Battle of Bosra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Editing of this article has been temporarily disabled or restricted.
If you cannot edit this page, you may discuss changes or request unprotection.
The protection of this page has been set to automatically expire; please remove this notice if you are sure protection has expired.

Battle of Bosra

Part of Byzantine-Arab Wars and
Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid

Roman Theater in Busra

Date	June-July 634 AD
Location	Bosra, Syria
Result	Decisive Muslim victory

Combatants

Muslim Arabs

Roman Empire
Ghassanids

Commanders

Khalid ibn al-Walid

Heraclius
Romanus

Strength

4,000 infantry,^[1]
1,500 cavalry^[1]

12,000^[1]

Casualties

230^[1]

8,000

Byzantine-Arab Wars
Mutah – Tabouk – Dathin – Firaz - Qarteen – Bosra – Ajnadayn – Marj-al-Rahit – Fahl - Yarmouk – Hazir – Aleppo – Iron Bridge - Nikiou – 1st Constantinople – Syllaeum – That Al-Sawari – Carthage – 2nd Constantinople – Akroinon

Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid
Conquest of Arabia Uhud – Trench – Mu'tah – Mecca – Hunayn – Ta'if Ridda Wars Yamama – Zafar – Daumat-ul-Jandal – Buzakha – Ghamra – Naqra Conquest of the Persian Empire Chains – River – Walaja – Ullais – Hira – Al-Anbar – Ein-ul-tamr – Daumat-ul-Jandal – Muzayyah – Saniyy – Zumail – Firaz Conquest of the Eastern Roman Empire Mu'tah – Firaz – Qarteen – Bosra – Ajnadayn – Marj-al-Rahit – Fahl – Yarmouk – Hazir – Aleppo – Iron Bridge

Bosra was the first important town to be captured by the Muslims in Syria, as it was capital city of the Ghassanid kingdom, which was under the rule of the Roman Empire. The siege of Bosra took place between June-July 634 AD.

1 Background
2 The Battle
3 Aftermath
4 External link
5 References

[edit] Background

Caliph Abu Bakr sent his four corps under Amr ibn al-A'as, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Shurahbil bin Hasana and Yazid bin Abu Sufyan and appointed for them different districts of Syria to capture they were unable to get significant success in there goals and were in great pressure because of concentration of Byzantine army at Ajnadayn. Abu Bakr therefore decided to sent Khalid ibn Walid,The conqueror of Iraq, to Syria to command the Muslim’s army there.Khalid ibn Walid reached Syria and capturing town to town he finally reached Busra city in June 634 A.C according to his instructions Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah who had already occupied the District of Hauran which lay north-east of the river Yarmuk,remain at his position where he was until Khalid arrived at Busra. Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah Under command had three corps of the Muslim army-his own, Yazeed's and Shurahbil's, but he had fought no battles and captured no towns. One place which worried him a great deal was Busra, a large town which was the capital of the Ghassanid Kingdom.It was garrisoned by a strong force of Byzantine and Christian Arabs under the command of Roman officers.

While Khalid was clearing the region of Eastern Syria, Abu Ubaidah came to know that he would come under Khalid's command upon the latter's arrival. He decided to take Busra quickly.He therefore sent Shurahbil with 4,000 men to capture Busra. Shurahbil marched to Busra, the garrison of which withdrew into the fortified town as soon as the Muslims appeared in sight. This garrison consisted of 4,000 soldiers, but expecting that more Muslim forces would soon arrive and that Shurahbil's detachment was only an advance guard, it remained within the walls of the fort. Shurahbil camped on the western side of the town, and positioned groups of his men all round the fort.

For two days nothing happened. The following day, as Khalid ibn al-Walid set out on the last day of his march to Busra, the garrison of the town came out to give battle to the Muslims outside the city. Both forces formed up for battle; but first there were talks between Shurahbil and the Roman commander, at which the Muslim offered the usual alternatives, Islam, the Tribute, or the Sword. The Romans chose the sword, and in the middle of the morning the battle began.

For the first two hours or so the fighting continued at a steady pace with neither side making any headway; but soon after midday, the superior strength of the Romans began to tell and the battle turned in their favors. The Romans were able to move forces around both Muslim flanks, and the fighting increased in intensity. The temper of the Muslims became suicidal as the real danger of their position became evident and they fought ferociously to avoid encirclement, which appeared to be the Roman design. By early afternoon the Roman wings had moved further forward, and the encirclement of Shurahbil's force became a virtual certainty. Then suddenly the combatants became aware of a powerful force of cavalry galloping in mass towards the battlefield from the northwest.

Khalid was about a mile from Busra when the wind carried the sounds of battle to him. He immediately ordered the men to horse, and as soon as the cavalry was ready, led it a gallop towards the battlefield. But Khalid and the Romans never met. As soon as the Romans discovered the arrival of the Muslim Cavalry, they broke contact from Shurahbil and withdrew hastily into the fort. The Muslims under Shurahbil came to regard this occurrence as a miracle: the Khalid had been sent to save them from destruction!

[edit] The Battle

The next morning, the Byzantine garrison again came out of the fort to give battle. The shock of Khalid's arrival the previous day ad now worn off, and seeing that the combined strength of the Muslims was about the same as their own, the Romans decided to try their luck again. They also hoped to fight and defeat the Muslims before they could get a rest after their march.

The two armies formed up for battle on the plain outside the town. Khalid kept his center under his own command, appointing Raafe bin Umair as the commander of the right wing and Dhiraar bin Al Azwar as the commander of the left wing. In front of the center, he placed a thin screen under Abdur-Rahman bin Abu Bakr (son of Caliph Abu Bakr). At the very start of the battle, Abdur-Rahman dueled with the Roman army commander and defeated him. As the Roman general fled to the safety of the Roman ranks, Khalid launched a general attack along the entire front. For some time the Romans resisted bravely, while the commanders of the Muslim wings played havoc with the opposing wings, especially Dhiraar, who now established a personal tradition which would make him famous in Syria - adored by the Muslims, and dreaded by the Romans. Because of the heat of the day, he took off his coat of mail; and this made him feel lighter and happier. Then he took off his shirt and became naked above the waist. This made him feel even lighter and even happier. In this half naked condition Dhiraar launched his assaults against the Romans and slaughtered all who faced him in single combat. Within a week, stories of the Naked Champion would spread over Syria, and only the bravest of Romans would feel inclined to face him in combat.

After some fighting, the Byzantine army broke contact and withdrew into the fort. At this time Khalid was fighting on foot in front of his centre. As he turned to give orders for the commencement of the siege, he saw a horseman approaching through the ranks of the Muslims.He was Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah with him was a yellow standard and is believed to have been the standard of the Muhammad at the Battle of Khaybar. This was the man who had been placed under the command of Khalid.He gave that standard to Khalid ibn al-Walid and he took it saying.

“

"By Allah," replied Khalid, "but for the necessity of obeying the orders of the Caliph, I would never have accepted this command over you. You are much higher than me in Islam. I am a Companion of [Muhammad], but you are one whom [Muhammad] had called 'the trusted one of this nation."

”

^[2]

The Muslims now laid siege to Busra. The Byzantine commander lost hope, for he knew that most of the available reserves had either moved or were moving to Ajnadayn, and doubted that any help would be forthcoming. After a few days of inactivity, he surrendered the fort peacefully. The only condition Khalid bin Walid imposed on Busra was the payment of the tribute. This surrender took place in about the middle of July 634 A.D.

[edit] Aftermath

Khalid bin Walid wrote to Caliph Abu Bakr, informing him of the progress of his operations since his entry into Syria, and sent one-fifth of the spoils which had been won during the past few weeks. Hardly had Busra surrendered when an agent sent by Shurahbil to the region of Ajnadein returned to inform the Muslims that the concentration of Roman legions was proceeding apace. Soon they would have a vast army of 90,000 imperial soldiers at Ajnadein.Khalid ibn Walid later joined the forces of Amr ibn al-A'asat Ajnadeen and defeated the Byzantine army in the Battle of Ajnadayn.