Battle of the Yarmuk
Near the Yarmuk River, along the tripoint border of Syria, Jordan and Golan Heights
What happened
Khalid ibn al-Walid and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah of the Rashidun Caliphate faced a large army sent by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and led in the field by the Armenian commander Vahan. In May 636 Heraclius sent a massive expedition to the Levant to check the Arab advance and win back lost territory. The Arabs withdrew from Syria and gathered all their forces on the Yarmuk plains. Vahan tried diplomacy before fighting, but the armies met in a series of engagements over six days. On the last day Khalid's mobile guard of cavalry led a counterattack. The day before, Dhirar had captured the Roman bridge that was the Byzantines' main crossing of the ravine, and the Byzantine army was defeated.
Why it matters
Result: Rashidun victory. Leaders: Khalid ibn al-Walid / Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah against Vahan / Theodore Trithyrius. Why it matters: It was a decisive Arab victory that effectively ended Byzantine rule in Syria and marked a crucial point in the Muslim conquest of Syria.
What came next
Heraclius left Syria for Constantinople. Khalid and his mobile guard pursued the retreating Byzantine soldiers north toward Damascus. Jerusalem capitulated in 637 or 638.
Did you know?
The Roman bridge at the edge of the battlefield, Jisr-ur-Ruqqad, was the one main crossing of the ravine in 636.
Timeline
- May 636 CEHeraclius sends a massive expedition to the Levant.
- Spring 636 CEKhalid withdraws to Jabiya in the Golan, and the Arabs gather at the Yarmuk plains.
- 15 August 636 CEThe two armies line up for battle.
- Night before 20 August 636 CEDhirar captures the bridge behind the Byzantine army.
- 20 August 636 CEKhalid's counterattack on the sixth day decides the battle.
- 637 or 638 CEJerusalem capitulates.