Shurahbil ibn al-Simt ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi () was a Kindite commander in the Muslim army against the Sasanian Persians at the Battle of al-Qadisiyya in 636 and later a

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

-based member of the inner circle of

Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

during the latter's governorship of Syria (639–661) and caliphate (661–680).

Life

Shurahbil was the son of the Kindite chieftain Simt ibn al-Aswad. Following the death of the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, Shurahbil and his father loyally served the nascent

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

-based Muslim state and fought with distinction during the

Ridda wars The Ridda Wars were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes, some of which were led by rival prophet claimants. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in ...

against the Arabian tribes that had defected from Medina. As a result, their star rose in Medina at the expense of al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, a rival Kindite chief who fought against the Muslims in the Ridda and repented following his defeat and capture in Yemen. While in the mid to late 630s, Simt played a role in the

Muslim conquest of Syria The Muslim conquest of the Levant (; ), or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab–Byzantine wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and developed ...

, Shurahbil fought in the

Muslim conquest of Iraq As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. The overall Muslim commander of the Iraqi front,

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...

, appointed the young Shurahbil as commander of the Muslim army's left wing at the decisive Battle of al-Qadisiyya in 636. Following the victory over the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

s in Iraq, Shurahbil was appointed by Sa'd the governor of the Sasanian capital at

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

(

al-Mada'in Al-Mada'in (, ; ''Māḥozā''; ) was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris in what is now Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire. The city's name was used ...

in Arabic). He settled in the newly-established Arab garrison town of

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

, but emerging as the weaker Kindite against al-Ash'ath in the rivalry for the leadership of the tribe in the city, he moved to join his father in

. After moving to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, he became a committed partisan of its governor

during the latter's conflict with the Kufa-based Caliph Ali () in the

First Fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...

. He served as one of Mu'awiya's envoys to Ali in June 657, a month before the

Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin () was fought in 657 CE (37 Islamic calendar, AH) between the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the rebellious governor of Syria (region), Syria Muawiyah I, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The battle is named after its ...

between the two sides, which ended in a stalemate. During Mu'awiya's caliphate (661–680) he was a member of the caliph's inner circle. At some point during Mu'awiya's or

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

's reign, he was surpassed in influence with the Umayyads by his Syrian Kindite rival,

Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni Al-Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr al-Sakūnī (died 5/6 August 686) was a leading general of the early Umayyad Caliphate, from the Sakun subtribe of the Kinda.Lammens & Cremonesi (1971), pp. 620–621 Biography A man of his name is recorded as being re ...

. There is no further record of Shurahbil or his family until the revolt of

Yazid ibn al-Muhallab Yazid ibn al-Muhallab al-Azdi (; 672/673–24 August 720) was a commander and statesman for the Umayyad Caliphate in Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq and Greater Khorasan, Khurasan in the early 8th century. In 720, he led the last of a series of wide scal ...

in Iraq in 720 when an unnamed son of Shurahbil was taken prisoner and executed by the rebels. The family was mentioned again during the

Third Fitna The Third Fitna (), was a series of civil wars and uprisings against the Umayyad Caliphate. It began with a revolt against Caliph al-Walid II in 744, and lasted until 747, when Marwan II emerged as the victor. The war exacerbated internal tensi ...

in 744, when a great-grandson of Shurahbil, Simt ibn Thabit ibn Yazid, joined his erstwhile rival Mu'awiya ibn Yazid, a grandson of Husayn ibn Numayr, in opposition to Caliph

Yazid III Yazid ibn al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (; 701 – 3/4 October 744), commonly known as Yazid III, was the twelfth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 744 until his death months later. Birth and background Yazid was the member of the influential Umayyad d ...

. Simt ibn Thabit was later crucified for leading a revolt in Homs against Caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

(). The descendants of Shurahbil or rather, his father, temporarily took over Homs in the

Fourth Fitna The Fourth Fitna, Fourth Muslim Civil War, or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had name ...

, during

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

rule, in the early 9th century.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control 7th-century Arab people 7th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate Generals of the Rashidun Caliphate Kinda People from Homs People of the First Fitna People of the Muslim conquest of Persia Ridda Wars