Combat between Ali ibn Abi Talib and Amr Ben Wad near Medina

The Mubarizun ( ar, مبارزون, "duelists", or "champions") formed a special unit of 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 ...

during the

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

of the 7th century. The Mubarizun were a recognized part of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

army with the purpose of engaging enemy champions in

single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repre ...

. In

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

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 ...

, and

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

warfare, battles usually began with duels between the champion warriors of the opposing armies.Nicolle, 1994, p. 36. The Muslim army would typically begin battle with its soldiers first equipping their armor, assembling their units to their positions and lastly dispatching the Mubarizun. Mubarizun fighters were instructed to refrain from pursuing any defeated enemy champions more than two-thirds of the way to the enemy lines to avoid the risk of being cut off. After the conclusion of the dueling phase, the army would launch its general advance.

List of notable Mubarizun

Ali ibn Abi Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...

Dhiraar bin Al-Azwar Diraar ibn al-Azwar(RA) ( ar, ضرار بن الأزور) also spelled as Diraar or Dhiraar (original name Diraar ibn Malik), was a skilled warrior since before the time of Islam who participated in the Early Muslim conquests and a companion of ...

Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi Al-Qaʿqāʿ ibn ʿAmr ibn Mālik al-Tamīmī ( ar, القعقاع بن عمرو بن مالك التميمي) was an Arab Muslim commander and general in the Rashidun army, he belonged to the tribe of Banu Tamim. He and his tribe converted to I ...

Asim ibn 'Amr al-Tamimi ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAmr ibn Mālik al-Usaydī al-Tamīmī ( ar, عاصم بن عمرو بن مالك الأسيدي التميمي) was a prominent member of Banu Tamim and military leader of Rashidun Caliphate during the rule of Abu Bakr and Umar. ...

* Abd al-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 ...

'') *

Al-Bara' ibn Malik Al-Barāʾ ibn Mālik al-Anṣārī ( ar, البراء بن مالك الأنصاري; died ) was one of the Sahaba, an Ansar belonging to the Banū al-Najjār branch of the Banu Khazraj. al-Baraa' is the brother of Anas ibn Malik. A courageo ...

. *

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair. The name is also sometimes written ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend People from the Rashidun Caliphate Military history of the Rashidun Caliphate Dueling

List of notable Mubarizun

See also

References

Bibliography