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The Jazira is the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris; Iyad ibn Ghanm opened it after Abu Ubayda's death, marching to it mid-Sha'ban 18 AH in five thousand.

The Jazira is the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris. The Futuh al-Buldan account says Iyad ibn Ghanm opened it after Abu Ubayda's death, quoting Maymun ibn Mihran that the whole Jazira was among Iyad's conquests; he set out for it mid-Sha'ban 18 AH in five thousand. Among its cities are Edessa, Harran, Raqqa, Nisibis, Sinjar, Mosul and the district of the Tigris; and with Syria it became the field of the summer and winter raids against the Romans.

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The Jazira is the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris. The Futuh al-Buldan account says Iyad ibn Ghanm opened it after Abu Ubayda's death, quoting Maymun ibn Mihran that the whole Jazira was among Iyad's conquests; he set out for it mid-Sha'ban 18 AH in five thousand. Among its cities are Edessa, Harran, Raqqa, Nisibis, Sinjar, Mosul and the district of the Tigris. And with Syria it became the field of the summer and winter raids against the Romans.

Overview

The Euphrates Jazira is the region between the Euphrates and the Tigris. The report in "Futuh al-Buldan" says that Iyad ibn Ghanm conquered it after the death of Abu Ubayda. Maymun ibn Mihran is quoted as saying that all of the Jazira is among the conquests of Iyad. He set out for it on the middle of Sha'ban in 18 AH with five thousand men. ¹ See the conquest of the Jazira.

Its towns include al-Ruha, Harran, al-Raqqa, Nasibin, Sinjar and Mosul, and the Tigris district. Together with Syria it became the field of summer and winter raids against the Romans. ¹

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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.

The Jazira

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The Conquest of Harran