The Battle of Yarmouk , the rise of the Arab Caliphate

The Battle of Yarmouk  was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River (also called Hieromyces River), along what are now the border, the rise s of Syria–Jordan and Syria-Israel, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory that ended Byzantine rule in Syria. The Battle of the Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of early Muslim conquests after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then-Christian Levant.

 

After the devastating blow to the Sassanid Persians at Firaz, the Muslim Arab forces, under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid, took on the army of the Christian Byzantine Empire at Yarmouk near the border of modern-day Syria and Jordan. The major battle was to continue for six days. Seeking to halt Muslim expansion, the Byzantines rallied all available forces. Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, the victor of Nineveh, allied himself with the Sassanids, the two empires seeking to pool their depleted resources to stop the Arab advance. The Muslim army was commanded by Khalid ibn al-Walid, while the Byzantine army was commanded by Vahan of Armenia.

 

The consequences of the Battle of Yarmouk cannot be understated.  Emperor Heraclius, who had overseen the general strategy from Antioch but had not participated in any military actions, simply abandoned Syria, attempting to consolidate the Roman defenses in Anatolia and Egypt. However, the Muslim tide would sweept aside the Roman defenses in Egypt