Wars and campaigns
Family: War, peace and the conduct of conflict · 48 entries
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Polity
The Kingdom of Saba (Sheba)
c. 1100 BCEThe oldest named power of Yemen in the sira’s prologue: its traces reach twenty-five centuries before the Common Era in the excavations of Ur, its flourish begins in the eleventh century BCE, and it passed through the Mukarrib era at Sirwah and the kingdom era at Maʾrib before Himyar absorbed it around 115 BCE.The Himyarite Kingdom
c. 115 BCEThe Himyarite power that took over Saba around 115 BCE and ruled from Zafar; its last centuries saw decline, the Abyssinian occupations after Dhu Nuwas’s massacre of Najran’s Christians, then Persian control until Badhan’s conversion in 638 CE.The Ghassanid Kingdom
c. 220 CEThe Arab client kingdom of Rome in al-Sham: the house of Jafna of the Azd displaced the Salihid Dajaʾima and ruled as Rome’s wardens of the desert frontier until Yarmuk, when their last king Jabala ibn al-Ayham entered Islam in Umar’s reign.The Lakhmid Kingdom of al-Hira
c. 268 CEThe Arab client kingdom at al-Hira on Persia’s border: from Amr ibn Adi under Shapur until the last Lakhmid al-Mundhir (al-Maʾrur) in 632, serving the Sasanians as a buffer against Arab raiders and Rome’s own Arab clients.The Aksumite Kingdom (Abyssinia)
The Ethiopian power across the Red Sea which twice occupied Yemen — first 340–378 exploiting Himyarite rivalries, then in 525 under Aryat with Roman ships, in revenge for Dhu Nuwas’s trenches of fire — and whose commander Abraha led the elephant campaign on Mecca.The Byzantine Empire
The Roman power that ruled Egypt and Syria, controlled the sea trade routes that strangled Yemen’s caravan economy, set up client kings among the Arabs of al-Sham, and armed Abyssinia’s fleet for the second occupation of Yemen.The Nabataean Kingdom
The strong north-Hijazi kingdom of the sons of Nabit ibn Ismail in the traditional account, capital at Petra, which dominated the peninsula’s fringes until Rome broke it.The Sasanian Empire
The Persian power rebuilt by Ardashir from 226 CE: it ruled Iraq and the Gulf, kept the Lakhmid kings of al-Hira as frontier wardens, and absorbed Yemen as a province after expelling the Abyssinians until Badhan’s conversion.
Event
The Expulsion of Jurhum from Mecca
c. 150 CEAfter some twenty centuries of Jurhumite rule over Mecca, their tyranny over pilgrims and appropriation of the Kaaba’s wealth turns the Adnani clans against them; Khuzaʾa, with Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manaf, expels them in the mid-second century CE — and the departing Jurhumites bury Zamzam and carry off the two golden gazelles and the Black Stone.Qusayy ibn Kilab Takes Mecca
440 CEAround 440 CE Qusayy wrests the custody of the Kaaba and the rule of Mecca from Khuzaʾa — by alliance and, in one account, purchase from Abu Ghubshan — the two sides fight, then accept the arbitration of Yaʾmar ibn Awf who rules for Qusayy; Qusayy then gathers Quraysh into Mecca’s quarters, founds Dar al-Nadwa, and assumes the five offices of Meccan leadership.The Flood of al-Arim (the Bursting of Maʾrib Dam)
c. 450 CEThe great breach of the Maʾrib dam around 450–451 CE which the Quran recalls as Sayl al-Arim; in the sira’s account it ruins Yemen’s settled life and sends the Qahtani tribes scattering across the peninsula.The Massacre of Najran (Ashab al-Ukhdud)
October 523 CEIn October 523 the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas, a convert to Judaism, marched on the Christians of Najran demanding they renounce their faith; on their refusal he dug the great trench and burned them — men, women, children and elders, twenty to forty thousand by report — the Ashab al-Ukhdud of Surat al-Buruj, whose blood summoned the Abyssinian occupation.The Second Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen
525 CEIn 525, answering the Najran atrocity, the Roman emperors equipped an Abyssinian fleet which landed seventy thousand under Aryat; Aryat governed until his general Abraha killed him and ruled in his place — the Abraha of the elephant campaign against the Kaaba.Liberation and Persian Rule of Yemen
575 CEIn 575 the Yemenis under Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, aided by Persia, expelled the Abyssinians and won independence; but Sayf’s assassination by his own Abyssinian guard ended the royal house, and Khosrow made Yemen a Persian province whose governors ruled until the last, Badhan, embraced Islam in 638.The Battle of Dhu Qar
c. 604 CEKhosrow’s marzabans and the governor Iyas ibn Qabisa marched to wrest al-Nuʾman’s deposited family and wealth from Hani ibn Masʾud; Banu Shayban met them at Dhu Qar and routed the Persians utterly — the first day the Arabs defeated the Persians, shortly after the Prophet’s birth.The Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)
c. February 627 CE · Shawwal 5 AHIn Shawwal 5 AH (February-March 627 CE), a confederate army of 10,000 Meccans and Bedouin allies besieged Medina; upon Salman al-Farisi's advice the Muslims dug a protective trench on their northern boundary; the siege endured for nearly a month amidst cold, hunger, and the treachery of Banu Qurayza, until broken by Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud's stratagem and a violent night windstorm.The Siege and Judgment of Banu Qurayza
c. March 627 CE · Dhu al-Qa'da 5 AHIn Dhu al-Qa'da 5 AH (March 627 CE), immediately after the confederates withdrew, the Prophet marched on Banu Qurayza for breaking their treaty during the siege of Medina; after twenty-five nights of siege they surrendered unconditionally and accepted the arbitration of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, who decreed the execution of the combatants and captivity of women and children.The Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq (al-Muraysi')
c. December 627 CE · Sha'ban 6 AHIn Sha'ban 6 AH (December 627 CE), the Prophet led an expedition against Banu al-Mustaliq at the watering-place of al-Muraysi' after intelligence revealed their mobilization; following a brief exchange, their forces scattered, their camp was taken, and the Prophet married Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, prompting the Muslims to free a hundred families of her clan.The Conquest of Khaybar
c. May 628 CE · Muharram 7 AHIn Muharram 7 AH (May-June 628 CE), the Prophet marched with 1,400 companions of Hudaybiyya against the formidable Jewish oasis of Khaybar; following fierce assaults and the capture of eight major fortresses (including Na'im, al-Sa'b ibn Mu'adh, al-Zubayr, Ubayy, and al-Qamus), the Jewish leaders surrendered and agreed to cultivate the land for half of its produce.The siege of Ta'if
January 630 CE · Shawwal 8 AHAfter Hunayn, the Muslims besieged the fortified town of Ta'if, home of the Thaqif; the siege was lifted without taking it, and the Thaqif accepted Islam the next year.The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)
c. 11 January 630 CE · 20 Ramadan 8 AHIn Ramadan 8 AH (January 630 CE), following Banu Bakr and Quraysh's breach of the Hudaybiyya peace at al-Watir, the Prophet mobilized 10,000 Muslims and entered Mecca in triumphant humility; dividing the army into four columns, the city was taken almost without resistance; the 360 idols around the Kaaba were shattered, and the Prophet announced a general amnesty to the populace: 'Go, for you are free'.The death of Abdullah ibn Ubayy and the Prophet's prayer over him
c. 631 CE · 9 AHSoon after the return from Tabuk in 9 AH, Abdullah ibn Ubayy — chief of the hypocrites — died; the Prophet sought forgiveness for him and prayed over him despite Umar's attempt to dissuade him, and the revelation afterwards sided with Umar's objection, forbidding prayer over such people or standing at their graves.The hypocrites' ambush at the pass on the return from Tabuk
c. January 631 CE · Ramadan 9 AHOn the return from Tabuk, twelve hypocrites — faces veiled — attempted to frighten the Prophet's camel at a steep pass; Ammar was holding its halter and Hudhayfa driving it, and Hudhayfa struck the ambushers' mounts with his staff until God terrified them into flight; the Prophet told Hudhayfa their names and their plot, whence Hudhayfa was called 'keeper of the Prophet's secret'.The expedition of Usama ibn Zayd
c. April 632 CE · Safar 11 AHIn Safar 11 AH the Prophet equipped a great army under the young Usama ibn Zayd to strike the Byzantine marches of al-Balqa' and al-Darum in Palestine — answering the empire's killing of Muslim converts; the troops camped at al-Jurf until the Prophet's illness delayed them, and the campaign was carried out under Abu Bakr.
Person
Abraha
c. 520 CEThe Aksumite governor who made himself ruler of Yemen, built the great church of San'a, and marched on Mecca with an elephant — the invader of the 'Year of the Elephant' remembered in Qur'an 105.Khosrow II
c. 570 CEThe last great Sasanian shah (590–628), whose armies took Jerusalem and reached Constantinople's walls before Heraclius broke his empire. The tradition records that he tore up the Prophet's letter — and died within months.Amr ibn al-As
c. 573 CEA Meccan diplomat who opposed the Muslims until 629–630, then converted and became the commander who conquered Egypt — and later Mu'awiya's chief ally in the first civil war.Heraclius
c. 575 CEByzantine emperor (610–641) who reconquered Jerusalem from Persia and then watched the Muslim conquest of Syria. The tradition preserves a letter from the Prophet and an audience in which Heraclius questioned Abu Sufyan.Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah
c. 583 CEAn early Qurayshi convert the Prophet called the trustworthy man of this community; he commanded the armies in Syria at the height of the conquest and died in the plague of Amwas.Umar ibn al-Khattab
c. 584 CESecond caliph (634–644); under his rule the early community conquered Syria, Egypt and much of the Sasanian Empire. Remembered in Sunni tradition as al-Faruq, the model of just rule.Khalid ibn al-Walid
c. 585 CEThe great commander on both sides of the early wars: the cavalry leader who turned the day at Uhud for the Meccans, then converted in 629 and led the Muslim armies at Mu'ta, in the Ridda wars and at the Yarmuk.Nusayba bint Ka'b (Umm Umara)
c. 590 CEAn Ansari woman of Medina who pledged at Aqaba and fought at Uhud shielding the Prophet with sword and shield — the tradition's most famous woman warrior of the first generation.Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
c. 595 CEOne of the earliest converts, an archer at Badr, and the commander who broke the Sasanian army at al-Qadisiyya about 636; founder of the garrison city of Kufa.al-Mundhir ibn Maʾ al-Samaʾ
The Lakhmid king deposed by Qubadh for refusing the Mazdakite creed, replaced by al-Harith ibn Amr al-Kindi, then restored by Khosrow Anushirwan who destroyed Mazdak and his followers.al-Nuʾman ibn al-Mundhir
The Lakhmid king of al-Hira whom Khosrow summoned after the courtier Zayd ibn Adi’s intrigue; he entrusted his family and wealth to Hani ibn Masʾud of Banu Shayban, then went to Khosrow who imprisoned him until death — the refusal to surrender that deposit ignited Dhu Qar.Amr ibn Adi ibn Nasr al-Lakhmi
The first Lakhmid king of al-Hira, appointed after Jadhima al-Abrash’s death in the reign of Shapur son of Ardashir; from him the Lakhmid kings succeeded each other until Khosrow replaced them with Persian governors.Aryat (Abraha’s predecessor in Yemen)
The commander of the seventy-thousand Abyssinian force which, armed with a Roman fleet, occupied Yemen in 525 CE; he governed for the Negus until Abraha, one of his own generals, assassinated him and ruled in his place.Badhan (last Persian governor of Yemen)
The last Persian governor (marzban) of Sanaa; his conversion to Islam in 638 CE ended Persian rule over Yemen.Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar)
The last Himyarite king before the second Abyssinian occupation: a convert to Judaism who in October 523 tried to force the Christians of Najran to apostatize and, on their refusal, dug the trench of fire — the event the Quran recalls in Surat al-Buruj.Hani ibn Masʾud al-Shaybani
The chief of Banu Shayban who kept al-Nuʾman’s family and deposit out of honor, refused to surrender them to Iyas ibn Qabisa and Khosrow, and led his tribe to victory over the Persians at Dhu Qar — the first day the Arabs routed the Persians.Iyas ibn Qabisa al-Taʾi
The Tayyi governor Khosrow set over al-Hira after imprisoning al-Nuʾman; ordered to extract the deposit from Hani ibn Masʾud, his expedition with Khosrow’s marzabans was broken by Banu Shayban at Dhu Qar; the Prophet was born in the eighth month of his governorship.Jabala ibn al-Ayham
The last Ghassanid king: after the Yarmuk defeat his dynasty’s role as Rome’s Arab wardens ended, and he entered Islam in the caliphate of Umar, later leaving it for Byzantine territory.Jadhima al-Abrash
The Arab warden appointed by Ardashir over al-Hira and the desert Arabs of Iraq and the Jazira — the Persian experiment of ruling the nomads through one of their own, which became the Lakhmid system; he died around 268 CE.Ka'b ibn Asad
The paramount leader of the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza in Medina; bound by treaty to the Prophet, he resisted Huyayy ibn Akhtab's persuasion before finally consenting to tear up the pact during the Battle of the Trench; he was judged and executed following the tribe's surrender.Marhab of Khaybar
The formidable warrior-chieftain of the Jewish community of Khaybar; renowned for his strength and poetry; advanced in double armor challenging the Muslim army before the fortress of Na'im, where he was slain in single combat by Ali ibn Abi Talib.Qusayy ibn Kilab
The Qahtani-raised Qurashi who returned to Mecca, married Hulayl’s daughter Hubba, took the custody of the Kaaba from Khuzaʾa around 440 CE after the arbitration of Yaʾmar ibn Awf, gathered Quraysh into the town’s quarters, founded Dar al-Nadwa, and held the five offices: riyasa, liwa, hijaba, siqaya and rifada.Sallam ibn Abi al-Huqayq (Abu Rafi')
A wealthy Jewish merchant of Banu al-Nadir settled in Khaybar; one of the primary instigators and financiers who traveled to Mecca and Ghatafan to forge the confederate alliance (al-Ahzab) against Medina; assassinated in his fortified residence by a Muslim covert squad led by Abdullah ibn Atik.Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan (Maʾdikarib)
The Himyarite noble who led Yemen’s liberation from Abyssinian rule with Persian help in 575 CE and was made king; his assassination by his own Abyssinian bodyguard ended the royal house of Dhu Yazan and opened direct Persian rule.
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