The History of al-Tabari The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine Volume XII Translated by Yohanan Friedmann The present volume of the History of al-TabarT deals with the years 14 and 15 of the Islamic era, which correspond to A.D. 635-637. The nascent Islamic state had just emerged victorious from the crisis that followed the Prophet's death in 632 and had suppressed what was known as the riddab ("apostasy") rebellion in the Arabian peninsula . Under the leadership of 'Umar b. al- Khattab, the second caliph, or successor to the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslims embarked on the conquests that would soon transform the whole of the Middle East and North Africa into an Arab empire. Most of the present volume describes the battle of al-Qadisiyyah, which took place on the border between the fertile Iraqi lowlands (al-sawid) and the Arabian desert and resulted in the decisive defeat of the Persian army. The Muslim victory at al-Qadisiyyah heralded the downfall of the Sasanian dynasty , which had ruled Persia and Meso- potamia since A.D., the third century ; it also paved the way for the conquest of Iraq and facilitated Islamic expansion into Persia and beyond. The volume also deals with the conquest of Syria and Palestine and the expulsion of the Byzantines from those regions. Particular attention is devoted to the traditions related to the conquest of Jerusalem at the hands of 'Umar b. al-Khattab, the first Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount, and its transformation into an Islamic sanctuary. The volume contains colorful descriptions of the various battles, expatiations on the bravery of the Muslim warriors, and portrayals of the futile negotiations between the parties before the beginning of hostilities. It thus provides the reader with a fascinating insight into the later Muslim traditions related to these crucial events of early Islamic history. ISBN 0-7914-0734-9 SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies Said Amer Arpmand. Editor 9 780791VIVIIIIIMIII° 4073491IIIV III°^ The State University of New York Press THE HISTORY OF AL-TA.BARE AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION VOLUME XII The Battle of al-Qddisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine A.D. 635-637/A.H. 1 4 -1 5 e The History of al-Tabari Editorial Board Ihsan Abbas, University of Jordan, Amman C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester Franz Rosenthal, Yale University Everett K. Rowson, The University of Pennsylvania Ehsan Yar-Shater, Columbia University (General Editor) Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator Center for Iranian Studies Columbia University SUNY SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES Said Amir Arjomand, Editor The preparation of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endownment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency. Bibliotheca Persica Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater The History of al-Tabari (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa 'l-muluk) VOLUME XII The Battle of al-Qddisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine translated and annotated by Yohanan Friedmann The Hebrew University of Jerusalem State University of New York Press Published by State University of New York Press, Albany ® 1992. State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Tabari, 838?-913. [Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English . Selections[ The battle of al-Qidisiyyah and the conquest of Syria and Palestine : A.D. 63 S-637/A.H. 14 - 15 / translated and annotated by Yohanan Friedmann. p. cm. -(The history of al-Tabari = Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'I -mulfik ; v 12) (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY series in Near Eastern studies) 'Translation of extracts from : Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. Includes index. Bibliography: p. ISBN 0-7914 -0733-0 (acid-free).-ISBN 0-7914-0734- 9 (pb: acid free) i. Islamic Empire-History- 62.2.-661 .2. Qidisiyah, Battle of, 637. ;. `Umar ibn al-KhaSSib, Caliph, d. 644.1. Friedmann, Yohanan. H. Title. III. Series. IV. Series: Tabari, 838?-92.3. Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English ; v. 12. V. Series: Bibliotheca Persica (Albany, N.Y) DS38.z.T313 1985 vol. 12. IDS38.11 909'.1-dczo 90-1032.6 CIP For Zafrira, Yasmin, Tamar e Preface THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'1-mu- luk) by Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (839 923), here ren- dered as The History of al-Tabari, is by common consent the most important universal history produced in the world of Islam. It has been translated here in its entirety for the first time for the benefit of non-Arabists, with historical and philological notes for those in- terested in the particulars of the text. Al-Tabari 's monumental work explores the history of the ancient nations, with special emphasis on biblical peoples and prophets, the legendary and factual history of ancient Iran , and, in great detail, the rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad , and the history of the Islamic world down to the year 9 r S. The first volume of this translation contains a biography of al-Tabari and a discussion of the method, scope, and value of his work. It also provides information on some of the technical considerations that have guided the work of the translators. The History has been divided here into 39 volumes, each of which covers about two hundred pages of the original Arabic text in the Leiden edition. An attempt has been made to draw the dividing lines between the individual volumes in such a way that each is to some degree independent and can be read as such. The page numbers of the Leiden edition appear on the margins of the translated volumes. Al-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces the chain of transmission (isndd) to an original source . The chains of transmitters are, for the sake of brevity, rendered by only a dash (-) between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According to Ibn viii Preface Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq" means that al-Tabari received the report from Ibn Humayd, who said that he was told by Salamah, who said that he was told by Ibn Ishaq and so on. The numerous subtle and important differences in the original Arabic wording have been disregarded. The table of contents at the beginning of each volume gives a brief survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume . It also in- cludes the headings and subheadings as they appear in al-Tabari's text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the translator. Well-known place names, such as, for instance, Mecca, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Damascus, and the Yemen, are given in their English spellings. Less common place names, which are the vast majority, are transliterated. Biblical figures appear in the accepted English spelling. Iranian names are usually transcribed according to their Arabic forms, and the presumed Iranian forms are often discussed in the footnotes. Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but some, such as sirham and imam , have been retained in Arabic forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient precision have been retained and italicized, as well as footnoted. The annotation aims chiefly at clarifying difficult passages, iden- tifying individuals and place names , and discussing textual difficul- ties. Much leeway has been left to the translators to include in the footnotes whatever they consider necessary and helpful. The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the annota- tion. The index in each volume contains all the names of persons and places referred to in the text, as well as those mentioned in the notes as far as they refer to the medieval period . It does not include the names of modern scholars. A general index, it is hoped , will appear after all the volumes have been published. For further details concerning the series and acknowledgments, see Preface to Volume I. Ehsan Yar-Shater 16 Contents Preface / vii Abbreviations / xi Manslator's Foreword / xiii The Caliphate of cUmar b. al-Khattab (cont'd) The Events of the Year 14 (635/636) / 3 The Day of Armath / 8 i The Day of Aghwath / 96 The Day of `Imas / x o6 The Night of al-Qadisiyyah / 122 The Account of Ibn Ishaq / 132 An Account of the People of the Lowlands (ahl al-sawdd) / 1145 The Building of al-Bagrah / 1611 The Events of the Year 1 5 (636/637) / 173 The Battle of Marj al-Rum / 174 The Conquest of Him / 175 The Story of Qinnasrin / 178 The Departure of Heraclius for Constantinople / 181 The Conquest of Caesarea and the Siege of Gaza / 183 x Contents The Conquest of Baysan and the Battle of Ajnadayn / r 8 5 The Conquest of Jerusalem / 189 The Introduction of the Pay System (`ala') and of the Military Register (diwan) / r 99 Bibliography of Cited Works / Zo9 Index / 2.17 e Abbreviations BGA Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum CHI The Cambridge History of Iran Ell Encylopaedia of Islam, first edition EI: Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition GAL C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur. Leiden, 1937-49. GAS F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Leiden, 1967-. IC Islamic Culture IOS Israel Oriental Studies JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam REI Revue des Etudes Islamiques RSO Rivista degli Studi Orientals SI Studia Islamica WI Die Welt des Islams WKAS M.