The Battle of Yarmouk.

In antiquitysic, there was various high profile battles along and around the Yarmouk River, however there has never been one as fundamental as the one that took place 15th - 20th August 636 between the juganaut of the Byzantine armies and the Rashidun forces.

The Yarmouk plateau is predominantly an undulating flat plane dotted with rocky outcrops.

Rivers Yarmouk, Ruckard and Arias slices deep into the level plateau creating deep gorges with steep cliffs.

Vahan (pronounced varn or vahn) an Armenian general and the field commander of the Byzantine armies was instructed by emperor Heraclius to Pay off the Arabs to go back to Arabia or at the very least to stall negotiations until the Sassanids were ready to attack in Iraq.

In this, Jabala (King of the Ghassanid) and Gregory (a Greek general) did much of the negotiations with the Rashidun forces but as the talks dragged on for up to three months, reinforcements sent by the new Khalif Umar (Abubakre's successor) began to arrive.

Concerned that he might lose the numerical advantage, Vahan took matters into his own hands and asked to negotiate with the commander of the Arab forces in person.

Khalid Ibn Walid was a true tactical genius and was the field commander of the Arabian armies.

With his versatile implementation of the indirect approach, Khalid was known to attack opposing armies from unexpected directions with multiple rapid manoeuvres.

Furthermore, he was one of a handful of commanders in history who had mastered the double envelopment, using it to encircle and destroy armies larger than his own. Launching perfectly timed Calvary attacks on his opponents flanks.

It's important to note that Khalid was a Zoroastrian. He often directed his praises towards Ahura Mazda and Mithras.

By his own words, the Armenian general regarded the Arabs as nothing more than impoverished retched bedouins and so he offered Khalid food and gold to leave the occupied Byzantine region.

Unimpressed by Vahans condesendence, Khalid responded saying, "It isn't hunger that brought us here", calling the Armenian general to stand down and surrender. Adding, "If you refuse to surrender, there can only be battle between us", and that the Byzantine armies will face men who love to die as much as the Byzantine forces love to live.

Enraged with Khalid's response, Vahan gave a stern warning, " better men have tried to retake our occupied territories but were all defeated".

Perhaps referencing the recent battle with thae Sassanids that lasted over a decade, the then Emperor Heraclius turns into warrior- King; leading the Byzantine army into battle against the Sassanids and eventually achieving victory in their major encounters.

And with that exchange it had become clear that negotiations had ended.

Vahan positioned the main Byzantine camp near Al Yakuza from where one of the main Roman roads connecting Egypt with Syria could be defended.

He anchored his battle line from the gorge to the South and arranged his troops along the Allan River streching to the town of Jabiya in the North.

On his left flank he placed the Slavic infantry commanded by Buccinator (Qanatir) a Slavic prince.

In the centre Jabalah commanded the Ghassanid contingent, while Dairjan led the Armanians.

Gregory commanded the experienced Greek infantry on the right flank. It was said that the last Roman Legion, the Macedon Fifth was under Gregory's command.

Archers were mixed with the infantry and Calvary contingent were supporting each of the divisions of infantry.

The Byzantine army was said to number around 40,000.

Across the field, although Khalid wasnt officially in command, he was highly skilled in battle and Abu Ubaidah who lacked such expertise ceded the command to him.

As such, Khalid stretched his infantry to match the Byzantine lines, with the left flank anchored on the gorge in the South, while his right flank reached the vicinity of the town of Narwa.

He placed Amr in charge of the right flank, Shurahbil and Abu Ubaidah in the centre and Yazid on the left flank with archers mixed in with the infantry.

Calvary positions were entrenched to prevent breakthrough while Khalid took command of the hand picked Calvary reserve.

The Rashidun forces was said to number around 25,000.

Suddenly, an Arabian soldier marched forward, dropped his shield and removed his armour, sending a challenge to any Byzantine for a one-to-one combat, his name was Dhiraar Ibn Al Azwar.

Several Byzantine officers took up the challenge of the Arabian warrior and in a matter of minutes they were all mowed down at the end of Dhiraar's sword.

More Arabian soldiers took to the field and as the dueling spectacle continued, the Byzantine army witnessed the slaying of some of there favourite officers.

Then at noon, Vahan ordered the Byzantine army to advance.

As the Byzantine army closed the distance, Vahan ordered a third of his infantry to advance on the Arabs position.

The fighting wasn't too intensive as both sides tested each others resolve.

Vahan observed that the deep gorge to the South would restrict Calvary manoeuvres and offer protection to the Arabian left while the terrain to the North was open, leaving the Arabian right flank exposed.

Khalid was also aware of this problem and as such he positioned himself slightly closer to the right wing so that he could quickly reinforce if at all necessary.

As the day drew to a close, Vahan broke off the attack and ordered his troops back to their positions on the Allan River.

During the night, both commanders contemplated their next move.

Khalid knew that a frontal assault against a numerous and better equipped enemy would be more dangerous, especially when supported by contingents of Byzantine heavy Calvary.

Vahan meanwhile was ready to attack and break the Arabs.

Early next morning, the Byzantine commander committed all of his troops to push forward.

Vahan's intention was to catch the Arabs by surprise during their early morning preparations.

However, Khalid was expecting this as during the previous night he had ordered a construction of outposts Infront of his lines to prevent any suprise attacks.

Despite losing the element of surprise, Vahan remained confident in his approach and in his drilled veterans.

Vahan's intention was to apply steady pressure on the Arabian centre in order to tie down as many of Khalid's troops as possible whilst focusing the main thrust of his attacks on the flanks; where he was expecting to overwhelm and drive the Arabs from the field with his advantage in numbers.

As the two armies clashed, the Arabs held their ground in the centre against the stalled Byzantine advance but for the Arabs on the flanks, the situation was different.

Qanatir attacked the Arabian right flank with full force, the outnumbered Arabian infantry held at first but were pushed back.

Amr ordered his Calvary to check the Byzantine advance in order to buy time for the infantry. This counterattack blunted the Byzantine charge but Qanatir kept pushing the Arabs towards their camp. It was said that the women from the Arabian camp rallied and that some actually joined the fighting. They hobbled the camels around the camp thus providing additional protection.

A desperate struggle ensued as the Byzantine couldn't dislodge the determine Arabian fighters.

Qanatir heavy Calvary bogged down, their horses borked at the smell of aggressive camels, as their horses began to refuse to respond to their riders.

In close quarters, the legs and bellies of the partially armoured Byzantine horses now became exposed, and as such, riders were pulled down from their saddles.

Qanatir couldn't sustain the attack any longer. With Vahan's attack against the Arabs right flank broken, Khalid seized the moment to exploit the gaps that had opened between Qanatir and the Byzantine centre. He ordered Amr to send his Calvary contingent and attack Qanatir flank from the North.

With incoming Calvary support, Amr ordered a general advance.

The three pronged attack forced Qanatir to abandon his advanced position and retreat towards the main Byzantine line.

By timing his flanking manoeuvre to perfection, Khalid managed to push back the Byzantine back with fewer troops.

And had it not been for the disciplined feat of Qanatir's experienced Slavic infantry, the Byzantine flank could've collapsed entirely.

However, the situation on the Arabian left was considerably more serious, with much of Khalid's mounted troops currently on the right flank, Yazid position was being overrun.

Byzantine Calvary broke through the ranks and pushed towards the Arabian camp.

Gregory's infantry slowly ground their way forward as Yazid's outnumbered infantry couldn't stop them.

As they fell back to the camp, Yazid's troops were said to have been met with a barrage of stones and rocks thrown at them by the ferrocious Arabian women who urged them to not let he Byzantine army defeat them.

Similarly, it was said that some of the women took part in the defence of the camp.

Just as Vahan's plan appeared to be succeeding at the Arabian left, Khalid again showed his ability to adapt quickly. With his right flank relatively stable, he dashed across the battlefield to aid the embattled Yazid.

Khalid detached a Calvary contingent under the command of Dhiraar Ibn Al Azwar, ordering him to flank the Byzantine centre.

This decision proved crucial for when Dhiraar struck the flank of the Byzantine centre, he fixed them in place, preventing reinforcement reaching Gregory to support his push against the Arabian left. But more importantly, this manoeuvre gave the impression to the Greeks that they was being outflanked; damaging the moral of the Greeks.

Further on the left, Khalid came to Yazid's aid hitting Gregory's division at full pelt.

Dhiraar's troops killed one of the Byzantine generals, it was the field commander Dairjan.

Finally as dusk approached, the two exhausted armies ceased hostilities for the day.

Khalid was also aware of this problem and as such he positioned himself slightly closer to the right wing so that he could quickly reinforce if at all necessary.

The fourth day of battle was devastating for the Rashidun army but incredibly they managed to hold back the Byzantines.

On the next morning, Vahan unexpectedly sent an emmisary offering a truce.

The Rashidun commanders assembled for an impromptu battle council, some argued to accept the truce seeing it as a victory after fighting a much larger army deep within their territory, while other commanders noted that their men were tired, wounded and vastly outnumbered. The consensus was to leave and come back to fight another day.

Khalid listened to his comrades and then stood up saying, "The past four days tested our resolve, now is not the time to concede, now is the time to be decisive".

He argued that the strategy was to be on the defensive, wear out the Byzantine troops and then counterattack, furthermore, he claimed to have sensed the Byzantine were disheartened and that Vahan was trying to buy time in order to rally and raise the morale of his dejected troops.

"The time to attack is now", Khalid said "There will be no truce".

Determined to go on the offensive, during the dead of night, Khalid sent Dhiraar with 500 riders on a wide flanking manoeuvre in order to capture a key bridge on the Ruckard gorge, one that served as a source of communication between the Byzantine army and their camp.

As the sun rose on the next day, from the Byzantine line a huge muscular character appeared in the no man's land area of the battlefield, it was Gregory the Greek general.

Gregory was the commander of the Byzantine right flank and was reputed to be a formidable fighter; Abu Ubaidah answered to the challenge.

As the overall strategic commander of the Rashidun forces in Syria, before leaving he told Khalid that assuming he doesn't return, Khalid should resume command of all the armies.

And with that, the tall slim physique of Abu Ubaidah a man that was said to be in his fifties at the time rode out to meet Gregory.

The two men met in the middle, both excellent in single combat.

Circling each other, they traded blows for several minutes as both armies anxiously watched.

Then, suddenly Gregory ran back towards his line; a trick designed to fool Abu Ubaidah into lowering his guard. As the Rashidun general caught up with him, in a split second Gregory turned to strike but Abu ducked to evade the blow whilst simultaneously striking the Greek general back across the face with his blade.

Gregory dropped his sword and slumped from his horse.

Moments later, Khalid ordered the Arabian line forward.

Having spent most of the night reorganising the troops, Khalid left a token force of Calvary behind the infantry division, spreading their formations to make it appear to the Byzantines like the deposition of the Rashidun armies remained the same as it was during the previous day, and he took all of the remaining Calvary, hiding them in the shallow dips of the plateau.

Some of the men in the Byzantine lines could hardly believe what they was seeing, despite such heavy losses from the previous day, the Arabs were going on the offensive.

As the clash in the center erupted, the Arabs pressed hard, they were determined to drive to the Byzantine back but their substantial numerical disadvantage couldn't sustain this battle of attrition for long.

Just as Vahan's troops managed to sustain the momentum of the Arabian advance, Khalid sprung his trap.

From the gentle dips in the terrain, 8,000 riders galloped forward, by emassing most of his Calvary, Khalid planned to surround the Byzantine flank.

Knowing that time was of the essence, he urged his men to ride faster and without hesitation.

Busy commanding the troops in the centre, Vahan glanced over his left shoulder and saw the ominous cloud of dust. He then scrambled to send his Calvary to cover the flanks realising that the Arabian commander had outwitted him.

In full galop, Khalid surged past Amr's division and began to envelope Qanatir's Slavs. The rest of the Arabian riders followed their general as he guided them around Byzantine ranks.

Qanatir and Jabalah's line began folding as they braced for the impact of the Rashidun Calvary.

As the Arabian riders smashed into Vahan's flank, the horses twisted and turned reacking havoc among the Byzantine infantry.

Jebalah and the Ghassanids disengaged and began to flee but to their horror, they realised the bridge across the Ruckard, their escape route was blocked.

Jebalah's troops dispersed in a total disarray. Qanatir fought on hopelessly as the Slavic division was surrounded and didn't stand a chance.

The entire Byzantine line began to collapse.

Unable to cope with the rapid movement of the Arabian light Calvary, Byzantine cataphracts were attacked on all sides; seeing that the situation was hopeless, they fled abandoning the Byzantine infantry to their fate.

On that day, the 20th of August 636, the Rashidun armies achieved a decisive victory that would change the course of West Asian history for ever.

Sadly, these Arabian fundamentalist would later invade the African continent in what would eventually usher in the beginning of the horrific episode in history known as the transaharan slave trade.

Substituting the Roman occupation of of Egypt, and both the Arabian fundamentalist and Eurocentric warmongers would swap places on multiple occasions for the next 1000 years.

In essence the original communities of the Nile Valley thought that the Arabs was there to relieve them from the clutches of the Romans but instead were subjected to even more hardship.

Systematically, the Arabian fundamentalist warmongers began to cleanse the region of the native population leading to the demographic that exist today.