From
judging history, there is no doubt Muhammed and his religion of Islam played an
important role in the history of civilization. His teachings united warring
tribes under a single purpose and devastated the armies of one of the greatest
empires to exist. Eventually, it would become the dominant religion, overtaking
the influence of Christianity, within the Middle East, Northern Africa, and
even parts of Spain. Many battles have been fought in the name of Islam, but
there is one which defined the course of history.
The
religion of Islam was founded by an Arabian named Muhammed. Muhammed claimed to
have received special revelations from God. The ideas of Islam focused around
three important points, monotheism, a strict code of morality, and equality.[1]
Due to his preaching, Muhammed was forced out of his tribe by the tribal
leaders. Eventually, he returned with his own followers and conquered Mecca,
and ultimately united the tribes under Islam. This unity was fragile and only a
common cause, jihad, would hold it together.[2]
The jihad is known in the west as a “holy war,” but the meaning has various
elements within Islam. Under Muhammad’s leadership, it meant a war of self-defense
against their persecutors. However, it would be developed as a way to justify
wars through “religious legitimacy.”[3]
Furthermore, the Islamic unification
would be guided by a caliphate and “Whether the ruler is just or unjust, the
duty of subjects is to obey, because responsibility rests with God.”[4]
During the same
time, the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was led by
Emperor Heraclius. It had just defeated the Persians and exhausted the empires
resources. The empire was not prepared to defend against the unified tribes of Islam,
which were being led by an Arabic general named Khalid bin al-Walid.[5]
Khalid became known as the “Sword of Allah” and had built a reputation for
being cunning and ruthless in and out of battle. Emperor Heraclius would
appoint his veteran general Vahan to lead the Roman army against Khalid at the
Battle of Yarmuk.
Khalid and
Vahan met on the fields of Yarmuk and, after failed diplomacy and insults, the
two forces fought for six days. During the fighting, it seemed the Romans would
be victorious. However, on the last day, Khalid led a night attack against the
Romans, and overtook their army. According to the military historian Raymond
Ibrahim, “As the moon filled the night sky and the victors stripped the slain,
cries of ‘There is not god by Allah and Muhammad is his messenger’ and ‘Allahu
Akbar!’ rang throughout the Yarmuk valley.”[6]
Khalid and
his Islamic army defeated a major Roman army, comprised of disciplined and
veteran soldiers. The Roman defeat showed the slow decay of the Eastern Romans
and invigorated the Islamic army. Within only seventy-three years two-thirds of
the Christian world would be under Islamic control. This included the major
Christian centers of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria.[7]
The Battle of Yarmuk is, without doubt, one of the most essential battles for
the history of the world.
[1] John Vidmar, The
Catholic Church Through the Ages: A History, 2nd ed. (Mahwah,
NJ: Paulist Press, 2014), 95.
[2] Vidmar, The Catholic
Church, 98
[3] Asma Afsuraddin, “Jihad,” in
Encyclopedia Britannica, at www.academic.eb.com.
[4] Charles Hill, Trial of
a Thousand Years: World Order and Islam (Stanford, CA: Hoover Press, 2011),
12.
[5] Raymond Ibrahim, Sword
and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War Between Islam and the West (New
York, NY: Da Capo Press, 2018), 14.
[6] Ibrahim, Sword and
Scimitar, 25.
[7] Ibrahim, Sword and
Scimitar, 42-43.
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