Having annexed the Arabian Peninsula, the first Muslim Caliph, Abu Bakr, was not resting on his laurels. He had plans to topple two crumbling empires and did not hang about. The Siege of Damascus in 634 was the first decisive Muslim victory in the strategically significant region of the Levant.
Eastern Roman Empire
To understand why the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Rashidun Caliphate) believed that the conditions were ripe for an invasion of Syria, we should examine the state of the Eastern Roman Empire, a.k.a. the Byzantine Empire, in the lead-up to 634.
Rightly Guided Caliphate
Also known as the Rashidun Caliphate, this group of Muslim leaders or 'caliphs' led the Islamic world after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.
The edges of the Byzantine Empire had been in dispute for much of the early 7th century. This was due to a tug of war with the Persian Sassanids that lasted from 602 to 628. The two empires had not seen eye to eye for centuries.
When instability struck across the Byzantine Empire and Emperor Heraclius replaced Phocas in 610, the Byzantine forces were stretched, and their attention turned. As historian William Welsh details, this marked a seed change in the Sassanid's intentions:
Traditional frontier warfare was replaced by the onset of total war, in which each side sought to destroy the other.1
The Sassanids enjoyed early superiority, taking Damascus, Emesa, and Jerusalem in 614. Their conquest of Jerusalem was a particularly crushing blow. They burned the Christian Holy Church of the Sepulchre and stole the True Cross.
Fig. 2 Modern image of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
However, Byzantine Emperor Heraclius pushed back, removing the Sassanid threat from Anatolia. Working alongside the Turks, the Byzantines again put the Sassanids on the back foot. Finally, in 628, the Byzantines surrounded the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon. The new Shah Kavad II overthrew his father and negotiated an end to the conflict. All territories and relics were returned to their original owners. The war proved ultimately fruitless for each side but left two depleted, fatigued, and crumbling empires susceptible to invasion.
Siege of Damascus 634
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, the Muslim world needed a new figurehead. After deliberation, Abu Bakr became the first Caliph, a term derived from the Arabic for 'successor'. His role combined the position of a religious and political leader. He quickly went about uniting the Arabian Peninsula and winning the Ridda Wars before broadening his horizons into the territory of the beleaguered Byzantine and Sassanid empires.
Siege of Damascus Timeline
In 633, Abu Bakr sent Muslim forces to capture the Palestinian countryside in preparation for offensives on the larger cities. He charged military commander Khalid ibn al-Walid with expanding the Rashidun Caliphate. Khalid proved himself to be an exceptional war general. Upon entering the Levant, he took a treacherous route across the desert to catch his enemy off-guard. Legend has it that he used camels as water tanks, slaughtering them along the journey for his men to stay alive.
Levant
The strip of land east of the Mediterranean Sea. It held immense strategic significance for the Rashidun Caliphate.
Mesopotamia
An area in Western Asia that encompassed much of modern Iraq and was primarily under Sassanid control during this period.
Let's examine the military and political events before and during the Siege of Damascus. We must remember that it is difficult to place the exact dates due to historical accounts.
| Date | Event |
| January 634 | Khalid ibn al-Walid won his first skirmish in the Sassanid Empire at the Battle of Firaz in Mesopotamia, which lay between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. He defeated a Byzantine-Sassanid coalition, meaning that Abu Bakr could concentrate on the Levant, an area of strategic importance. |
| July 634 | Joining other Muslim forces, al-Walid helped the Rashidun Caliphate to overthrow the Ghassanid capital of Bosra. This marked the first significant victory in the Levant and was a direct threat to the Byzantine Empire as the Ghassanid Kingdom was a vassal state under their control. |
| In response to the Battle of Bosra, Heraclius sent numerous troops to Ajnadayn, in modern-day Israel. He hoped that his brother Theodore and Wardan, an Armenian leader, could lead the Byzantine Empire to victory and halt the progress of al-Walid. This also resulted in defeat, and the Byzantine Emperor retreated to Antioch in northern Syria. |
| Seeing the opportunity to advance into Syria, Khalid ibn al-Walid set his sights on Damascus and marched north towards Syria. Byzantine forces attempted to stall the progress of the Muslims at Yaqusa on the Yarmouk river near the border with Israel. Al-Walid won the battle easily, but it did allow some reinforcements to gather at Damascus. |
| 19 August 634 | Similar to Byzantine tactics at Yaqusa, forces were sent to Marj al-Suffar to stall the Muslim forces. However, al-Walid was victorious again, clearing the road to Damascus. |
| 21 August 634 | Khalid ibn al-Walid arrived at Damascus, flanked by 16,000 infantrymen and 4,000 cavalrymen. His control of the surrounding rural areas meant he could starve the population. At the same time, some of his horsemen headed north to watch for relief from Heraclius. |
| 9 September 634 | Heraclius sent 19,000 men from Antioch to relieve Damascus. al-Walid's forces caught them by surprise, inflicting a heavy defeat at the Eagle Pass during the night. During this time, the Muslim forces were stretched thinly, but the city's bishop, Thomas, failed to capitalise on his chance to repel them. He attempted to launch an attack of his own at the Gate of Thomas but was shot in the eye. After another failed counterattack, the Byzantine leader's situation appeared hopeless. |
| 18 September 634 | A Greek man, native to Damascus, named 'Jonah the Lover', was furious that the siege had interrupted his wedding. He climbed over the wall, telling al-Walid that the walls would be unguarded this night due to a Christian ceremony. Gaining entrance to the city, 100 Muslim Arabs caught the Byzantines cold. |
| 19 September 634 | Thomas sent a message to war general Abu Ubaidah, offering his surrender in exchange for jizya. The merciful Ubaidah accepted, much to the fury of al-Walid. The city fell, leaving the rest of Syria open to further Muslim domination. |
The Muslim victors granted a three-day grace period to allow those unwilling to pay jizya and live under Muslim rule to leave the city.
However, after this was over, the Arabs pursued Thomas and killed him at the Battle of Maraj al-Debaj. This may have been a request of Jonah the Lover, who later converted to Islam.
Jizya
The compulsory non-Muslim tax that those in territories conquered by the Caliphate had to pay.
During the conflict, the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, died suddenly. The fearsome warrior Umar Ibn Khattab swiftly replaced him. This left the Caliphate poised to make further progress into Syria.
Muslim Conquest of Syria
With Heraclius on the run and a significant city lost, the Byzantine Empire was in disarray. In 636, the forces of Caliph Umar and al-Walid had won the Battle of Yarmouk. They also inflicted another humiliating loss with the Siege of Jerusalem, the second defeat at the holy city in less than three decades. However, this time they did not burn or loot it.
The critical northern Syrian cities of Aleppo and Antioch had also been taken by 637. Now, the Rashidun Caliphate exercised control over the entire Syrian province. The victors let the defeated live in peace and pay jizya. Emperor Heraclius retreated to Constantinople soon after his defeat and died in 641.
Siege of Damascus Aftermath
Having examined the broader impact of the Siege of Damascus on Syria, we should now address its immediate aftermath. The destruction and merciless killing of the Sassanids was not in the playbook of the Muslims. Religious relics were also left intact, which certainly hadn't always been the case; just remember the Sassanid conquest of Jerusalem!
In exchange for allowing churches to remain open and untouched and for the Christian population to remain unmolested, the inhabitants agreed to recognise the overlordship of new masters.
- Peter Frankopan, 'The Silk Roads: A New History of the World', 20162
Perhaps crucially, there were not centuries of animosity fuelling the conflict and hate. A projection of tolerance also helped many conquered states be more ready to accept their subjugation. As long as they paid taxes, this was a practical template for governance. Damascus would eventually become the Muslim world's capital in the Umayyad Caliphate, showing just how vital this initial incursion was.
Siege of Damascus - Key takeaways
- While the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires fought for decades to no avail, the birth of Islam took place. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr had plans to expand his Empire.
- After a defeat of the Sassanids at Firaz in early 634, the Caliph turned his attention to the strategically important Levant.
- He counted on war general Khalid ibn al-Walid, who joined the forces already in Palestine and Israel and mounted an offensive on Damascus in August 634.
- Despite being outnumbered, al-Walid gained entry to the city via a traitor, and there was a swift surrender.
- The Rashidun Caliphate showed mercy to the city's inhabitants but chased the city's bishop, Thomas, and killed him. This conquest allowed them to continue into Syria and gain control of the Levant.
References
- William E. Welsh, 'Bitter rivals', Medieval Warfare, Vol. 6, No. 3, THEME: The Byzantine-Sassanid Wars (JUL / AUG 2016), pp. 6-9.
- Peter Frankopan, 'The Silk Roads: A New History of the World', (2016), pp. 85-6.
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