A.H. 12–13.
Khālid ibn Saʿīd defeated at Merj Ṣoffar, near Sea of Tiberias.Emboldened by these reinforcements, Khālid ibn Saʿīd hastened in the early spring to gain the first laurels of the campaign. Forgetful of his Master's caution, he was in his eagerness decoyed by Bāhān towards Damascus. He had reached as far as Merj aṣ-Ṣoffar to the east of the Sea of Tiberias, when the enemy closed in upon his rear and cut off his retreat. His son Saʿīd was amongst the slain, and Khālid fled with the remnant of his army for Medīna.
Variant accounts.This expedition of Khālid ibn Saʿīd rests, as has been said, upon one authority, that of Seif. This Seif, however—he lived in the latter half of the eighth century A.D.—has rather a weakness for ascribing doughty deeds to the fathers in the Faith, and Khālid, who was one of these, was of the same mind. But it is difficult to believe that the Muslims penetrated to Damascus on this occasion, and there may be some confusion with a battle fought there later. Moreover, the other authorities give a different account of the affair. They say that the oppositions of ʿOmar was such that Khālid did not leave Arabia, but was superseded in his command, his place being taken by Yezīd, a son of Abu Sufyān.
Divisions of army.The army was in three divisions of 5000 men each, the commanders of two of these being Shuraḥbīl son of Ḥasana (his mother) and the redoubtable ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAṣ. The last, if any, was commander-in-chief de facto if not de jure. To each of these divisions one of the districts of Syria was assigned as its field of operations. ʿAmr was to make for Ayla, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, and thence invade southern Syria or Palestine. Yezīd and Shuraḥbīl were to make first for Tebūk, whence the latter was to invade central Syria, whilst the former pushed on towards Damascus.[1] Muʿawiya, the future Caliph, bore the standard of his brother Yezīd—a presage of the higher dignity which awaited him. Khālid ibn Saʿīd is said to have joined as
- ↑ Syria, under the Muslims, perhaps from the time of ʿOmar, was divided into five military districts, each called a jund, viz.—Ḳinnasrin (Chalcis), Ḥimṣ (district of Emesa), Damascus, El-Urdunn or the Jordan (on either side of that river down to the Dead Sea), and Filastin or Palestine, in the south and west up to Carmel. These names are used proleptically by the Arab historians in speaking of the earliest period.
