Account of the Conquest of Damascus

Sayf ibn ʿUmar (1) reports:

When Abū ʿUbaydah withdrew from Yarmūk and encamped with the troops at Marj al-Ṣuffar, resolved to lay siege to Damascus, (2) news reached him that reinforcements for the city had already left Ḥimṣ. He was also informed that a large contingent (3) of the Byzantines had gathered at Fihl in the land of Palestine, and he was uncertain which of the two situations to deal with first. He therefore wrote to ʿUmar about it, and the reply came: “Begin with Damascus, for it is the fortress of Syria and the seat of their kingdom. March against it, and keep the people of Fihl occupied by sending cavalry to face them. If Allah grants you the conquest of Fihl before Damascus, that is what we desire (4); but if Damascus is taken first, then advance—you and those with you—and leave a deputy in charge of Damascus. When Allah grants you the conquest of Fihl (5), you and Khālid should march to Ḥimṣ, leaving ʿAmr and Shurahbīl over the Jordan and Palestine.”

He continued: Abū ʿUbaydah then dispatched to Fihl ten commanders, each commander accompanied by five lieutenants, placing over them all the Companion ʿImārah ibn Mukhashī. They set out from Marj al-Ṣuffar to Fihl and found the Byzantines there, nearly eighty thousand strong. The enemy had released the waters around themselves until the ground became water-logged (6), so that place was called al-Radghah (“the Mire”). Allah granted it to the Muslims, and it was the first fortress taken before Damascus, as will be detailed later.

Abū ʿUbaydah also sent a force to hold the area between Damascus and Palestine, and he dispatched Dhū al-Kalāʿ with another army to station themselves between Damascus and Ḥimṣ, to repel any reinforcements Heraclius might send. Then Abū ʿUbaydah marched from Marj al-Ṣuffar toward Damascus, placing Khālid ibn al-Walīd in the centre, while Abū ʿUbaydah and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ rode on the two wings. Over the cavalry he set ʿIyāḍ ibn Ghanm, and over the infantry Shurahbīl ibn Ḥasnah. They arrived at Damascus, whose governor was Nestās ibn Nustawrus (7). Khālid ibn al-Walīd encamped at the Eastern Gate—which also included the Gate of Kaysān—while Abū ʿUbaydah took position at the Great Jābiyah Gate, and Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān at the smaller Jābiyah Gate. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and Shurahbīl ibn Ḥasnah occupied the remaining gates of the city. They set up their catapults and dabābāt (mobile siege shelters), and Abū ʿUbaydah stationed Abū al-Dardāʾ with a supporting force at Barzah.