Siege of Jerusalem (637)

For other sieges laid upon the city of Jerusalem in history, see Siege of Jerusalem.

Siege of Jerusalem (637)
Part of the Muslim conquest of Syria and the Byzantine-Arab Wars
The Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, is one of the most sacred site for Muslims.
Date November 636 – April 637 A.D Location Jerusalem Result Rashidun victory Territorial changes Jerusalem captured by Rashidun Caliphate.
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate	Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah Khalid ibn al-Walid Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan Amr ibn al-A'as Sharjeel ibn Hassana	Patriarch Sophronius
Strength
~20,000	Unknown

The Siege of Jerusalem was a part of a military conflict which took place in the year 637 between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate. It began when the Rashidun army, under the command of Abu Ubaidah, besieged Jerusalem in November 636. After six months, the Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender, on condition that he submit only to the Rashidun caliph. In April 637, Caliph Umar traveled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city.

The Muslim conquest of the city solidified Saracen control over Palestine, control which would not again be threatened until the Crusades in the late 11th through the 13th centuries. Thus, it came to be regarded as a holy site by Islam, as well as by Christianity and Judaism. After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, Jews were allowed to live and practice their religion freely in Jerusalem by Caliph Umar – after nearly 500 years of expulsion from the Holy Land by the Romans.

Prelude

Jerusalem was an important city of the Byzantine province of Palestina prima. Just 23 years prior to the Muslim conquest, in 614, it fell to an invading Sassanid army under Shahrbaraz during the last of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persians looted the city, and are said to have massacred its 90,000 Christian inhabitants. It was believed that the Jews, who were persecuted in their Roman-controlled homeland, aided the Persians. The True Cross was captured and taken to Ctesiphon as a battle-captured holy relic; it was later bought back to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius after he was victorious against the Persians.

Prophet Mohammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Caliph Abu Bakr, who established sovereignty over Arabia after a series of campaigns known as the Ridda Wars. Once his authority in Arabia was consolidated, he initiated a war of conquest in the east by invading Iraq, then a province of the Sassanid Persian Empire; and on the western front, his armies invaded the Byzantine Empire.

In 634, Abu Bakr died and was succeeded by Umar, who continued his own war of conquest. In May 636, Emperor Heraclius launched a major expedition to regain the lost territory, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk in August 636. Thereafter, Abu Ubaidah, the Muslim Commander in Chief of the Rashidun army in Syria, held a council of war in early October 636 to discuss future plans. Opinions of objectives varied between the coastal city of Caesarea and Jerusalem. Abu Ubaidah could see the importance of both these cities, which had resisted all Muslim attempts at capture. Unable to decide on the matter, he wrote to Caliph Umar for instructions. In his reply, the caliph ordered them to capture the latter. Accordingly, Abu Ubaidah marched towards Jerusalem from Jabiya, with Khalid ibn Walid and his Mobile guard leading the advance. The Muslims arrived at Jerusalem around early November, and the Byzantine garrison withdrew into the fortified city.

Siege

Jerusalem had been well-fortified after Heraclius recaptured it from the Persians. After the Byzantine defeat at Yarmouk, Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius repaired its defenses. The Muslims had so far not attempted any siege of the city. However, since 634, Saracen forces had the potential to threaten all routes to the city. Although it was not encircled, it had been in a state of a siege since the Muslims captured the neighboring forts of Pella and Bosra. After the Battle of Yarmouk, the city was severed from the rest of Syria, and was presumably being prepared for a siege that seemed inevitable. When the Muslim army reached Jericho, Sophronius collected all the holy relics including the True Cross, and secretly sent them to the coast, to be taken to Constantinople. The Muslim troops besieged the city some time in November 636. Instead of relentless assaults on the city, they decided to press on with the siege until the Byzantines ran short of supplies and a bloodless surrender could be negotiated.

Although details of the siege were not recorded, it appeared to be bloodless. The Byzantine garrison could not expect any help from the humbled regime of Heraclius. After a siege of four months, Sophronius offered to surrender the city and pay a jizya (tribute), on condition that the caliph came to Jerusalem to sign the pact and accept the surrender. It is said that when Sophronius' terms became known to the Muslims, Shurahbil ibn Hassana, one of the Muslim commanders, suggested that instead of waiting for the caliph to come all the way from Madinah, Khalid ibn Walid should be sent forward as the caliph, as he was very similar in appearance to Umar. The subterfuge did not work. Possibly, Khalid was too famous in Syria, or there may have been Christian Arabs in the city who had visited Madinah and had seen both Umar and Khalid, remembering the differences. Consequently, the Patriarch of Jerusalem refused to negotiate. When Khalid reported the failure of this mission, Abu Ubaidah wrote to caliph Umar about the situation, and invited him to come to Jerusalem to accept the surrender of the city.

Surrender

Present day building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Sophronius invited caliph Umar to offer Salah.

In early April 637, Umar arrived in Palestine and went first to Jabiya, where he was received by Abu Ubaidah, Khalid and Yazid, who had traveled with an escort to receive him. Amr was left as commander of the besieging Muslim army.

Upon Umar's arrival in Jerusalem, a pact known as The Umariyya Covenant was drawn up. It surrendered the city and gave guarantees of civil and religious liberty to Christians in exchange for jizya. It was signed by caliph Umar on behalf of the Muslims, and witnessed by Khalid, Amr, Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muawiyah. In late April 637, Jerusalem was officially surrendered to the caliph.

Umar allowed Jews to live in Jerusalem. It was first time, after almost 500 years of oppressive rule of the Romans, that Jews were allowed to enter and worship freely in their holy city. It has been recorded in the annals of Muslim chronicles, that at the time of the Zuhr prayers, Sophronius invited Umar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Umar declined, fearing that accepting the invitation might endanger the church's status as a Christian temple, and that Muslims might break the treaty and turn the temple into a mosque. After staying for ten days at Jerusalem, the caliph returned to Medina.

Aftermath

Dome of the Rock was constructed by Ummayad Caliph Abd al-Malik.

Following the Caliph's instructions, Yazid proceeded to Caesarea, and once again laid siege to the port city. Amr and Shurahbil marched to complete the occupation of Palestine, a task that was completed by the end of the year. Caesarea however, could not be taken until 640, when at last, the garrison laid down its arms before Muawiyah I, then a governor of Syria. With an army of 17,000 men, Abu Ubaidah and Khalid set off from Jerusalem to conquer all of northern Syria. This ended with the conquest of Antioch in late 637. In 639, the Muslims invaded and conquered Egypt.

During his stay in Jerusalem, Umar was led to the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount. This is the Rock from where, according to later Muslim traditions, Prophet Mohammad had ascended with the Angel Gabriel in his night journey to heaven, known as "Isra and Mi'raj". As Umar cleared the refuse and debris from the site of the Holy of Holies, a large rock was revealed. Even more of the rock was exposed through further cleaning. Umar built a fence around it and ordered the building of a mosque nearby.

According to the Gallic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins, which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers. Later, on this Rock, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of the Dome of the Rock in the late 7th century. The 10th century historian al-Muqaddasi wrote, that Abd al-Malik built the shrine in order to compete in grandeur with the city's monumental churches. Over the next 400 years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Saracen powers in the region jockeyed for control. Jerusalem remained under Muslim rule until it was captured by Crusaders in 1099.

Notes

^ a: The Muslims are said to have lost 4,000 men in the Battle of Yarmouk fought just two months before the siege.
^ b: Muslim historians differ in the year of the siege; while Tabari says it was 636, Al-Baladhuri placed its date of surrender in 638 (Futuh II.XI, or p.139; p214 in Hitti translation). A.I. Akram believed 636–637 to be the most likely date.

Sources

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