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Ra's al-Ayn

رأس العين

Ra's al-Ayn — that is Ayn al-Warda — of the Jazira cities on the Khabur; it resisted Iyad ibn Ghanm, and Umayr ibn Sa'd took it by force after bitter fighting under mangonels, then compounded with its people — the land theirs, four dinars' jizya on each head, no women or children taken — crying 'no harm, to me, to me' as their aman; a body of them departed and the Muslims worked and sowed their fields by land-grant.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
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Overview

Ras al-Ayn, which is the Spring of the Rose, is one of the cities of al-Jazira on the Khabur. 1 It is part of al-Jazira. See The conquest of Ras al-Ayn.

The conquest

The city held out against Iyad ibn Ghanm. Umayr ibn Sa'd conquered it by force after fierce fighting with catapults (aradat). Then he made peace with its people on the terms that the land was theirs, with the poll-tax (jizya) on heads at four dinars. Their women and children were not taken captive, and he called out to them, "No harm, come to me, come to me," as a guarantee of safety. 1

After the conquest

A number of its people departed, and the Muslims worked their lands and farmed them through land grants. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Site of
The Conquest of Ra's al-Ayn· The Byzantine entry into Ra's al-'Ayn
Part of
The Jazira

People and things also explored

The Conquest of the Jazira· War between al-Ashraf's and Jalal al-Din's armies· Battle of al-Firad (12 AH)· The Mongols enter Diyar Bakr and the Jazira· the Turkmen-Kurd war across the Jazira and Mosul· Abu Musa al-Ashari· Shabib ibn Amir· Umar ibn al-Khattab

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ra's al-Ayn”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/ras-al-ayn/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Conquest of the Jazira

In al-Baladhuri through the Raqqa judge Dawud ibn Abd al-Hamid's family from Maymun ibn Mihran: 'the whole Jazira is Iyad ibn Ghanm's conquest, after Abu Ubayda's death — Umar appointed him to it, Abu Ubayda having left him over Syria; Umar gave Syria to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan then Mu'awiya after him and ordered Iyad to raid the Jazira'; Sulayman ibn Ata says Abu Ubayda dispatched him to the Jazira and died while he was there, Umar then confirming him; al-Waqidi's report — the soundest they had on him — is that Abu Ubayda died in the Amwas plague of year 18 having appointed Iyad, and Umar's letter reached him giving him Hims, Qinnasrin and the Jazira, so he marched for the Jazira on Thursday the middle of Sha'ban year 18 in five thousand, Maysara ibn Masruq al-Absi on the vanguard, Sa'id ibn Amir ibn Hudhaym al-Jumahi on the right wing and Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal al-Sulami on the left — some say Khalid ibn al-Walid held his left wing, some that Khalid marched under no banner after Abu Ubayda, staying at Hims till his death in year 21, or dying at Medina.