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On the following day the
pact was drawn up. 1 It was signed on behalf
of the Muslims by Caliph Umar and witnessed by Khalid, Amr bin Al
Aas, Abdur-Rahman bin Auf and Muawiyah. Jerusalem surrendered to
the Caliph, and peace returned to the holy city. This happened in
April 637 (Rabi-ul-Awwal, 16 Hijri). After staying 10 days at Jerusalem,
the Caliph returned to Madinah.
Following the Caliph's instructions, Yazeed
proceeded to Caesarea and once again laid siege to the port city.
Amr and Sharhabeel marched to reoccupy Palestine and Jordan, which
task was completed by the end of this year. Caesarea, however, could
not be taken till 640 (19 Hijri), when at last the garrison laid
down its arms before Muawiyah. Abu Ubaidah and Khalid, with an army
of 17,000 men, set off from Jerusalem to conquer all of Northern
Syria.
Abu Ubaidah marched to Damascus, which was
already in Muslim hands, and then to Emessa, which welcomed his
return. His next objective was Qinassareen, and towards this the
army advanced with Khalid and the Mobile Guard in the lead. After
a few days the Mobile Guard reached Hazir, 3 miles east of Qinassareen,
and here it was attacked in strength by the Romans. 2
The Roman commander at Qinassareen was a
general named Meenas-a distinguished soldier who was loved by his
men. Meenas knew that if he stayed in Qinassareen, he would be besieged
by the Muslims and would eventually have to surrender, as at present
no help could be expected from the Emperor. He therefore decided
to take the offensive and attack the leading elements of the Muslim
army well forward of the city and defeat them before they could
be joined by the main body. With this plan in mind, Meenas attacked
the Mobile Guard at Hazif with a force whose strength is not recorded;
He either did not know that Khalid was present with the leading
elements of the Muslim army or did not believe all that he had heard
about Khalid.
For Khalid to throw his cavalry into fighting
formation for battle was a matter of minutes, and soon a fierce
action was raging at Hazir. The battle was still in its early stages
when Meenas was killed; and as the news of his death spread among
his men, the Romans went wild with fury and attacked savagely to
avenge their beloved leader's death. But they were up against the
finest body of men of the time. Their very desire for vengeance
proved their undoing, for not a single Roman survived the Battle
of Hazir. 3 The Mobile Guard took this encounter
in its stride as one of its many victories.
As soon as the battle was over, the people
of Hazir came out of their town to greet Khalid. They pleaded that
they were Arabs and had no intention to fight him. Khalid accepted
their surrender, and advanced to Qinassareen.
When Umar received reports of the Battle
of Hazir, he made no attempt to conceal his admiration - for the
military genius of Khalid. "Khalid is truly the commander,"
4 Umar exclaimed. "May Allah have
mercy upon Abu Bakr. He was a better judge of men than I have been."
5 This was Umar's first admission that perhaps
he had not judged Khalid rightly.
1. According to some reports, the pact was
actually signed at Jabiya with representatives of the Patriarch,
and after signing the pact there, Umar travelled to Jerusalem and
received the surrender.
2. Hazir still exists-a large farming village.
3. Tabari: Vol. 3, p. 98.
4. Literally: "Khalid has made himself commander",
i.e., that the role comes naturally to him.
5. Tabari: Vol. 3, p. 98.
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