Osprey Campaign 31 : Yarmuk 636 AD : The Muslim Conquest of Syria

The battle of Yarmuk was the single most crushing blow suffered by the Byzantine Empire until the battle of Manzikert in 1071. It resulted in the loss of Syria, Palestine and most of the Byzantine provinces in the Middle East. After protracted skirmishing and various minor engagements the Arab and Byzantine armies faced each other on the banks of the Yarmuk river. The Byzantines were initially successful, driving back the Arab right wing and attacking one of the camps containing the women and families. This attack was however repulsed, with the help of the Arab women, and further attacks were beaten off. Finally the Arab counter-attacks broke the Byzantine lines and the subsequent pursuit became a rout. The awful fate of the fleeing Byzantine soldiers was remembered for several generations until it was recorded in early Islamic histories. David Nicolle not only looks at the battle itself but also the whole decisive Arab campaign - from the Muslim invasion of 633-34 to the fall of Byzantine Syria. An analysis of the differing performances of the two armies at Yarmuk, and a look at the battlefield today completes this interesting examination of one of the key battles in the history of the Middle-East.

Contents

• Origins of the Campaign
• The Opposing Leaders
• The Opposing Armies
• The Opposing Plans
• The Campaign
• Aftermath and Reckoning
• The Battlefields Today
• Chronology
• A Guide to Further Reading
• Wargaming Yarmuk