Siege of Emesa - Conquest of Emesa

Conquest of Emesa

The following morning Abu Ubaidah held a council of war and expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Muslims had given way before the Roman attack, whereupon Khalid remarked, "These Romans were the bravest I had ever met."

Abu Ubaidah asked Khalid for his advice and Khalid told him his plan. The next morning they would make a fake withdrawal of the army from Emesa giving the Byzantines the impression that the Muslims were raising the siege and were withdrawing to the south. The Byzantines would surely attack the rearguard of the withdrawing Muslim army and at that moment the army would turn back, encircle the Byzantine army and annihilate them.

According to the plan, early the following morning, the Muslims raised the siege and withdrew to the south. Viewing it as a brilliant military opportunity, Harbees immediately collected 5,000 Byzantine warriors and led them out of the fort to chase the Muslims. He launched his mounted force into a fast pursuit to catch up with the retreating Muslim forces and strike them down as they fled. The Byzantine army caught up with the Muslims a few miles from Emesa. The leading elements of Byzantine cavalry were about to pounce upon the 'retreating Muslims', when the Muslims suddenly turned and struck at the Byzantines with ferocity. As the Muslims turned on the Byzantines, Khalid shouted a command at which two mounted groups detached themselves from the Muslim army, galloped round the flanks of the surprised Byzantines and charged from the rear. Steadily and systematically the Muslims closed in from all sides. It is said that Khalid with a small group of elite mounted warriors of mobile guard reached the centre of the Byzantines army and there he saw Harbees still fighting. Khalid made for Harbees, but was intercepted by a giant Byzantines general, who was killed by Khalid after a duel. At the time when the Muslims started their attack on the encircled Romans, a group of 500 horsemen under Ma'az ibn Jabal had galloped back to Emesa to see to it that no escaping Roman got into the fort. As these horsemen neared Emesa, the terrified inhabitants and the remnants of the Roman garrison which had not joined the pursuit hastily withdrew into the fort and closed the gates. Ma'az deployed his men in front of the gates to prevent the Byzantines in Emesa from coming out and the Byzantines outside Emesa from getting in. It is recorded that only about a hundred Byzantines got away. The Muslims, on the other hand, lost about 235 dead in the entire operation against Emesa, from the beginning of the siege to the end of the last action. As soon as this action was over the Muslims returned to Emesa and resumed the siege. The local inhabitants offered to surrender on terms, and Abu Ubaidah accepted the offer. This happened around the middle of March, 636. The inhabitants paid the Jizya at the rate of one dinar per man, and peace returned to Emesa.