Muslim conquest of the Levant

Overview

The Rashidun Caliphate conquered Byzantine Syria between 634–638 CE as part of the Arab–Byzantine wars and the wider Muslim conquests.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Muslim conquest of the Levant, conducted by the Rashidun Caliphate between 634 and 638 CE, transferred Byzantine Syria from Roman imperial control to Arab Muslim governance, constituting one of the most consequential territorial shifts of the Arab–Byzantine wars. The campaign was directed at the highest levels of the Rashidun state, with Caliph Abu Bakr and his successor Umar ibn al-Khattab overseeing operations carried out by a command structure that included Khalid ibn al-Walid, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, Amr ibn al-As, and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, among others. The Byzantine defense was led by Emperor Heraclius alongside commanders including Vahan and Theodore Trithyrius, as well as the Ghassanid client ruler Jabalah ibn al-Aiham. The loss of Syria permanently removed a core Byzantine province from imperial control and established the Rashidun Caliphate as the dominant power across the Levant, setting the geographic and political framework within which the Arab–Byzantine wars would continue for centuries.

Commanders (13)