The Sword of Allah (Part Two)

The Sword of Allah refers to Khalid ibn al-Walid, the prophet

Mohammad's top general. Khalid commanded over 100 battles and never

lost, making him the most undefeated general in history. He usually

fought in the front lines either as a cavalry commander or as a

champion dueler. This is the first of a two-part episode. This part

will cover Khalid's conquest of Byzantine Syria:

Some famous

battles on the Syrian front include: Bosra, Ajnadayn, and Damascus. The

Siege of Damascus saw the first use of Khalid's unit of elite

cavalrymen, the Mobile Guard. However, the greatest battle in the

theater was the Battle of Yarmouk. Khalid had removed from command by

Umar (Abu Bakr's successor) but he still had operational command

because the nominal commander respected him so much. The Battle of

Yarmouk was fought between 100,000 Byzantines and 30,000 Arabs along a

battle line 12 miles long. After a series of significant duels

(including one where Khalid personally persuaded an enemy commander to

convert to Islam), the main battle began. For the first few days, it

was a stalemate. Eventually, though, Khalid managed to maneuver his

cavalry all the way around the Byzantines and flank them.

Soon after the battle, Umar, who believed that Khalid was gaining too much power, removed Khalid from command completely.

For more information, read:

Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler

http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/ohod.asp

http://islambyquestions.net/moreAbout/Hunayn.htm

http://islam.pakistanway.com/showtopic.aspx?topicid=266&typeid;=25

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/10_abu_bakr.htm

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045249/Khalid-ibn-al-Walid

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/00_abu_bakr.htm

http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1206

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk.aspx

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