The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians, and the Rise of Islam by Peter Crawford

Author:Peter Crawford [Crawford, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Ancient, Rome, Biography & Autobiography, Military, Historical
ISBN: 9781632201782
Google: 7yuCDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2014-09-16T23:37:49.288519+00:00

Chapter 7

636—The Year of the Muslim Beast

God helping him, [Heraclius] discovered, that his empire would be laid waste by circumcised races.

Fredegarius, Chron. 65

The Death of Abu Bakr, the Succession of Umar and the Fall of Damascus

In the aftermath of Ajnadayn, it is suggested that the Romans attempted to disrupt Muslim movements by destroying river crossings and even the river banks, flooding much of the Jordan valley. However, while the Muslims do seem to have moved back east of the Jordan, ostensibly giving chase to Roman forces that survived the battle but perhaps also to prevent an overextension of their lines of communication, it did little to prevent Muslim advances continuing apace. The next targets were the twin cities of Pella and Scythopolis, also known as Fahl and Baysan, which sat almost directly opposite each other across the Jordan. Another Khalid victory before the walls of Pella saw the city invested in perhaps a four-month blockade before capitulating, while Scythopolis seems to have fallen to Amr and Shurahbil without a fight. The exact dates of Ajnadayn and these subsequent manoeuvrings around the Jordan are disputed with some placing Ajnadayn as late as January 635 but the more likely dating is in late-July 634. This earlier date is usually preferred as ‘it is generally supposed to have occurred during the last months of Abu Bakr’s caliphate, and the news of the Muslim’s victory is supposed to have reached him on his deathbed.’1

Abu Bakr fell ill in early-August 634 after catching a chill; although there is some suggestion that it was the lingering effects of being poisoned a year previously. Realising he was dying and wary of the potential for a repeat of the infighting that had marred the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, after much consultation with his advisers and colleagues, decided to appoint his own successor. The choice eventually fell on Umar b. al-Khattab. Having pronounced his choice and composed his will, Abu Bakr died on Monday 23 August 634 and was buried beside Muhammad. Despite having his detractors as someone who usurped the caliphate from Ali, Abu Bakr had been an invaluable early supporter of and adviser to Muhammad. Once he assumed power, by whatever means, it is difficult to deny his territorial successes. By building on the religious, social and political foundations established by the Prophet, in a little over two years as caliph Abu Bakr had taken the Arab caliphate from part of a network of alliances across the Arabian Peninsula to a burgeoning pan-Arabic state capable of squaring up to and defeating two of the most powerful empires of the ancient world.

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