Episode 34: Life of Umar ibn al-Khattab
The Byzantine Forces at Fihl:
The Byzantine soldiers that were defeated at Yarmuk went to Fihl to re-organise themselves and prepare for battle again.
After conquering Damascus, Abu Ubaydah and the Muslims headed towards Fihl and Shurahbil ibn Hasana was appointed as the commander of the Muslim army.
The Muslim army reached Fihl at night and received a message from Umar ibn al-Khattab, who wanted them to become extra careful at Fihl.
Umar mentioned that the Byzantine army stationed there were desperate because they were defeated earlier, and he warned the Muslims that they may do something unexpected. He said: Perhaps they may attack you at night.
After receiving this message, Shurahbil ibn Hasana and his army made sure they were constantly prepared and on guard throughout the day and at night.
The Battle and Conquest of Fihl:
The Byzantine army tried to launch a surprise attack in the night. However, the Muslims were prepared for this and the fighting began.
The fighting continued into the day as well and almost lasted 24 hours.
The Byzantines tried to make some sort of a make-shift barrier to try and prevent the Muslims from coming into the city.
They poured large amounts of water over all of the entrances of Fihl except one, and this was to make the dirt turn into mud so it would be slippy for the soldiers and horses to walk through.
Victory at Fihl:
Eventually, the Muslims gained the upper hand and the Byzantines had to retreat. Their whole plan of fortifying the city with mud had backfired.
The Byzantines had nowhere else to retreat to except from the entrances where they created the mud.
The Muslims were able to complete the victory and Fihl was successfully conquered.
Shurahbil ibn Hasana notified Umar ibn al-Khattab of the good news of victory and sent the spoils of war to Madinah.
Heracles Response and the Threat at Hims:
Heracles heard about all of these defeats to the Muslims and the Byzantines had now been defeated at Yarmuk, Damascus and Fihl.
Heracles realised that he was losing his grip on Sham and knew that the Muslims were going to target the city of Hims next.
Heracles Strategy:
Heracles prepared two armies to go to Hims before the Muslims could arrive there.
Interception and Defeat of the Byzantine Armies:
Abu Ubaydah heard about this plan of Heracles and wanted to make sure that they intercepted the armies before they could reach Hims.
Abu Ubaydah and around 16,000 members of the Muslim army headed to intercept the two armies that Heracles had sent to go to Hims.
Abu Ubaydah decided to split the Muslim army into two groups of 8,000 soldiers, he took command of one group and appointed Khalid ibn al-Walid as the commander of the other group.
In the morning, Abu Ubaydah attacked one of the Byzantine armies and eventually, the Muslims had defeated them.
Change of Strategy from the Byzantine Military Commander
During the night, the military commander of the second Byzantine army that Khalid ibn al-Walid was going to battle, decided to change his strategy. He realised that it was not a good idea to head towards Hims and decided to change direction and head towards Damascus instead.
The Byzantine military commander thought that there would be a lack of Muslim protection in Damascus and felt the Byzantines could re-take control of the city.
Khalid ibn al-Walid realised that something was going on and he ordered his army to pack up and follow the Byzantine army, that were heading towards Damascus.
Khalid Gets Reinforcements from Damascus:
Khalid ibn al-Walid also sent a message to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, who was in charge of Damascus, informing him of the plan of the Byzantines.
Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan prepared a small army of remaining soldiers to face the Byzantines before they could enter the city.
When the Byzantine army finally arrived in Damascus, they were shocked to see that the Muslims were waiting for them. In addition to this, Khalid ibn al-Walid and his army had caught up from behind.
Another Victory for the Muslims:
The Byzantines were now sandwiched in between two different Muslim armies, and the fighting began which led to the Byzantine army being completely obliterated.
After both of his armies were defeated, Heracles started to panic as every time he sent an army out to fight, they were defeated by the Muslims.
Heracles Message to Hims:
Heracles sent a message to the people of Hims saying: If the Muslims come to conquer Hims, do not surrender. Just wait and be patient. Fortify yourself in the fortresses of Hims. Even if the Muslims siege around there, don’t come out. Wait for me, I am going to come myself. We will defeat the Muslims together.
Heracles came to Sham and was afraid that if he was personally defeated, it would be the end of his kingdom.
Even though Heracles promised the people of Hims to support them, he did not want to do this until he gathered a huge army and he started calling many soldiers to come and join him.
Peaceful Conquest of Hims:
While he was gathering the army, the Muslims reached Hims.
The residents of Hims fortified themselves in the fortresses and locked themselves behind the walls.
The siege lasted a long time and the people were patiently waiting for Heracles but eventually, they decided they could not wait for Heracles any longer.
They sent a message to the Muslim commander, Abu Ubaydah notifying him that they wanted to surrender the city of Hims to the Muslims.
The city of Hims was now conquered by the Muslims peacefully and Abu Ubaydah put Ubadah ibn Samit in charge of Hims.
Peaceful Conquest of Hamat:
Abu Ubaydah and the Muslim army then moved forward to the city of Hamat.
The residents of Hamat witnessed how all of these cities were conquered one-by-one by the Muslim army and because of this, they immediately surrendered peacefully.
Conquest of Qinnasrin:
Abu Ubaydah sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to Qinnasrin and the fighting took place outside of the city.
Victory at Qinnasrin:
Khalid and the Muslim army were able to defeat the majority of the soldiers, but a few of the surviving soldiers were able to retreat and locked themselves in the fortresses of Qinnasrin.
Khalid sent a message to these people and said: Wherever you are, even if you are up in the clouds, Allah will take us to you, or Allah will bring you down to us. We are going to get you, and whatever happens, Allah is going to give us victory. The wise thing to do is just to surrender now because whether you surrender or not, eventually we are going to get you.
The Surrender at Qinnasrin:
The people of Qinnasrin accepted this and surrendered.
Khalid ibn al-Walid made a condition upon these people and said: you surrender and we will accept a peace treaty with you, but under the condition that you have to destroy the fortresses of your city.
Destruction of the Fortresses at Qinnasrin:
Khalid ibn Walid wanted them to destroy the fortresses as he thought that Heracles might come with another army and fortify themselves in the city of Qinnasrin.
If this happened, Khalid felt that the people of the city, despite the fact that they agreed to a peace treaty, may betray it if they had the support of Heracles.
Khalid ibn al-Walid didn’t want to take this risk and the residents of Qinnasrin destroyed the fortifications of the city.
Qinnasrin was now conquered peacefully by the Muslims.
The Retreat of Heracles.
Eventually, Heracles abandoned Sham and retreated back to Constantinople.