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Battle of YarmoukPart of the Muslim conquest of Syria

(Arab–Byzantine Wars)

Across the ravines lies the battlefield of Yarmouk, thispicture taken about 8 miles away, from Jordan.

Date 15–20 August 636

Location Near the Yarmouk River32.81411°N 35.95482°E

Result Decisive Rashidun victory

Territorialchanges

Levant annexed by RashidunCaliphate

Belligerents Byzantine Empire,

Ghassanid Kingdom Rashidun Caliphate

Commanders and leaders Heraclius Theodore

Trithyrius †[1]

Vahan †g[›]

Jabalah ibn al­Aiham Dairjan † Niketas the Persian Buccinator (Qanateer) Gregory[2]

ʿUmar ibn al­Khattāb

Khalid ibn al­Walid

Abu Ubaidah ibn al­Jarrah

Amr ibn al­A'as Kahula bint Azwar Shurahbil ibn

Hassana Yazid ibn Abi

Battle of YarmoukFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle betweenthe Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate andthe armies of the Eastern Roman Empire. The battleconsisted of a series of engagements that lasted for sixdays in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, alongwhat today are the borders of Syria­Jordan and Syria­Israel, east of the Sea of Galilee. The result of the battlewas a complete Muslim victory which ended Byzantinerule in Syria. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as oneof the most decisive battles in military history,[5][6] andit marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests afterthe death of prophet Muhammad, heralding the rapidadvance of Islam into the then Christian Levant.

In order to check the Arab advance and to recover lostterritory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massiveexpedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Romanarmy approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew fromSyria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmoukplains close to Arabia where, after being reinforced,they defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army.The battle is considered to be one of Khalid ibn al­Walid's greatest military victories. It cemented hisreputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalrycommanders in history.[7]

Contents

1 Prelude2 Byzantine counterattack3 Muslim strategy4 Battlefield5 Troop deployment

5.1 The Rashidun army5.1.1 Weaponry

5.2 The Byzantine army5.2.1 Weaponry

6 Tensions in the Byzantine army7 Battle

Coordinates: 32.81411°N 35.95482°E

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Sufyan

Strength15,000­150,000(modern estimates)a[›]

100,000–400,000(primary sources)b[›]c[›]

15,000–40,000(modern estimates)d[›]

24,000–40,000(primary sources)e[›]

Casualties and losses

45% or 50,000+ killed(modern estimates)[3][4]

70,000–120,000 killed(primary sources)f[›]

4,000 killed[3]

7.1 Day 17.2 Day 27.3 Day 37.4 Day 47.5 Day 57.6 Day 6

8 Aftermath9 Evaluation10 References11 Notes12 Bibliography

12.1 Primary sources12.2 Secondary sources

13 External links

Prelude

During the last Byzantine–Sassanid Wars in 610, Heraclius became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire,[8]after overthrowing Phocas. Meanwhile the Sassanid Persians conquered Mesopotamia and in 611 theyoverran Syria and entered Anatolia, occupying Caesarea Mazaca. Heraclius, in 612, managed to expel thePersians from Anatolia, but was decisively defeated in 613 when he launched a major offensive in Syriaagainst the Persians.[9] Over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer Palestine and Egypt.Meanwhile Heraclius prepared for a counterattack and rebuilt his army. Nine years later in 622, Heracliusfinally launched his offensive.[10] After his overwhelming victories over the Persians and their allies in theCaucasus and Armenia, Heraclius, in 627, launched a winter offensive against the Persians in Mesopotamiawinning a decisive victory at the Battle of Nineveh thus threatening the Persian capital city of Ctesiphon.Discredited by these series of disasters, Khosrau II was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his sonKavadh II,[11] who at once sued for peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territories of theByzantine Empire. Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem with a majestic ceremony in 629.[12]

Meanwhile there had been rapid political development in Arabia, where Muhammad had been preachingIslam and by 630, he had successfully united most of the Arabia under a single political authority. WhenMuhammad died in June 632, Abu Bakr was elected Caliph and his political successor. Troubles emergedsoon after Abu Bakr's succession, when several Arab tribes openly revolted against Abu Bakr, who declaredwar against the rebels. In what became known as the Ridda wars (Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy, 632–33), Abu Bakr managed to unite Arabia under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina.[13]

Once the rebels had been subdued, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest, beginning with Iraq. Sending hismost brilliant general, Khalid ibn al­Walid, Iraq was conquered in a series of successful campaigns againstthe Sassanid Persians. Abu Bakr's confidence grew, and once Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, AbuBakr issued a call to arms for the invasion of Syria in February 634.[14] The Muslim invasion of Syria was a

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Map detailing the Rashidun Caliphate'sinvasion of the Levant.

series of carefully planned and well coordinated military operations that employed strategy instead of purestrength to deal with Byzantine defensive measures.[15] The Muslim armies, however soon proved to be toosmall to handle the Byzantine response, and their commanders called for reinforcements. Khalid was sentby Abu Bakr from Iraq to Syria with reinforcements and to leadthe invasion. In July 634, the Byzantines were decisively defeatedat Ajnadayn. Damascus fell in September 634, followed by theBattle of Fahl where the last significant garrison of Palestine wasdefeated and routed.[16]

Caliph Abu Bakr died in 634. His successor, Umar, wasdetermined to continue the Caliphate Empire's expansion deeperinto Syria.[17] Though previous campaigns led by Khalid weresuccessful, he was replaced by Abu Ubaidah. Having securedsouthern Palestine, Muslim forces now advanced up the traderoute, where Tiberias and Baalbek fell without much struggle, andconquered Emesa early in 636. From thereon, the Muslimscontinued their conquest across the Levant.[18]

Byzantine counterattack

Having seized Emesa, the Muslims were just a march away fromAleppo, a Byzantine stronghold, and Antioch, where Heracliusresided. Seriously alarmed by the series of setbacks, Heracliusprepared for a counterattack to reacquire the lost regions.[19][20] In 635 Yazdegerd III, the Emperor ofPersia, sought an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor. Heraclius married off his daughter (according totraditions, his grand daughter) Manyanh to Yazdegerd III, to cement the alliance. While Heraclius preparedfor a major offensive in the Levant, Yazdegerd was to mount a simultaneous counterattack in Iraq, in whatwas meant to be a well­coordinated effort. When Heraclius launched his offensive in May 636, Yazdegerdcould not coordinate with the maneuver—probably owing to the exhausted condition of his government—and what would have been a decisive plan missed the mark.[21]

Umar won a decisive victory against Heraclius at Yarmouk, and used great strategy to engage and entrapYazdegerd. Three months later Yazdegerd lost his imperial army at the Battle of Qadisiyah in November636, ending Sassanid control west of Persia.

Byzantine preparations began in late 635 and by May 636 Heraclius had a large force concentrated atAntioch in Northern Syria.[22] The assembled army consisted of contingents of Byzantines, Slavs, Franks,Georgians, Armenians and Christian Arabs.[23] This force was organized into five armies, the joint leader ofwhich was Theodore Trithourios the Sakellarios. Vahan, an Armenian and the former garrison commanderof Emesa,[24] was made the overall field commander,[25] and had under his command a purely Armenianarmy. Buccinator (Qanateer), a Slavic prince, commanded the Slavs and Jabalah ibn al­Aiham, king of theGhassanid Arabs, commanded an exclusively Christian Arab force. The remaining contingents, allEuropean, were placed under Gregory and Dairjan.[26][27] Heraclius himself supervised the operation fromAntioch. Byzantine sources mention Niketas, son of the Persian general Shahrbaraz, among thecommanders, but it is not certain which army he commanded.[28]

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Muslim and Byzantine TroopMovements before the battle ofYarmouk.

At that time, the Rashidun army was split into four groups: one under Amr in Palestine, one underShurahbil in Jordan, one under Yazid in the Damascus­Caesarea region and the last one under Abu Ubaidahalong with Khalid at Emesa. As the Muslim forces were geographically divided, Heraclius sought to exploitthis situation and planned to attack. He did not wish to engage in a single pitched battle but rather to employcentral position and fight the enemy in detail by concentrating large forces against each of the Muslim corpsbefore they could consolidate their troops. By forcing the Muslims to retreat, or by destroying Muslimforces separately, he would fulfill his strategy of recapturing lost territory. Reinforcements were sent toCaesarea under Heraclius' son Constantine III probably to tie down Yazid's forces which were besieging thetown.[26] The Byzantine imperial army moved out from Antioch and Northern Syria sometime in the middleof June 636.

The Byzantine imperial army was to operate under the followingplan:

Jabalah's lightly armed Christian Arabs would march toEmesa from Aleppo via Hama and hold the main Muslimarmy at Emesa.Dairjan would make a flanking movement – movingbetween the coast and Aleppo's road – and approachEmesa from the west, striking at the Muslims' left flankwhile they were being held frontally by Jabalah.Gregory would strike the Muslims' right flank,approaching Emesa from the northeast via Mesopotamia.Qanateer would march along the coastal route and occupyBeirut, from where he was to attack weakly defendedDamascus from the west to cut off the main Muslim armyat Emesa.Vahan's corps would act as a reserve and would approach

Emesa via Hama.[29]

Muslim strategy

The Muslims discovered Heraclius' preparations at Shaizar through Roman prisoners. Alert to thepossibility of being caught with separated forces that could be destroyed, Khalid called for a council of war.There he advised Abu Ubaidah to pull the troops back from Palestine and from Northern and Central Syria,and then to concentrate the entire Rashidun army in one place.[30][31] Abu Ubaidah ordered theconcentration of troops in the vast plain near Jabiya, as control of the area made cavalry charges possibleand facilitated the arrival of reinforcements from Umar so that a strong, united force could be fieldedagainst the Byzantine armies.[32] The position also benefited from close proximity to the Rashidunstronghold of Najd, in case of retreat. Instructions were also issued to return the jizya (tribute) to the peoplewho had paid it.[33] However, once concentrated at Jabiya, the Muslims were subject to raids from pro­Byzantine Ghassanid forces. Encamping in the region was also precarious as a strong Byzantine force was

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Map detailing the location of the areawhere the battle took place.

garrisoned in Caeseara and could attack the Muslim rear while they were held in front by the Byzantinearmy. On Khalid's advice the Muslim forces retreated to Dara’ah (or Dara) and Dayr Ayyub, covering thegap between the Yarmouk Gorges and the Harra lava plains,[30] and established a line of camps in theeastern part of the plain of Yarmouk. This was a strong defensive position and these maneuvers pitted theMuslims and Byzantines into a decisive battle, one which the latter had tried to avoid.[34] During thesemaneuvers, there were no engagements save for a minor skirmish between Khalid's elite light cavalry andthe Byzantine advance guard.[35]

Battlefield

The battlefield lies in the western plane of Syrian Hauran, justsouth­east of the Golan Heights, an upland region currently onthe frontier between Israel, Jordan and Syria, east of the Sea ofGalilee. The battle was fought on the plain north of YarmoukRiver, which was enclosed on its western edges by a deepravine known as Wadi­ur­Ruqqad. This ravine joins theYarmouk River, a tributary of the Jordan River, on its south.The stream had very steep banks, ranging from 30 m (98 ft)–200 m (660 ft) in height. On the north is the Jabiya road and tothe east are the Azra hills, although these hills were outside theactual field of battle. Strategically there was only oneprominence in the battlefield: a 100 m (330 ft) elevation knownas Tel al Jumm'a, and for the Muslim troops concentrated there,the hill gave a good view of the plain of Yarmouk. The ravine on the west of the battlefield was accessibleat a few places in 636 AD, and had one main crossing: a Roman bridge (Jisr­ur­Ruqqad) near 'AinDhakar[36][37] Logistically, the Yarmouk plain had enough water supplies and pastures to sustain botharmies. The plain was excellent for cavalry maneuvers.[38][39]

Troop deployment

Most early Muslim accounts place the size of the Muslim forces between 24,000 and 40,000 and thenumber of Byzantine forces between 100,000 and 400,000. Modern estimates of the sizes of the respectivearmies vary: the vast majority of estimates for the Byzantine army are between between 80,000 and150,000, while other estimates are as low as 15,000–20,000.[40][41] Estimates for the Rashidun army arebetween 25,000 and 40,000. Original accounts are entirely from Arab sources, generally agreeing that theByzantine army and their allies outnumbered the Muslim Arabs by a sizeable margin.m[›] The onlyByzantine source is Theophanes, who wrote a century later and whose account is believed to be also basedon Arab sources. Accounts of the battle vary, some stating it lasted a day, others more than a day.

The Rashidun army

During a council of war, the command of the Muslim army was transferred to Khalidi[›] by Abu Ubaidah,Commander in Chief of the Muslim army.[42] After taking command, Khalid reorganized the army into 36infantry regiments and four cavalry regiments, with his cavalry elite, the mobile guard, held in reserve. The

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army was organized in the Tabi'a formation; a tight, defensive infantry formation.[43] The army was linedup on a front of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), facing west, with its left flank lying south on the Yarmouk River amile before the ravines of Wadi al Allan began. The army's right flank was on the Jabiya road in the northacross the heights of Tel al Jumm'a,[44] with substantial gaps between the divisions so that their frontagewould match that of the Byzantine battle line at 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). The center of the army was underthe command of Abu Ubaidah ibn al­Jarrah (left center) and Shurahbil bin Hasana (right center). The leftwing was under the command of Yazid and the right wing was under Amr ibn al­A'as.[42] Center, left andright wings were given cavalry regiments, to be used as a reserve for counter­attack in case they werepushed back by the Byzantines. Behind the center stood the mobile guard under the personal command ofKhalid. If and when Khalid was too occupied in leading the general army, Dharar ibn al­Azwar wouldcommand the mobile guard. Over the course of the battle, Khalid would repeatedly make critical anddecisive use of this mounted reserve.[42] Khalid sent out several scouts to keep the Byzantines underobservation.[45] In late July 636, Vahan sent Jabalah with his lightly armored Christian Arab forces toreconnoiter­in­force, but they were repulsed by the mobile guard. After this skirmish, no engagementoccurred for a month.[46]

Weaponry

Helmets used included gilded helmets similar to the silver helmets of the Sassanid empire. Mail wascommonly used to protect the face, neck and cheeks either as an aventail from the helmet or as a mail coif.Heavy leather sandals as well as Roman­type sandal boots were also typical of the early Muslimsoldiers.[47] Armor included hardened leather scale or lamellar armor and mail armor. Infantry soldiers weremore heavily armored than horsemen. Large wooden or wickerwork shields were used. Long­shafted spearswere used, with infantry spears being 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long and cavalry spears being up to 5.5 m (18 ft) long.Short infantry swords like the Roman gladius and Sassanid long swords were used; long swords wereusually carried by horsemen. Swords were hung in baldrics. Bows were about 2 metres (6.6 ft) long whenunbraced, similar in size to the famous English longbow. The maximum useful range of the traditionalArabian bow was about 150 m (490 ft). Early Muslim archers, while being infantry archers without themobility of horseback archer regiments, proved to be very effective in defending against light andunarmored cavalry attacks.[48]

The Byzantine army

A few days after the Muslims encamped at the Yarmouk plain, the Byzantine army, preceded by the lightlyarmed Ghassanids of Jabalah, moved forward and established strongly fortified camps just north of theWadi­ur­Ruqqad.[49]j[›] The right flank of the Byzantine army was at the south end of the plains, near theYarmouk River and about a mile before the ravines of Wadi al Allan began. The left flank of the Byzantineswas at the north, a short distance before the Hills of Jabiya began, and was relatively exposed. Vahandeployed the Imperial Army facing east, with a front about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long,[50] as he was tryingto cover the whole area between the Yarmouk gorge in the south and the Roman road to Egypt in the north,and substantial gaps had been left between the Byzantine divisions. The right wing was commanded byGregory and the left by Qanateer. The center was formed by the army of Dairjan and the Armenian army ofVahan, both under the overall command of Dairjan. The Roman regular heavy cavalry, the cataphract, wasdistributed equally among the four armies, each army deploying its infantry at the forefront and its cavalryas a reserve in the rear. Vahan deployed Jabalah's Christian Arabs, mounted on horses and camels, as a

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skirmishing force, screening the main army until its arrival.[51] Early Muslim sources mention that the armyof Gregory had used chains to link together its foot­soldiers, who had all taken an oath of death. The chainswere in 10­man lengths and were used as a proof of unshakeable courage on the part of the men, who thusdisplayed their willingness to die where they stood and never retreat. The chains also acted as an insuranceagainst a breakthrough by enemy cavalry. However, modern historians suggest that the Byzantines adoptedthe Graeco­Roman testudo military formation, in which soldiers would stand shoulder­to­shoulder withshields held high and an arrangement of 10 to 20 men would be completely shielded on all sides frommissile fire, each soldier providing cover for an adjoining companion.[50]

Weaponry

The Byzantine cavalry was armed with a long sword, known as the spathion. They would also have had alight wooden lance, known as a kontarion and a bow (toxarion) with forty arrows in a quiver, hung from asaddle or from the belt.[52] Heavy infantry, known as skoutatoi, had a short sword and a short spear. Thelightly armed Byzantine troops and the archers carried a small shield, a bow hung from the shoulder acrossthe back and a quiver of arrows. Cavalry armor consisted of a hauberk with a mail coif and a helmet with apendant, i.e. a throat­guard lined with fabric and having a fringe and cheek piece. Infantry was similarlyequipped with a hauberk, a helmet and leg armor. Light lamellar and scale armor was also used.[53]

Tensions in the Byzantine army

Khalid's strategy of withdrawing from the occupied areas and concentrating all of his troops for a decisivebattle forced the Byzantines to concentrate their five armies in response. The Byzantines had for centuriesavoided engaging in large­scale decisive battles, and the concentration of their forces created logisticalstrains for which the empire was ill­prepared.[34][54] Damascus was the closest logistical base, but Mansur,leader of Damascus, could not fully supply the massive Byzantine army that was gathered at the Yarmoukplain. Several clashes were reported with local citizens over supply requisition, as summer was at an endand there was a decline of pasturage. Greek court sources accused Vahan of treason for his disobedience toHeraclius' command not to engage in large­scale battle with Arabs. Given the massing of the Muslimarmies at Yarmouk, however, Vahan had little choice but to respond in kind. Relations between the variousByzantine commanders were also fraught with tension. There was a struggle for power between Trithuriosand Vahan, Jarajis, and Qanateer (Buccinator).[55] Jabalah, the Christian Arab leader, was largely ignored,to the detriment of the Byzantines given his knowledge of the local terrain. An atmosphere of mistrust thusexisted between the Greeks, Armenians, and Arabs. Longstanding ecclesiastical feuds between theMonophysite and Chalcedonian factions, while of negligible direct impact, certainly inflamed underlyingtensions. The effect of these feuds was decreased coordination and planning, one of the reasons for thecatastrophic Byzantine defeat.[56]

Battle

For a good understanding of the description of the battle, it is useful to be acquainted with the divisions ofopposing forces. The battle lines of the Muslims and the Byzantines were divided into four sections: the leftwing, the left center, the right center and the right wing. Note that the descriptions of the Muslim and theByzantine battle lines are exactly each other's opposite, i.e.: so the Muslim right wing faced the Byzantineleft wing (see imagen[›]).

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Troop deployment. Muslim army

Byzantine army

Day 1, limited attacks by theByzantine army

Vahan was instructed by Heraclius not to engage in battle until allavenues of diplomacy had been explored.[57] This was probablybecause Yazdegerd III's forces were not yet ready for the offensivein Iraq. Accordingly, Vahan sent Gregory and then Jabalah tonegotiate, though their efforts proved futile. Before the battle, onVahan's invitation, Khalid came to negotiate peace, to a similar end.These negotiations delayed the battles for a month.[50] On the otherhand, Caliph Umar, whose forces at Qadisiyah were threatened withconfronting the Sassanid armies, ordered Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas toenter into negotiations with the Persians and send emissaries toYazdegerd III and his commander Rostam Farrokhzād, apparentlyinviting them to Islam. This was most probably the delaying tacticemployed by Umar on the Persian front.[58] Meanwhile he sentreinforcements[50] of 6,000 troops, mostly from Yemen, to Khalid.This force included 1,000 Sahaba (companions of Muhammad),among whom were 100 veterans of the Battle of Badr, the first battle in Islamic history, and includedcitizens of the highest rank, such as Zubayr ibn al­Awwam, Abu Sufyan, and his wife Hind bint Utbah.[59]

Umar, apparently wanting to defeat the Byzantines first, employed the best Muslim troops against them.The continuing stream of Muslim reinforcements worried the Byzantines, who fearing that the Muslimswith such reinforcements would grow powerful, decided that they had no choice but to attack. Thereinforcements that were sent to the Muslims at Yarmouk arrived in small bands, giving the impression of acontinuous stream of reinforcements, in order to demoralize the Byzantines and compel them to attack.[60]

The same tactic would be repeated again during the Battle of Qadisiyah.[45]

Day 1

The battle began on 15 August 636.[61] At dawn both armies linedup for battle less than a mile apart. It is recorded in Muslimchronicles that before the battle started, George, a unit commanderin the Byzantine right center, rode up to the Muslim line andconverted to Islam; he would die the same day fighting on theMuslim side.[62] The battle began as the Byzantine army sent itschampions to duel with the Muslim mubarizun. The mubarizun werespecially trained swordsmen and lancers, with the objective to slayas many enemy commanders as possible to damage their morale. Atmidday, after losing a number of commanders in the duels, Vahanordered a limited attack with a third of his infantry forces to test thestrength and strategy of the Muslim army and, using theiroverwhelming numerical and weaponry superiority, achieve abreakthrough wherever the Muslim battle line was weak. Howeverthe Byzantine assault lacked determination; many soldiers of the Imperial Army were unable to press theattack against the Muslim veterans.[63] The fighting was generally moderate, although in some places it was

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Day 2, Phase 1.

Day 2, Phase 2.

Day 2, Phase 3.

especially intense. Vahan did not reinforce his forward infantry two­thirds of which was kept in reservewith one­third deployed to engage the Muslims, and at sunset both armies broke contact and returned totheir respective camps.[62]

Day 2

Phase 1: On 16 August 636, Vahan decided in a council of war tolaunch his attack just before dawn, to catch the Muslim forceunprepared as they conducted their morning prayers. He planned toengage his two central armies with the Muslim centre in an effort tostall them while the main thrusts would be against the wings of theMuslim army, which would then either be driven away from thebattlefield or pushed towards the centre.[62][64] To observe thebattlefield, Vahan had a large pavilion built behind his right wingwith an Armenian bodyguard force. He ordered the army to preparefor the surprise attack. Unbeknownst to the Byzantines, Khalid hadprepared for such a contingency by placed a strong outpost line infront during the night to counter surprises, which gave the Muslimstime to prepare for battle. At the center, the Byzantines did not presshard, intending to pin down the Muslim centre corps in theirposition and preventing them from aiding the Muslim army in otherareas. Thus the center remained stable. But on the wings thesituation was different. Qanateer, commanding the Byzantine leftflank which consisted of mainly Slavs, attacked in force, and theMuslim infantry on the right flank had to retreat. Amr, the Muslimright wing commander ordered his cavalry regiment tocounterattack, which neutralized the Byzantine advance andstabilized the battle line on the right for some time, but theByzantine numerical superiority caused them to retreat towards theMuslim base camp.[65]

Phase 2: Khalid, aware of the situation at the wings, ordered thecavalry of the right wing to attack the northern flank of theByzantine left wing while he with his mobile guard attacked thesouthern flank of the Byzantine left wing, while the Muslim rightwing infantry attacked from the front. The three­pronged attackforced the Byzantine left wing to abandon the Muslim positions theyhad gained on, and Amr regained his lost ground and startedreorganizing his corps for another round.[65] The situation on theMuslim left wing which Yazid commanded was considerably moreserious. Whilst the Muslim right wing enjoyed assistance from themobile guard, the left wing did not and the numerical advantage theByzantines enjoyed caused the Muslim positions to be overrun, withsoldiers retreating towards base camps.[59] Here the Byzantines hadbroken through the corps. The testudo formation that Gregory's army had adopted moved slowly but alsohad a good defense. Yazid used his cavalry regiment to counterattack but was repulsed. Despite stiffresistance, the warriors of Yazid on the left flank finally fell back to their camps and for a moment Vahan's

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Day 3, Phase 1.

plan appeared to be succeeding. The centre of the Muslim army was pinned down and its flanks had beenpushed back. However, neither flank had broken, though their morale was severely damaged.[66] Theretreating Muslim army was met by the ferocious Arab women in the camps.[59] Led by Hind, the Muslimwomen dismantled their tents and armed with tent poles charged at their husbands and fellow men singingan improvised song from the Battle of Uhud that then had been directed against the Muslims.

O you who run from a constant woman

Who has both beauty and virtue;And leave her to the infidel,The hated and evil infidel,

To possess, disgrace and ruin.[65]

This boiled the blood of the retreating Muslims so much that they returned to the battlefield.[67]

Phase 3: After managing to stabilize the position on the right flank, Khalid ordered the mobile guardcavalry to provide relief to the battered left flank. Khalid detached one regiment under Dharar ibn al­Azwarand ordered him to attack the front of the army of Dairjan (left center) in order to create a diversion andthreaten the withdrawal of the Byzantine right wing from its advanced position. With the rest of the cavalryreserve he attacked Gregory's flank. Here again, under simultaneous attacks from the front and flanks, theByzantines fell back, but more slowly because they had to maintain their formation.[68] At sunset the centralarmies broke contact and withdrew to their original positions and both fronts were restored along the linesoccupied in the morning. The death of Dairjan and the failure of Vahan's battle plan left the larger Imperialarmy relatively demoralized, whereas Khalid's successful counterattacks emboldened his troops despitetheir being smaller in number.[69]

Day 3

On 17 August 636, Vahan pondered over his failures and mistakesof the previous day, where he launched attacks against respectiveMuslim flanks, but after initial success, his men were pushed back.What bothered him the most was the loss of one of his commanders.The imperial Byzantine army decided on a less ambitious plan,Vahan now aimed to break the Muslim army at specific points. Hedecided to press upon the relatively exposed right flank, where hismounted troops could maneuver more freely as compared to therugged terrain at the Muslims' left flank. And it was decided tocharge at the junction between the Muslim right center and its rightwing held by Qanateer's Slavs, to break the two apart and to fightthem separately.

Phase 1: The battle resumed with Byzantine attacks on the Muslim right flank and right center.[70] Afterholding off the initial attacks by the Byzantines, the Muslim right wing fell back, followed by the rightcenter. They were again said to have met by their own womenfolk who abused and shamed them. The

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Day 3, Phase 2.

Day 4, Phase 1.

Day 4, Phase 2.

corps, however, managed to reorganize some distance from the camp and held their ground preparing for acounterattack.[65]

Phase 2: Knowing that the Byzantine army was focusing on the Muslim right, Khalid ibn waleed launchedan attack with his mobile guard, along with the Muslim right flankcavalry. Khalid ibn waleed struck at the right flank of theByzantines left center, and the cavalry reserve of the Muslims rightcenter struck at the Byzantines left center at its left flank.Meanwhile he ordered the Muslims' right wing cavalry to strike atthe left flank of the Byzantines left wing. The combat soondeveloped into a bloodbath. Many fell on both sides. Khalid's timelyflanking attacks again saved the day for Muslims and by dusk theByzantines had been pushed back to the positions they had at thestart of the battle.[65]

Day 4

18 August 636, the fourth day, was to prove decisive.

Phase 1: Vahan decided to persist with the previous day's war planas he had been successful in inflicting damage on the Muslim right.Qanateer led two armies of Slavs against the Muslim right wing andright centre with some assistance from the Armenians and ChristianArabs led by Jabalah. The Muslim right wing and right center againfell back.[71] Khalid entered the fray yet again with this mobileguard. He feared a general attack on a broad front which would hewouldn't be able to repulse and as a precaution ordered AbuUbaidah and Yazid on the left centre and the left wings respectivelyto attack the Byzantine armies at the respective fronts. The attackwould result in stalling the Byzantine front and prevent a generaladvance of the Imperial army.[72]

Phase 2: Khalid divided his mobile guard into two divisions andattacked the flanks of the Byzantine left center, while the infantry ofthe Muslim right center attacked from front. Under this three­pronged flanking manoeuvre, the Byzantines fell back. Meanwhilethe Muslim right wing renewed its offense with its infantryattacking from the front and the cavalry reserve attacking thenorthern flank of the Byzantine left wing. As the Byzantine leftcenter retreated under three­pronged attacks of Khalid, theByzantine left wing, having been exposed at its southern flank, alsofell back.[71]

While Khalid and his mobile guard were dealing with the Armenianfront throughout the afternoon, the situation on the other end was worsening.[73] Byzantine horse­archershad taken to the field and subjected Abu Ubaidah and Yazid's troops to intense archery preventing themfrom penetrating their Byzantine lines. Many Muslim soldiers lost their sight to Byzantine arrows on that

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Deployment of troops on the fifthday. Khalid gathered all his cavalryfor a decisive flanking charge.

day, which thereafter became known as the "Day of Lost Eyes".[74] The veteran Abu Sufyan is also believedto have lost an eye that day.[74] The Muslim armies fell back except for one regiment led by Ikrimah binAbi Jahal, which was on the left of Abu Ubaidah's corps. Ikrimah covered the retreat of the Muslims withhis four hundred cavalry by attacking the Byzantine front, while the other armies reorganized themselves tocounterattack and regain their lost positions. All of Ikrimah's men were either seriously injured or dead thatday. Ikrimah, a childhood friend of Khalid's was mortally wounded and died later in the evening.[73]

Day 5

During the four day offense of Vahan, his troops had failed toachieve any breakthrough and had suffered heavy casualties,especially during the mobile guard's flanking counterattacks. Earlyon 19 August 636, the fifth day of the battle, Vahan sent an emissaryto the Muslim camp for a truce for the next few days so that freshnegotiations could be held. He supposedly wanted time toreorganize his demoralized troops. But Khalid deemed victory to bein reach and he declined the offer.[75] Up till now, the Muslim armyhad adopted a largely defensive strategy, but knowing that theByzantines were apparently no longer eager for battle, Khalid nowdecided to take the offensive and reorganized his troopsaccordingly. All the cavalry regiments were grouped together intoone powerful mounted force with the mobile guard acting as itscore. The total strength of this cavalry group was now about 8,000mounted warriors, an effective mounted corps for an offensiveattack the next day. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Khalid planned to trap Byzantine troops,cutting off their every route of escape. There were three natural barriers, the three gorges in the battlefieldwith their steep ravines, Wadi­ur­Ruqqad at west, Wadi al Yarmouk in south and Wadi al Allah in east. Thenorthern route was to be blocked by Muslim cavalry.[76] There were however, some passages across the 200metres (660 ft) deep ravines of Wadi­ur­Raqqad in west, strategically the most important one was at Ayn alDhakar, a bridge. Khalid sent Dharar with 500 cavalry at night to secure that bridge. Dharar moved aroundthe northern flank of Byzantines and captured the bridge. This maneuver was to prove decisive the nextday.[77]

Day 6

On 20 August 636, the final day of the battle,[78] Khalid put into action a simple but bold plan of attack.With his massed cavalry force he intended to drive the Byzantine cavalry entirely off the battlefield so thatthe infantry, which formed the bulk of the imperial army, would be left without cavalry support and thuswould be exposed when attacked from the flanks and rear. At the same time he planned to push adetermined attack to turn the left flank of the Byzantine army and drive them towards the ravine to thewest.[77]

Phase 1: Khalid ordered a general attack on the Byzantine front and galloped his cavalry around the leftwing of the Byzantines. Part of his cavalry engaged the Byzantine left wing cavalry while the rest of itattacked the rear of the Byzantine left wing infantry. Meanwhile the Muslim right wing pressed against itfrom the front. Under this two­pronged attack, the Byzantine left wing fell back and collapsed and fell back

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Day 6, Phase 1.

Day 6, Phase 2.

Day 6, Phase 3.

to the Byzantine left center, greatly disordering it.[75] The remainingMuslim cavalry then attacked the Byzantine left wing cavalry at therear while they were held frontally by the other half of the Muslimcavalry, routing them off the battlefield to the north. The Muslimright wing infantry now attacked the Byzantine left center at its leftflank while the Muslim right center attacked from front.

Phase 2: Vahan, noticing the huge cavalry maneuver of theMuslims, ordered his cavalry to group together, but was not quickenough; before Vahan could organize his disparate heavy cavalrysquadrons, Khalid had wheeled his cavalry back to attack theconcentrating Byzantine cavalry squadrons, falling upon them fromthe front and the flank while they were still moving into formation.The disorganized and disoriented Byzantine heavy cavalry was soonrouted and dispersed to the north, leaving the infantry to its fate.[79]

Phase 3: With the Byzantine cavalry completely routed, Khalidturned to the Byzantine left center which already held the two­pronged attack of the Muslim infantry. The Byzantine left centerwas attacked at its rear by Khalid's cavalry and was finallybroken.[79]

The last phase: With the retreat of the Byzantine left center, ageneral Byzantine retreat started. Khalid took his cavalry north toblock the northern route of escape. The Byzantines retreated westtowards Wadi­ur­Ruqqad where there was a bridge at Ayn alDhakar for safe crossing across the deep gorges of the ravines ofWadi­ur­Ruqqad.[73] Dharar had already captured the bridge as partof Khalid's plan the night before. A unit of 500 mounted troops hadbeen sent to block this passageway. In fact, this was the route bywhich Khalid wanted the Byzantines to retreat all along. TheByzantines were surrounded from all sides now.[75]k[›] Some fellinto the deep ravines off the steep slopes, others tried to escape inthe waters, only to be smashed on the rocks below and again otherswere killed in their flight. Nevertheless a large number of thesoldiers managed to escape the slaughter.[80] Jonah, the Greekinformant of the Rashidun army during the Conquest of Damascusdied in this battle. The Muslims took no prisoners in this battle,although they may have captured some during the subsequent pursuit.[81] Theodore Trithurios died on thebattlefield, while Niketas managed to escape and reach Emesa. Jabalah ibn al­Ayham also managed toescape and later, for a short time, came to terms with the Muslims, but soon defected to the Byzantine courtagain.[82]

Aftermath

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Day 6, The last phase.

Immediately after this operation was over, Khalid and his mobile guard moved north to pursue theretreating Byzantine soldiers; he found them near Damascus and attacked. In the ensuing fight thecommander­in­chief of the imperial army, the Armenian prince Vahan, who had escaped the fate of most ofhis men at Yarmouk, was killed.[83] Khalid then entered Damascus where he was said to have beenwelcomed by the local residents, thus recapturing the city.[31][84]

When news of the disaster reached the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius at Antioch,[85] he was devastated andenraged. He blamed his wrongdoings for the loss, primarily referring to his incestuous marriage to his nieceMartina.[86] He would have tried to reconquer the province if he had had the resources,[85] but now he hadneither the men nor the money to defend the province any more.Instead he retreated to the cathedral of Antioch, where he observed asolemn service of intercession.[85] He summoned a meeting of hisadvisers at the cathedral and scrutinized the situation. He was toldalmost unanimously, and accepted the fact, that the defeat was God'sdecision and a result of the sins of the people of the land, includinghim.[87] Heraclius took to the sea on a ship to Constantinople in thenight. It is said that as his ship set sail, he bade a last farewell toSyria, saying:

Farewell, a long farewell to Syria,l[›][85] my fair province. Thou artan infidel's (enemy's) now. Peace be with you, O Syria – what abeautiful land you will be for the enemy.[87]

Heraclius abandoned Syria with the holy relic of the True Cross which was, along with other relics held atJerusalem, secretly boarded on ship by Parthia of Jerusalem,[85] just to protect it from the invading Arabs. Itis said that the emperor had a fear of water.[88] and a pontoon bridge was made for Heraclius to cross theBosphorus to Constantinople. After abandoning Syria, the Emperor began to concentrate on his remainingforces for the defence of Anatolia and Egypt instead. Byzantine Armenia fell to the Muslims in 638–39,after which Heraclius created a buffer zone in central Anatolia by ordering all the forts east of Tarsus to beevacuated.[89] In 639–642 Muslims invaded and captured Byzantine Egypt, led by Amr ibn al­A'as – whohad commanded the right flank of the Rashidun army at Yarmouk.[90]

Evaluation

The Battle of Yarmouk can be seen as an example in military history where an inferior force manages toovercome a superior force by superior generalship.

The Imperial Byzantine commanders allowed their enemy to have the battlefield of his choosing. Even thenthey were at no substantial tactical disadvantage.[49] Khalid knew all along that he was up against a forcesuperior in numbers and, until the last day of the battle, he conducted an essentially defensive campaignsuited to his relatively limited resources. When he decided to take the offensive and attack on the final dayof battle, he did so with a degree of imagination, foresight and courage that none of the Byzantinecommanders managed to display. Although he commanded a numerically inferior force and needed all themen he could muster, he nevertheless had the confidence and foresight to dispatch a cavalry regiment thenight before his assault to seal off a critical path of the retreat he anticipated for the enemy army.[77]

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Because of his leadership at Yarmouk, Khalid ibn al­Walid is considered one of the finest generals inhistory[7] and his use of mounted warriors throughout the battle showed just how well he understood thepotential strengths and weaknesses of his mounted troops. His mobile guard moved quickly from one pointto another, always changing the course of events wherever they appeared, and then just as quickly gallopingaway to change the course of events elsewhere on the field.[91]

Vahan and his Byzantine commanders did not manage to deal with this mounted force and use the sizableadvantage of their army effectively.[92] Their own Byzantine cavalry never played a significant role in thebattle and were held in static reserve for most of the six days.[60] They never pushed their attacks and evenwhen they obtained what could have been a decisive breakthrough on the fourth day, they were unable toexploit it. There appeared to be a decided lack of resolve among the Imperial commanders, though this mayhave been caused by difficulties commanding the army because of internal conflict. Moreover, many of theArab auxiliaries were mere levies, while the Muslim Arab army consisted for a much larger part of veterantroops.[93]

The original strategy of Heraclius, to destroy the Muslim troops in Syria, needed a rapid and quickdeployment, but the commanders on the ground never displayed these qualities. Ironically, on the field atYarmouk, Khalid carried out on a small tactical scale what Heraclius had planned on a grand strategicscale: by rapidly deploying and manoeuvering his forces, Khalid was able to temporarily concentratesufficient forces at specific locations on the field to defeat the larger Byzantine army in detail. Vahan wasnever able to make his numerical superiority count, perhaps because of the unfavorable terrain thatprevented large­scale deployment. However, at no point did Vahan attempt to concentrate a superior forceto achieve a critical breakthrough.[94] Although he was on the offensive 5 days out of the six, his battle lineremained remarkably static. This all stands in stark contrast to the very successful offensive plan thatKhalid carried out on the final day, when he reorganised virtually all his cavalry and committed them to agrand manoeuvre that won the battle.[91] George F. Nafziger, in his book Islam at war, describes the battleas:

“ Although Yarmouk is little known today, it is one of the most decisive battles in humanhistory...... Had Heraclius' forces prevailed, the modern world would be so changed as to beunrecognizable.[5] ”

References

1. ^ Kennedy 2006, p. 452. ^ Nicolle 1994, pp. 64–65

3. ^ a b Akram 2004, p. 4254. ^ Britannica (2007): "More than 50,000 byzantine soldiers died"

5. ^ a b Walton 2003, p. 306. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6

7. ^ a b Nicolle 1994, p. 198. ^ Haldon 1997, p. 419. ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, pp. 189–19010. ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, p. 196

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10. ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, p. 19611. ^ Greatrex–Lieu 2002, pp. 217–22712. ^ Haldon 1997, p. 4613. ^ Nicolle 1994, pp. 12–1414. ^ Luttwak 2009, p. 19915. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 8716. ^ Akram 2004, p. 24617. ^ Runciman 1987, p. 1518. ^ Akram 2004, p. 29819. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6020. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 11221. ^ Akram 2009, p. 13322. ^ Akram 2004, p. 40223. ^ Al­Waqidi 8th century, p. 10024. ^ (Armenian) Bartikyan, Hrach. «Վահան» (Vahan). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. xi. Yerevan: Armenian

Academy of Sciences, 1985, p. 243.25. ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 82

26. ^ a b Akram 2004, p. 40927. ^ Al­Waqidi 8th century, p. 10628. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 1629. ^ Akram 2004, p. 399

30. ^ a b Nicolle 1994, p. 61

31. ^ a b Kaegi 1995, p. 6732. ^ Akram 2004, p. 40133. ^ al­Baladhuri 9th century, p. 143

34. ^ a b Kaegi 1995, p. 13435. ^ Akram 2004, p. 40736. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6437. ^ Schumacher 1889, p. 77­7938. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 12239. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6340. ^ Kaegi 2003, p. 24241. ^ John Haldon (2013)

42. ^ a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 6643. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 3444. ^ Walton 2003, p. 29

45. ^ a b Akram 2004, p. 41146. ^ Akram 2004, p. 41347. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 3948. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 36

49. ^ a b Kaegi 1995, p. 124

50. ^ a b c d Nicolle 1994, p. 64

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50. ^ a b c d Nicolle 1994, p. 6451. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6552. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 2953. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 3054. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 3955. ^ Kaegi 1995, pp. 132–13356. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 12157. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 13058. ^ Akram 2009, p. 132

59. ^ a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 70

60. ^ a b Kaegi 1995, p. 12961. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 92

62. ^ a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 6863. ^ Akram 2004, p. 41564. ^ Akram 2004, p. 417

65. ^ a b c d e Nicolle 1994, p. 7166. ^ Akram 2004, p. 41867. ^ Regan 2003, p. 16468. ^ Akram 2004, pp. 418–1969. ^ Akram 2004, p. 41970. ^ Akram 2004, p. 420

71. ^ a b Nicolle 1994, p. 7272. ^ Akram 2004, p. 421

73. ^ a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 75

74. ^ a b Al­Waqidi 8th century, p. 148

75. ^ a b c Nicolle 1994, p. 7676. ^ Akram 2004, p. 422

77. ^ a b c Akram 2004, p. 42378. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 114

79. ^ a b Akram 2004, p. 42480. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 13881. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 12882. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 8083. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 27384. ^ Akram 2004, p. 426

85. ^ a b c d e Runciman 1987, p. 1786. ^ Runciman 1987, p. 96

87. ^ a b Regan 2003, p. 16788. ^ Regan 2003, p. 16989. ^ Kaegi 1995, pp. 148–4990. ^ Kaegi 2003, p. 327

^ a b Nicolle 1994, pp. 87–89

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Image­1. Concepts used in thedescription of the battle lines.

Notes

^ a: Modern estimates for Roman army:Donner (1981): 100,000.Britannica (2007): "More than 50,000 byzantine soldiers died".Nicolle (1994): 100,000.Akram (1970): 150,000.Kaegi (1995): 15,000–20,000Mango, Cyril (2002). The Oxford History of Byzantium: 80,000.^ b: Roman source for Roman army:Theophanes (p. 337–338): 80,000 Roman troops (Kennedy, 2006, p. 145) and 60,000 allied Ghassanidtroops (Gibbon, Vol. 5, p. 325).^ c: Early Muslim sources for Roman army:Baladhuri (p. 140): 200,000.Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 598): 200,000.Ibn Ishaq (Tabari, Vol. 3, p. 75): 100,000 against 24,000 Muslims.^ d: Modern estimates for Muslim army:Kaegi (1995): 15,000­20,000 maximum.Nicolle (1994): 25,000 maximum.Akram: 40,000 maximum.Treadgold (1997): 24,000

^ e: Primary sources for Muslim army:Ibn Ishaq (Vol. 3, p. 74): 24,000.Baladhuri: 24,000.Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 592): 40,000.^ f: Primary sources for Roman casualties:Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 596): 120,000 killed.Ibn Ishaq (Vol. 3, p. 75): 70,000 killed.Baladhuri (p. 141): 70,000 killed.^ g: His name is mentioned in Islamic sources as Jaban, VahanBenaas and Mahan. Vahan is most likely to be his name as it is ofArmenian origin^ i: During the reign of Abu Bakr, Khalid ibn Walid remained theCommander­in­Chief of the army in Syria but at Umar's accessionas Caliph he dismissed him from command. Abu Ubaidah ibn al­Jarrah became the new commander in chief. (See Dismissal ofKhalid).^ j: Some Byzantine sources also mention a fortified encampment atYaqusah, 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the battlefield. E.g., A. I. Akram suggests that the Byzantine campswere north of Wadi­ur­Ruqqad, while David Nicolle agrees with early Armenian sources which positionedcamps at Yaqusah (See: Nicolle p. 61 and Akram 2004 p. 410).

91. ^ a b Nicolle 1994, pp. 87–8992. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 13793. ^ Akram 2004, p. 40894. ^ Kaegi 1995, p. 143

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^ k: Akram misinterprets the bridge at 'Ayn Dhakar for a ford while Nicolle explains the exact geography(See: Nicolle p. 64 and Akram p. 410)^ m: David Nicolle suggests at least four to one. (See Nicolle p. 64)^ n: Concepts used in the description of the battle lines of the Muslims and the Byzantines. See image­1.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Al­Baladhuri, Ahmad ibn Yahya (9th century), Kitab Futuh al­Buldan Check date values in: |date=(help)Al­Waqidi, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Umar (8th century), Fatuh al Sham (Conquest of Syria)Check date values in: |date= (help)Chronicle of Fredegar, 658Dionysius Telmaharensis (774), Chronicle of Pseudo­Dionysius of Tell­MahreIbn Ishaq (750), Sirah Rasul AllahIbn Khaldun (1377), MuqaddimahThe Maronite Chronicles, 664Pseudo­Methodius (691), Apocalypse of Pseudo­MethodiusMuhammad ibn Jarir al­Tabari (915), History of the Prophets and KingsTheophanes the Confessor (810–815), ChronographiaThomas the Presbyter (7th century), Chronicle Check date values in: |date= (help)Fragment on the Arab Conquests, 636"West­Syrian Chronicle of 819", West­Syrian Chronicles (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VdXMK4CYRToC&pg=PR9&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false), 819

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Akram, A.I (2009), Muslim conquest of Persia, third edition, Maktabah Publications, ISBN 0­9548665­3­3Akram, A.I (2004), The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al­Waleed – His Life and Campaigns, thirdedition, ISBN 0­19­597714­9Conrad, Lawrence I. (1988), "Seven and the Tasbīʿ: On the Implications of Numerical Symbolism forthe Study of Medieval Islamic History", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient(Brill Publishers) 31 (1): 42–73, JSTOR 3631765 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3631765)Donner, Fred McGraw (1981), The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0­691­05327­8Greatrex–Lieu; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002), The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part

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II, 363–630 AD), Routledge, ISBN 0­415­14687­9Gil, Moshe; Broido, Ethel (1997), A History of Palestine: 634–1099, Cambridge University Press,ISBN 0­521­59984­9Haldon, John (2001), The Byzantine Wars, Tempus Publishing, ISBN 0­7524­1795­9Haldon, John (1997), Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture,Cambridge, ISBN 0­521­31917­XHoyland, Robert G. (1997), Seeing Islam as Others Saw It, Darwin Press, ISBN 0­87850­125­8,OCLC 36884186 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36884186)Jandora, John W. (1986), "Developments in Islamic Warfare: The Early Conquests", Studia Islamica(Maisonneuve & Larose) (64): 101–113, JSTOR 1596048 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1596048)Kaegi, Walter Emil (2003), Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0­521­81459­6Kaegi, Walter Emil (1995), Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests, Cambridge University Press,ISBN 0­521­48455­3Kennedy, Hugh N. (2006), The Byzantine And Early Islamic Near East, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 0­7546­5909­7Kennedy, Hugh (2007), The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World WeLive In, Weidenfeld & Nicolson publishers: Great Britain, ISBN 0­297­84657­4Luttwak, Edward N (2009), The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, Harvard University Press,ISBN 0­674­03519­4Nicolle, David (1994), Yarmuk 636 A.D.: The Muslim Conquest of Syria, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1­85532­414­8Palmer, Andrew (1993), The Seventh Century in the West­Syrian Chronicles, Liverpool UniversityPress, ISBN 0­85323­238­5Regan, Geoffery (2003), First Crusader: Byzantium's Holy Wars (1 ed.), Palgrave Macmillan: NewYork, ISBN 1­4039­6151­4Runciman, Steven (1987), A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade (second ed.), PenguinBooks: London, ISBN 978­0­521­34770­9Schumacher, Gottlieb; Laurence Oliphant, Guy Le Strange (1889), Across the Jordan; being anexploration and survey of part of Hauran and Jaulan(https://archive.org/stream/acrossjordanbein00schu#page/77/mode/1up), London, WattTreadgold, Warren (1997), A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press,ISBN 0­8047­2630­2Walton, Mark W (2003), Islam at war, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0­275­98101­0Wood David 2007 Jews, Rats, and the Battle of Yarmūk, in The late Roman Army in the Near Eastfrom Diocletian to the Arab Conquest edited by Ariel S. Lewin, Pietrina Pellegrini, Archaeopress :

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Oxford, ISBN 978­1­4073­0161­7

External links

Yarmouk in Sword of Allah at GrandeStrategy (http://www.grandestrategy.com/2007/12/sword­of­allah­chapter­34­eve­of­yarmuk.html) by A.I. AkramBattle of Yarmuk animated battle map (http://www.theartofbattle.com/battle­of­yarmuk­636.htm) byJonathan WebbBattle of Yarmuk, 636 (http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk.aspx)

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Categories: Battles involving the Byzantine Empire Battles involving the Rashidun CaliphateBattles of Khalid ibn Walid Conflicts in 636 Battles of Abu Ubaidah ibn al­JarrahBattles of the Arab–Byzantine wars 630s in the Byzantine Empire Muslim conquest of the Levant636 in Asia

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