — its conquest falling in Shawwal year 19, some say the opening of year 20; the cause of its fall was a Jew named Yusuf who came to the Muslims by night and guided them to a way through a conduit with water to a man's waist, on condition of safety for himself and his house — Mu'awiya carried it out and the Muslims entered by night and magnified God, the Byzantines fleeing toward the conduit finding the Muslims upon it, and the gate being opened Mu'awiya entered with his men; it is said he found in it seven hundred thousand apostates, thirty thousand Samaritans and two hundred thousand Jews, three hundred functioning markets and a hundred thousand guarding its wall each night; its captives reached four thousand heads whom Mu'awiya sent to Umar, who had them quartered at al-Jurf and divided among the orphans of the Ansar, putting some to the script and the Muslims' labours — Abu Bakr had given the daughters of Abu Umama As'ad ibn Zurara two servants of Ayn al-Tamr's captives who died, and Umar gave them their like of Caesarea's; Mu'awiya sent the victory news with two men of Judham, then fearing their weakness sent a man of Khath'am who outpaced them and came to Umar, who magnified God; in it is said to have been Shaqa'iq, of whom Hassan ibn Thabit says 'Shaqa'iq says: had you woken from the wine you would have risen enriched in number'.