Battle of the Yarmuk

Battle of Yarmuk
Part of the Muslim conquest of the Levant
(Arab–Byzantine wars)

Illustration of the Battle of Yarmuk by an anonymous Catalan illustrator (c. 1310–1325)
Date15–20 August 636
Location
Near the Yarmuk River, in Syria
32°48′51″N 35°57′17″E / 32.8141°N 35.9548°E / 32.8141; 35.9548[dubious ]
Result Rashidun victory
Territorial
changes
The Levant is annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate Byzantine Empire
Ghassanid Kingdom
Tanukhids
Commanders and leaders
Umar
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah
Amr ibn al-As
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Malik al-Ashtar
Shurahbil ibn Hasana
Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr al-Tamimi
Amru bin Ma'adi Yakrib
Iyad ibn Ghanm
Dhiraar bin Al-Azwar
Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr
Ubadah ibn al-Samit
Heraclius
Theodore Trithyrius 
Vahan [g]
Jabalah ibn al-Aiham
Dairjan 
Niketas the Persian
Buccinator (Qanatir)
Gregory[1]
Strength
15,000–40,000
(modern estimates)[d]
24,000–40,000
(primary Arab sources)[e]
15,000–150,000
(modern estimates)[a]
100,000–200,000
(primary Arab sources)[c]
140,000
(primary Roman sources)[b]
Casualties and losses
4,000 killed[2] 40,000
(modern estimates)[3]
70,000–120,000 killed
(primary Arab sources)[f]
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in Syria
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle location on a map of modern Syria
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in State of Palestine
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle of the Yarmuk (State of Palestine)
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in Israel
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle of the Yarmuk (Israel)
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in Jordan
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle of the Yarmuk (Jordan)
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in Middle East
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle of the Yarmuk (Middle East)
Battle of the Yarmuk is located in Levant
Battle of the Yarmuk
Battle of the Yarmuk (Levant)

The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River (also called Hieromyces River), along what are now the borders of Syria–Jordan and Syria-Israel, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The result of the battle was a crushing Muslim victory that ended Roman rule in Syria after about seven centuries. The Battle of the Yarmuk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history,[4][5] and it marked the first great wave of early Muslim conquests after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then-Christian/Roman Levant.

To check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Byzantine army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmuk plains close to the Arabian Peninsula, where they were reinforced, and defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is widely regarded to be Khalid ibn al-Walid's greatest military victory and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history.[6]

  1. ^ Nicolle 1994, pp. 64–65
  2. ^ Akram 2004, p. 425
  3. ^ Britannica (2007): "Losses: Byzantine allied, 40,000"
  4. ^ Nafziger & Walton 2003, p. 30
  5. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 6
  6. ^ Nicolle 1994, p. 19

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