The Battle
Twelve miles 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, as he had done during the Battle of Yarmouk. The Byzantine forces suffered heavy losses and were defeated. The Byzantine casualties in this battle were the highest in the Muslim conquest of Syria, with the exceptions of the battles of Ajnadayn and Yarmouk. 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, the defeated Byzantine soldiers were allowed to depart in peace.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Iron Bridge
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“If you are willing to inconvenience yourself in the name of discipline, the battle is half over. Leave Grandma’s early if the children are acting impossible. Depart the ballpark in the sixth inning if you’ve warned the kids and their behavior is still poor. If we do something like this once, our kids will remember it for a long time.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“That we can come here today and in the presence of thousands and tens of thousands of the survivors of the gallant army of Northern Virginia and their descendants, establish such an enduring monument by their hospitable welcome and acclaim, is conclusive proof of the uniting of the sections, and a universal confession that all that was done was well done, that the battle had to be fought, that the sections had to be tried, but that in the end, the result has inured to the common benefit of all.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)