Battle of Marj-ud-Debaj ( ar, معركة مرج الديباج) was fought between the Byzantine army, survivors from the

conquest of Damascus The siege of Damascus (634) lasted from 21 August to 19 September 634 before the city fell to the Rashidun Caliphate. Damascus was the first major city of the Eastern Roman Empire to fall in the Muslim conquest of Syria. The last of the Roman� ...

, and the

Rashidun Caliphate army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, grant ...

in September 634. It was a successful raid after three days of armistice, on the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

survivors of the conquest of Damascus.

Background

Damascus was conquered by the

Rashidun army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granti ...

after a siege lasting about one month, from 21 August to 19 September 634 A.D. It was the first stronghold of the

Byzantine empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

conquered by Muslims during the

Muslim conquest of Syria The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...

. The Byzantine commander Thomas, commander in chief and governor of Damascus and son in law of

Emperor Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt ...

, after hearing that Muslim troops had entered Damascus at the Eastern gate, wisely tricked the Muslim corps commanders at the other gates by suing for peace. The peace offer then was accepted by them. After the trick was unveiled the Muslim commanders advised Khalid ibn Walid that the peace agreement should be kept, because if the Romans in Syria heard that the Muslims had given a guarantee of safety and then slaughtered those whose safety had been guaranteed, no other city would ever surrender to the Muslims, and that would make the task of conquering Syria immeasurably more difficult. Khalid was not happy, but he agreed.Akram, c. 30, p. 12. A

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Muslim ''Jonah'' by name, suggested Khalid to chase the Byzantines after the three days of armistice agreed upon was over. He gave his services to guide Khalid through a short cut route to reach them as soon as possible. According to Muslim chronicles this Greek man Jonah was in love with a girl who was his fiancé and was to be married with him but when the Muslim army launched the siege of the city, the marriage was postponed until peace was restored. Frustrated with the long siege and delayed marriage Jonah came to Khalid and informed him about a weak post on the Wall of Damascus where that night security was to be weak. Khalid with other Muslim warriors climbed up the wall and opened the gates and the Muslim army positioned at the Eastern gate entered the city. Jonah's fiancé on hearing of his conversion to Islam broke the engagement and decided to move with the Byzantines to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. This prompted Jonah once again to go to Khalid. The plan of Jonah was accepted by Khalid: they would launch a pursuit after three days, when the three days grace period was over. The Mobile Guard would dash out in pursuit and go at breakneck speed. On Jonah's suggestion it was decided that all would be dressed like local Arabs, so that any Roman units encountered on the way would mistake them for such and not intercept their movement.

The battle

The route taken by the

Mobile guard The Fursan unit, or the early Muslim cavalry unit, was the cavalry forces of Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Syria. The division which formed the early cavalry corps of the caliphate were commonly nicknamed the Mobile Guard (Arabic: ط ...

is not recorded. It is stated by the historian Waqidi that the Muslims caught up with the convoy a short distance from

, not far from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, on a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

beyond a range of hills called Jabal Ansariya, in Northern Syria. Mohammad adil rais-batte of majar ud dibaj

Due to a heavy downpour, the

convoy had dispersed on the plateau, seeking shelter from the weather, while their goods lay all over the place. So many bundles of brocade lay scattered on the ground that this plain became known as Marj-ud-Debaj, i.e. the ''Meadow of Brocade'', and for this reason the action described has been named the Battle of Marj-ud-Debaj, or the Battle of Meadow of Brocade. Jonah and other scouts established the location of the convoy without being spotted and they brought back sufficient information for Khalid to plan his attack. Khalid arranged a skillful plan of attacking the Byzantines from four different sides. First a cavalry regiment of 1000 warriors would attack the Byzantines from their rear in the south, subsequently followed by an attack of a cavalry regiment 1000 warriors from the east, north (thereby blocking their retreat to

) and finally from the west to encircle them completely. It all happened as Khalid had planned. The Byzantines received their first indication of the presence of the Muslim army when a regiment of 1000 cavalry came charging at them from the south, along the road from Damascus, led by the Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar. Half an hour later another cavalry regiment of 1000 warriors led by Raafe bin Umair, appeared from the east and struck the Byzantine's right flank. Within the span of half an hour another cavalry regiment of 1000 warriors led by Abdu'l-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr (''Son of Caliph

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

'') from the north, struck the Byzantines at the rear thus blocking their way to retreat north towards Antioch. After about another half an hour later the final Muslim cavalry of 1000 warriors led by Khalid ibn Walid appeared from the west and attacked the Byzantine's left flank. Now the Byzantines were encircled by the Muslim's cavalry. Khalid personally killed Thomas (the son-in-law of Emperor Heraclius) in a duel. After further fighting, Roman resistance collapsed. Since the Muslims were too few to completely surround the Byzantine army and the fighting had become confused as it increased in violence, thousands of Byzantines were able to escape and make their way to safety. But all the booty and a large number of captives, both male and female, fell to the Muslims. According to a chronicle Jonah found his beloved. He moved towards her to take her by force; but she draw a dagger from the folds of her dress and killed herself. As she lay dying, Jonah sat beside her and swore that he would remain true to the memory of the bride he was not destined to possess, and would not look at another girl. When Khalid learned of this he offered Jonah the daughter of

, the former wife of Thomas who died in the battle that day in a duel with Khalid. Jonah rejected the proposal. Jonah died a few years later in the

Battle of Yarmouk The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, ...

Aftermath

The historian Waqidi writes that on their way back to Damascus,

sent an ambassador to ask Khalid to return his daughter. The ambassador gave Khalid the letter from the Emperor which read as follows:Akram, c. 30, p. 17. Khalid said to the ambassador: The ambassador took the daughter of Heraclius, and returned to Antioch. The return of the Mobile Guard loaded with spoils was greeted with joy by the Muslims at Damascus. The whole operation from pursuit to the return of the

had taken 10 days. They returned on October 1, 634. Upon his return Khalid was informed of the death of

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and the succession of

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

as the new caliph. Umar deposed Khalid from his command and appointed

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ ( ar, عامر بن عبدالله بن الجراح; 583–639 CE), better known as Abū ʿUbayda ( ar, أبو عبيدة ) was a Muslim commander and one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet ...

as the new commander in chief.

Notes

;Notes ;Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Maraj-Al-Debaj Maraj-al-Debaj Maraj-al-Debaj Maraj-al-Debaj Maraj-al-Debaj 630s in the Byzantine Empire Muslim conquest of the Levant 634