The Chaliphate - Muir - The Search For Mecca

—
A.D. 633-4] SYRIAN CAMPAIGN OPENS 63
Emboldened by these reinforcements, Khalid ibn Sa'id A.H. 12-13.
hastened in the early spring to gain the first laurels ofKli\wTbn
the campaign. Forgetful of his Master's caution, he was Sa'id
in his eagerness decoyed by Bahan towards Damascus. Merj'soffii'r
He had reached as far as Merj as-Soffar to the east of near s'ea of
the Sea of Tiberias, when the enemy closed in upon his ^'^"^s.
rear and cut off his retreat.
His son Sa'Id was amongst the
slain, and Khalid fled with the remnant of his army for
Medina.
This expedition of Khalid ibn Sa'Id 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.ij.—
has rather a weakness for ascribing doughty deeds to the
fathers in the Faith, and Khalid, 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 'Omar was such that Khalid did not leave Arabia,
\'ariant
account;
but was superseded in his command, his place being taken
by Yezld, a son of Abu Sufyan.
The army was in three divisions of 5000 men each, the Divisions of
commanders of two of these being Shurahbll son of Hasana
^'^'"^''
(his mother) and the redoubtable 'Amr ibn al-'As. The
last, if any, was commander-in-chief dc facto if not de jure.
To each of these divisions one of the districts of Syria
was assigned as its field of operations. 'Amr was to make
for Ayla, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, and thence
invade southern Syria or Palestine. Yezld and Shurahbil
were to make first for Tebuk, whence the latter was to
invade central Syria, whilst the former pushed on towards
Damascus.^ Mu'awiya, the future Caliph, bore the standard
of his brother Yezld—a presage of the higher dignity which
awaited him. Khalid ibn Sa'Id is said to have joined as
^ Syria, under the Muslims, perhaps from the time of 'Omar, was
divided into five military districts, each called a. jund, viz.— Kinnasrin
(Chalcis), Hims (district of Emesa), Damascus, El-Urdunn or the
Jordan (on either side of that river down to the Dead Sea), and Kilastin
or Palestine, in the south and west up to Carmel. These names arc
used proleptically by the Arab historians in speaking of the earliest
period.