Army
Only Muslims were allowed to join the Rashidun army as regular troops. During the Ridda wars in the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr, the army mainly consisted of the corps from Madinah, Mecca and Taif. Later on during the conquest of Iraq in 633 many bedouin corps were recruited in the forces as regular troops. During the Islamic conquest of Sassanid Persia (633-656), some 12,000 elite Persian troops converted to Islam and served later on during the wholescale invasion of the empire. During the Muslim conquest of Roman Syria (633-638) some 4,000 Greek Byzantine soldiers under their commander Joachim (later Abdullah Joachim) converted to Islam and served as regular troops in the conquest of both Anatolia and Egypt. During the conquest of Egypt (641-644), Coptic converts to Islam were recruited and eased the conquest. During the conquest of North Africa, Berber converts to Islam were recruited as regular troops, who later made the bulk of the Rashidun army and later the Umayyad army in Africa.
Read more about this topic: Rashidun Army
Famous quotes containing the word army:
“I’m the boss, you’re an idiot. You’re the boss, I’m an idiot.”
—Russian army saying, trans. by Vladimir Ivanovich Shlyakov (1993)
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Why not draft executive and management brains to prepare and produce the equipment the $21-a-month draftee must use and forget this dollar-a-year tommyrot? Would we send an army into the field under a dollar-a-year General who had to be home Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)