The Warrior of Arabia

So for those who know me, I am a history geek. I love ancient stories, impressive feats, unique anecdotes and great quotes. Even more so I like to read about ancient empires, fate-changing battles, and notable commanders. I like to ponder about certain events and think about “what if”-situations. Situations which, with the benefit of hindsight, could be brought to a much more positive outcome with relatively simple logic, like for instance World War One.

Today, however, I want to write about a military commander. One which most of you would not know about even though he could be placed on the list with the likes of Alexander The Great, Hannibal, Gaius Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte, but not as famous as them in the West. No, I am not going to write about An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin (don’t worry it will happen), but today I am going to write about Khalid ibn al-Walid.

I remember a moment with a childhood friend of mine when we were having a discussion about great generals. He told me the West had many great commanders and notable leaders like Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, and asked me why there where no great Middle-Eastern/Arab leaders. Well, that is because here in the West we focus on history directly related to us. It’s logical, but that is why the history of other parts of the world is neglected sometimes.

So why write about Khalid Ibn Walid? Well, he was a skilled military commander who fought over 200 battles and never lost one, including personal duels (you have to admit that it is quite impressive). His achievements and military success are very much alive today and influenced the geopolitical region of the Middle East forever. So let’s start.

Khalid is best known as the commander of the Rashidun Caliphate. He aided in its rapid expansion, ending the Ridda wars and defeating both the Byzantine and Sassanid empires in multiple battles. This resulted in the destruction of the latter and the expansion of the Caliphate’s influence into the Middle East and later North Africa. He, however, was not born as a Muslim. Khalid was born 592 AD in Mecca into the Bantu Makhzum clan, one of the prominent clans of the Quraysh tribe that resided in Mecca. The other two powerful clans of the Quraysh tribe were the Banu Hashim and the Banu Ummaya. Khalid’s father was the leader of the Bantu Makzum clan and they were responsible for all war-related matters in the tribe. It was due to this that he learned at a young age to ride, and handle weapons such as the spear, lance, bow, and swords. His favorite weapon was said to be the lance. At a young age, he already had the reputation of a renowned warrior and wrestler within the tribe.

When the prophet of Islam Muhammed started to preach the new faith in Mecca, he was met by hostilities, including by the Bantu Makzum clan. He was forced to leave the city and started a new community in the city of Medina. A war broke out between the two cities and they clashed in the battle of Badr. Khalid Ibn Walid was not present in this battle but his brother Walid Ibn Walid was. The Muslims were outnumbered 3 to 1 but still managed to win, with only 14 soldiers lost. Khalid’s brother Walid Ibn Walid was captured by the Muslim forces. Khalid was then sent with his older brother Hashim to Medina to ransom their brother Walid. When they returned to Mecca with their brother, he unexpectedly left them and returned to Medina to convert to Islam. This would later influence Khalid’s own conversion to Islam.

The second battle between Mecca and Medina came about in the battle of Uhud. The Muslims were again outnumbered and almost achieved victory against the Meccan forces.  The Meccan forces retreated and left their camp mostly undefended. The Muslim archers placed on a hill left their position against orders to take part in the looting of the enemy camp. Khalid was the commander of a cavalry unit and saw an opening to exploit. He launched a surprise attack resulting in the defeat of the Muslim army. A third battle came about, the battle of the Trench, which was won by the Muslims. After this, a peace was signed between Mecca and Medina.

It was during this peacetime that Khalid’s brother sent him letters to persuade him to Islam. It was stated that Khalid was not drawn to the idols of Mecca and he finally decided to convert to Islam. He went to Medina to join the Muslim community. His first battle for the Muslims would prove that he was a capable commander and skilled warrior. This battle would be the battle of Mu’tah between the Byzantine Empire and the Muslims from Medina. The Muslim army had three commanders, and in the case of all three of them dying the army had to choose a new commander out off one of them. It so happened that all three commanders died in battle and the army chose Khalid to lead them, for he had a great reputation. His army consisted of 3.000 men while the Byzantine Empire fielded an army of 10.000 men. In the night he sent columns of troops away from the camp, and in the morning they returned to the camp in small groups to give the Byzantine forces the impression that new enemy reinforcement had arrived, thus lowering their morale. The Muslims under Khalid were able to hold the line and in the coming night, they retreated back into Arabia. The Byzantine army, fearing a trap, did not pursue. By taking over command, Khalid had saved the Muslim army from annihilation and succeeded in their strategic retreat. It was reported that the fighting was so fierce that Khalid broke 9 of his own swords and was dubbed the title “Saifullah” meaning the sword of Allah. It was after this he had established himself as solid commander for the Medina state. It did not take long before Arabia was conquered and unified by the Medina state, including the city of Mecca.

After the prophet of Islam died of old age, Abu Bakr was chosen as the first Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate and a mass revolt emerged in Arabia. Many powerful Arab tribes went into open rebellion against the rule in Medina. They stated that they had submitted to Muhammed as the prophet of Allah, but they owed no allegiance to Abu Bakr. A series of wars broke out, now known as the Riddah Wars. Khalid was one of the main advisers to Abu Bakr and architect of the strategic planning. He was given command of the main army and marched towards the most sensitive areas where the strongest rebel tribes resided. Khalid managed to defeat tribe after tribe, but his biggest challenge would be Musaylimah, who claimed prophethood. It was said that he was the biggest threat to the Caliphate, having already defeated two Muslim armies. Khalid and Musaylimah finally met at the battle of Yamama. Khalid commanded an army of 1.300 men and Musaylimah commanded an army of 40.000 men. The fighting was so bloody that a nearby gulley ran full of human blood. It is to this day still called the Gulley of Blood-Shueib-ud-Dam. Khalid managed to push the rebel army away, and they retreated within a walled courtyard with only 7.000 men left. A Muslim soldier named Al-Bara’ ibn Malik asked his comrades to lift him up on the walls so he could climb over to open the gate from within. He managed to do so and opened the gate. The Muslim army went inside and finished the rebel army. Almost all 7.000 rebel soldiers died and the place was called the garden of death after. With Musaylimah dead, the Riddah wars ended and Arabia has unified once again. An interesting side note is that this battle prompted Abu Bakr to complete the collection of the Quran into one copy as 800 hafizes (Muslims that had memorized the whole Quran) had died in this battle.

It was then that Abu Bakr decided to expand the Caliphate and send Khalid with an army into the Sassanid Empire. The Sassanid and Byzantium empires were considered the great powerhouses of the region.  He met the first Sassanid army in a battle which was later named the battle of chains, where he defeated the larger army. During the war, Khalid managed to defeat 8 more Sassanid armies that were sent to stop him. He destroyed each one of them. He received a letter from the Caliph to stop the advance and go to Syria instead which was then controlled by the Byzantium Empire. While on his way he managed to defeat a coalition army of both the Sassanids and the Byzantium Empires.

While in the Levant he won multiple battles against the Byzantium Empire. His advancement was stopped however by the death of Abu Bakr. The new Caliph was also Khalid’s cousin Umar Ibn Al-Khattab. The new Caliph’s first move was to demote Khalid from command and appointed Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah as the new commander. Historians speculate that this was due a falling out between the two cousins in the past. Khalid, however, obeyed famously saying ‘If Abu Bakr is dead and Umar is Caliph, then we hear and obey.’

The new commander respected Khalid however and heeded his advice. The climax of the Levant campaign would come about at the battle of Yarmouk. Abu Ubaidah positioned his army as Khalid had advised and he gave Khalid supreme command over the army to act as a field commander. The Byzantium army was between 100.000 and 150.000 force strong, while the Muslim army was between 15.000 and 20.000. The battle lasted 6 days and resulted in a devasting defeat for the Byzantium Empire. It was a historic victory after which the Byzantium Empire needed a lot of time to recover. They would never again control the Levant. It cemented the reputation for Khalid as one of the greatest commanders in history.

After some more campaigns and victories, Khalid Ibn Walid became a national hero and loved by the men he commanded. He met a poet who had recited a poem to praise him. He rewarded the man by giving him a gift of 10.000 dirhams. Umar was not happy about this as Khalid had been warned multiple times not to act alone without asking permission to the Caliph. He was called back to be questioned. If he had used the money from the state treasure he would be found guilty of misappropriation, if he had paid the man from his own pocket he would be found guilty of extravagance. In both cases, he would have been dismissed. The latter was the case and he was dismissed. He went to Umar to object, but the Caliph stated “You have done, And no man has done as you have done. But it is not people who do; It is Allah who does…”

The Caliph Umar would later further explain his reasons for dismissing Khalid. “I have not dismissed Khalid because of my anger or because of any dishonesty on his part, but because people glorified him and were misled. I feared that people would rely on him. I want them to know that it is Allah who gives us victory, and there should be no mischief in the land.”

Within four years after his dismissal, he would die. On his deathbed, he admitted his grief that he did not die as a warrior and was dying now like an old camel. His wife reassured him that he was given the title The Sword of Allah and the sword of Allah was not meant to be broken or henced. And with that, he passed away.

I know it was a long read. I hope you people don’t mind it. It was difficult to make it as short as possible. Believe me, I tried. With a man fighting 200 battles and remaining undefeated we are bound to find a lot of information. If you are interested to learn more, I encourage you to look him up.

I would also like to thank the people from Kings and Generals channel for their Youtube videos. They give a great visualization of the events that happened. Make sure you check them out!