Despite a recent assassination attempt, palestinian activist continues to document life under siege in syria. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in august 636, near the yarmouk river, along what are now the borders of syriajordan and syriaisrael, east of the sea of galilee. All praise is due to allah, the lord of all that exists. Why is the battle of yarmouk regarded as one of the most. An assessment of the immediate factors behind the islamic conquests ibrahim, raymond on. Dec 635 9 months before the battle of yarmuk two inches remained of a foot long candle that burned most of the night illuminating a map spread out across heraclius desk. In 636 ad the decisive battle took place between the arabs led by khalid ibn alwalid and the byzantineroman empire of heraklius the battle of yarmouk. Arab women shame their fleeing men back towards the fight at.
The roman forces initially broke through the muslim lines and, according to colorful muslim sources, would have routed the. Battle of yarmouk, 636 storm gathers in the middle east youtube. Jul 27, 2019 muslims defeated a roman army at yarmuk, in syria, in the battle of yarmuk is now little remembered, but its outcome forever changed. The fighting was between the syrian army and pflpgc on one side, and syrian rebels on the other. Oct 26, 2014 dec 635 9 months before the battle of yarmuk two inches remained of a foot long candle that burned most of the night illuminating a map spread out across heraclius desk. Sep 04, 2016 the battle of yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the byzantine empire and the muslim arab forces of the rashidun caliphate. Having failed to prevent the loss of half the empire, heraclius retreated into isolation, by all accounts a broken man, a mere shadow of the former dynamic personality who had been victorious against the persians merely a decade before. March 634 2 years before the battle of yarmouk heraclius one of the great leaders of the byzantine christian romans stood by the window with one hand on the wall gazing down at the city.
A late 6th century military manual, the strategikon instructed greek generals in. His generals marked those cities lost in battle over the past two years and those that remained. The palestinians of yarmouk have been bombarded and besieged by assads security forces since 2012. The battle of yarmuk khalid bin alwaleeds greatest victory epilogue read part 1 of the battle of yarmuk here. Battle of ain jalut, 1260 the battle that saved islam and stopped the mongols duration. Because it opened up the mediterranean world to further muslim conquests, it was also one of the most important battles of the early middle ages. Thomas joscelyn is a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies and the senior editor for fdds long war journal. The battle of yarmouk, where muslim forces defeated those of the byzantine empire and gained control of syria, took place north of the river in 636. It is unclear what his intentions were, whether it was a full scale expansion plan or preemptive attacks to secure more territory to create a buffer zone between the islamic state and the powerful sassanid and byzantine empires. The five different groups combined and headed to the plains near yarmouk. I dont see any parallel why a roman free of arab problems before that time would let the lombards have a free hand all over roman italian possessions or even let them conquer ravenna by 751 like otl. Muslims defeated a roman army at yarmuk, in syria, in the battle of yarmuk is now little remembered, but its outcome forever changed.
On the byzantine side proper histories of events are nearly nonexistent while the histories on the muslim side were written long after events by those who knew nothing about what happened first hand. Pdf the decisive battle of yarmuk scholar pakistan. Jan 16, 2020 finally, the arab conquests, and the battle of yarmouk in particular, destroyed the military reputation of heraclius. Along with qadasiya, yarmuk must rank as one of the most decisive battles in world historyyet little known in the west. This account, written by muslim historian ahmad albiladuri in the 800s ce, describes the battle. Our today in history posts are always free, but if you want to support the newsletter and get the full foreign exchanges experience you know. The rise of islam in the 630s threatened the existence of two ancient superpowers the persian and roman empires. Many of the pictures just arent that good, being black and white and grainy. Battle of yarmouk yarmouk battlefield the complete. So as you said tht a specialist source must be given weitage, then here u go it has already received so. Upon his death, he bequeathed his property to umar and made him khqlid executor of his will and estate. The battle of yarmuk khalid bin alwaleeds greatest. In yarmouk, hope is the only currency with value with water, food and electricity in short supply, syrians and palestinians in the besieged refugee camp must find beauty in simple things, says a.
Retrieved from hazrt for instance his employment of the double envelopment maneuver against the numerically superior persian army at the i of walaja and his maneuver at the battle of yarmouk where he virtually trapped the byzantine army between three steep ravines by stealthily capturing waled only escape route, a bridge, at their rear. The rebels included the free syrian army fsa and a group made up of. It seemed as if rome now was the undisputed master of the middle. Battle of yarmouk eastern roman empire vs rashidun caliphate. Battle of yarmouk camp 7th of may 2018 may 8, 2018 may 8, 2018 peter bucci the syrian army, after its assumption of control over the town of yalda to the east of the isis pocket in southern damascus, used its newfound advantage to attack isis positions from the east. Screenshots from an ebaa news agency video of hts jihadists fighting in yarmouk. The intensity of these clashes and the widespread use of heavy weapons caused numerous civilian casualties, severe damage to property and the displacement of 140,000 palestine refugees and thousands of syrians. Jihadists battle one another for control of yarmouk camp. This isnt a bad book, but it is far from the defining work on yarmuk. Kegris work can be taken as a specialist source on 7th century byzantine empire but not on battle of yarmouk precisely. Register with the promo code historymarche to get a 30day free trial.
In december 2012, fierce clashes erupted in yarmouk, an area of damascus home to approximately 160,000 palestine refugees. May 21, 2018 battle of yarmouk 20 august 636 ce11 rajab 15 h was fought between the forces of eastern roman empire byzantine empire and rashidun caliphate in syria near yarmouk river. Are you a dedicated reader of fdds long war journal. The muslims gathered together, and the greek army marched against them. Yarmouk changed the balance of power in syria and the entire middle east the romanpersian wars reached their climax at nineveh when emperor heraclius finally defeated the persians. For a more detailed examination of yarmuk, see my masters thesis, 2002, the battle of yarmuk. The battle of yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the byzantine empire and the muslim arab forces of the rashidun caliphate. Damascus had once been a stronghold of the byzantine empire. Media in category battle of yarmouk the following 67 files are in this category, out of 67 total. It was conducted under the auspices of his successor, the second caliph, umar. Heraclius was now free to press southward to the capital at ctesiphon. The byzantines descend into the river bed followed by the muslim army, and the fighting spread along the yarmouk river all the way from north of mukheibeh, to wadi qwaylbeh abila. Two of the largest jihadist groups in syria resumed their battle in the yarmouk camp, thursday, as they both engaged in heavy clashes. Battle of yarmouk, 636 byzantine rashidun clash at yarmouk.
Arab women shame their fleeing men back towards the fight. The necessity of studying the battle in early medieval. The battle of yarmouk camp 2015 was a battle that broke out in april 2015, during the syrian civil war, when the islamic state of iraq and the levant stormed the rebelheld yarmouk camp. After the devastating blow to the sassanid persians at firaz, the muslim arab forces, under the command of khalid ibn alwalid, took on the army of the christian byzantine empire at yarmouk near the border of modernday syria and jordan. The battle of yarmouk was a major battle between the muslim forces of the rashidun caliphate and the armies of the eastern romanbyzantine empire. Battle of yarmouk camp 7th of may 2018 syrian war daily. Battle of yarmouk, also called the battle of yarmuk, 20 august 636. The yarmouk camp is a district of damascus that is home to the largest community of palestinian refugees in syria. An assessment of the immediate factors behind the islamic conquests. May allahs peace and blessings be upon the greatest of the prophets and messengers our prophet muhammad. The battle of yarmouk took place only four years after muhammadsaw died in 632. Kafirulma, syria 636 ad the battle of yarmouk was the first major clash between the nascent islamic caliphate and ancient byzentine empire. Battle of yarmouk camp 452018 may 5, 2018 may 5, 2018 peter bucci yesterday, the syrian army launched a pincer movement in the middle of the isiscontrolled pocket south of damascus, splitting the pocket in two. Haldons byzantine wars has a better battle narrative and scholarly analysis.
The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in august 636, near the yarmouk river, along what is today the border between syria and jordan, southeast of the sea of galilee. If this battle had a different outcome, then islam might have become more of an. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in august 636, near the yarmouk river, along what today are the borders of syriajordan and syriaisrael, east of the sea of galilee. The battle maps are decent, and the information is mediocre. What archaeological evidence exists for the battle of. Once the battle for the yarmouk camp begins, it is expected to be far more costly than any of the other battles that have taken place in this part of the capital. The battle of yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the byzantine empire and the muslim forces of the rashidun caliphate. Given that the political map on the ground even today results from the muslim conquests, raymond ibrahim provides a vital service in giving us a rational and well historically grounded account of the battle and the reasons for the arab victory. Despite the byzantines misgivings, they had long since strategized to avoid large scale combat, the odds seemed too much in their favor to ignore. Visit squarespace for a free trial, and when youre ready to launch, go to s. The size of the battle of yarmuk for instance is surely exaggerated, since the byzantines probably had just over 100,000 men in total across their entire empire and it is impossible for all of them to be thrown into battle, so soon after the war with persia and with crises on all the major frontiers.
Islamic state battles rival jihadists for control of. Battle of the yarmuk modified muslim forces took control of syria in 636 ce when they fought the eastern roman empire which included greece at the battle of yarmuk. Battle of yarmouk 20 august 636 ce11 rajab 15 h was fought between the forces of eastern roman empire byzantine empire and rashidun caliphate in syria near yarmouk river. What if the battle of yarmouk was a byzantine victory. In 636 ad the decisive battle took place between the arabs led by khalid ibn alwalid and the. Battle of yarmouk 20 august 636 ce11 rajab 15 h was fought between the forces of eastern roman empire byzantine empire and.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled gnu free documentation license. The islamic state released this photoset from the fighting in yarmouk on apr. Battle of yarmouk camp 452018 may 5, 2018 may 5, 2018 peter bucci yesterday, the syrian army launched a pincer movement in the middle of the isiscontrolled. Battle of yarmouk, 636 byzantine rashidun clash at. In this respect it was tactially as significant as the battle of austerlitz some twelve centuries later. Where as nicolle wrote a whole researched work on only battle of yarmouk.
The result of the battle was a decisive muslim victory. Jun 22, 2014 the rise of islam in the 630s threatened the existence of two ancient superpowers the persian and roman empires. The battle of yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the byzantine empire and the. Alone and frustrated, he stared at the map dumbfounded. Unlike any other animation to date, the battle of yarmuk features massive. The result of the battle was a complete muslim victory. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in august 636, near the yarmouk river. What archaeological evidence exists for the battle of yarmouk. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted. In 634 rashidun army invaded syria, and, after raids and skirmishing, captured damascus in 634. Heraclius placed the full weight of the empire behind his army and he had nothing left to give. Yarmouk is a district of damascus that is home to the biggest community of palestinian refugees in syria.
Muslimbyzantine troop movement from september 635 to just before the event of the battle of yarmouk. The battle of yarmouk camp december 2012 was a period of fierce clashes in yarmouk camp during the syrian civil war. He stared at the morning bustle in the streets of constantinople but he wasnt interested in the life below. The battle of yarmouk it is a common mistake to think of history in terms of battles and wars alone, as if the other events occurring in the world dont matter. Permission is granted to copy, distribute andor modify this document under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. May 08, 2018 battle of yarmouk camp 7th of may 2018 may 8, 2018 may 8, 2018 peter bucci the syrian army, after its assumption of control over the town of yalda to the east of the isis pocket in southern damascus, used its newfound advantage to attack isis positions from the east. After the devastating blow to the sassanid persians at firaz, the muslim arab forces, under. Mar 25, 2020 muslims defeated a roman army at yarmuk, in syria, in the battle of yarmuk is now little remembered, but its outcome forever changed. The syrian army and their palestinian allies have made remarkable progress so far in southern damascus, but the battle for the yarmouk camp is still not fully underway.