Battle of Mu'tah

Battle of Mu'tah
Part of the Byzantine-Arab Wars
Date 629 Location Near Karak, Jordan Result Byzantine victory according to Western sources, Byzantine withdrawal according to Muslim sources
Belligerents
Muslim Arabs	Eastern Roman Empire Christian Arabs
Commanders and leaders
Zayd ibn Harithah † Ja'far ibn Abu Talib † Abdullah ibn Rawahah † Khalid ibn al-Walid	Heraclius Theodoros
Strength
3,000 (Ibn Qayyim, Ibn Hajar)	100,000 according to Muslim sources
Casualties and losses
15 according to Muslim sources	Unknown but heavy

The Battle of Mu'tah (Arabic: معركة مؤتة , غزوة مؤتة) was fought in 629 CE (5 Jumada al-awwal 8 AH in the Islamic calendar), near the village of Mu'tah, east of the Jordan River and Karak, between a force of Muslims dispatched by their prophet Muhammad and an army of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In Muslim historical accounts, the battle is usually portrayed as a heroic feat wherein the Muslims faced off against a vastly larger Roman force in retribution for the death of a Muslim emmisary by orders of a Byzantine governor.

Western historians however view the battle as an unsuccessful expedition aimed at conquering the Arabs living to the east of Jordan.

Background

The the treaty of Hudaybiyyah initiated a truce between the Muslim forces in Medina and the Quraishi forces in control of Mecca. Badhan, the Sassanid governor of Yemen, had converted to Islam and many of the southern Arabian tribes also joined the rising power in Medina. Muhammad was therefore free to focus on the Arab tribes in the Bilad al-Sham to the North.

Muslim histories say that the immediate impetus for a military march north was the mistreatment of emissaries. Muhammad is said to have sent emissaries to the nomadic Banu Sulaym and Dhat al Talh tribes of the north (tribes under the protection of the Byzantines). The emissaries were killed. . The expedition sent for revenge was the largest Muslim army raised yet against a non-Meccan confederate force and would be the first to confront the Byzantines.

Mobilization of the armies

According to later Muslim historians, Muhammad dispatched 3,000 troops to the area in Jumada al-awwal of the year 8 A.H. (629 C.E.), for a quick expedition to surprise and punish the murderous tribes. The army was led by Zayd ibn Haritha; the second-in-command was Jafar ibn Abi Talib and the third was Abdullah ibn Rawahah.

The leader of the Arabs is said to have gained word of the expedition and prepared his forces; he also sent to the Byzantines for aid. Muslim historians report that the Byzantine emperor Heraclius himself gathered an army and hurried to the aid of his Arab allies. Other sources say that the leader was the emperor's brother, Theodorus. The combined force of Roman soldiers and Arab allies is usually reported to be 100,000 to 200,000 according to Muslim sources.

When the Muslim troops arrived at the area to the east of Jordan and learnt of the size of the Byzantine army, they wanted to wait and send for reinforcements from Medina. Abdullah ibn Rawaha scolded them for their timidity, so they continued marching towards the waiting army.

The 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. During the battle, all three Muslim leaders fell one after the other as they took command of the force: first, Zayd ibn Haritha, then Jafar ibn Abi Talib, then Abdullah ibn Rawaha. Al-Bukhari reported that there were fifty stabs in Jafar's body, none of them in the back. After the death of the latter, the troops asked Thabit ibn Arkan to assume command; however, he declined and asked Khalid ibn al-Walid to take the lead.

Khalid ibn Al-Walid reported that the fighting was so intense that he used nine swords which broke in the battle. Al-Walid, seeing that the situation was hopeless, prepared to withdraw. He continued to engage the Byzantines in skirmishes, but avoided pitched battle. One night he completely changed his troop dispositions and brought forth a rearguard that he had equipped with new banners; all this was intended to give the impression that reinforcements had arrived from Medina. He also ordered his cavalry to retreat behind a hill, hiding their movements, and then return, raising as much dust as they could. This also was intended to create the impression that further reinforcements were arriving. The Byzantines believed in the fictitious reinforcements and withdrew, thus allowing the Muslim force to safely retreat to Medina.

Muslim commentators on the battle have often praised the skirmishing tactics of Khalid ibn al-Walid, and regard him as one of the finest military commanders in history.

Aftermath

When the Muslims force arrived at Medina, they were berated for withdrawing and accused of fleeing. Salamah ibn Hisham is reported to have avoided even going to the mosque to avoid taunts.

Today, those Muslims who fell at the battle are considered heroes and martyrs (shahid). Muslims claim that this battle, far from being a defeat, was a strategic success; the Muslims had challenged the Byzantines and had made their presence felt amongst the Arab Bedouin tribes in the region. A mausoleum was later built at Mu'ta over their grave.

Criticism of the traditional Muslim accounts

Aside from the Muslim accounts, Western historians today also consider certain other accounts such as the chronicle written by Byzantine monk and chronicler Theophanes.

According to Theophanes, the Muslim army intended to attack the local Arabs on a feast day (the word that Theophanes used most likely indicates a pagan rather than a Christian holiday). However, the vicar Theodorus learnt about their plans and gathered a force from the garrisons of local fortresses. He fell upon the Muslims at Mu'tah and routed them; three of the Muslim leaders were killed, and only Khalid ibn al-Walid managed to escape with the rest of the army.

Fred Donner, author of The Early Islamic Conquests, argues that Muhammad sent his troops on numerous raids into Byzantine territory: Dhat al-Atla, Mut'a, Dhat al-Salasil, Tabuk, and Dumat al-Jandal. Donner writes of Muhammad's aims in these raids:

he probably had as his immediate objective the subjugation of Arabic-speaking nomadic tribes living in the northern Hijaz and southern Syria, or at least the extension of Medina's influence sufficiently to bring these tribes into alliance with the Islamic state. (p. 102)

Donner terms the raid upon Mut'ah a failure. He writes:

Both Judham and Lakhm were among the Byzantine allies that defeated the Muslims at Mu'ta in A.H. 8/A.D. 629. (p. 105)

References

Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (1995). The Life of Muhammad. Islamic Book Service. ISBN 1-57731-195-7

Online References

• [1] Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (THE SEALED NECTAR)
• [2] The Life of Muhammad

See also

• History of Islam
• Muhammad as a general
• Jihad
• Muhammad and Christianity