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Siege of Jerusalem (637)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Jerusalem was a part of a military conflict which took place in the year 637 between the Byzantine Empire
and the Rashidun Caliphate
. It began when the Rashidun army, under the command of Abu Ubaidah
, besieged Jerusalem in November 636. After six months, the Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender, on condition that he submit only to the Rashidun caliph
. In April 637, Caliph Umar
traveled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city.
The Muslim conquest of the city solidified Saracen control over Palestine
, control which would not again be threatened until the Crusades
in the late 11th through the 13th centuries. Thus, it came to be regarded as a holy site by Islam
, as well as by Christianity
and Judaism
. After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, Jews were allowed to live and practice their religion freely in Jerusalem by Caliph Umar – after nearly 500 years of expulsion from the Holy Land
by the Romans
.
under Shahrbaraz
during the last of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persians looted the city, and are said to have massacred its 90,000 Christian
inhabitants. It was believed that the Jews, who were persecuted in their Roman-controlled homeland, aided the Persians. The True Cross
was captured and taken to Ctesiphon
as a battle-captured holy relic
; it was later bought back to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius after he was victorious against the Persians.
Prophet Mohammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Caliph Abu Bakr
, who established sovereignty over Arabia after a series of campaigns known as the Ridda Wars
. Once his authority in Arabia was consolidated, he initiated a war of conquest in the east by invading Iraq, then a province of the Sassanid Persian Empire
; and on the western front, his armies invaded the Byzantine Empire.
In 634, Abu Bakr died and was succeeded by Umar, who continued his own war of conquest. In May 636, Emperor Heraclius
launched a major expedition to regain the lost territory, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk
in August 636. Thereafter, Abu Ubaidah, the Muslim Commander in Chief of the Rashidun army in Syria
, held a council of war in early October 636 to discuss future plans. Opinions of objectives varied between the coastal city of Caesarea and Jerusalem. Abu Ubaidah could see the importance of both these cities, which had resisted all Muslim attempts at capture. Unable to decide on the matter, he wrote to Caliph Umar for instructions. In his reply, the caliph ordered them to capture the latter. Accordingly, Abu Ubaidah marched towards Jerusalem from Jabiya, with Khalid ibn Walid and his Mobile guard
leading the advance. The Muslims arrived at Jerusalem around early November, and the Byzantine garrison withdrew into the fortified city.
Sophronius repaired its defenses. The Muslims had so far not attempted any siege of the city. However, since 634, Saracen forces had the potential to threaten all routes to the city. Although it was not encircled, it had been in a state of a siege since the Muslims captured the neighboring forts of Pella
and Bosra
. After the Battle of Yarmouk, the city was severed from the rest of Syria, and was presumably being prepared for a siege that seemed inevitable. When the Muslim army reached Jericho
, Sophronius collected all the holy relics including the True Cross
, and secretly sent them to the coast, to be taken to Constantinople
. The Muslim troops besieged the city some time in November 636. Instead of relentless assaults on the city, they decided to press on with the siege until the Byzantines ran short of supplies and a bloodless surrender could be negotiated.
Although details of the siege were not recorded, it appeared to be bloodless. The Byzantine garrison could not expect any help from the humbled regime of Heraclius. After a siege of four months, Sophronius offered to surrender the city and pay a jizya
(tribute), on condition that the caliph came to Jerusalem to sign the pact and accept the surrender. It is said that when Sophronius' terms became known to the Muslims, Shurahbil ibn Hassana, one of the Muslim commanders, suggested that instead of waiting for the caliph to come all the way from Madinah, Khalid ibn Walid should be sent forward as the caliph, as he was very similar in appearance to Umar. The subterfuge did not work. Possibly, Khalid was too famous in Syria, or there may have been Christian Arabs in the city who had visited Madinah and had seen both Umar and Khalid, remembering the differences. Consequently, the Patriarch of Jerusalem refused to negotiate. When Khalid reported the failure of this mission, Abu Ubaidah wrote to caliph Umar about the situation, and invited him to come to Jerusalem to accept the surrender of the city.
In early April 637, Umar arrived in Palestine and went first to Jabiya, where he was received by Abu Ubaidah, Khalid and Yazid
, who had traveled with an escort to receive him. Amr was left as commander of the besieging Muslim army.
Upon Umar's arrival in Jerusalem, a pact known as The Umariyya Covenant was drawn up. It surrendered the city and gave guarantees of civil and religious liberty to Christians in exchange for jizya. It was signed by caliph Umar on behalf of the Muslims, and witnessed by Khalid, Amr, Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muawiyah. In late April 637, Jerusalem was officially surrendered to the caliph.
Umar allowed Jews to live in Jerusalem. It was first time, after almost 500 years of oppressive rule of the Romans, that Jews were allowed to enter and worship freely in their holy city.
It has been recorded in the annals of Muslim chronicles, that at the time of the Zuhr prayers, Sophronius invited Umar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Umar declined, fearing that accepting the invitation might endanger the church's status as a Christian temple, and that Muslims might break the treaty and turn the temple into a mosque. After staying for ten days at Jerusalem, the caliph returned to Medina.
Following the Caliph's instructions, Yazid proceeded to Caesarea, and once again laid siege to the port city. Amr and Shurahbil marched to complete the occupation of Palestine, a task that was completed by the end of the year. Caesarea however, could not be taken until 640, when at last, the garrison laid down its arms before Muawiyah I
, then a governor of Syria. With an army of 17,000 men, Abu Ubaidah and Khalid set off from Jerusalem to conquer all of northern Syria
. This ended with the conquest of Antioch
in late 637. In 639, the Muslims invaded and conquered Egypt
.
During his stay in Jerusalem, Umar was led to the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount
. This is the Rock from where, according to later Muslim traditions, Prophet Mohammad had ascended with the Angel Gabriel
in his night journey to heaven, known as "Isra and Mi'raj
". As Umar cleared the refuse and debris from the site of the Holy of Holies
, a large rock was revealed. Even more of the rock was exposed through further cleaning. Umar built a fence around it and ordered the building of a mosque nearby.
According to the Gallic bishop Arculf
, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar
was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins, which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers. Later, on this Rock, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of the Dome of the Rock
in the late 7th century.
The 10th century historian al-Muqaddasi
wrote, that Abd al-Malik built the shrine in order to compete in grandeur with the city's monumental churches. Over the next 400 years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Saracen powers in the region jockeyed for control. Jerusalem remained under Muslim rule until it was captured by Crusaders in 1099
.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...
. It began when the Rashidun army, under the command of Abu Ubaidah
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah
Amir ibn `Abdullah ibn al-Jarrah , more commonly known as Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, was one of the ten companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who were promised Paradise as mentioned in early Islamic historical accounts and records...
, besieged Jerusalem in November 636. After six months, the Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender, on condition that he submit only to the Rashidun caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
. In April 637, Caliph Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
traveled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city.
The Muslim conquest of the city solidified Saracen control over Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, control which would not again be threatened until the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
in the late 11th through the 13th centuries. Thus, it came to be regarded as a holy site by Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, as well as by Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, Jews were allowed to live and practice their religion freely in Jerusalem by Caliph Umar – after nearly 500 years of expulsion from the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
Prelude
Jerusalem was an important city of the Byzantine province of Palestina prima. Just 23 years prior to the Muslim conquest, in 614, it fell to an invading Sassanid armySassanid army
The birth of the Sassanid army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I , the founder of the Sassanid dynasty, to the throne. Ardashir aimed at the revival of the Persian Empire, and to further this aim, he reformed the military by forming a standing army which was under his personal command and whose...
under Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz or Shahrwaraz was a general, with the rank of Eran Spahbod under Khosrau II . His name was Farrokhan, and Shahrbaraz was his title...
during the last of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persians looted the city, and are said to have massacred its 90,000 Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
inhabitants. It was believed that the Jews, who were persecuted in their Roman-controlled homeland, aided the Persians. The True Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
was captured and taken to Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
as a battle-captured holy relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
; it was later bought back to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius after he was victorious against the Persians.
Prophet Mohammad died in 632 and was succeeded by Caliph Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, who established sovereignty over Arabia after a series of campaigns known as the Ridda Wars
Ridda wars
The Ridda wars , also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military campaigns against the rebellion of several Arabian tribes launched by the Caliph Abu Bakr during 632 and 633 AD, after prophet Muhammad died....
. Once his authority in Arabia was consolidated, he initiated a war of conquest in the east by invading Iraq, then a province of the Sassanid Persian Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
; and on the western front, his armies invaded the Byzantine Empire.
In 634, Abu Bakr died and was succeeded by Umar, who continued his own war of conquest. In May 636, Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
launched a major expedition to regain the lost territory, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border...
in August 636. Thereafter, Abu Ubaidah, the Muslim Commander in Chief of the Rashidun army in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, held a council of war in early October 636 to discuss future plans. Opinions of objectives varied between the coastal city of Caesarea and Jerusalem. Abu Ubaidah could see the importance of both these cities, which had resisted all Muslim attempts at capture. Unable to decide on the matter, he wrote to Caliph Umar for instructions. In his reply, the caliph ordered them to capture the latter. Accordingly, Abu Ubaidah marched towards Jerusalem from Jabiya, with Khalid ibn Walid and his Mobile guard
Mobile guard
The Mobile Guard was an elite light cavalry regiment of Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Syria, under the command of Khalid ibn Walid...
leading the advance. The Muslims arrived at Jerusalem around early November, and the Byzantine garrison withdrew into the fortified city.
Siege
Jerusalem had been well-fortified after Heraclius recaptured it from the Persians. After the Byzantine defeat at Yarmouk, Patriarch of JerusalemGreek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III...
Sophronius repaired its defenses. The Muslims had so far not attempted any siege of the city. However, since 634, Saracen forces had the potential to threaten all routes to the city. Although it was not encircled, it had been in a state of a siege since the Muslims captured the neighboring forts of Pella
Pella
Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...
and Bosra
Bosra
Bosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
. After the Battle of Yarmouk, the city was severed from the rest of Syria, and was presumably being prepared for a siege that seemed inevitable. When the Muslim army reached Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, Sophronius collected all the holy relics including the True Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
, and secretly sent them to the coast, to be taken to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. The Muslim troops besieged the city some time in November 636. Instead of relentless assaults on the city, they decided to press on with the siege until the Byzantines ran short of supplies and a bloodless surrender could be negotiated.
Although details of the siege were not recorded, it appeared to be bloodless. The Byzantine garrison could not expect any help from the humbled regime of Heraclius. After a siege of four months, Sophronius offered to surrender the city and pay a jizya
Jizya
Under Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
(tribute), on condition that the caliph came to Jerusalem to sign the pact and accept the surrender. It is said that when Sophronius' terms became known to the Muslims, Shurahbil ibn Hassana, one of the Muslim commanders, suggested that instead of waiting for the caliph to come all the way from Madinah, Khalid ibn Walid should be sent forward as the caliph, as he was very similar in appearance to Umar. The subterfuge did not work. Possibly, Khalid was too famous in Syria, or there may have been Christian Arabs in the city who had visited Madinah and had seen both Umar and Khalid, remembering the differences. Consequently, the Patriarch of Jerusalem refused to negotiate. When Khalid reported the failure of this mission, Abu Ubaidah wrote to caliph Umar about the situation, and invited him to come to Jerusalem to accept the surrender of the city.
Surrender
Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan
Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan was one of the companions of Muhammad.-Biography:Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan was the son of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, he was the brother of Muawiya I. Not to be confused with Yazid ibn Muawiya who was the caliph during which Imam Hussain was killed...
, who had traveled with an escort to receive him. Amr was left as commander of the besieging Muslim army.
Upon Umar's arrival in Jerusalem, a pact known as The Umariyya Covenant was drawn up. It surrendered the city and gave guarantees of civil and religious liberty to Christians in exchange for jizya. It was signed by caliph Umar on behalf of the Muslims, and witnessed by Khalid, Amr, Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muawiyah. In late April 637, Jerusalem was officially surrendered to the caliph.
Umar allowed Jews to live in Jerusalem. It was first time, after almost 500 years of oppressive rule of the Romans, that Jews were allowed to enter and worship freely in their holy city.
It has been recorded in the annals of Muslim chronicles, that at the time of the Zuhr prayers, Sophronius invited Umar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Umar declined, fearing that accepting the invitation might endanger the church's status as a Christian temple, and that Muslims might break the treaty and turn the temple into a mosque. After staying for ten days at Jerusalem, the caliph returned to Medina.
Aftermath
Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
, then a governor of Syria. With an army of 17,000 men, Abu Ubaidah and Khalid set off from Jerusalem to conquer all of northern Syria
Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of Syria occurred in the first half of the 7th century, and refers to the region known as the Bilad al-Sham, the Levant, or Greater Syria...
. This ended with the conquest of Antioch
Battle of Iron bridge
The Battle of Iron Bridge was fought between the Muslim Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 AD. The battle was fought near a nine-arch stone bridge spanning the River Orontes, from which the battle took its name. The campaigns in Anatolia were undertaken after the decisive Rashidun...
in late 637. In 639, the Muslims invaded and conquered Egypt
Muslim conquest of Egypt
At the commencement of the Muslims conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian Empire under Khosrau II...
.
During his stay in Jerusalem, Umar was led to the Foundation Stone on the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
. This is the Rock from where, according to later Muslim traditions, Prophet Mohammad had ascended with the Angel Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
in his night journey to heaven, known as "Isra and Mi'raj
Isra and Mi'raj
The Isra and Mi'raj , are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islamic tradition, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. It has been described as both a physical and spiritual journey...
". As Umar cleared the refuse and debris from the site of the Holy of Holies
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur...
, a large rock was revealed. Even more of the rock was exposed through further cleaning. Umar built a fence around it and ordered the building of a mosque nearby.
According to the Gallic bishop Arculf
Arculf
Arculf , was a Frankish Bishop who toured the Levant in around 680. Bede claimed he was a bishop , who, according to Bede's history of the Church in England , was shipwrecked on the shore of Iona, Scotland on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and was hospitably received by Adamnan, the...
, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar
Mosque of Omar (Jerusalem)
Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem is located opposite the southern courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Muristan. After the Siege of Jerusalem by the Rashidun army under the command of Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Patriarch Sophronius refused to surrender except to the Caliph Omar himself....
was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins, which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers. Later, on this Rock, the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of the Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
in the late 7th century.
The 10th century historian al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...
wrote, that Abd al-Malik built the shrine in order to compete in grandeur with the city's monumental churches. Over the next 400 years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Saracen powers in the region jockeyed for control. Jerusalem remained under Muslim rule until it was captured by Crusaders in 1099
Siege of Jerusalem (1099)
The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders stormed and captured the city from Fatimid Egypt.-Background:...
.
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(1998). City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem Publisher, University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
, ISBN 0520207688. - Edward GibbonEdward GibbonEdward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
(1862), The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 6. J.D. Morris Publishers. - Gil, Moshe (February 1997). A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
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, al-Fath al-Qussi fi-l-Fath al-Qudsi. - Lewis, BernardBernard LewisBernard Lewis, FBA is a British-American historian, scholar in Oriental studies, and political commentator. He is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University...
(2002, sixth edition) The Arabs in History Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, ISBN 0192803107. - Nicolle, DavidDavid NicolleDavid C. Nicolle is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular in the Middle East....
(1994), Yarmuk 636 A.D.: The Muslim Conquest of Syria.Osprey PublishingOsprey PublishingOsprey Publishing is an Oxford-based publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces over a dozen ongoing series, each focusing on a specific aspect of...
, ISBN 1855324148 - Runciman, Steven (1987, second edition), A History of the Crusades: The First Crusade. Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
: London, ISBN 9780521347709