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Islamiyat IGCSEPDF 160

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40,000 Muslims defeated 2,60,000 Byzantines after a battle which lasted for 6 days. As a 4 result of this battle, Muslims conquered Syria. In October 636 AD Muslims recaptured Damascus under Abu Ubaidah bin al Jarrah. Meanwhile, Amr bin Aas laid siege to Jerusalem and later Khalid bin Waleed also joined him. The Christian Patriarch Sophronious offered to surrender on the condition that the Caliph himself should come to Jerusalem. This was accepted and Hazrat Umar signed an agreement that guaranteed safety and security of the people of Jerusalem. Finally, Muslim army advanced under Amr bin Aas and laid a siege and after the battle of Alexandria captured Egypt in 18 A.H. /639 A.D. Wars against Persians: 1. Battle of Namarraq: During the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Muslims under Musanna and Khalid bin Walid conquered the kingdom of Hira. The Persians became furious and tried to recover it from the Muslims. The Persian King sent Rustam, a famous general, to fight the Muslims. Khalid bin Walid had already left for Syria and so Musana was left alone on the Persian front. Hazrat Umar sent an army under Abu Ubaid to reinforce the army of Musana. A battle was fought at Namarraq in which the Persians were defeated. 2. Battle of Jasr(Bridge): After the defeat of the Persians in the battle of Namarraq, they again met the Muslims under the command of Bahman (634 AD). The Euphrates lay between the two armies. Against the advice of the Muslim leaders, their commander Abu Ubaid Thaqafi, decided to fight across the river. A bridge of boats was built across the river and the Muslims crossed it. After crossing the river, Abu Ubaid ordered that the bridge should be broken so that Muslim soldiers would not think of retreating. But then, they found themselves at a disadvantage. The ground was uneven and the army could not move freely. A thick wall of war elephants shielded the Persians. The Arab horses, which had never seen the war elephants before were terrified and this led to confusion and the Muslims cavalry, got disorganized. In the scuffle that followed, a white elephant knocked down Abu Ubaid and trampled him. One after another, the Muslim commanders were martyred. This made the Muslim army lose heart and they rushed for the bridge but the bridge had already been broken . Musanna, who was now that the commander of the Muslim army ordered the re-building of the bridge. In the meantime, he held back the enemy with a small force asking others to cross the river. He himself was the last to cross. The Muslims suffered heavy losses. Out of a total strength of nine thousand, only three thousand could be saved. This Battle is also known as the Battle of Bridge. 3. Battle of Buwaib: After the disaster at Jasr, Hazrat Umar sent messengers to all parts of Arabia inviting the Arabs to participate in war against Persians. In response this call many Muslims and Christians gathered round the standard of Islam. The Persians sent a strong force 200000 against the Muslims under the command of Mehran, who was regarded as an expert in the Arabian way of War. The Persian Army marched to Euphrates and camped on the east bank of the Euphrates River. Mehran sent a messenger to Musanna to inquire if the Muslim would like the Persians to cross 5 over to their side. The Muslims had a bitter experience of crossing the river in the Battle of Bridge. So they asked the Persians army to cross river. The following day, the Persians army crossed over and the two armies met at Buwaib. The Persians were several times more in numbers, but the Muslims fought desperately. A young warrior of Taghlib tribe killed Mehran. With his death, the tide of the battle was turned and the Persians began to flee in disorder. Musana, at once, captured the Bridge this prevented the Persians from crossing the river. Finding no other way to flee thousands of them were drowned while other died in large number on the battlefield. In this battle the majority of the Persians army was destroyed.