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Shurahbil deployed the
army at the foot of the slope below Fahl, facing north-west, with
Abu Ubaidah and Amr bin Al Aas commanding the wings. Dhiraar was
appointed commander of the Muslim cavalry, while Khalid with his
corps was placed in front to lead the advance to Baisan. In this
formation the Muslims advanced. But they had not gone far when the
Advance Guard got stuck in the mud and had considerable difficulty
in extricating itself. Cursing the Romans for this stratagem, the
Muslims returned to Fahl and waited. Thus a whole week passed.
Now Saqalar, the Roman commander, decided
that the time had come to strike. His preparations were complete
and he hoped to catch the Muslims off guard since the marsh would
give them, he hoped, a false sense of security. His guides would
lead the army through the marsh which the Muslims regarded as impassable.
Soon after sunset on January 23, 635 (the 27th of Dhul Qad, 13 Hijri),
the Roman army formed up west of the river and began its advance
towards Fahl, intending to surprise the Muslims in their camps at
night.
But the Muslims had not relaxed their guard.
Shurahbil was a watchful general and had deployed the Muslim camp
to correspond to the battle positions of the corps, and kept a large
portion of each corps in its battle positions during the night.
He had also placed a screen of scouts along the marsh to watch and
report any movement by the Romans towards Fahl. Thus, as the Romans
neared Fahl, they found an army, not resting in its camp, but formed
up in battle array. Immediately on contact the battle began.
The two armies fought all night and the
whole of the next day-January 24, 635. The Muslim army remained
on the defensive and beat off all attempts by the Romans to break
through, during one of which Saqalar was killed. By the time darkness
had set in again, the Romans decided that they had had enough. They
had suffered heavily at the hands of the Muslims, who had stood
like a wall of steel in their path; and this wall had not been breached
at a single place. Under cover of darkness the Romans disengaged
and began to withdraw across the marsh towards Baisan.
This was the moment that Shurahbil was waiting
for. He had fought the Romans until they were exhausted, and suffering
from the adverse psychological impact of repeated repulses, had
started to withdraw. Now was the time to launch the counterstroke.
Shurahbil ordered the advance; and in the darkness, the desert-dwellers
leapt upon the backs of the Romans!
This time the Roman 'traffic control plan'
failed. Thousands of them were lost in the marsh, and as the screaming
masses of the Muslims came after them, they gave way to panic and
lost all order and cohesion. The Muslims set to with gusto to finish
this army and played havoc with their terrified enemy. About 10,000
Romans perished in the Battle of Fahl, which is also known in Muslim
history as the Battle of Mud. 1 Some of
the Romans arrived safely at Baisan while others, fleeing for their
lives in total disorder, dispersed in all directions.
With the defeat of this Roman army, the
Muslim army also broke up. Abu Ubaidah and Khalid remained at Fahl,
whence they would shortly set out for Damascus and Northern Syria.
Shurahbil, with Amr bin Al Aas under command, crossed the marsh
and the river, routes through which had now been found, and laid
siege to Baisan. After a few days the Romans in the fort made a
sally but were slaughtered by Shurahbil. Soon after this sally Baisan
surrendered and agreed to pay the Jizya and certain taxes. Shurahbil
then went on to Tabariya, which also surrendered on similar terms.
This last action was over before the end of February 635 (Dhul Haj,
13 Hijri). There was now no opposition left in the inland part of
the District of Jordan.
With the beginning of the fourteenth year
of the Hijra, Amr bin Al Aas and Shurahbil turned their attention
to Palestine. Here again a change of command took place. Palestine
was the province of Amr, and consequently he assumed command of
the army, while Shurahbil served under him as a corps commander.
But it was some time before this small army of two corps entered
Palestine.
1. Most early
historians have said that the bulk of the Roman army was destroyed
in this battle. Balazuri, however, has placed Roman losses at 10,000
(p. 122); and this is here accepted as the most conservative estimate.
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