“…Khalid started this bloody tournament by calling forward a number of his stalwarts, including Dhiraar, Shurahbil and Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakr. All these cavaliers rode out from the Muslim front rank, galloped about the space between the two armies and threw their individual challenges. Against each of them a Roman officer emerged, and the champions paired off for combat. Practically every Roman was killed. After killing his opponent the Muslim champion would gallop across the front of the Roman army, taunting and challenging; and on getting a suitable opportunity, would even strike down one or two men in the front rank before retiring to the Muslim army.
As in earlier encounters, Dhiraar, naked above the waist, did the most damage and slew the largest number of Romans, thrilling the spectators with his daredevilry. When this had gone on for an hour or so, Khalid decided that it was time for the 'heavy' weight bout'! He called back the Muslim officers and rode forward himself. As he got into the centre of the battlefield, he called:
I am the pillar of Islam!
I am the Companion of the Prophet!
I am the noble warrior,
Khalid bin Al Waleed!
(Waqidi: pp. 41, 48.)
Since he was the commander of the Muslim army, his challenge had to be met by a top ranking Roman general. Kulus had by now lost some of his zest for battle, because he had been intimidated by the sad fate of all the Romans who had come forward to duel with the Muslims this morning. It appears that he was unwilling to accept the challenge of Khalid; but egged on by the taunts of his rival, Azazeer, he rode out from the front of the Roman army. On getting near Khalid he indicated that he wished to talk; but Khalid paid no heed to his sign and attacked him with his lance. Kulus parried the thrust, showing uncommon skill in doing so. Khalid charged at him again, but the thrust was parried.
Khalid decided not to use the lance any more. He came near his opponent, dropped his lance and grappled with him with his bare hands. Catching Kulus by the collar he jerked him off his horse, whereupon the Roman fell to the ground and made no effort to rise. At this Khalid signalled for two Muslims to come to him.When they came forward, he ordered them to take Kulus away as a prisoner, which they did.
While the Romans were dismayed by the sight of this encounter, Azazeer was secretly pleased and hoped that the Muslims would kill Kulus. Now he came forward, and regarding himself as a greater fighter than Kulus, had no doubt that he would soon make short work of Khalid. But he would first amuse himself by making fun of the Muslim commander.
Azazeer stopped a few paces from Khalid and said in Arabic, "O Arab brother, come near me so that I can ask you some questions." "O enemy of Allah" replied Khalid. "Come near me yourself or I shall come and take your head." Azazeer looked surprised, but urged his horse forward and stopped at duelling distance. In a gentle, persuasive tone he continued: "O Arab, brother, what makes you come to fight in person? Do you not fear that if I kill you, your comrades will be left without a commander?"
"O enemy of Allah, you have already seen what a few of my comrades have done. If I were to give them permission, they would destroy your entire army with Allah's help. I have with me men who regard death as a blessing and this life as an illusion. Anyway, who are you?"
"Do you not know me?" Azazeer exclaimed. "I am the champion of Syria! I am the killer of Persians! I am the breaker of Turkish armies!"
"What is your name?" asked Khalid.
"I am named after the angel of death. I am Israel!"
At this Khalid laughed. "I fear that he after whom you are named seeks you ardently... to take you to the abyss of hell!"
Azazeer ignored this remark and went on in an unconcerned way: "What have you done with your prisoner, Kulus?"
"He is held in irons."
"What prevents you from killing him? He is the most cunning of the Romans."
"Nothing prevents me except the desire to kill both of you together."
"Listen," said the Roman, "I shall give you 1,000 pieces of gold, 10 robes of brocade and five horses if you will kill him, and give me his head."
"That is the price for him. What will you give me to save yourself?"
"What do you want of me?"
"The Jizya!"
This enraged Azazeer, who said, "As we rise in honour, so you fall in disgrace. Defend yourself, for now I kill you."
These words were hardly out of the Roman's mouth when Khalid assailed him. He struck several times with his sword, but Azazeer, showing perfect mastery over the art, parried every blow and remained unharmed. A cry of admiration rose from the Muslim ranks at the skill with which the Roman was defending himself against their commander, who had few equals in combat and those only among the Muslims. Khalid also stopped in amazement.
The face of the Roman broke into a smile as he said, "By the Messiah, I could easily kill you if I wished. But I am determined to take you alive, so that I may then release you on condition that you leave our land."
Khalid was infuriated by the cool, condescending manner of the Roman general and his success in defending himself. He decided to take the Roman alive and humble him. As he moved forward to attack again, however, to his great surprise, Azazeer turned his horse and began to canter away. Believing that the Roman was fleeing from combat, Khalid pursued him and the spectators saw the remarkable spectacle of two generals galloping, one after the other, in the no-man's-land between the two armies. Several times the riders galloped round the field; and then Khalid began to lag behind, his horse sweating and winded. The Roman was better mounted, and his horse showed no sign of fatigue.
This apparently was a pre-determined plan of Azazeer, for when he saw Khalid's mount exhausted, he reined in his horse and waited for Khalid to catch up. Khalid was now in a most unforgiving mood, since in this race his opponent had got the better of him, and it did not help his temper to hear the Roman mock at him: "O Arab! Do not think that I fled in fear. In fact I am being kind to you. Lo, I am the taker of souls! I am the angel of death!"
Khalid's horse was no longer fit for combat. He dismounted and walked towards Azazeer, sword in hand. The Roman gloated at the sight of his opponent approaching on foot while he himself was mounted. Now, he thought, he had Khalid just where he wanted him. As Khalid got within striking distance, Azazeer raised his sword and made a vicious sideways swipe to cut off the Muslim's head; but Khalid ducked to let the blade swish past harmlessly inches above his head. The next instant he struck at the forelegs of the Roman's horse, severing them completely from the body, and horse and rider came tumbling down. Now all courage left Azazeer. He got up and tried to run, but Khalid sprang at him and catching him with both hands, lifted him bodily off the ground and hurled him down. Next he caught Azazeer by the collar, jerked him up and marched him back to the Muslim army, where he joined Kulus in irons. ( The description of these duels and the dialogue are taken fromWaqidi: pp. 19-21.)
This grand duel was hardly over when two more Muslim corps, those of Abu Ubaidah and Amr bin Al Aas, arrived at the battlefield. Khalid deployed them as the wings of his army; and as soon as the battle formation was complete, ordered a general attack.
The Romans stood firm for an hour or so, but could not hold the Muslims longer. The loss of a large number of their officers, including the two top generals, had had a depressing effect on their spirits; and the fact that Damascus stood just behind, beckoning to them to come and be safe within its walls acted as a temptation to withdraw. So they retreated, in good order, leaving behind a large number of dead. The Roman army arrived at the city and entered its walls, closing the gates behind it. The Muslims spent the night on the plain, and the following day marched to the city.
Here, on August 20, 634 (the 20th of Jamadi-ul-Akhir, 13 Hijri), Khalid launched the Muslim army into the siege of Damascus.
Khalid had already left behind a mounted detachment at Fahl to keep the Roman garrison occupied and prevent it from coming to the aid of Damascus or interfering with the movement of messengers and reinforcements from Madinah. Now he sent out another detachment on the road to Emessa to take up a position near Bait Lihya, about 10 miles from the city, (Bait Lihya no longer exists, and its exact location is not known. It was a small town in the Ghuta (Yaqut: Vol. 1, p. 780), and I have placed it at the outer edge of the Ghuta because to position a blocking force nearer the city would be militarily unsound.) and instructed its commander to send out scouts to observe and report the arrival of Roman relief columns. If unable to deal with such columns himself, the detachment commander would seek Khalid's help. Having thus arranged a blocking position to isolate Damascus from Northern Syria, which was the most likely region whence relief columns could approach Damascus, Khalid surrounded the city with the rest of the army.
Damascus now held a Roman garrison of about 15,000 to 16,000 soldiers, a considerable civil population comprising the permanent inhabitants and a large number of people from the surrounding region who had taken refuge in the city. The Muslim strength at Damascus is not recorded, but must have been quite a bit less than in the preceding month. Muslim dead in the three battles just fought - at Ajnadein, at Yaqusa and at the Marj-us-Suffar - undoubtedly ran into four figures; and thousands more must have been wounded in these battles and rendered unable to participate in the siege. Moreover, a group had been sent out as a blocking force and a detachment left at Fahl. In view of all this, I estimate the Muslim strength at Damascus at about 20,000 men.With this strength Khalid besieged the city.
He positioned the corps of Iraq, which included elements of the Mobile Guard, at the East Gate. He placed the bulk of this corps under Raafe, and himself stayed a short distance away from the East Gate with a reserve of 400 horsemen from the Mobile Guard. He established his headquarters in a monastery which, as a result, became known as Dair Khalid, i.e. Monastery of Khalid (and it is believed that the monks living in this monastery helped the Muslims in various ways, including the care of the Muslim wounded. This monastery, which was also known as Dair-ul-Ahmar (the Red Monastery), no longer exists, but its general location is known. About a quarter of a mile from the East Gate, stretching eastwards, stands a garden. The monastery was in this garden, and according to Waqidi (p. 43), was less than half a mile from the gate.)
At each of the remaining gates, he deployed a force of 4,000 to 5,000 men whose commanders were as follows:
- Gate of Thomas : Shurahbil,
- Jabiya Gate : Abu Ubaidah,
- Gate of Faradees : Amr bin Al Aas,
- Keisan Gate : Yazeed,
- Small Gate : Yazeed.
To the corps commanders Khalid gave instructions to the effect that they would: (a) camp outside bow-range of the fort; (b) keep the gate under observation; (c) move archers up to engage any Roman archers who appeared on the battlements; (d) throw back any Roman force which sallied out from the gate; and (e) seek Khalid's help in case of heavypressure. Dhiraar was placed in command of 2,000 horsemen from the Mobile Guard, and given the task of patrolling the empty spaces between the gates during the night and helping any corps attacked by the Romans. With these instructions the Muslim corps deployed, and the siege began. Tents were pitched, and Dhiraar started his patrolling. Every main avenue of relief and escape was closed, but this applied only to formed bodies of men. Individuals could still be lowered from the wall at many places during the night, and thus Thomas was able to keep in touch with the outside world and with Heraclius at Antioch.
On the day following the arrival of the Muslims, Khalid had Kulus and Azazeer brought in irons near the East Gate where they could be seen by the Romans on the wall. Here both generals were offered Islam, and both rejected the offer. Then, in full view of the Roman garrison, the two generals were beheaded, the executioner being none other than Dhiraar.
For three weeks the siege continued with no major action except for a few half-hearted Roman sallies which the Muslims, had no difficulty in repulsing. During the day the two sides would keep up a sporadic exchange of archery, though no great damage was suffered by either side. This was to be a siege to the bitter end. Damascus would, if necessary, be starved into submission. ( According to Tabari (Vol. 2, p. 626) the Muslims also used catapults at this siege; but this is unlikely because the Muslims had no siege equipment, nor did they know much about using it.)
Soon after Heraclius heard of the defeat of the Roman army at Marj-us-Suffar by Khalid and the commencement of the siege of the city, he undertook measures to raise fresh forces. The recent blows suffered by the Empire were serious enough; but the successful advance of the Muslims had now created an even more critical situation, and Damascus itself was in danger. If Damascus fell, it would be a staggering blow to the prestige it could not recover without mobilizing the entire military resources of the Empire-a task not to be undertaken except in the direct emergency. And Damascus was in danger of falling not because of insufficient troops in the city but because of insufficient supplies. It had not been provisioned for a long siege. Within 10 days of the start of the siege, Heraclius had raised a new army of 12,000 men drawn from garrisons in various parts of Northern Syria and the Jazeer. (Jazeera literally means island, and this name was used to designate the region between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris in present day North-Eastern Syria, North-Western Iraq and South-Eastern Turkey.)
This army was launched from Antioch with a large baggage-train carrying supplies, and the commander was instructed to reach Damascus at any cost and relieve the beleaguered garrison. The relief column marched via Emessa, made contact with Muslim scouts between Emessa and Damascus, and from here onwards was prepared for battle at a moment's notice.
On September 9, 634 (the 10th of Rajab, 13 Hijri), a messenger came galloping into Khalid's camp to inform him that a large Roman army of undetermined strength was advancing rapidly from Emessa, and in a day or so would make contact with the blocking force deployed at Bait Lihya. Khalid was not surprised to hear this, for he had guessed that Heraclius would do everything in his power to relieve Damascu ; and it was for this reason that Khalid had placed the blocking force on the main route by which a relief column could approach the city.
He immediately organised a mounted force of 5,000 men and placed it under Dhiraar. He instructed Dhiraar to proceed with all speed to the area of Bait Lihya, take command of the regiment already deployed there and deal with the relief column approaching from Emessa. He cautioned Dhiraar against being rash and instructed him to seek reinforcements before committing his force to battle in case the enemy strength proved too large. Such words of caution, however, were wasted on Dhiraar; if there was one quality which he did not possess it was caution. With Raafe as his second-in-command, Dhiraar rode away from Damascus and picking up the blocking force, moved forward to a low ridge a little short of Saniyyat-ul-Uqab (the Pass of the Eagle) and deployed his force in ambush.
Next morning the Roman army appeared in sight. The Muslims waited. As the head of the Roman column got close to the ambush, Dhiraar ordered the attack. His men rose from their places of concealment, and led by their half-naked commander, rushed at the Romans. But the Romans were prepared for such a contingency. They deployed so quickly in battle formation that the action became a frontal engagement, with the Muslims attacking and the Romans standing firm in defence on higher ground in front of the Pass of the Eagle. The Muslims now realised the full strength of the enemy, which amounted to twice their own. But this did not matter to Dhiraar. Assaulting furiously in front of his men, he got far ahead of his comrades and before long was completely surrounded by the Romans. His enemies recognised him as the Naked Champion; and decided to take him alive and show him as a prize to their Emperor. Dhiraar was wounded by an arrow in the right arm but continued to fight as the Romans closed in. At last, however, after he had suffered several wounds, he was overpowered by the Romans, who then sent him to the rear.
The loss of Dhiraar had a depressing effect on the Muslims, but Raafe was a worthy successor to the dashing Dhiraar. Taking command, he launched several attacks to get through to Dhiraar and rescue him; but his efforts proved fruitless, and the action turned into a stalemate. Raafe realised that there was nothing that he could do to break the Roman force deployed in front of him; and in the afternoon he sent a message to Khalid telling him about the engagement, about the enemy strength and about the loss of Dhiraar-probably still alive as a prisoner.
The sun was still well above the horizon when Khalid received news of this engagement. He realised that the Roman strength at Bait Lihya was too large for Raafe to tackle on his own. And this placed Khalid in a serious dilemma. The Roman relief column had to be defeated and driven back towards Emessa, and this could be done quickly only if Khalid himself took command at Bait Lihya with a sizable reinforcement from Damascus.Failing this, the Roman relief column would have every chance of breaking through the Muslim blocking force, and this could have a disastrous effect on the Muslim siege of Damascus. But there was also the problem of timing. If an immediate move were made to reinforce Raafe, the Roman garrison would observe the move and sally out to break the grip of the weakened besieging force. The relieving Romans at Bait Lihya had to be beaten; yet the besieged Romans in Damascus had to be kept in the dark about the movement ofMuslim reinforcements from Damascus. Khalid decided to risk a delay and carry out on move till the latter part of the night, by when the beleaguered garrison would be less likely to discover the move.
Preparations wore made accordingly. The command at Damascus was taken over by Abu Ubaidah who would see to the siege operations during Khalid's absence. After midnight a detachment of 1,000 Muslim warriors underMaisara bin Masruq took up positions at the East Gate and some other readjustments were made at the other gates. Then, some time between midnight and dawn, Khalid set off with his Mobile Guard of 4,000 horses. The Guard moved swiftly through the remainder of the night and early the following morning arrived at the scene of battle between Raafe and the Romans. The fighting was continuing on this second day of battle with no decision in sight. Indeed the Muslims were now tired of attacking the Romans who stood like a rock against the Muslim assaults. As Khalid approached the battlefield he suddenly saw a Muslim rider flash past him from behind and gallop off towards the Roman front. Before Khalid could stop him, he was gone. A slim, lightly-built person, dressed in black, this rider wore a breastplate and was armed with a sword and a long lance. He sported a green turban and had a scarf wrapped around his face, acting as a mask, with only his eyes visible. Khalid arrived on the battlefield in time to see this rider throw himself at the Romans with such fury that everyone present thought that he and his horse must both be mad. Raafe saw this rider before he saw Khalid and remarked, "He attacks like Khalid, but he is clearly not Khalid." (Waqidi: p. 27.) Then Khalid joined Raafe.
Khalid took a little time to organize Raafe's group and his own Mobile Guard into one and deploy it as a combined force for battle. Meanwhile the masked rider treated the Muslims to a thrilling display of horsemanship and attacks with the lance. He would go charging on his own, strike the Roman front atone point and kill a man; then go galloping away to another part of the front, again strike someone in the Roman front line and so on. A few Romans came forward to tackle him but all went down before his terrible lance. Marvelling at this wondrous sight, the Muslims could still see nothing more of the warrior than a youthful figure and a pair of bright eyes shining above the mask. The rider appeared bent on suicide as with his clothes and lance covered with blood, he struck again and again at the Romans. The example of this warrior put fresh courage into the men of Raafe, who forgot their fatigue and went into battle with renewed high spirits as Khalid gave the order to attack.
The masked rider, now joined by many others, continued his personal war against the Romans as the entire Muslim force attacked the Roman front.
Soon after the general attack had begun, Khalid got near this rider and called, "O warrior, show us your face." A pair of dark eyes flashed at Khalid before the rider turned away and galloped off into another assault at the Romans. Next, a few of Khalid's men caught up with him and said, "O noble warrior, your commander calls you and you turn away from him! Show us your face and tell us your name so that you may be properly honoured." Again the rider turned away as if deliberately trying to keep his identity a secret.
As the masked rider returned from his charge, he passed by Khalid, who called to him sternly to stop. The rider pulled up his horse, and Khalid continued, "You have done enough to fill our hearts with admiration. Who are you?" Khalid nearly fell off his horse when he heard the reply of the masked rider, for it was the voice of a girl! "O commander, I only turn away from you out of modesty. You are the glorious commander, and I am of those who stay behind the veil. I fight like this because my heart is on fire."
"Who are you?"
"I am Khaulah, sister of Dhiraar. My brother has been captured, and I must fight to set him free."
Khalid marvelled at the old man, Al Azwar, who had fathered two such dauntless fighters, a boy and a girl. "Then come and attack with us", he said.
The Muslim attack continued in force and at about midday the Romans began to withdraw from the battlefield in good order. The Muslims followed, keeping up a steady pressure, but there was no sign of Dhiraar, dead or alive. Then, as good luck would have it, some local Arabs came to the Muslims with the information that they had seen 100 Romans riding to Emessa with a half-naked man in their midst, tied to his horse. Khalid at once guessed that Dhiraar had been sent away from the battlefield and ordered Raafe to take 100 picked riders, move wide around the flank of the Romans, get to the Emessa road and intercept the escort taking Dhiraar to Emessa. Raafe at once selected 100
stalwarts and set off, accompanied, of course, by Khaulah bint Al Azwar.Raafe got to the Emessa road at a point which the escort had not yet reached and waited in ambush.When the 100 Romans arrived at this point, Raafe and his men assailed them, killed most of the soldiers and set Dhiraar free. The Naked Champion and his loving sister were happily reunited. The party again made a wide detour to avoid the Roman
army, and rejoined Khalid who was very, very grateful to Raafe for rescuing Dhiraar. Under the unrelenting pressure of the Muslims, the Romans increased the pace of their retreat. As the Muslims struck with greater ferocity, the retreat turned into a rout, and the Romans took to their heels and fled in the direction of Emessa…”
From the book 'Khalid bin Waleed - The sword of Allah'
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