Battle of Mu'tah

Battle of Mu'tah (غزوة مؤتة)
Part of the Arab–Byzantine Wars

The tomb of Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib, the second commander of the Muslim army.
DateSeptember 629[1]
LocationMu'tah in Kerak Governorate, Jordan
Result Byzantine victory[2]
Belligerents
Muslim Arabs Byzantine Empire,
Ghassanids
Commanders and leaders
Zayd ibn Haritha  †
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib  †
Abdullah ibn Rawahah  †
Khalid ibn al-Walid		 Theodore,
Heraclius,
Shurahbil ibn Amr
Strength
3,000[3][4][5][6] 10,000 or less[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
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The Battle of Mu'tah (Arabic: معركة مؤتة , غزوة مؤتة‎) was fought in September 629 C.E. (1 Jumada al-awwal 8 A.H.),[1] near the village of Mu'tah, east of the Jordan River and Karak in Karak Governorate, between the forces of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad and the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In Muslim histories, the battle is usually described as the Muslims' attempt to take retribution against a Ghassanid chief for taking the life of an emissary. According to Byzantine sources, the Muslims planned to launch their attack on a feast day. The local Byzantine Vicarius learned of their plans and collected the garrisons of the fortresses. The Muslims were routed after three of their leaders were killed.[7]

Background

The Treaty of Hudaybiyah initiated a truce between the Muslim forces in Medina and the Qurayshite 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.[8]

Muhammad sent his emissary to the Byzantine governor of Province Arabia carrying a letter that was meant for the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. While on his way to Bosra, he was executed in the village of Mu'tah by the orders of a Ghassanid official. The expedition sent for revenge was the largest Muslim army raised yet against a non-Meccan confederate force and the first to confront the Byzantines.[8]

Mobilization of the armies

According to later Muslim historians, Muhammad dispatched 3,000 of his troops to the area in Jumada al-awwal of the year 8 A.H., i.e., A.D. 629, for a quick expedition to attack and punish the tribes. The army was led by Zayd ibn Haritha; the second-in-command was Jafar ibn Abi Talib and the third-in-command was Abdullah ibn Rawahah.[5]

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 Rawahah reminded them about their desire for martyrdom and questioned the move to wait when what they desire was awaiting them, 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. Some Muslim sources report that the battle was fought in a valley between two heights, which negated the Byzantines their numerical superiority. 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 Rawahah. Al-Bukhari reported that there were fifty stab wounds in Jafar's body, none of them in the back. After the death of the latter, some of the Muslim soldiers began to rout. Thabit ibn Al-Arqam, seeing the desperate state of the Muslim forces, took up the banner and rallied his comrades thus saving the army from complete destruction. After the battle, the troops asked Thabit ibn Al-Arqam to assume command; however, he declined and asked Khalid ibn al-Walid to take the lead.[5]

Khalid ibn Al-Walid reported that the fighting was so intense that he used nine swords which broke in the battle. Khalid, seeing that the situation was hopeless, prepared to withdraw. He continued to engage the Byzantines in skirmishes, but avoided pitched battle. It is said that Khalid killed at least one identified Arab Christian commander namely Malik.[9]

One night he completely changed his troop positions 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 during the night, hiding their movements, and then to return during daytime when the battle resumed, raising as much dust as they could. This also was intended to create the impression that further reinforcements were arriving.

The casualties of slain of the Muslim side was interestingly recorded, as the four of them from Muhajireen while eight the rest from Ansar their names as follow:

  1. Zaid bin Haritha
  2. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib
  3. Abdullah bin Rawahah
  4. Masoud bin al-Aswad
  5. Wahab bin Saad
  6. Abbad bin Qais
  7. Amr ibn Saad (not Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas's son)
  8. Harith bin Nu'man
  9. Saraqah bin Amr
  10. Abu Kulaib bin Amr
  11. Jabir ibn 'Amr
  12. Amer bin Saad [10]

While the Byzantine side is recorded in unnatural margin comparing to Muslims side handful casualties although the exact number is uncertain. However, some exegesis put the numbers of hundreds[11] while the others put an array of numbers around 3000 casualties[5]

Aftermath

It is reported that when the Muslim force arrived at Medina, they were berated for apparently withdrawing and accused of fleeing. Salamah ibn Hisham, brother to Amr ibn Hishām was reported to have prayed at home rather than going to the mosque to avoid having to explain himself. Muhammad ordered them to stop, saying that they would return to fight the Byzantines again and bestowed upon Khalid the title of 'Saifullah' meaning 'The Sword of Allah'.

Today, Muslims who fell at the battle are considered martyrs (shahid). Some have claimed 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'tah over their grave.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Kaegi 1992, p. 72.
  2. 1 2 Kaegi 1992, p. 67.
  3. ↑ Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, Zad al-Ma'ad 2/155
  4. ↑ Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari 7/511
  5. 1 2 3 4 Saif-ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, ar-Raheeq al-Makhtoom, "The Sealed Nectar", Islamic University of Medina, Dar-us-Salam publishers ISBN 1-59144-071-8
  6. ↑ General A. I. Akram, The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin Al-Waleed, Chapter 6, p. 2
  7. ↑ Gibb, H. A. R. (1993). "Muʾta". In Nuhl, F. Encyclopaedia of Islam 7 (Second ed.). BRILL. pp. 756–757. ISBN 9789004094192. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  8. 1 2 Sayed Ali Asgher Razwy (1996), A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, The Battle of Mootah, ISBN 0-9509879-1-3
  9. ↑ Fath ul-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari; Za'd Al-Ma'ad. p. 7/513, 514; 2/156. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)]
  10. ↑ the biography of bin Hisham, the second part, Islam
  11. ↑ https://books.google.co.id/books?id=oSWBiZS1L58C&dq=wahab+bin+saad+mu%27tah&source=gbs_navlinks_s Nabi Muhammad. p. 197. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)]
  12. ↑ "Muʾta", F. Buhl, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2010. Accessed 2 October 2010 via Brill Online:

Bibliography

Online References

See also

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