1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Muslim conquest of the Levant
–
During the Roman period, beginning after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, the entire region was renamed Palaestina, subdivided into Diocese I and II. The Romans also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, part of the area was ruled by the Arab vassal state of the Ghassanids symmachos. Thus, on the eve of the Muslim conquests the Romans were still in the process of rebuilding their authority in these territories, politically, the Syrian region consisted of two provinces, Syria proper stretched from Antioch and Aleppo in the north to the top of the Dead Sea. To the west and south of the Dead Sea lay the province of Palestine, Syria was mostly a Syriac and Hellenized land with some Jewish presence and with a partly Arab population, especially in its eastern and southern parts. The Ghassan Dynasty became one of the princely dynasties of the Empire, with the Ghassan king ruling over the Arabs in Jordan. The last of the Ghassan kings, who ruled at the time of the Muslim invasion, was Jabla bin Al Aiham, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, after re-capturing Syria from the Sassanians, set up new defense lines from Gaza to the south end of the Dead Sea. These lines were designed to protect communications from bandits, and the bulk of the Byzantine defenses were concentrated in Northern Syria facing the traditional foes. This defense line had as a drawback that it enabled the Muslims, the 7th century was a time of fast military changes in the Byzantine Empire. Muhammad died in June 632, and Abu Bakr was appointed Caliph, soon after Abu Bakrs succession, several Arab tribes revolted against him in the Ridda wars. The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on 18 March 633, with Arabia united under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. After successful campaigns against the Sassanids and the ensuing conquest of Iraq Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, while engaged with Sassanid forces, confrontation also ensued with the Byzantine Arab clients, the Ghassanids. Tribal contingents were recruited to the call from Medinah from all over the Arabian peninsula. The tradition of raising armies from tribal contingents remained in use until 636, Abu Bakr organised the army into four corps, each with its own commander and objective. Move on Elat route, then across Valley of Arabah, Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan, Objective Damascus. Move on Tabuk route after Yazid, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Objective Emesa. Move on Tabuk route after Shurahbil, in case the corps had to concentrate for one major battle, Abu Ubaidah was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the entire army. In the first week of April 634, the Muslim forces began to move from their camps outside Medina, the first to leave was Yazids corps, followed by Shurahbil, Abu Ubaidah and Amr, each a days march from the other
3.
Anno Domini
–
The terms anno Domini and before Christ are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means in the year of the Lord, There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor, the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. Traditionally, English followed Latin usage by placing the AD abbreviation before the year number, however, BC is placed after the year number, which also preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation is widely used after the number of a century or millennium. Because BC is the English abbreviation for Before Christ, it is sometimes concluded that AD means After Death. However, this would mean that the approximate 33 years commonly associated with the life of Jesus would not be included in either of the BC, astronomical year numbering and ISO8601 avoid words or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same numbers for AD years. The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus to enumerate the years in his Easter table. His system was to replace the Diocletian era that had used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. The last year of the old table, Diocletian 247, was followed by the first year of his table. Thus Dionysius implied that Jesus Incarnation occurred 525 years earlier, without stating the year during which his birth or conception occurred. Blackburn & Holford-Strevens briefly present arguments for 2 BC,1 BC, There were inaccuracies in the list of consuls There were confused summations of emperors regnal years It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesuss birth. It is convenient to initiate a calendar not from the day of an event. For example, the Islamic calendar begins not from the date of the Hegira, at the time, it was believed by some that the Resurrection and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus. The old Anno Mundi calendar theoretically commenced with the creation of the based on information in the Old Testament. It was believed that, based on the Anno Mundi calendar, Anno Mundi 6000 was thus equated with the resurrection and the end of the world but this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius. The Anglo-Saxon historian the Venerable Bede, who was familiar with the work of Dionysius Exiguus, used Anno Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. e. On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was introduced as the era of choice of the Carolingian Renaissance by the English cleric and scholar Alcuin in the late eighth century
4.
Homs
–
Homs, previously known as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres above sea level and is located 162 kilometres north of Damascus, located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast. Its population reflects Syrias general religious diversity, composed of Sunni and Alawite, there are a number of historic mosques and churches in the city, and it is close to the Krak des Chevaliers castle, a world heritage site. Homs did not emerge into the record until the 1st century BCE at the time of the Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name, originally a center of worship for the sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. Homs was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century and made capital of a district that bore its current name, throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Homs due to the citys strategic position in the area. Homs began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its importance when its cotton industry boomed. During French Mandate rule, the city became a center of insurrection and, after independence in 1946, in the ongoing Syrian civil war, Homs became an opposition stronghold and the Syrian government launched a military assault against the city in May 2011. The following Siege of Homs left much of the city completely destroyed, the war in the city ended in 2015 when rebels evacuated the city, resulting in a government victory. The origin of the modern name is that it is an Arabic form of the citys Latin name Emesus. The name Emesa seems to derive from the nomadic Arab tribe, called Emesenoi by the Greeks and the Romans, Emesa was shortened to Homs or Hims by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria. This name has been preserved throughout the period of Islamic rule continuing to the present day and it was known as la Chamelle by the Crusaders, although they never ruled the city. For approximately 2,000 years, Homs has served as a key market, production site. It has also provided security services to the hinterland of Syria, excavations at the Citadel of Homs indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BCE. Biblical scholars have identified the city with Zobah mentioned in the Bible, in 1274 BCE, a battle took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River near Homs. It was possibly the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5, at this time, Greek philosopher Strabo spoke of a tent-dwelling tribe called the Emesani living in the area around the Orontes and south of the Apamea region. They were an Arab tribe in the area and settled in Emesa—which derived its name from them. Their chief at the time, Sampsiceramus I, gained the status as King of Emesa, but their capital was at Arethusa, a city north of Emesa, also along the Orontes River
5.
Syria
–
Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
6.
Rashidun Caliphate
–
The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first five caliphs—the Rightly Guided or Rashidun caliphs. It was founded after Muhammads death in 632 CE, after Muhammads death in 632 CE, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammads household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar, Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalīfatu Rasūli l-Lāh successor of the Messenger of God, or caliph, and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, as a caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title, nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit, as for the fifth Caliph, ‘Alis son Al-Hasan, as a son of Fatimah, he was a grandson of Muhammad. Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, towards the end times, Abu Bakr, the oldest companion of Muhammad, was caliph for only 2 years before he died. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, his two companions, were in the Saqifah meeting to select his successor while the family of Muhammad was busy with his funeral, controversy among the Muslims emerged about whom to name as Caliph. There was disagreement between the Meccan followers of Muhammad who had emigrated with him in 622 and the Medinans who had become followers, the Ansar, considering themselves being the hosts and loyal companions of Muhammad, nominated Sad bin Ubadah as their candidate for the Caliphate. In the end, however, Muhammads closest friend, Abu Bakr, was named the khalifa or Successor of Muhammad, a new circumstance had formed a new, untried political formation, the caliphate. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammads death, threatening the unity and stability of the new community, Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the Banu Thaqif in Taif and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman. In some cases, entire tribes apostatised, others merely withheld zakat, the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some made it during the lifetime of Muhammad, the news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah, many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammads death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader, the result of this situation was the Ridda wars. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and he divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces, other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, the Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri
7.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
8.
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah
–
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, fully Abū ‘Ubaydah ‘Āmir ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn al-Jarāḥ, was one of companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He remained commander of a section of the Rashidun Army during the time of the Rashid Caliph Umar and was on the list of Umars appointed successors to the Caliphate. Abu Ubaidah was born in the year 583 CE in the house of Abdullah ibn al-Jarrah, Abu Ubaidah belonged to the Qurayshi clan of Banu al-Harith ibn Fihr. Even before his conversion to Islam, he was considered to be one of the nobles of the Quraysh and was famous among the Quraysh of Mecca for his modesty, by 611, Muhammad was preaching the oneness of God to the people of Mecca. He began by inviting his closest companions and relatives in private to the way of Islam and he embraced Islam just a day after Abu Bakr in the year 611. Abu Ubaidah lived through the experience that the Muslims went through in Mecca from beginning to end. With other early Muslims, he endured the insults and oppressions of the Quraysh, as the first migration to Abyssinia succeeded, this violence against the Muslims renewed itself with much conviction and became stronger in its force. Being the only person in his clan to have accepted Islam, Muhammad suggested that the remaining Muslims who were especially subject to the atrocities of the people of Mecca migrate as well. Consequently, Abu Ubaidah migrated to Abyssinia along with a delegation of 83 men and 19 women, in 622 CE, when Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina, Abu Ubaidah also migrated. When Muhammad arrived in Medina, he paired off each immigrant with one of the residents of Medina, the Muslims remained in peace in Medina for about a year before the Quraysh raised an army to attack Medina. In the year 624, Abu Ubaidah participated in the first major battle between the Muslims and the Quraysh of Mecca, at the Battle of Badr, in this battle, he was attacked by his father Abdullah ibn al-Jarrah, who was fighting alongside the army of Quraysh. Abu Ubaidah avoided fighting with him but eventually his father succeeded in blocking Abu Ubaidahs path, Abu Ubaidah then attacked him and killed him. For such He has written Faith in their hearts, and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself, and He will admit them to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, to dwell therein. Allah will be pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of Allah, truly it is the Party of Allah that will achieve Felicity. In the year 625, he participated in the Battle of Uhud, Abu Ubaidah was one of them and he guarded Muhammad from the attacks of the Qurayshi soldiers. On that day, Abu Ubaidah lost two of his front teeth while trying to extract two links of Muhammads armour that had penetrated into his cheeks, later in the year 627 he took part in the Battle of the Trench and also in the Invasion of Banu Qurayza. He was also commander of a small expedition that set out to attack and destroy the tribes of Thalibah and Anmar
9.
Khalid ibn al-Walid
–
Abū Sulaymān Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī, also known as Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl, was a companion of Muhammad. He is noted for his tactics and prowess, commanding the forces of Medina under Muhammad. It was under his leadership that Arabia, for the first time in history, was united under a single political entity. His strategic achievements include the conquest of Arabia during the Ridda Wars, Persian Mesopotamia and he is also remembered for his decisive victories at Yamamah, Ullais, and Firaz, and his tactical successes at Walaja and Yarmouk. Khalid ibn al-Walid was from the Meccan tribe of Quraysh, from a clan that initially opposed Muhammad and he played a vital role in the Meccan victory at the Battle of Uhud against the Muslims. Khalid ibn Al-Walid reported that the fighting was so intense, that while fighting and this earned him the title ‘Saif-ullah meaning The Sword Of Allah. Khalid took over after Zayd ibn Haritha, then Jafar ibn Abi Talib, after Muhammads death, he played a key role in commanding Medinan forces for Abu Bakr in the Ridda wars, conquering central Arabia and subduing Arab tribes. He captured the Sassanid Arab client Kingdom of Al-Hirah, and defeated the Sassanid Persian forces during his conquest of Iraq and he was later transferred to the western front to capture Roman Syria and the Byzantine Arab client state of the Ghassanids. Although Umar later relieved him of command, he nevertheless remained the effective leader of the forces arrayed against the Byzantines during the early stages of the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Under his command, Damascus was captured in 634 and the key Arab victory against the Byzantine forces was achieved at the Battle of Yarmouk, in 638, at the zenith of his career, he was dismissed from military services. Khalid is said to have fought around a hundred battles, both battles and minor skirmishes as well as single duels, during his military career. Having remained undefeated, he is claimed by some to be one of the finest military generals in history, Khalid was born c.592 in Mecca. His father was Walid ibn al-Mughirah, Sheikh of the Banu Makhzum, Walid was known in Mecca by the title of al-Waheed - the Loner. Khalids mother was Lubabah al-Sughra bint al-Harith, a sister of Maymunah bint al-Harith. At the age of five or six, he returned to his parents in Mecca, during his childhood Khalid suffered a mild attack of smallpox, which he survived, but it left some pockmarks on his left cheek. The three leading clans of Quraysh at that time were Banu Hashim, Banu Abd ad-Dar and Banu Makhzum, the latter clan being responsible for the matters of warfare. As a member of the Makhzum clan, who were amongst the best horsemen in Arabia, Khalid learned to ride and use weapons as the spear, the lance, the bow. The lance was said to be his favorite among the weapons, in youth he was admired as a renowned warrior and wrestler among the Quraysh
10.
Battle of Mu'tah
–
In Muslim histories, the battle is usually described as the Muslims attempt to take retribution against a Ghassanid chief for taking the life of an emissary. According to Byzantine sources, the Muslims planned to launch their attack on a feast day, the local Byzantine Vicarius learned of their plans and collected the garrisons of the fortresses. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Muslims were routed after three of their leaders were killed, the Byzantines were reoccupying territory following the peace accord between Emperor Heraclius and the Sasanid general Shahrbaraz in July 629. The Byzantine sakellarios Theodore, was placed in command of the army, meanwhile, Muhammad had sent his emissary to the ruler of Bosra. While on his way to Bosra, he was executed in the village of Mutah by the orders of a Ghassanid official, Muhammad dispatched 3,000 of his troops to Jumada al-awwal in 629, for a quick expedition to attack and punish the tribes. The army was led by Zayd ibn Haritha, the second-in-command was Jafar ibn Abi Talib, when the Muslim troops arrived at the area to the east of Jordan and learned of the size of the Byzantine army, they wanted to wait and send for reinforcements from Medina. Abdullah ibn Rawahah reminded them about their desire for martyrdom and questioned the move to wait when what they desire was awaiting them, the Muslims engaged the Byzantines at their camp by the village of Musharif and then withdrew towards Mutah. It was here that the two armies fought, some Muslim sources report that the battle was fought in a valley between two heights, which negated the Byzantines their numerical superiority. During the battle, all three Muslim leaders fell one after the other as they took command of the force, first, Zayd ibn Haritha, then Jafar ibn Abi Talib, after the death of the latter, some of the Muslim soldiers began to rout. Thabit ibn Al-Arqam, seeing the state of the Muslim forces, took up the banner. After the battle, the troops asked Thabit ibn Al-Arqam to assume command, however, Khalid ibn Al-Walid reported that the fighting was so intense that he used nine swords which broke in the battle. Khalid, seeing that the situation was hopeless, prepared to withdraw and he continued to engage the Byzantines in skirmishes, but avoided pitched battle. It is said that Khalid killed at least one identified Arab Christian commander namely Malik, peterson, Professor of Islamic Studies at Brigham Young University, finds the ratio of casualties among the leaders suspiciously high compared to the losses suffered by ordinary soldiers. David Powers, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell, also mentions this curiosity concerning the minuscule casualties recorded by Muslim historians and it is reported that when the Muslim force arrived at Medina, they were berated for apparently withdrawing and accused of fleeing. Salamah ibn Hisham, brother to Amr ibn Hishām was reported to have prayed at home rather than going to the mosque to avoid having to explain himself, Muhammad ordered them to stop, saying that they would return to fight the Byzantines again. It would not be until the third century A. H. that Muslim historians would state that Muhammad bestowed upon Khalid the title of Saifullah meaning The Sword of Allah, today, Muslims who fell at the battle are considered martyrs. A mausoleum was built at Mutah over their grave. Muslim historiography indicate that 100,000 to 200,000 troops opposed their 3,000 at Mutah, consequently, modern historians refute this stating the figure to be exaggerated
11.
Battle of Firaz
–
The Battle of Firaz was the last battle of the Muslim Arab commander Khalid ibn al-Walid in Mesopotamia against the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire, Sassanid Empire, and Christian Arabs. The result of the battle was a victory for Khalid and the first Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, the Muslim conquest of the Persian Empire was complete after their next victory at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. By the end of 633, the Muslims were the masters of the Euphrates valley, in this valley, Firaz at the outermost edge of the Persian Empire still had a Persian garrison. Khalid decided to drive away the Persians from this outpost as well fearing that the Persians would execute a well planned re-invasion of lost territory and he marched to Firaz with a Muslim force and arrived there in the first week of December 633. Firaz was the frontier between the empires of Persia and Byzantium, and the garrisons of the Persians as well as the Byzantines were cantoned there, in the face of the Muslims, the Byzantine garrison decided to come to the aid of the Persian garrison. Khalid gave the enemy the option to cross the Euphrates, as soon as the enemy had crossed the Euphrates, Khalid commanded the Muslim force to go into action. The united forces of the Persians and the Byzantines had the river at their back, at Firaz, Khalid adopted the same tactics as he had adopted at Mazar. As the front ranks of both the forces committed themselves in the fighting, Khalid fixed his enemy on either flank with the help of his rear wings, making a swift lightning movement, the Muslims dashed for the bridge on the river, and succeeded in occupying it. The enemy was thus held in a pincer movement, in the beginning of the battle of Firaz when the odds appeared to be against the Muslims, Khalid undertook an oath that if he was victorious, he would undertake pilgrimage to Mecca, the House of God. After the victory of Firaz, Khalid stayed at Firaz for some days, in January 634, while a garrison was kept at Firaz, orders were issued to the main Muslim army to return to Al-Hirah. Khalid stayed behind with the rear of the army, as the army moved forward on the road to Al Hirah, Khalid separated himself from the army, and took an unfrequented route to Mecca with a small escort. Khalid reached Mecca in time to perform the Hajj, after performing the pilgrimage secretly and fulfilling his vow, Khalid and his party rode back to Al Hirah. Before the last contingent of the army from Firaz had entered Hirah, Khalid was also there. Tabari, Abu Jaafar, Mohammed bin Jarir, Tarikh ar Rusul wal Mulk, akram, The Sword of Allah, Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns Lahore,1969
12.
Battle of Bosra
–
The Battle of Bosra was fought in 634 between the Rashidun Caliphate army and the Byzantine Empire for the possession of Bosra, in Syria. The city, then capital of the Ghassanid kingdom, a Byzantine vassal, was the first important one to be captured by the Islamic forces, the siege lasted between June and July 634. Caliph Abu Bakr sent his four corps under Amr ibn al-Aas, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Shurahbil bin Hasana and Yazid bin Abu Sufyan and they were unable to get significant success in their goals and were in great pressure because of concentration of the Byzantine army at Ajnadayn. One place which worried him a deal was Bosra, a large town which was the capital of the Ghassanid Kingdom. It was garrisoned by a force of Byzantine and Christian Arabs under the command of Roman officers. While Khalid was clearing the region of Eastern Syria, Abu Ubaidah came to know that he would come under Khalids command upon the latters arrival and he decided to take Bosra quickly. He therefore sent Shurahbil with 4,000 men to capture Bosra, Shurahbil marched to Bosra, the garrison of which withdrew into the fortified town as soon as the Muslims appeared in sight. This garrison consisted of 4,000 soldiers, but expecting that more Muslim forces would soon arrive, Shurahbil camped on the western side of the town, and positioned groups of his men all round the fort. The following day, as Khalid ibn al-Walid set out on the last day of his march to Bosra, the garrison of the town came out to give battle to the Muslims outside the city. Both forces formed up for battle, but first there were talks between Shurahbil and the Roman commander, at which the Muslim offered the usual choices, Islam, tribute, the Byzantines vainly chose the sword, and in the middle of the morning the battle began. The Romans were able to move forces around both Muslim flanks, and the increased in intensity. The temper of the Muslims became suicidal as the danger of their position became evident and they fought ferociously to avoid encirclement. By early afternoon the Roman wings had moved forward. Then suddenly the combatants became aware of a force of cavalry galloping in mass towards the battlefield from the northwest. Khalid was about a mile from Bosra when the wind carried the sounds of battle to him and he immediately ordered the men to horse, and as soon as the cavalry was ready, led it a gallop towards the battlefield. But Khalid and the Romans never met, as soon as the Romans discovered the arrival of the Muslims Cavalry, they broke contact from Shurahbil and withdrew hastily into the fort. The Muslims under Shurahbil came to regard this occurrence as a miracle, the next morning, the Byzantine garrison again came out of the fort to give battle. The shock of Khalids arrival the previous day had now worn off, and seeing that the strength of the Muslims was about the same as their own
13.
Siege of Damascus (634)
–
The Siege of Damascus lasted from 21 August to 19 September 634 AD before the city fell to the Rashidun Caliphate. Damascus was the first major city of the Byzantine empire to fall in the Muslim conquest of Syria, the last of the Roman-Persian Wars ended in 627, when Heraclius concluded a successful campaign against the Persians in Mesopotamia. At the same time, Mohammad united the Arabs under the banner of Islam, after his death in 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as the first Rashidun Caliph. Suppressing several internal revolts, Abu Bakr sought to expand the empire beyond the confines of the Arabian Peninsula, in April 634, Abu Bakr invaded the Byzantine Empire in the Levant and decisively defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Ajnadayn. The Muslim armies marched north and laid siege to Damascus, after the surrender of the city, the commanders disputed the terms of the peace agreement. The commanders finally agreed that the terms given by Abu Ubaidah would be met. The peace terms included an assurance that no pursuit will be undertaken by Muslims against the departing Roman convoy for three days, in 610, during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, Heraclius became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire after overthrowing Phocas. While Heraclius focused his attention on the affairs of his empire, the Sassanid Persians conquered Mesopotamia, overran Syria in 611. In 612, Heraclius expelled the Persians from Anatolia, in 613, he launched a counter offensive against Syria, but was decisively defeated. Over the next decade, the Persians conquered Palestine and Egypt and Heraclius rebuilt his army, preparing for a new offensive and he achieved substantial victories over the Persians and their allies in the Caucasus and Armenia. In 627, he launched a winter offensive against Persia in Mesopotamia. This victory threatened the Persian capital city of Ctesiphon, Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem with an elaborate ceremony in 629. In Arabia, the Prophet Mohammad had united most of Arabia under a single religious, when Mohammed died in June 632, Abu Bakr was elected to the newly formed office of Caliph, becoming Mohammads political and religious successor. Several Arabic tribes revolted against Abu Bakr, in the Ridda wars, Abu Bakr quelled the revolt. By 633, Arabia was firmly united under the authority of the Caliph in Medina. In 633, Abu Bakr initiated a war of conquest against the neighboring Sassanian, after a successful conquest of the Persian province of Iraq, Abu Bakrs confidence grew and in April 634 his armies invaded the Byzantine Levant from four different routes. He attacked and overthrew the Byzantine defenses of Levant and quickly captured the Ghassanid capital city of Bosra, in July 634, the Muslim army under Khalids command defeated another Byzantine army in the Battle of Ajnadayn. After clearing their southern flank, the Muslims laid siege to Damascus, strategically located, Damascus attracted merchants from all over the world
14.
Battle of Yarmouk
–
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which ended Byzantine rule in Syria, in order to check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. The battle is considered to be one of Khalid ibn al-Walids greatest military victories and it cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history. During the last Byzantine–Sassanid Wars in 610, Heraclius became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, meanwhile, the Sassanid Persians conquered Mesopotamia and in 611 they overran Syria and entered Anatolia, occupying Caesarea Mazaca. Heraclius, in 612, managed to expel the Persians from Anatolia, over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer Palestine and Egypt. Meanwhile, Heraclius prepared for a counterattack and rebuilt his army, nine years later in 622, Heraclius finally launched his offensive. Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem with a ceremony in 629. Meanwhile, there had been rapid development in Arabia, where Muhammad had been preaching Islam and by 630. When Muhammad died in June 632, Abu Bakr was elected Caliph, troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakrs succession, when several Arab tribes openly revolted against Abu Bakr, who declared war against the rebels. In what became known as the Ridda wars, Abu Bakr managed to unite Arabia under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. Once the rebels had been subdued, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest, sending his most brilliant general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Iraq was conquered in a series of successful campaigns against the Sassanid Persians. Abu Bakrs confidence grew, and once Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, the Muslim invasion of Syria was a series of carefully planned and well coordinated military operations that employed strategy instead of pure strength to deal with Byzantine defensive measures. The Muslim armies, however proved to be too small to handle the Byzantine response. Khalid was sent by Abu Bakr from Iraq to Syria with reinforcements, in July 634, the Byzantines were decisively defeated at Ajnadayn. Damascus fell in September 634, followed by the Battle of Fahl where the last significant garrison of Palestine was defeated and routed, Caliph Abu Bakr died in 634. His successor, Umar, was determined to continue the Caliphate Empires expansion deeper into Syria, though previous campaigns led by Khalid were successful, he was replaced by Abu Ubaidah. Having secured southern Palestine, Muslim forces now advanced up the route, where Tiberias and Baalbek fell without much struggle. From thereon, the Muslims continued their conquest across the Levant, having seized Emesa, the Muslims were just a march away from Aleppo, a Byzantine stronghold, and Antioch, where Heraclius resided
15.
Battle of the Iron Bridge
–
The Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the Muslim Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 AD. The battle took its name from a nearby stone bridge spanning the Orontes River which had gates trimmed with iron. It was one of the last battles fought between the Byzantines and Rashidun Caliphate in the province of Syria, the aftermath of the battle marked the nearly complete annexation of the province into the Rashidun Caliphate with the fall of its capital. The Rashidun army had achieved a victory at the Battle of Yarmouk. Following this victory, they managed to control of the Levant. Rashidun forces then marched north, conquering other portions of the Levant and they penetrated into northern Syria near its borders with Anatolia intending to capture Antioch, and to secure the conquered lands from any possible threat from the north. After the conquest of Aleppo, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah sent a column under Malik al-Ashtar to capture Azaz in Northern Syria, as soon as Malik rejoined the army, Abu Ubaidah marched westwards to capture Antioch, with Khalid ibn Walid leading the advance guard with his Mobile guard. The army marched westward directly from Aleppo via Harim and approached Antioch from the east,20 km from the city, near modern-day Mahruba, a bridge of iron spanned the River Orontes. It was here that the battle was fought between the Rashidun army and the Byzantine garrison defending Antioch, a major battle was fought, the details of which are not recorded. Khalid ibn Walid played a prominent role with his Mobile guard, the Byzantine forces suffered heavy losses and were defeated. The Byzantine casualties in battle were the highest in the Muslim conquest of Syria, with the exceptions of the battles of Ajnadayn. The remnants of the Byzantine army fled to Antioch, the Rashidun army later moved up and laid siege to Antioch. The city surrendered on October 30,637 According to the pact, following the surrender of Antioch, Rashidun army columns moved south along the Mediterranean coast and captured Latakia, Jablah and Tartus, thus capturing most of north-western Syria. Other columns were sent to subdue the resistance in northern Syria. Khalid ibn Walid was sent with his cavalry on a raid eastwards, up to the Euphrates in the vicinity of Munbij, the campaign was ended in early January 638. These columns went northwards as far as the Ararat plain and west towards the Taurus Mountains, the Taurus Mountains in Turkey thus marked the westernmost frontier of the Rashidun Caliphate in Anatolia
16.
Muslim conquest of Egypt
–
At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire, which had its capital at Constantinople. Before the Muslim conquest of Egypt had begun, the Byzantines had already lost the Levant and its Arab ally, all of this left the Byzantine Empire dangerously exposed and vulnerable. In December 639, Amr ibn al-As left for Egypt with a force of 4,000 troops, most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ak, although Al-Kindi mentions that one-third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ghafik. The Arab soldiers were joined by some Roman and Persian converts to Islam. However, Umar, the Muslim caliph, reconsidered his orders to Amr, accordingly, he wrote a letter to Amr commanding him to come back. The messenger, Uqbah ibn Amr, caught up with Amr at Rafah, guessing what might be in the letter, Amr ordered the army to quicken its pace. Turning to Uqbah, Amr said that he would receive the letter from him when the army had halted after the days journey. Uqbah, being unaware of the contents of the letter, agreed and marched along with the army, the army halted for the night at Shajratein, a little valley near the city of El Arish, which Amr knew to be beyond the Egyptian border. Amr then received and read Umars letter and went on to consult his companions as to the course of action to be adopted, the unanimous view was that as they had received the letter on Egyptian soil, they had permission to proceed. When Umar received the reply, he decided to further developments. On Eid al-Adha, the Muslim army marched from Shajratein to El Arish, the town put up no resistance, and the citizens offered allegiance on the usual terms. The Muslim soldiers celebrated the Eid festival there, in the later part of December 639 or in early January 640, the Muslim army reached Pelusium, an Eastern Roman garrison city that was considered Egypts eastern gate at the time. The Muslim siege of the town dragged on for two months, in February 640, an assault group led by a prominent field commander Huzaifah ibn Wala successfully assaulted and captured the fort and city. Armanousa, the daughter of Cyrus who fiercely resisted the Muslims in Pelusium, the losses incurred by the Arab Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of Sinai Bedouins who, taking the initiative, had joined them in conquering Egypt. After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched to Bilbeis,40 miles from Memphis via desert roads, Belbeis was the first place in Egypt where the Byzantines showed some measure of resistance towards the Arab conquerors. Two Christian monks accompanied by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Roman general Aretion came out to negotiate with Amr ibn al-As, Aretion was previously the Byzantine governor of Jerusalem, and had fled to Egypt when the city fell to the Muslims. Amr gave them three options, to convert to Islam, to pay Jizya, or to fight the Muslims. They requested three days to reflect, then—as mentioned by al-Tabari—requested two extra days, at the end of the five days, the two monks and the general decided to reject Islam and Jizya and fight the Muslims
17.
Muslim conquest of the Maghreb
–
The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim military expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 AD. It was at point that Arab military expeditions into North African regions west of Egypt were first launched, continuing for years. The Byzantine navy would be defeated in the eastern Mediterranean, beginning in the 12th century, scholars at Kairouan began to construct a new version of the history of the conquest, which was finalised by ar-Raqiq. This version was copied in its entirety, and sometimes interpolated, by authors, reaching its zenith in the 14th century with scholars such as Ibn Idhari, Ibn Khaldun. It differs from the earlier version not only in the greater detail and this, however, is the best-known version and is the one given below. There is ongoing regarding the relative merits of the two versions. For more information, refer to the works cited below by Brunschvig, Modéran and Benabbès, the first invasion of North Africa, ordered by Caliph Umar, commenced in 647. 20,000 Arabs marched from Medina in Arabia, another 20,000 joined them in Memphis, Egypt, Count Gregory, the local Byzantine governor, had declared his independence from the Byzantine Empire in North Africa. He gathered his allies, confronted the Islamic invasion force and suffered defeat at the Battle of Sufetula, with the death of Gregory his successor, probably Gennadius, secured the Arab withdrawal in exchange for tribute. The campaign lasted fifteen months and Abdallahs force returned to Egypt in 648, all further Muslim conquests were soon interrupted, however, by a civil war between rival Arab factions that resulted in the murder of Caliph Uthman in 656. He was replaced by Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who in turn was murdered in 661 and he put a governor in place in Egypt at al-Fustat, creating a subordinate seat of power that would continue for the next two centuries. He then continued the invasion of neighbouring states, attacking Sicily. In 664 Kabul, Afghanistan, fell to the invading Muslim armies, the years 665 to 689 saw a new Arab invasion of North Africa. It began, according to Will Durant, to protect Egypt from flank attack by Byzantine Cyrene. So an army of more than 40,000 Muslims advanced through the desert to Barca, took it, next came a force of 10,000 Arabs led by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi and enlarged by thousands of others. Departing from Damascus, the army marched into North Africa and took the vanguard, in 670 the city of Kairouan was established as a refuge and base for further operations. This would become the capital of the Islamic province of Ifriqiya, which would cover the regions of todays western Libya, Tunisia. In his conquest of the Maghreb he besieged the city of Bugia as well as Tingi or Tangier
18.
Battle of Carthage (698)
–
The Battle of Carthage was fought in 698 between a Byzantine expeditionary force and the armies of the fifth Umayyad Caliphate. Having lost Carthage to the Muslims, Emperor Leontius sent the navy under the command of John the Patrician and they entered the harbor and successfully recaptured it in a stunning surprise attack, which resulted in the citys Arab forces fleeing to Kairouan. It is estimated that he headed a force of 40,000 men, the Romans sent out a call for help to their allies, the native Berbers, and to enemies the Visigoths and the Franks. Despite the king of the Visigoths, Wittiza, sending a force of 500 warriors in order to help defend Carthage, Hasan ibn al-Numan, enraged at having to retake a city that had not resisted the Roman take over, offered no terms except to surrender or die. The Emperor Leontius had also given his forces instructions of victory or death, the defenders were faced with Hasans overwhelming force deployed in ferocious attacks as his men made repeated attempts to scale the walls with ladders. They combined this land assault with an attack from the sea caused the Roman commanders to withdraw from the city and subsequently resulted in the second. The Romans retreated to the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Crete to further resist Muslim expansion, John the Patrician was later murdered after a conspiracy at the hands of his co-commander, Tiberius Apsimarus. Tiberius Apsimarus then, instead of taking the step of returning to Africa to fight the Muslims, after a successful rebellion he rose to the throne as Tiberius III, and was later deposed by former emperor Justinian II, now known as the Rhinotmetus. The conquest of North Africa by the forces of Islam was now nearly complete, Hasans forces met with trouble from the Zenata tribe of Berbers under al-Kahina. and they inflicted a serious defeat on him and drove him back to Barqa. However, in 702 Caliph Abd al-Malik strongly reinforced him, now with a large army and the support of the settled population of North Africa, Hasan pushed forward. He decisively defeated al-Kahina in the Battle of Tabarka,85 miles west of Carthage and he then developed the village of Tunis, ten miles from the destroyed Carthage
19.
Umayyad Caliphate
–
The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
20.
Anatolia
–
Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
21.
Constantinople
–
Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
22.
Siege of Tyana
–
The Siege of Tyana was carried out by the Umayyad Caliphate in 707–708 or 708–709 in retaliation for a heavy defeat of an Umayyad army under Maimun the Mardaite by the Byzantine Empire in c. The Arab army invaded Byzantine territory and laid siege to the city in summer 707 or 708, the date is uncertain, as virtually each of the extant Greek, Arabic and Syriac parallel sources has in this respect a different date. Quarrels among the Byzantine generals, as well as the inexperience of a part of their army. Thereupon the inhabitants of the city were forced to surrender, despite the agreement of terms, the city was plundered and largely destroyed, and according to Byzantine sources its people were made captive and deported, leaving the city deserted. The Byzantines secured great financial and territorial advantages from the truce, however, by 692 the Umayyads were clearly emerging as the victors in the conflict, and Abd al-Malik consciously began a series of provocations to bring about a resumption of warfare. Justinian, confident in his own based on his previous successes. Finally, the Umayyads claimed that the Byzantines had broken the treaty and invaded Byzantine territory, furthermore, Justinian was deposed in 695, beginning a twenty-year period of internal instability that almost brought the Byzantine state to its knees. As part of these Arab raids, an invasion under a certain Maimun al-Gurgunami took place, the dating of this expedition is unclear, although the primary account, by al-Baladhuri, places it under Abd al-Malik, it is commonly dated to 706 by modern scholars. According to Baladhuri, this Maimun had been a slave of Caliph Muawiyahs sister, who had fled to the Mardaites, a group of Christian rebels in northern Syria. After the Mardaites had been subdued, the general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, who had heard of his valour, liberated him and entrusted him with a military command, as a result, Maslama launched another attack aimed at Tyana, with his nephew al-Abbas ibn al-Walid as co-commander. The chronology of the expedition is unclear, the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor puts it in A. M. 6201, but Arab sources date it to A. H.88 and 89, as a result, the siege has been variously dated to 707–708 AD and 708–709 AD. The Arabs laid siege to the city, employing siege engines to bombard its fortifications and they managed to destroy part of the wall, but were unable to enter the city. Despite launching several assaults, the defenders drove them back. The siege continued into winter, and the Arabs began to suffer greatly from shortage of food, the Byzantine chroniclers record that the regular troops were complemented by armed peasants, numerous but lacking in any military experience. As the relief army approached Tyana, it was confronted by the Arabs, and in the ensuing battle, according to Theophanes, the two Byzantine generals quarrelled among themselves, and their attack was disorderly. The Byzantines lost many dead, and the captives also numbered in the thousands. The Arabs captured the Byzantine camp and took all the provisions they had brought along for the beleaguered city, the inhabitants of Tyana now despaired of any succour, and as their own supplies dwindled they began negotiations for a surrender
23.
Siege of Nicaea (727)
–
The Siege of Nicaea of 727 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Umayyad Caliphate to capture the Byzantine city of Nicaea, the capital of the Opsician Theme. Ever since its failure to capture the Byzantine Empires capital, Constantinople, in 717–718, in 727, the Arab army, led by one of the Caliphs sons, penetrated deep into Asia Minor, sacked two Byzantine fortresses and in late July arrived before Nicaea. Despite constant attacks for 40 days, the city held firm, when warfare on the Arab–Byzantine frontier recommenced in 720, the strategic focus of the Caliphate had shifted away from outright conquest. Byzantine reaction during these years was passive, as the Empire still nursed its strength against the superior resources of the Caliphate. The Byzantines did not obstruct or confront the raiding Arab armies, after the accession of Caliph Hisham, the scale and ambition of the Muslim raids grew. One of the most prominent Umayyad leaders in these campaigns was Hishams son Muawiya, who led expeditions in 725 and 726, in summer 727, another large-scale invasion was led by Muawiya, with Abdallah al-Battal heading the vanguard of the army. The Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor claims that the vanguard alone numbered 15,000 men, Theophanes also records a certain Amr as Muawiyas second-in-command, but Arab sources are unambiguous in this regard. Gangra was razed to the ground, but during the attack on Tabya the Arabs, from there, the Arabs turned west towards Nicaea, the chief city of Bithynia and capital of the powerful Opsician Theme. The Arabs arrived before the city in late July, with al-Battals vanguard preceding the main army, the Byzantines, probably under the command of the Count of the Opsicians, Artabasdos, did not meet them in the field, but instead retreated behind the citys walls. The Arabs assaulted the city for forty days, employing siege engines which destroyed a part of the walls, in late August, they raised the siege and departed, taking along many captives and much booty. The repulsion of the Arab assault on Nicaea was an important success for the Byzantines, emperor Leo III the Isaurian regarded the citys survival as a sign of divine favour towards his newly instituted iconoclastic policies, and was encouraged to drive them further. The soldier was killed the day by a catapult, a fact which Theophanes reports as evidence of divine vengeance. However, this passage shows strong signs of tampering by the fervently anti-iconoclast Theophanes, militarily, the siege of Nicaea was the high-water-mark of the post-718 Umayyad raids, never again would Umayyad armies penetrate as deeply into Asia Minor. Over the next few years, while Byzantine strength revived, the Muslim military situation on all fronts of the over-extended Caliphate deteriorated, consequently, in the 730s, Arab raids were mostly limited to the immediate frontier regions and their successes became fewer. By 740, when the Umayyads assembled the largest invasion force fielded after 718, the End of the Jihâd State, The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. Albany, New York, State University of New York Press, die byzantinische Reaktion auf die Ausbreitung der Araber. Studien zur Strukturwandlung des byzantinischen Staates im 7, munich, Institut für Byzantinistik und Neugriechische Philologie der Universität München. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor, Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813
24.
Battle of Akroinon
–
The Battle of Akroinon was fought at Akroinon or Akroinos in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces. The Arabs had been conducting raids into Anatolia for the past century. The battle resulted in a decisive Byzantine victory, since the beginning of the Muslim conquests, the Byzantine Empire, as the largest, richest and militarily strongest state bordering the expanding Caliphate, had been the Muslims primary enemy. Following their failure to capture the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in 717–718 and these were no longer aimed at permanent conquest but rather large-scale raids, plundering and devastating the countryside and only occasionally attacking forts or major settlements. The raids of this period were largely confined to the central Anatolian plateau. Gradually, however, the Muslim successes became fewer, especially as their resources were drawn into the conflict with the Khazars in the Caucasus. The raids continued, but the Arab and Byzantine chroniclers mention fewer successful captures of forts or towns, nevertheless, in 737 a major victory over the Khazars allowed the Arabs to shift their focus and intensify their campaigns against Byzantium. Thus in 738 and 739 Maslamah ibn Hisham led successful raids, for the year 740, Hisham assembled the largest expedition of his reign, placing it under his son Sulayman. According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, the invading Umayyad force totalled 90,000 men, the Emperor Leo confronted the second force at Akroinon. Details of the battle are not known, but the Emperor secured a crushing victory, the rest of the Arab troops managed to conduct an orderly retreat to Synnada, where they joined Sulayman. The other two Arab forces devastated the countryside unopposed, but failed to any towns or forts. Akroinon was a success for the Byzantines, as it was the first large-scale victory they had scored in a pitched battle against the Arabs. Seeing it as evidence of Gods renewed favour, the victory also served to strengthen Leos belief in the policy of iconoclasm that he had adopted some years before. In the immediate aftermath, this opened up the way for a more aggressive stance by the Byzantines. The Arab defeat at Akroinon has traditionally seen as a decisive battle. Other historians however, from the early 20th-century Syriac scholar E. W, as a result, the Arab attacks against the Byzantine Empire in the 740s were rather ineffectual and soon ceased completely. The End of the Jihâd State, The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik, albany, New York, State University of New York Press. New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press, papers given at the Ninth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Birmingham, March 1975
25.
Siege of Kamacha
–
Both enterprises failed, with the siege dragging on into winter before being abandoned and the raiding force being surrounded and heavily defeated by the Byzantines. Among the fortresses captured by the Byzantines, in 754/755, was Kamacha, after the overthrow of the Umayyads, the new Abbasid regime quickly resumed their predecessors attacks on the Byzantine Empire, the first being recorded in 756. In early 766 a prisoner exchange took place between the two states in western Cilicia, followed by a resumption of large-scale hostilities, the Abbasid force met no resistance as they pillaged their way to the fortress. Once there, they began constructing siege engines and trying to fill its moat, the siege continued through the autumn, and the Arabs, who customarily did not take along many provisions, began suffering from lack of supplies. To solve their problems, they established a market for merchants from Mesopotamia. In the end, with winter approaching, Abbas was forced to raise the siege and retreat south, after looting the area, they turned south and made for Syria. On their way, they were encountered by a Byzantine force of 12,000, the Byzantines then attacked at night, defeating the Abbasid army and recovering its loot. The surviving Abbasid troops scattered, with some following one of their leaders, Radad, to Malatya and it was from the latter group that the Zuqnin chronicler drew his information. The campaign is one of the few such border raids to be known in detail, despite this failure, Arab pressure gradually began to mount, especially after the sack of Laodicea Combusta in 770. Kamacha itself was surrendered to the Arabs by its Armenian garrison in 793 and it fell again in Muslim hands in 822, and was not finally taken by the Byzantines until 851
26.
Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782)
–
The Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor in 782 was one of the largest operations launched by the Abbasid Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire. The invasion was launched as a display of Abbasid military might in the aftermath of a series of Byzantine successes, as Harun did not intend to assault Constantinople and lacked ships to do so, he turned back. The Byzantines, who in the meantime had neutralized the detachment left to secure the Abbasid armys rear in Phrygia, were able to trap Haruns army between their own converging forces, the defection of the Armenian general Tatzates, however, allowed Harun to regain the upper hand. The Abbasid prince sent for a truce and detained the high-ranking Byzantine envoys and this forced Irene to agree to a three-year truce and pay a heavy annual tribute. Irene then focused her attention to the Balkans, but warfare with the Arabs resumed in 786, until mounting Arab pressure led to another truce in 798, on terms similar to those of 782. In the next year, the Byzantines took and razed the city of Hadath. In response to these Byzantine successes, Caliph al-Mahdi now resolved to take the field in person, on 12 March 780, Mahdi departed Baghdad and via Aleppo marched to Hadath, which he refortified. He then advanced to Arabissus, where he left the army and his son and heir Harun—better known by his laqab, or regnal name, al-Rashid—was left in charge of one half of the army, which raided the Armeniac Theme and took the small fort of Semaluos. Thumama, who had entrusted with the other half, penetrated deeper into Asia Minor. He marched west as far as the Thracesian Theme, but was defeated there by Lachanodrakon. The Muslims crossed into Byzantine Cappadocia over the Pass of Hadath, the ensuing battle resulted in a costly Arab defeat, forcing Abd al-Kabir to abandon his campaign and retreat to Syria. This defeat infuriated the Caliph, who prepared a new expedition.6 million nomismata, Harun was the nominal leader, but the Caliph took care to send experienced officers to accompany him. On 9 February 782, Harun departed Baghdad, the Arabs crossed the Taurus Mountains by the Cilician Gates and they then advanced along the military roads across the plateau into Phrygia. Harun himself, with the army, advanced to the Opsician Theme. The accounts of subsequent events in the sources differ on the details. The Thracesians under Lachanodrakon confronted al-Barmaki at a place called Darenos, al-Tabari reports that part of the main army under Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani met a Byzantine force led by a certain Niketas who was count of counts, probably somewhere near Nicaea. Harun did not bother them, and advanced to the town of Chrysopolis. Lacking ships to cross the Bosporus, and with no intention of assaulting Constantinople in the first place, furthermore, despite his success so far, Haruns position was precarious, as the defeat of al-Rabi threatened his lines of communication with the Caliphate
27.
Battle of Kopidnadon
–
The Battle of Kopidnadon or Kopidnados took place in September 788 between the armies of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. The Abbasid army launched an invasion of Byzantine Asia Minor, and was confronted by a Byzantine force at Kopidnadon, the resulting battle was an Abbasid victory. Among the Byzantine losses was a certain Diogenes, who is identified by scholars with the probable original source for the literary hero Digenes Akritas. Ever since the failure of the last Arab attempt to conquer the Byzantine capital Constantinople, regular, in 785, Empress-regent Irene of Athens resolved to cease the payment of the tribute, and warfare recommenced. The site of the battle is called Kopidnadon in Theophanes, an otherwise unattested. Modern scholars, beginning with Henri Grégoire in 1932, have identified it with the town of Podandos, Theophanes also singles out the loss of the capable officer Diogenes, a tourmarches of the Anatolics. The immediate impact of the Byzantine defeat seems to have been negligible, losses were heavy but not unbearable, in material terms, there is therefore little to distinguish the defeat at Kopidnadon from the typical Arab raid. It marks, however, a recommencement of large-scale border warfare after the relative lull since 782, which continued unabated until Haruns death in 809 and the subsequent Abbasid civil war
28.
Battle of Krasos
–
The Battle of Krasos was a battle in the Arab–Byzantine Wars that took place in August 804, between the Byzantines under Emperor Nikephoros I and an Abbasid army under Ibrahim ibn Jibril. Nikephoros accession in 802 resulted in a resumption of warfare between Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate, in late summer 804, the Abbasids had invaded Byzantine Asia Minor for one of their customary raids, and Nikephoros set out to meet them. He was surprised, however, at Krasos and heavily defeated, a truce and prisoner exchange were afterwards arranged. Despite his defeat, and a massive Abbasid invasion the next year, the deposition of Empress Irene of Athens, in October 802, and subsequent accession of Nikephoros I signalled a more violent phase in the long history of the Arab–Byzantine Wars. Nikephoros, on the hand, was more warlike and determined to refill the imperial treasury by, among other measures. Harun retaliated at once, launching a raid under his son al-Qasim, Nikephoros could not respond to this, as he faced an ultimately unsuccessful revolt of the Asian army under its commander-in-chief, Bardanes Tourkos. After disposing of Bardanes, Nikephoros assembled his army and marched out himself to meet a second, in August 804, Harun dispatched another raid under his general Ibrahim ibn Jibril. The Arabs crossed into Asia Minor through the Cilician Gates and raided freely, Nikephoros set out to meet them, but was forced to return before he could do so, due to some unspecified event at his back. On his march home, however, the Arabs launched an attack at Krasos in Phrygia. According to al-Tabari, the Byzantines lost 40,700 men and 4,000 pack animals, the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor confirms that the imperial army lost many men and that Nikephoros was almost killed himself, saved only by the bravery of his officers. Preoccupied with trouble in Khurasan, Harun now accepted tribute and made peace, during Haruns absence in Khurasan, however, Nikephoros used the opportunity to rebuild the destroyed walls of the towns of Safsaf, Thebasa, and Ancyra. The following summer he launched the first Byzantine raid for two decades, into the Arab frontier district in Cilicia, the Byzantine army raided and took prisoners as it went, even capturing the major Abbasid stronghold of Tarsus. Following renewed trouble in Khurasan, a treaty was signed in 808 which left the Byzantine frontier zone intact
Rashidun Caliphate
Byzantine empire