Iyad ibn Ghanm
Iyad ibn Ghanm | |
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Born | Arabia |
Died | c. 641 CE Hims, Syria |
Allegiance | Rashidun Caliphate (632–641) |
Service/ | Rashidun army |
Battles/wars |
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Relations | Banu Fihr (clan) |
Other work |
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Iyad ibn Ghanm ibn Zuhayr al-Fihri (
When Abu Ubayda died in 639, Iyad succeeded him as governor of
Early life
Iyad was the son of a certain 'Abd Ghanm ibn Zuhayr al-Fihri. He belonged to the al-Harith ibn
Campaigns in Syria
Iyad may have been the Muslim commander who defeated an Arab tribal revolt in the oasis town of
In 638, Iyad was dispatched by Abu Ubayda to subdue Aleppo (Beroea) in northern Syria, then part of the Byzantine Empire.[5] Abu Ubayda himself arrived later, but as soon as he set up camp around the city, the townspeople signaled their desire to negotiate terms.[5] Iyad, who was sanctioned by Abu Ubayda to negotiate on his behalf, agreed to the proposed terms guaranteeing the safety of Aleppo's inhabitants and properties, but with the condition that a site be made available for the construction of a mosque.[5] Abu Ubayda later sent Iyad at the head of an army to capture Cyrrhus, whose inhabitants sent out a monk to meet Iyad; following this meeting, Iyad had the monk meet Abu Ubayda and arrange the surrender of Cyrrhus.[12] Iyad continued on northward and eastward, overseeing the capitulation of Manbij (Hierapolis), Ra'ban and Duluk.[13]
Conquest of Upper Mesopotamia
When Abu Ubayda died in 639, Caliph Umar appointed Iyad in his place as the ʿamal (governor) of Hims, Qinnasrin (Chalcis) and al-Jazira with directions to conquer the latter territory from its Byzantine commanders because they had refused to pay the tributes promised to the Muslims in 638.[14][15][16] By the time Iyad was given his assignment, all of Syria had been conquered by the Muslims, leaving the Byzantine garrisons in al-Jazira isolated from the empire.[17] In August 639, Iyad led a 5,000-strong army toward Raqqa (Kallinikos) in al-Jazira and raided the city's environs.[14] He encountered resistance from its defenders,[14] prompting him to withdraw and send smaller units to make raids around Raqqa, seizing captives and harvests.[18] After five or six days of these raids, Raqqa's patrician negotiated the surrender of the city to Iyad.[18] According to historian Michael Meinecke, Iyad captured the city in 639 or 640.[19]
After Raqqa, Iyad proceeded toward
After Samosata, al-Baladhuri, who gives a detailed but triumphalist account of the Mesopotamian campaign, maintains that Iyad subdued a string of villages "on the same terms" as Edessa's surrender.
Iyad died in Hims in 641.[28] According to al-Tabari, Iyad was succeeded as governor of Hims and Qinnasrin by a certain Sa'id ibn Hidhyam al-Jumahi, but the latter died soon after and Umayr ibn Sa'd, one of Iyad's lieutenants, was appointed in his place by Caliph Umar.[30]
Assessment
According to 9th-century biographer Ibn Sa'd, "not a foot was left of Mesopotamia unsubdued by Iyad ibn Ghanm", and Iyad "effected the conquest of Mesopotamia and its towns by capitulation, but its land by force".[31] Petersen describes Iyad as "a commander who has received little attention, but who clearly was of great ability".[16] The tactics used by Iyad in his Mesopotamian campaign were similar to those employed by the Muslims in Palestine, though in Iyad's case the contemporary accounts reveal his specific modus operandi, particularly in Raqqa.[27] The operation to capture that city entailed positioning cavalry forces near its entrances, preventing its defenders and residents from leaving or rural refugees from entering.[27] Concurrently, the remainder of Iyad's forces cleared the surrounding countryside of supplies and took captives.[27] These dual tactics were employed in several other cities in al-Jazira.[27] They proved effective in gaining surrenders from targeted cities running low on supplies and whose satellite villages were trapped by hostile troops.[27] Iyad's overall goal was to conquer al-Jazira with minimal damage to ensure the flow of revenue to the caliphate.[27] In the agreements he reached with the patricians of Raqqa, Edessa, Harran and Samosata, payments came in various forms, including cash, wheat, oil, vinegar, honey, labor services to maintain roads and bridges, and guides and intelligence for the Muslim newcomers.[27]
Ultimately, Iyad's settlements with Mesopotamia's cities "to a large extent left most of local society untouched".[32] In the view of Petersen, Iyad's campaign partially diverted the Byzantines' attention away from the Muslims' central offensive against Syria's port cities and the province of Egypt, while also "demonstrating to the Armenian nobility that the Caliphate had become a viable alternative to the Persian Empire".[33]
References
- ^ Ibn 'Abd Rabbih 2011, p. 233.
- ^ Theophilus of Edessa 2011, p. 118, n. 271.
- ^ Donner 1981, p. 51.
- ^ Muhammad ibn Sa'd 1997, p. 247.
- ^ a b c d e Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 226.
- ^ Donner 1981, p. 77.
- ^ a b c Vaglieri 1965, p. 625.
- ^ a b Shahid 1989, p. 304.
- ^ Juynboll 1989, pp. 59–60.
- ^ a b Humphreys 1990, p. 72.
- ^ Juynboll 1989, p. 80.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 230.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 231.
- ^ a b c Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 270.
- ^ Friedmann 1992, p. 134 n. 452.
- ^ a b Petersen 2013, p. 434.
- ^ Canard 1965, p. 574.
- ^ a b Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 271.
- ^ Meinecke 1995, p. 410.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 272.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 273.
- ^ Haase 1997, p. 871.
- ^ a b c Al-Baladhuri 1916, pp. 274–275.
- ^ a b c Petersen 2013, p. 436.
- ^ a b c Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 276.
- ^ Honigmann 1995, p. 433.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Petersen 2013, p. 435.
- ^ a b c d e Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 275.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 277.
- ^ Humphreys 1990, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 273–274.
- ^ Petersen 2013, pp. 437–438.
- ^ Petersen 2013, p. 439.
Bibliography
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- Ibn 'Abd Rabbih (2011). Boullata, Emeritus Issa J. (ed.). The Unique Necklace, Volume III. Reading: Garnet Publishing Limited & Southern Court. ISBN 978-1-85964-240-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4008-4787-7.
- Haase, C. P. (1997). "Sumaysāṭ". In ISBN 978-90-04-10422-8.
- Honigmann, M. (1995). "Raʾs al-ʿAyn". In ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
- Meinecke, M. (1995). "Al-Rakka". In ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
- ISBN 978-1-897940-68-6.
- Petersen, Leif Inge Ree (2013). Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400-800 AD): Byzantium, the West and Islam. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-25199-1.
- Shahid, Irfan (1989). Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University. ISBN 978-0-88402-152-0.
- Juynboll, Gautier H.A., ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XIII: The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt: The Middle Years of ʿUmar's Caliphate, A.D. 636–642/A.H. 15–21. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-876-8.
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