Battle of ein-ul-tamr

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ein-ul-tamr
partof=Islamic conquest of Persia and
Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid


caption=
date=633 AD
place=Iraq
result=Decisive Muslim victory ["Iraq After the Muslim Conquest" by Michael G. Morony, pg. 224]
combatant1=Rashidun Caliphate
combatant2=Sassanid Imperial troops ["Annals of the Early Caliphate" by William Muir pg. 85] along with their Arab Christian auxiliaries ["Iraq After the Muslim Conquest" by Michael G. Morony, pg 224]
commander1=Khalid ibn al-Walid
commander2=Aqqa ibn Qays ibn Bashir
strength1=500-600 ["The Origins of the Islamic State, Being a Translation from the Arabic, Accompanied with ..." by Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī, Philip Khūri Hitti, pg 169]
strength2=Unknown number, although it consisted of a "great" following of Arab Christian tribes and Sassanian troops. [Annals of the Early Caliphate by William Muir, pg 85]
casualties1=Few
casualties2=High ["Islam at War: A History" by George F. Nafziger, Mark W. Walton, pg. 20] |When the Muslim army conquered the town of Ein-Ul-Tamr they found a number of Arab Christian priests in a monastery. One of them was called Nusair another called Serine. They both embraced Islam, Nusair is the father of Mosa Ben Nusair, the supreme commander of the forces which later conquered Spain under the leadership of Tariq Ben Zeyad, the second in command for Mosa Ben Nusair. Serine, the other convert, is the father of the scholar Ibn Serine who became one of the more celebrated Muslim theologians. This battle took place in modern day Iraq (Mesopotamia) between the early Muslim Arab forces and the Sassanians along with their Arab Christian auxiliary forces. Ein-ul-tamr is located west of Anbar and was a frontier post which had been established to aid the Sassanids. ["The Caliph's Last Heritage: A Short History of the Turkish Empire" by Mark Sykes] The Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid's command soundly defeated the Sassanian auxiliary force, which included large numbers of non-Muslim Arabs who broke earlier covenants with the Muslims. ["The Book of Revenue: Kitab Al-Amwal" by Abu 'Ubayd Al-Qasim Ibn Sallam, pg 194] According to non-Muslim sources, Khalid ibn al-Walid captured the Arab Christian commander, Aqqa ibn Qays ibn Bashir, with his own hands. ["Annals of the Early Caliphate" by William Muir, pg. 85]

After the battle, some Persians had hoped that the Muslim commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid, would be "like those Arabs who would raid [and withdraw] ." ["Poetics of Islamic Historiography: Deconstructing Tabari's History" by Boaz Shoshan, pg. 55] However, Khalid continued to press further against the Persians and their allies in the subsequent Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal.

On-line resources

[http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookhome.htm A.I. Akram, "The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns" Lahore, 1969]

References

* A.I. Akram, "The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns", Nat. Publishing. House, Rawalpindi (1970) ISBN 0-7101-0104-X.

ee also

* Abu Bakr
* Omar ibn al-Khattāb