Battle of Mu'tah
Battle of Mu'tah غَزْوَة مُؤْتَة مَعْرَكَة مُؤْتَة | |||||||
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Part of the | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Muslim Arabs |
Byzantine Empire Ghassanids | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Theodore Mālik ibn Zāfila †[5] | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
3,000[6] |
100,000 (Al-Waqidi)[7] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
12[11] (Disputed)[12][13] | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Mu'tah (
In Islamic historical sources, the battle is usually described as the Muslims' attempt to take retribution against a Ghassanid chief for taking the life of an emissary. According to Byzantine sources, the Muslims planned to launch their attack on a feast day. The local Byzantine Vicarius learned of their plans and collected the garrisons of the fortresses. Seeing the great number of the enemy forces, the Muslims withdrew to the south where the fighting started at the village of Mu'tah and they were either routed or retired without exacting a penalty on the Ghassanid chief.[14][4][2] According to Muslim sources, after three of their leaders were killed, the command was given to Khalid ibn al-Walid and he succeeded in saving the rest of the force.[4]
Three years later the Muslims would return to defeat the Byzantine forces in the Expedition of Usama bin Zayd.
Background
The Byzantines were reoccupying territory following the peace accord between Emperor Heraclius and the Sasanid general Shahrbaraz in July 629.[15] The Byzantine sakellarios Theodore,[16] was placed in command of the army, and while in the area of Balqa, Arab tribes were also employed.[15]
Meanwhile, Muhammad had sent his emissary to the ruler of Bosra.[17] While on his way to Bosra, he was executed in the village of Mu'tah by the orders of a Ghassanid official Shurahbil ibn Amr.[17]
Mobilization of the armies
Muhammad dispatched 3,000 of his troops in the month of
Battle
The Muslims engaged the Byzantines at their camp by the village of Musharif and then withdrew towards Mu'tah. It was here that the two armies fought. Some Muslim sources report that the battle was fought in a valley between two heights, which negated the Byzantines' numerical superiority. During the battle, all three Muslim leaders fell one after the other as they took command of the force: first, Zayd, then Ja'far, then 'Abdullah. After the death of 'Abdullah, the Muslim soldiers were in danger of being routed. Thabit ibn Aqram, seeing the desperate state of the Muslim forces, took up the banner and rallied his comrades, thus saving the army from complete destruction. After the battle, ibn Aqram took the banner, before asking Khalid ibn al-Walid to take the lead.[18]
Muslim losses
Four of the slain Muslims were
Daniel C. Peterson, Professor of Islamic Studies at Brigham Young University, finds the ratio of casualties among the leaders suspiciously high compared to the losses suffered by ordinary soldiers.
Aftermath
After the Muslim forces arrived at Medina, they were reportedly berated for withdrawing and accused of fleeing.
Today, Muslims who fell at the battle are considered martyrs (shuhadāʾ). A mausoleum was later built at Mu'tah over their graves.[4]
Historiography
According to al-Waqidi (d. 823) and Ibn Ishaq (d. 767), the Muslims were informed that 100,000[7] or 200,000[5] enemy troops were encamped at the Balqa'.[7][20] Some modern historians state that the figure is exaggerated.[8][9][4] According to Walter Emil Kaegi, professor of Byzantine history at the University of Chicago, the size of the entire Byzantine army during the 7th century might have totaled 100,000, possibly even half this number.[21] While the Byzantine forces at Mu'tah are unlikely to have numbered more than 10,000.[a][10]
Muslim accounts of the battle differ over the result.
See also
- Military career of Muhammad
- List of expeditions of Muhammad
- History of Islam
- Jihad
- Muhammad's views on Christians
Notes
References
- ^ a b Kaegi 1992, p. 72.
- ^ a b Kaegi 1992, p. 67.
- ^ Donner 1981, p. 105.
- ^ a b c d e f Buhl 1993, p. 756-757.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-636033-1.
They went on their way as far as Ma'ān in Syria where they heard that Heraclius had come down to Ma'āb in the Balqāʾ with 100,000 Greeks joined by 100,000 men from Lakhm and Judhām and al-Qayn and Bahrāʾ and Balī commanded by a man of Balī of Irāsha called Mālik b. Zāfila.
- ^ Powers 2009, p. 86.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-59984-9.
- ^ a b Haldon 2010, p. 188.
- ^ a b Peters 1994, p. 231.
- ^ a b c Kaegi 1992, p. 79.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8122-4617-9.
- ^ a b Peterson 2007, p. 142.
- ^ a b c d e f g Powers 2009, p. 80.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-353-30668-4.
- ^ a b Kaegi 1992, p. 72-73.
- ^ Kaegi 1992, p. 35.
- ^ a b c El Hareir & M'Baye 2011, p. 142.
- ^ Jafar al-Tayyar, Al-Islam.org
- ^ a b Powers 2009, p. 81.
- ^ Haykal 1976, p. 419.
- ^ Kaegi 2010, p. 99.
Sources
- Donner, Fred M.(1981). The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton University Press.
- El Hareir, Idris; M'Baye, El Hadji Ravane (2011). The Different Aspects of Islam Culture: Volume 3, The Spread of Islam throughout the World. UNESCO publishing.
- Buhl, F. (1993). "Muʾta". In ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- Haldon, John (2010). Money, Power and Politics in Early Islamic Syria. Ashgate Publishing.
- Haykal, Muhammad (1976). The Life of Muhammad. Islamic Book Trust.
- ISBN 978-0521411721.
- ISBN 978-0-521-19677-2.
- Peters, Francis E. (1994). Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. State University of New York Press.
- Peterson, Daniel C. (2007). Muhammad, Prophet of God. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
- Powers, David S. (2009). Muhammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812205572.
- Tucker, Spencer, ed. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict. Vol. I. ABC-CLIO.