Umar (
Arabic:
عمر ابن الخطاب,
Transliteration:
`Umar ibn Al-Khattāb, Umar Son of Al-Khittab, c. 586–590 CE– 7 November 644), also known as
Omar,
Farooq the Great was the most powerful of the four
Rashidun Caliphs and one of the most powerful and influential Muslim rulers in history.
He was a
sahabi (companion) of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad. He succeeded
Caliph Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second
Caliph of
Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert
jurist and is best known for his justice, that earned him the title
Al-Farooq (
The one who distinguishes between right and wrong). Under Umar the
Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole
Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the
Eastern Roman Empire.
His brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire resulted in the
conquest of the Persian empire
in less than two years. His legislative abilities and firm political
and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire marked his
reputation as a great political and military leader.
It was Umar, who for the first time in 500 years since their expulsion from the Holy Land, allowed
Jews to practice their religion freely and live inside
Jerusalem.
Umar was born in
Mecca to the
Banu Adi clan, which was responsible for arbitrations among the tribes. His father was
Khattab ibn Nufayl and his mother was Fatima bint Hasham, from the tribe of
Banu Makhzum. He is said to have belonged to a middle class family. In his youth he used to tend to his father’s camels in the plains near
Mecca.
His father was famed for his intelligence among his tribe. He was a
middle class merchant and is believed to be a ruthless man and emotional
polytheist
who often treated Umar badly. As obvious from Umar's own statement
regarding his father during his later political rule, Umar said, "My
father Al-Khittab was a ruthless man. He used to make me work hard; if I
didn't work he used to beat me and he used to work me to exhaustion."
Despite literacy being uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia, Umar learned
to read and write in his youth. Though not a poet himself, he developed a
love for poetry and literature.
According to the tradition of
Quraish, while still in his teenage years, Umar learned
martial arts, horse riding and wrestling. He was tall and physically powerful and was soon to became a renowned wrestler.
Umar was also a gifted
orator, and due to his intelligence and overwhelming personality, he succeeded his father as an
arbitrator of conflicts among the tribes.
In addition, Umar followed the traditional profession of Quraish. He became a merchant and had several journeys to
Rome and
Persia,
where he is said to have met the various scholars and analyzed the
Roman and Persian societies closely. However, as a merchant he is
believed to have never been successful.
Drinking
alcohol was very common among the Quraish, and Umar was also fond of drinking in his pre-Islamic days
Umar's hostility to Islam
In 610 Muhammad started delivering the message of Islam. Umar,
alongside others in Mecca, opposed Islam and threatened to kill
Muhammad. He resolved to defend the traditional, polytheistic religion
of
Arabia. He was most adamant and cruel in opposing Muhammad and very prominent in persecuting the Muslims.
Umar was the first man who resolved that Muhammad had to be murdered in order to finish Islam.
Umar firmly believed in the unity of the Quraish and saw the new faith
of Islam as a cause of division and discord among the Quraish.
Due to the persecution at the hands of the Quraish, Muhammad ordered his followers to
migrate to Abyssinia.
As a small group of Muslims migrated Umar felt worried about the future
unity of the Quraish and decided to have Muhammad assassinated.
Converting to Islam
Umar converted to Islam in 616, one year after the
Migration to Abyssinia. The story was recounted in
Ibn Ishaq's
Sīrah;
On the way to murder Muhammad, Umar met his best friend Nuaim who had
secretly been converted to a Muslim but he did not tell Umar anything
about it. When Umar told him that he was going to kill Muhammad he was
afraid. He knew Umar will attempt what he said. So just to divert his
attention he told him to set his own house in order first, as his sister
and her husband had converted to Islam. Upon arriving at her house,
Umar found his sister and brother-in-law
Saeed bin Zaid (Umar's cousin), reciting the verses of the
Qur'an(Surah Taha).
He started quarreling with his brother-in-law . When his sister came to
rescue her husband, he also started quarreling with her. Yet still they
kept on saying "you may kill us but we will not give up Islam". Upon
hearing these words, Umar slapped his sister so hard that she fell to
the ground bleeding from her mouth. When he saw what he did to his
sister now, out of guilt he calmed down and asked his sister to give him
what she was reciting. She gave him the paper on which was written the
verses of the chapter
Ta-Ha. He was so struck by the beauty of
the verses that he accepted Islam that day. He then went to Muhammad
with the same sword he intended to kill him with and accepted Islam in
front of him and his companions. Umar was 27 when he accepted Islam
. Following his conversion, Umar went to inform the chief of Quraish,
Amr ibn Hishām,
about his acceptance of Islam. According to one account, Umar
thereafter openly prayed at the Kaaba as the Quraish chiefs, Amr ibn
Hishām and
Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, reportedly watched in anger.
This further helped the Muslims to gain confidence in practicing Islam
openly. At this stage Umar even challenged anyone who dared to stop the
Muslims from praying, although no one dared to interfere with Umar when
he was openly praying.
Umar’s conversion to Islam gave power to the Muslims and the faith in
Mecca. It was after this that Muslims offered prayers openly in
Masjid al-Haram for the first time. Abdullah bin Masoud said,
Umar's embracing Islam was our victory, his
migration to Medina was our success and his reign a blessing from Allah,
we didn't offer prayers in Al-Haram Mosque until Umar accepted Islam,
when he accepted Islam Quraish were compelled to let us pray in the
Mosque.
Migration to Medina
In 622 due to the growing popularity of Islam in the city of Yathrib (
later renamed Medīnat an-Nabī, or simply Medina)
Muhammad ordered his followers to migrate to Medina. Muslims usually
migrated at night due to fear of Quraish's resistance to that migration,
but Umar is reported to have migrated openly during the day time
saying;
Any one who wants to make his wife a widow and his children orphan should come and meet me there behind that cliff." Umar migrated to Medina accompanied by his cousin and brother-in-law
Saeed ibn Zaid.
Life in Medina
Medina became the new center of Islam and the religion spread rapidly
across Arabia. When Muhammad arrived in Medina, he paired off each
immigrant (
Muhajir) with one of the residents of the city (
Ansari), joining
Muhammad ibn Maslamah
with Umar making them brothers in faith. Later in Umar's reign as
caliph Muhammad ibn Muslamah would be assigned the office of chief
inspector of Accountability. Muslims remained in peace in Medina for
approximately a year before the Quraish raised an army to attack them.
In 624 Umar participated in the first Battle between Muslims and Quraish
of
Mecca i.e.
Battle of Badr.In 625 he participated in the
Battle of Uhud. In the second phase of Battle when
Khalid ibn Walid's
Cavalry attacked Muslims at the rear changing the victory of Muslims to
defeat, rumors of Muhammad’s death were spread many Muslim were
warriors routed from the battle field, Umar too was initially routed but
hearing that Muhammad was still alive he went to Muhammad at the
mountain of Uhud and prepared for the defenses of the hill to keep the
Quraishi army down the hill.
. Later in the year Umar was a part of campaign against the
Jewish tribe of
Banu Nadir. In 625 Umar’s daughter
Hafsah was married to Muhammad Later in 627 he participated in the
Battle of the Trench and also in the
Battle of Banu Qurayza.
In 628 Umar participated in the
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and was made one of the witness over the pact. . In 628 he was a part of Muslims'
campaign to Khaybar. In 629 Muhammad sent Amr ibn al-A’as to Zaat-ul-Sallasal from where he called for reinforcement and Muhammad sent
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah with reinforcement, serving under him were
Abu Bakr and Umar, they attacked and defeated the enemy In 630 when Muslim armies rushed for the
Conquest of Mecca he was part of that army. Later in 630 he was part of
Battle of Hunayn and
Siege of Ta'if. He was part of Muslim's army that went for the
campaign of Tabuk
under Muhammad's command and he was reported to have given half of his
wealth for the preparation of this expedition. He also participated in a
farewell
Hajj of Muhammad in 631.
Umar's political genius first manifested as the architect of the caliphate after Muhammad died in 8 June 632.
While the funeral of Muhammad was being arranged a group of Muhammad's followers who were natives of Medina, the
Ansar (helpers), organised a meeting on the outskirts of the city, effectively locking out those companions known as
Muhajirs (The Emigrants) including Umar. Umar found out about this meeting at
Saqifah Bani Saadah, and taking with him two other Muhajirs,
Abu Bakr and
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah,
proceeded to the meeting, presumably to head off the Ansar's plans for
political domination. Arriving at the meeting Umar was faced with a
unified community of tribes from the Ansar who refused to accept the
leadership of the Muhajirs.
However Umar was undeterred in his belief the caliphate should be under the control of the Muhajirs.
Though they
Khazraj
were in disagreement, Umar after strained negotiations lasting up to
one or two days, brilliantly divided the Ansar into their old warring
factions of
Aws
and Khazraj tribes, Umar resolved the divisions by placing his hand on
that of Abu Bakr as a unity candidate for those gathered in the Saqifah,
most others gathered at the Saqifah followed suit with the exception of
the Khazraj tribe and their leader,
Sa'd ibn 'Ubada,
whose tribe was ostracized. The Khazraj tribe is said to have posed no
significant threat as there were sufficient men of war from the Medinan
tribes such as the Banu Aws to immediately organize them into a military
bodyguard for Abu Bakr.
The creation of the islamic caliphate would be one of Umar's most
enduring legacies, and its significance to world history is hard to
overestimate. However Umar himself was characteristically guarded about
his own creation, Dr.
Wilferd Madelung in his book
The Succession to Muhammad summarising Umar's contribution:
Umar judged the outcome of the Saqifa assembly to be a falta [translated by Madelung as 'a precipitate and ill-considered deal'
because of the absence of most of the prominent Muhajirun, including
the Prophet's own family and clan, whose participation he considered
vital for any legitimate consultation (shura, mashwara). It was, he
warned the community, to be no precedent for the future. Yet he also
defended the outcome, claiming that the Muslims were longing for Abu
Bakr as for no one else. He apologized, moreover, that the Muhajirun
present were forced to press for an immediate oath of allegiance since
the Ansar could not have been trusted to wait for a legitimate
consultation and might have proceeded to elect one of their own after
the departure of the Mekkans. Another reason for Umar to censure the
Saqifa meeting as a falta was no doubt its turbulent and undignified
end, as he and his followers jumped upon the sick Khazraji leader Sa'd
bin Ubada in order to teach him a lesson, if not to kill him, for daring
to challenge the sole right of Quraysh to rule. This violent break-up
of the meeting indicates, moreover, that the Ansar cannot all have been
swayed by the wisdom and eloquence of Abu Bakr's speech and have
accepted him as the best choice for the succession, as suggested by
Caetani. There would have been no sense in beating up the Khazraji chief
if everybody had come around to swearing allegiance to Umar's
candidate. A substantial number of the Ansar, presumably of Khazraj in
particular, must have refused to follow the lead of the Muhajirun.
According to various shia sources and some western scholars, Umar and
Abu Bakr had in effect mounted a political coup against Ali at the
Saqifah
According to one version of narrations in
primary sources,
Umar and Abu Bakr are also said to have used force to secure the
allegiance from Ali and his party. It has been reported that after Ali's
refusal to pay homage, Abu Bakr sent Umar with an armed contingent to
Fatimah’s
house where Ali and his supporters are said to have gathered. Umar is
reported to have warned those in the House that unless Ali succumbed to
Abu Bakr, he would set the House on fire, with its inhabitants ablaze,
and under these circumstances Ali was forced to capitulate. This
belligerent version of events, fully accepted by Shia scholars, is
generally rejected by Sunni scholars who in view of other reports in
their literature believe that Ali gave oath of alliance to Abu Bakr
without any grievance, while others believe that Ali was reluctant to
swear allegiance to Abu Bakr and gave his allegiance six months later
after the death of his wife Fatimah.
Western scholars tend to agree that Ali believed he had a clear
mandate to politically succeed Muhammad, but offer differing views as to
the extent of use of force by Umar in an attempt to intimidate Ali and
his supporters, for instance, Dr.
Wilferd Madelung in his book
The Succession to Muhammad, discounts the possibility of use of force and argues that:
Isolated reports of use of force against Ali and
Banu Hashim who unanimously refuse to swear alligence for six months are
probably to be discounted. Abu Bakr no doubt was wise enough to
restrain Umar from any violence against them, well realizing that this
would inevitably provoked the sense of solidarity of majority of Abdul
Mannaf who’s acquiescence he needed. His policy was rather not isolating Banu Hashim as far as possible.
Caliph Abu Bakr's era
During
Abu Bakr's short reign as caliph he was mostly remained occupied with
Ridda wars,
Umar was one of his chief advisers and secretary. Umar along with
Khalid ibn Walid, probably was the architect and main strategist behind
the collapse of rebellion in Arabia. Though at the beginning due to the
apprehensive situation in Arabia Umar was opposing the military
operations against the rebel tribes, it was to enjoy their support in
case of any possible foreign invasion by Romans or Persian, but later he
seem to agree with Abu Bakr's warlike strategies to crush rebellion.
Khalid ibn Walid
by late 632 had successfully united Arabia after consecutive victories
against rebels. Later during his own reign, Umar would mostly adopt the
policy of avoiding wars and consolidating his power in the conquered
land rather than expanding his empire through continuous warfare. Prior to
Battle of Yamamah, Umar pressured Abu Bakr to call back Khalid, who had killed
Malik ibn Nuwayrah,
a rebel chief who was a state criminal. Umar was reportedly misguided
by Malik's brother that Malik was a Muslim and Khalid killed him because
he wanted to marry his wife
Layla bint al-Minhal,
a renowned beauty in Arabia. While Abu Bakr refused to accept Umar's
opinion and Umar continue insisting for Khalid disposal even after
Khalid's conquest of
Iraq.
This became a major issue between Abu Bakr and Umar and a spacious
chapter in Islamic history. It was Umar who advised Abu Bakr to compile
Quran
in the form of a book, after the death of 300 memorizers of Quran in
Battle of Yamamah. Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor prior to his
death in 634. He was confirmed in the office thereafter.
Appointment as a Caliph
Due to his strict and autocratic nature, Umar was not a very popular figure among the notables of Madinah and members of
Majlis al Shura, accordingly succession of Umar was initially discouraged by high ranking companions of
Abu Bakr.
Nevertheless, Abu Bakr decided to make Umar, his successor. Umar, still
was well known for his extraordinary will power, intelligence,
political astuteness, impartiality, justice and care for poor and
underprivileged people.
Abu Bakr is reported to have said to the high-ranking advisers:
His (Umar's) strictness was there because of my
softness when the weight of Caliphate will be over his shoulders he will
remain no longer strict. If I will be asked by the God to whom I have
appointed my successor, I will tell him that I have appointed the best
man among your men.
Abu Bakr was fully aware of Umar's power and ability to succeed him.
Succession of Umar was thus not as troublesome as any of the others. His
was perhaps one of the smoothest transitions to power from one
authority to another in the Muslim lands.
[36] Abu Bakr before his death called
Uthman to write his will in which he declared Umar his successor. In his will he instructed Umar to continue the conquests on
Iraq and
Syrian fronts. Abu Bakr's decision would prove to be crucial in the strengthening of the nascent Islamic empire.
On 22 August Caliph Abu Bakr died. The same day Umar assumed the
office of Caliphate. After the assumption of office as the Caliph, Umar
addressed the Muslims in his Inaugural address as:
"O ye faithful! Abu Bakr is no more amongst us.
He has the satisfaction that he has successfully piloted the ship of the
Muslim state to safety after negotiating the stormy sea. He
successfully waged the apostasy wars, and thanks to him, Islam is now
supreme in Arabia. After Abu Bakr, the mantle of Caliphate has fallen on
my shoulders. I swear it before God that I never coveted this office. I
wished that it would have devolved on some other person more worthy
than me. But now that in national interest, the responsibility for
leading the Muslims has come to vest in me, I assure you that I will not
run away from my post, and will make an earnest effort to discharge the
onerous duties of the office to the best of my capacity in accordance
with the injunctions of Islam. Allah has examined me from you and you
from me, In the performance of my duties, I will seek guidance from the
Holy Book, and will follow the examples set by the Holy Prophet and Abu
Bakr. In this task I seek your assistance. If I follow the right path,
follow me. If I deviate from the right path, correct me so that we are
not led astray.
Initial challenges
Umar was already not an endearing figure in Medina. Although almost
all of the Muslims had given pledge of loyalty to him, nevertheless he
was rather more feared than loved. The first challenge for Umar was to
win out his subjects and members of
Majlis al Shura.
[37] Umar was a gifted orator, and he would use his ability to get a soft corner in the hearts of people.
[38] On Friday prayers Umar addressed the people as follow:
Brethren, it has come to my notice that the people are afraid of me..... they say that he (Umar
)
has become the Caliph now, God knows how hard he will be. Whoever has
said this is not wrong in his assessment...... know ye brethren that you
will feel a change in me.[39]
For those who practise tyranny and deprive others of their rights, I
will be harsh and stern, but for those who follow the law, I will be
most soft and tender.
Umar's addresses greatly moved the people. Next time he addressed the people as:
I will be harsh and stern against the aggressor , but I will be a pillar of strength for the weak.
I will not calm down until I will put one cheek
of a tyrant on the ground and the other under my feet, and for the poor
and weak, I will put my cheek on the ground.
There could be no better definition of the democracy and justice, then the historic words of Umar, over which he laid foundation of his rule:
By God, he that is weakest among you shall be in my eye the strongest, until I have vindicated for him his rights; he that is strongest I will treat as the weakest, until he complies with the law.
Umar's stress was on the well being of poor and underprivileged
people, as this class made a bulk of any community, the people were
soundly moved by Umar's speeches and his popularity grew rapidly and
continuously over the period of his reign. In addition to this Umar, in order to improve his reputation and relation with
Banu Hashim, the tribe of
Ali,
delivered to him his disputed estates in Khayber. Though he followed
Abu Bakr's decision over the dispute of land of Fidak, continued its
status as a state property. In
Ridda wars,
thousands of prisoners from rebel and apostate tribes were taken away
as slaves during the expeditions. Umar ordered the general amnesty for
the prisoners, and their immediate emancipation.
]
This made Umar quite a popular among the budoiene tribes. With
necessary public support with him, Umar took a bold decision of
retrieving
Khalid ibn Walid from supreme command on
Roman front.
Political and civil administration
The government of Umar was more or less a
unitary government, where the sovereign political authority was the Caliph. The empire of Umar was divided into provinces and some
autonomous territories like in some regions
Azerbaijan and
Armenia, that had accepted the suzerainty of the Caliphate. The provinces were administered by the provincial governors or
Wali.
The selection of which was made personally by Umar, who was very
fastidious in it. Provinces were further divided into districts, there
were about 100 districts in the empire. Each district or main city was
under the charge of a junior governor or Wali, usually appointed by Umar
himself, but occasionally they were also appointed by the provincial
governor. Other officers at the provincial level were:
- Katib, the Chief Secretary.
- Katib-ud-Diwan, the Military Secretary.
- Sahib-ul-Kharaj, the Revenue Collector.
- Sahib-ul-Ahdath, the Police chief.
- Sahib-Bait-ul-Mal, the Treasury Officer.
- Qadi, the Chief Judge.
In some districts there were separate military officers, though the
Governor (Wali) was in most cases the Commander-in-chief of the army
quartered in the province. Every appointment was made in writing. At the
time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a
view to regulating the conduct of Governors. On assuming office, the
Governor was required to assemble the people in the main
mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them.
[46].
Umar's general instructions to his officers were:
"Remember, I have not appointed you as commanders
and tyrants over the people. I have sent you as leaders instead, so that
the people may follow your example. Give the Muslims their rights and
do not beat them lest they become abused. Do not praise them unduly,
lest they fall into the error of conceit. Do not keep your doors shut in
their faces, lest the more powerful of them eat up the weaker ones. And
do not behave as if you were superior to them, for that is tyranny over
them."
Various other strict code of conducts were to be obeyed by the
governors and state officials. The principal officers were required to
come to Mecca on the occasion of the
Hajj,
during which people were free to present any complaint against them. In
order to minimize the chances of corruption, Umar made it a point to
pay high salaries to the staff. Provincial governor received as much as
five to seven thousand dirham annually besides their shares of the
spoils of war (
if they were also the commander in chief of the army of their sector). Under Umar the empire was divided into the following provinces.
- Arabia was divided into two provinces, Mecca and Medina;
- Iraq was divided into two provinces, Basra and Kufa;
- In the upper reaches of the Tigris and the Euphrates, Jazira was a province;
- Syria was a province;
- Umar divided Palestine in two provinces Aylya and Ramlah;
- Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt;
- Persia was divided into three provinces, Khorasan; Azarbaijan and Fars.
Umar was first to established a special department for the
investigation of complaints against the officers of the State. This
department acted as
Administrative court, where the legal proceedings were personally led by Umar.
The Department was under the charge of
Muhammad ibn Maslamah,
one of Umar's most trusted man. In important cases Muhammad ibn
Maslamah was deputed by Umar to proceed to the spot, investigate the
charge and take action. Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted
to investigate the charge. On occasions the officers against whom
complaints were received were summoned to Medina, and charged in Umar's
administrative court. One of Umar's most powerful department was his
intelligence department of secret services
[dubious – discuss].
Umar's iron fist rule on his empire, is often credited to this
institution . His agents were everywhere, in the army, in the
bureaucracy and in the enemy land. For the officials of Umar it was said
to be the most fearsome department
[dubious – discuss].
Umar was a pioneer in some affairs:
- Umar was the first to introduce the public ministry system, where
the records of officials and soldiers were kept. He also kept a record
system that had the messages he sent to Governors and heads of states.
- He was the first to appoint police forces to keep civil order.
- He was the first to discipline the people when they became disordered.
Reforms
Umar is regarded as one of the greatest political geniuses in history.
While under his leadership, the empire was expanding at a unprecedented
rate, he also began to build the political structure that would hold
together the vast empire that was being built. He undertook many
administrative reforms and closely oversaw public policy. He established
an advanced administration for the newly conquered lands, including
several new ministries and bureaucracies, and ordered a census of all
the Muslim territories. During his rule, the garrison cities (
amsar) of
Basra and
Kufa were founded or expanded. In 638, he extended and renovated the
Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca and the
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina. Umar also ordered the expulsion of the
Christian and
Jewish communities of
Najran and
Khaybar
allowing them to reside in Syria or Iraq. He issued orders that these
Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them the
equivalent land in their new settlements. Umar also forbade
non-Muslims to reside in the
Hejaz for longer than three days.
He was first to establish army as a state department. Umar was founder of
Fiqh, the Islamic
jurisprudence.
He is regarded by
Sunni Muslims to be one of the greatest
Faqih. Umar as a
jurist started the process of codifying
Islamic Law. In 641, he established
Bayt al-mal, a financial institution
and started annual allowance for the Muslims. A year later he also
started allowance for the poor, underprivileged and old non-Muslim
citizens of the empire. As a leader, 'Umar was known for his simple,
austere lifestyle. Rather than adopt the pomp and display affected by
the rulers of the time, he continued to live much as he had when Muslims
were poor and persecuted. In 639, his fourth year as caliph and the
seventeenth year 17 since the
Hijra, he decreed that the
Islamic calendar should be counted from the year of the Hijra of Muhammad from Mecca to Madinah.
Military expansion
Damascus fall in September 634 and
Emesa fall in March 635. In the years 635,
Emperor Heraclius successfully allied with Sassanid Persian
Emperor Yazdegerd III
on Yazdegerd III's request to crush the Muslim power. A well
coordinated plan was deiced to launch a massive counterattack against
Muslims in Iraq and Syria at once so that Muslims, because of the
resulted pressure may retreat back to Arabia where they may be dealt in
detail later, either by invading it or by economical and trade blockage.
Caliph Umar successfully tackled the alliance by putting pressure
tactics on Byzantine front and deceptive tactics on Persian front and
engaging Yazdegerd III into negotiations, this rendered the alliance and
a would be decisive plan abortive. The Byzantine forces were decisively
defeated in
Battle of Yarmouk fought in August 636, Persian army was defeated in
Battle of Qadisiyyah three months later in November 636. Muslim victory pertinently ended Byzantine rule south of
Anatolia, and
Jerusalem fall in April 637 after a prolonged siege, Umar personally came to receive the key to the city by the Greek Orthodox patriarch,
Sophronius, and invited to offer Muslims prays at the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Umar chose to pray some distance from the Church, so as not to endanger
its status as a Christian temple. Fifty-five years later, the
Mosque of `Umar was constructed on the site where he prayed. After fall of Jerusalem, Umar permitted Jews to practice their religion freely and live in Jerusalem. (
See: Covenant of Umar I)
It was after almost 500 hundred years of Jews expulsion from Jerusalem by
Romans, that they finally enjoyed religious freedom. The conquest of
Levant completed in 637 after the last relentless resistance by Byzantines at
Battle of Iron bridge, that resulted in Muslim occupation of
Antioch, capital of eastern zone of Byzantine Empire in October 637.
Emperor Heraclius attempt to capture northern Syria in 638, with the aid of Christian Arabs of
Jazira, prompted Muslims to invade Jazira (
Mesopotamia)
in 638 and captured it securing the eastern flank of Syria from
Byzantine attacks in future, soon after occupation of Jazira, Muslim
columns marched north in Anatolia, invaded and plundered Byzantine
provinces of
Armenia, these were however only preemptive attacks on Armenia to eliminate all Byzantine presence north of Syria,
Armenia was annexed in 643 During the
Conquest of Persian Empire.
These
preemptive attack resulted in the creation of a
buffer zone or no man's land in south-eastern Anatolia and Armenia, which would eventually evolve into the
al-'Awasim. It was exactly what Umar wanted,
as he is quoted saying
| “ |
I wish there was a wall of fire between us and the Romans, so that nor we can cross into their land neither they could in ours |
” |
The Byzantine empire already exhausted after major defeats in Yarmouk
and Northern Syria was left vulnerable to Muslims attacks and its very
existence in
Anatolia
was threaten. Umar, apparently was not interested in occupation of
Anatolia, it had a cold and mountainous terrain with no economic
incentives, soon after the occupation of Byzantine Armenia, the time
when chaos was at its peak in Byzantium, Umar had already rejected
Khalid and
Abu Ubaidah's
proposal of invading Anatolia. More over Umar, due to his strong desire
to consolidate his rule in the conquered land and owing to his
non-offensive policy left the remaining Byzantine empire on its own. The
situation was a stalemate, Umar had power but not desire to cross into
Byzantine Empire, and Emperor Heraclius had desire but not left powerful
enough to roll back his former rich provinces. For the security of
northern Syria, Umar issued orders for annual raids into Byzantine
territories in Anatolia and Muslims raided as far as
Phrygia.
Conquest of Egypt (640-642)
After losing Levant, the economic life line of Byzantines and
Armenia, the manpower hub, Emperor Heraclius was left incapable of any
military come back, he rather focused to consolidate his power in
Egypt. In his visit to Syria in 637 to receive
surrender of Jerusalem,
Amr ibn al-Aas
tried to convince Umar for the invasion of Egypt, but Umar rejected on
the ground that Muslim rule in Syria was still not firm. After the great
plague
in 639, Umar paid a visit to Syria and was again persuaded by Amr for
the invasion of Egypt. Along with various other reasons, Amr convinced
Umar that Byzantine influence in Egypt is a continuous threat to Muslim
rule in
Palestine
and that Egypt is the richest land on earth that can provide Muslims
with immense wealth, economical stability and strategic location for
trade with
North Africa and
Mediterranean. Initially hesitant for the expedition Umar rejected the proposal and is reported to have said:
| “ |
Life of my one soldier is dearer to me that a million Dirham. |
” |
But eventually decided to put the matter in
Majlis al Shura (
parliament) in
Madinah. Once approved by the parliament Umar issued orders for the
invasion of Egypt in December 639 which completed in 642 at the eve of Muslim conquest of Persian highlands.
Dismissal of Khalid from army (638)
In late 638, following Khalid's invasion of
Byzantine Armenia in eastern
Anatolia,
Khalid was dismissed from army by Umar. The exact reason remained
unknown, but various scholars including Muslims and non-Muslims argue
that Khalid's dismissal from army at zenith of his power was due to the
fact that his ever growing popularity and influence even after his
removal from supreme command, worried Umar, who saw this as a threat to
his absolute rule as well as a possible threat to national peace in case
of Khalid's revolt against his authority. Khalid, on his return from an
expedition of
Amida and
Edessa
was charged for embezzlement and thus was dismissed from army. Khalid's
removal created a strong wrath among the people on the ground that
Khalid, a national hero was mistreated by the Caliph and it was unjust
to remove him from the army for a claim that was virtually never proved
against him. In addition to this some supporters of Khalid embolden him
to rebel against Umar's discriminatory decision but Khalid, though more
than able to rebel chose to accept the decision and live a retire life.
Had Khalid revolted a bloody civil war would be inevitable. Khalid
visited
Madinah and met Umar who is reported to have given Khalid a prestigious tribute saying:
| “ |
You have achieved what no man did ever before, but verily it was through Allah's help |
” |
due to his discriminatory act of dismissing Khalid, Umar was highly
criticized publicly and it was a general though that Umar dismissed
Khalid owning to his personal grievance and jealousy. Umar thus
explained his dismissal of Khalid as:
| “ |
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 for victory. I want them to know that it is
Allah who does all things; and there should be no mischief in the land. |
” |
From Madinah Khalid went to
Emesa and died after less than 4 years in 642 at the eve of
Muslim conquest of Persia. During
Hajj
of the year 642 Umar decided to reappoint Khalid to the army services,
he most probably intended to have Khalid's services for the invasion of
main land
Persia, like Caliph
Abu Bakr did during his first foreign expedition,
the conquest of Iraq
by using Khalid as a guaranteed victor for Persian front to boost up
moral of Muslims for further such expeditions, his abilities and
military prowess could also be used this time as a sure victory more
over his presence could also boost up the moral of Muslim army invading
Persia and his formidable reputation as a psychological weapon against
Persians. Umar reached Madinah after Hajj only to receive the news of
Khalid death that broke like a storm over Medinah. The women took to the
streets, led by the women of the
Banu Makhzum
(Khalid's tribe), wailing and beating their chests. Though Umar, from
very first day had given orders that there would be no wailing for
departed Muslims, but in this one case he made an exception.
Umar reportedly said:
| “ |
Let the
women of the Banu Makhzum say what they will about Abu Sulaiman
(Khalid), for they do not lie, over the likes of Abu Sulaiman weep those
who weep. |
” |
Umar is reported to have later regretted over his decision of
dismissing Khalid from army, accepting the fact that he (Khalid) was not
like as he (Umar) though of him. On his death bed, Umar is also
reported to have wished that beside
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, if Khalid would be alive he would have appointed him his successor.
Conquest of Sassanid Persian Empire
Conquest of Iraq
Abu Bakr became caliph in 632 and triumphed in
Ridda wars thus conquering
Arabia by early 633. Soon after Ridda wars Abu Bakr started a war of conquest by invading neighboring rich and fertile
Iraq, a province of
Sassanid Empire where its capital
Ctesiphon situated. Muslims under
Khalid ibn Walid captured Iraq after decisive
Battle of Ullais. In June 634 Khalid was sent by Abu Bakr to Roman front in Syria to command Muslim armies in
Syria. Khalid left with half of his army which left Muslim position in Iraq dangerously exposed to Persian counterattack.
Misna ibn Haris,
Khalid's successor, evacuated Iraq and camped near Arabian Desert after
Persian counterattack. Umar soon sent reinforcement, to strengthen the
position in Iraq, which was finally defeated in
Battle of Bridge in October 635.
Emperor Yazdegerd III sought help from his Byzantine counter part
Emperor Heraclius,
who married his granddaughter to Yazdegerd III, an old Roman tradition
to seal the alliance. Planned to overpower Umar, their common enemy,
both emperors started preparations for a massive coordinated
counterattack at once on their respected front to crush the threat in
Arabia once for good. This alliance resulted in a bloody year of 636 in
which
Battle of Yarmouk in
Syria and
Battle of Qadisiyyah in
Iraq resulted in decisive Muslim victory. Followed the victory at Qadisiyyah, Muslims
captured Ctesiphon, the Sassanid Persian capital city, after two month siege in March 637 followed by capturing of
Tikrit and
Mosul. Umar wanted
Zagros mountains to be the frontiers between Muslims and Persians and is quoted saying
| “ |
I wish that
between the Suwad and the Persian hills there were walls which would
prevent them from getting to us, and prevent us from getting to them.
The fertile Suwad is sufficient for us; and I prefer the safety of the
Muslims to the spoils of war. |
” |
Persians kept on raiding Iraq, which resulted in political instability in Iraq, as a result Muslims invaded
Ahvaz in 638 which forced powerful Persian commander in chief,
Hormuzan,
to enter into peace negotiations with Muslims. Hormuzan agreed to
accept Muslim suzerainty over Ahvaz province and agreed to rule as
Muslim's vassal. Hormuzan broke peace agreement three time and each time
was pardoned by Caliph Umar and the peace renewed, until the third time
when on Umar's instructions his capital was besieged and he was taken
prisoner and sent to Madinah to umar, where he apparently accepted
Islam. He later allegedly master minded Umar's assassination. In 641 Persians under
Yazdegerd III managed to muster up a massive army to attack Iraq, this army was defeated in
Battle of Nahāvand in December641.
Conquest of mainland Persia (642-644)
After the battle Umar changed his policy towards Sassanid Persian
Empire, Yazdegerd III, who unlike his Roman counter part Heraclius,
denied submission to Muslim supremacy in his land, was a constant threat
for Caliphate, Umar decided to launch a
whole scale invasion of Sassanid Persian Empire
to eliminate this threat. After a devastating defeat at Nihawand, last
Sassanid emperor Yazdgerd III, a man with iron nerves, was never to be
able again to raise more troops to resist the mighty onslaught of Umar,
it had now became a war between two rulers, Umar will follow Yazdgerd
III to every corner of his empire either will kill him or will capture
him, like he did with Hormuzan. Yazdgerd III would have a narrow escape
at
Marv when Umar’s lieutenant was to capture him after
Battle of Oxus river, he would save his life only by fleeing to
China, far enough from reach of Umar, thus effectively ending the 400 years old Sassanid dynasty.
In 642, Umar launched multi-prong expeditions into
Persia, first capturing
Isfahan province thus cutting off the northern province of
Azerbaijan and southern province of
Fars from main empire. in the second phase capturing Azerbaijan and fars thus isolating Yazdegerd III's stronghold
Khurasan. The third phase further isolated Khurasan by capturing
Kirman,
Sistan and
Makran in south while Persian
Armenia in north. Fourth and last phase started in early 644 with the invasion of Khurasan. After a Decisive
Battle of Oxus river,
Yazdegerd III fled to central Asia and Persian Empire ceased to exist.
Umar's conquest of Sassanid Persian empire by commanding the operations,
while sitting about 1000 kilometer away from the battle fields, will
become the greatest triumph of Umar and his strategic marvel, and marked
his reputation as one of the greatest military and political genius of
history, like his late cousin
Khalid ibn Walid (590 – 642).
