Siege of Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem (637) Part of the Muslim conquest of Syria and the Byzantine-Arab Wars The Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, is said to be the third most sacred site of the Muslims. Date November 636 – April 637 A.D Location Jerusalem Result Rashidun victory, Jerusalem captured by Rashidun Caliphate. Belligerents Byzantine Empire Rashidun Caliphate Commanders Patriarch Sophronius Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah Khalid ibn al-Walid Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan Amr ibn al-A'as Sharjeel ibn Hassana Strength Unknown ~20,000[1]

v • d • e Byzantine–Arab Wars Early conflicts Mutah – Tabouk – Dathin – Firaz Rashidun conquest of Roman Syria Qarteen – Bosra – Ajnadayn – Marj-al-Rahit – Fahl – Damascus – Maraj-al-Debaj – Emesa – Yarmouk – Jerusalem – Hazir – Aleppo Rashidun conquest of Roman Egypt Heliopolis – Alexandria – Nikiou Umayyad conquest of North Africa Sufetula – Carthage Umayyad invasions of Anatolia and Constantinople Iron Bridge – Kahramanmaraş – Phoenix – 1st Constantinople – 2nd Constantinople – Akroinon Arab campaigns in Southern Italy Sicily – Mainland Later Byzantine campaigns Campaigns of John Kourkouas – Campaigns of Nikephoros II – Campaigns of John I – Campaigns of Basil II – George Maniakes in Sicily – Damietta

v • d • e Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid Campaigns in Arabia Badr – Uhud – Mu'tah – Ta'if – Hunayn – Trench – Hudaybiyyah – Mecca – Tabouk Ridda Wars Yamama – Zafar – Daumat-ul-Jandal – Buzakha – Ghamra – Naqra Conquest of the Persian Empire Chains – River – Walaja – Ullais – Hira – Al-Anbar – Ein-ul-tamr – Daumat-ul-Jandal – Muzayyah – Saniyy – Zumail – Firaz Conquest of Roman Syria Firaz – Qarteen – Bosra – Ajnadayn – Marj-al-Rahit – Fahl – Damascus – Maraj-al-Debaj – Emesa – Yarmouk – Jerusalem – Hazir – Aleppo Campaigns in Roman Anatolia Iron Bridge – Kahramanmaraş

Jerusalem was besieged and captured by the Rashidun army in 637 CE during the Islamic invasion of the Byzantine Empire, shortly after the decisive defeat of the Byzantine army at the Battle of Yarmouk. Rashidun army under Abu Ubaidah besieged Jerusalem in November 636. After a prolonged siege of six months, Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender the city but only to the caliph himself. In April 637, Caliph Umar personally came to Jerusalem to receive its submission. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem solidified the Arab control over Palestine, which would not again be threatened until the Crusades. The city of Jerusalem came to be regarded as a holy site by Islam as well as the earlier major religions of Christianity and Judaism. It was after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem that the Jews were allowed to live and practice their religion freely in Jerusalem by Caliph Umar after nearly 500 years of expulsion from the Holy Land by the Romans.^[2]

Prelude

Jerusalem was the capital of the Byzantine province of Palestine. Just twenty three years prior to Muslim conquest, in 614 it fell to an invading Sassanid army under Shahrbaraz during the last of Roman-Persian War. The Persian looted the city and are said to have massacred 90,000 Christians inhabitants of the city.^[3] It is believed that the Jews, who were oppressed in their Roman-controlled homeland, aided the Persians. The True Cross was captured and taken to Ctesiphon as a battle-captured holy relic, it was later bought back to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius once he was victorious against the Persias.^[4] Prophet Mohammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Caliph Abu Bakr, who established sovereignty over Arabia after series of campaigns known as Ridda Wars. Once Arabia was consolidated he started a war of conquest in the east by invading Iraq, then a province of the Sassanid Persian Empire, and on the western front his armies invaded the Byzantine Empire. In 634 Abu Bakr died and was succeeded by Caliph Umar who continued his war of conquest.^[5] Emperor Heraclius, in May 636 launched a major expedition to roll back the lost territory, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk in August 636. Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, the Muslim Commander in Chief of the Rashidun army in Syria, held a council of war in early October 636 CE to discuss future plans. Opinions of objectives varied between the coastal city of Caesarea and Jerusalem. Abu Ubaidah could see the importance of both these cities, which had so far resisted all Muslim attempts at capture. Unable to decide the matter, he wrote to caliph Umar for instructions. In his reply the Caliph ordered the Muslims to capture Jerusalem. Abu Ubaidah accordingly marched towards Jerusalem with the army from Jabiya, with Khalid ibn Walid and his Mobile guard leading the advance. The Muslims arrived at Jerusalem around early November, and the Byzantine garrison withdrew into the fortified city.^[1]

The siege

Jerusalem was an important city of the Byzantine province of Palestina prima. After the Byzantine defeat at Yarmouk, Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, repaired the defenses of the city.^[6] However, the town had already been well fortified after Heraclius recaptured it from Persians. The Muslims had so far not attempted any siege of the city, but all the routes to the city were under potential danger of Arab forces since 634. Although it was not encircled, it was in a state of siege since the Muslims captured the neighboring forts of Pella and Bosra. Especially after the Battle of Yarmouk the city was severed from the rest of Syria and was presumably being prepared for a siege that seemed inevitable.^[7] When the Muslim army reached Jericho, Sophronius collected all the holy relics, including the true cross and secretly send them to the coast to be taken to Constantinople.^[6] The Muslim troops besieged the city some time in November 636. The weary Muslim troops^a[›], instead of starting a costly siege warfare, decided to press the siege until the Byzantines would run short of supplies and a bloodless surrender could be negotiated.^[8] The details of the siege are not recorded in history^b[›] and it appears to be a closed but bloodless siege.^[9] The Byzantine garrison could not expect any help from the humbled regime of Heraclius and after a prolonged siege of four months, as expected the Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, having no hope of any help from the emperor, offered to surrender the city and pay the jizya, he however put a condition that the caliph himself would come and sign the pact with him and receive the surrender.^[10] It is said that when Sophronius' terms became known to the Muslims, Sharhabil ibn Hassana, one of the Muslim commanders, suggested that instead of waiting for caliph Umar to come all the way from Madinah, Khalid ibn Walid should be sent forward as the caliph, as he was very similar in appearance to Umar.^[11][12] The subterfuge however did not work. Rather Khalid was too famous in Syria, or there may have been Christian Arabs in Jerusalem who had visited Madinah and had seen both Umar and Khalid, noting the differences. Consequently, the Patriarch of Jerusalem refused to negotiate. When Khalid reported the failure of this mission, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah wrote to caliph Umar about the situation, and invited him to come to Jerusalem and accept the surrender of the city.^[13]

Surrender of Jerusalem

The present day building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Sophronius invited caliph Umar to offer Salah.

Umar arrived in Palestine in early april 637 and first came to Jabiya^[14], where he was received by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Khalid ibn Walid and Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan, who had travelled with an escort to receive him. Amr ibn al-A'as was left as commander of the Muslim army besieging Jerusalem.^[15] On Umar's arrival to Jerusalem a pact was drawn up, which surrendered Jerusalem and gave guarantees of civil and religious liberty for Christians in exchange for jizya ("tribute") – known as the Umariyya Covenant. On behalf of the Muslims it was signed by caliph Umar and witnessed by Khalid ibn Walid, Amr ibn al-A'as, Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muawiyah and in late April 637, Jerusalem was surrendered to the caliph.^[16] It has been recorded in the annals of Muslim chronicles that at the Zuhr prayers time Sophronius invited Umar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but Umar declined fearing to endanger the church's status as a Christian temple and that the Muslims may not break the treaty to make it a mosque as the Caliph had prayed in it.^[17] By his command the ground of the Temple Mount was prepared for the foundation of a Masjid al-Aqsa. After staying for 10 days at Jerusalem, the caliph returned to Medina.

Aftermath

Following the Caliph's instructions, Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan proceeded to Caesarea and once again laid siege to the port city. Amr ibn al-A'as and Sharhabil ibn Hassana marched to complete the occupation of Palestine and Jordan, a task that was completed by the end of the year. Caesarea however could not be taken till 640, when at last the garrison laid down its arms before Muawiyah I, then a governor of Syria. Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and Khalid ibn Walid, with an army of 17,000 men, set off from Jerusalem to conquer all of northern Syria, which ended with the conquest of Antioch in late 637 and the Taurus Mountains region in south-eastern Anatolia.^[18] In 639 the Rashidun army invaded and conquered Egypt.

See also

• Covenant of Umar I
• Rashidun Caliphate
• Muslim conquest of Syria

Notes

^ a: The Muslims are said to have lost 4,000 men in the Battle of Yarmouk fought just two months before the siege.
^ b: Muslim historians differ in the year of the siege while Tabari says it was 636, al buladhuri placed its date of surrender in 638. A.I.Akram believe 636-637 to be the most possible date.

References

Sources

• Akram, Agha Ibrahim (2004), The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed - His Life and Campaigns, Oxford University Press: Pakistan, ISBN 0195977149
• Al-Waqidi, Futuh al-Sham (Conquest of Syria).
• Benvenisti, Meron (1998). City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem Publisher, University of California Press, ISBN 0520207688.
• Edward Gibbon (1862), The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 6. J.D. Morris Publishers.
• Gil, Moshe (February 1997). A History of Palestine, 634-1099. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521599849.
• Greatrex, Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II). Routledge publishers. ISBN 0-415-003423.
• Haldon, John (1990). Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052131917X.
• Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, al-Fath al-Qussi fi-l-Fath al-Qudsi.
• Lewis, Bernard (2002, sixth edition) The Arabs in History Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192803107.
• Runciman, Steven (1987, second edition), A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade. Penguin Books: London, ISBN 9780521347709