The Conquest of Caesarea

Then was the conquest of Caesarea, which took place in 15 AH. Caesarea was a coastal town of Syria, which was situated at a distance of three days’ travel from Tiberias. There are various narrations regarding when this battle took place; one narration states it took place in 15 AH; according to a second narration it took place in 16 AH; a third narration puts it to have taken place in 19 AH, and according to a fourth narration it took place in 20 AH.

(Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2, Sanah 19 AH [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1987], p. 511) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 4, p. 478, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah)

Nonetheless, when Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) was making great advancements across the Byzantine occupied Levant, Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Al-Aas and Hazrat Shurahbil (ra) bin Hasanah were trying to defeat the Byzantine forces that had gathered in Palestine. However, this was not an easy task. These forces heavily outnumbered the Muslims and were well-equipped. They were led by the most experienced Byzantine commander Atrabun, whose vision and war strategy were unparalleled in all the land. He thought that the army ought to be scattered to various places so that the rule and authority remained exclusively his. Also, that if the Arabs overcame some of these contingents, the other parts of the army would remain unaffected. Thus, he left a large army in Ramlah and Iliya and smaller contingents to support them in Gaza, Sebastia, Nablus, Lod and Yafa‘.

Thereafter, he remained in wait for the Arab army. He was convinced that he had the strength to defeat the Arabs and weaken their power. Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Al-Aas understood the delicate situation and thought that if his entire army was to come up against Atrabun, then the Byzantine forces would all unite with one another and subsequently his army will not be able to defeat them. In fact, the Byzantines may even overcome them. Hence, he wrote a letter to inform Hazrat Umar (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra) instructed Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (ra) to send his brother, Muawiyah (ra) to take control over Caesarea, so that it would not be possible for Atrabun to receive any support from the coastal route. In the letter addressed to Amir Muawiyah (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra) wrote, “I appoint you as the Amir of Caesarea. You must go there and seek the help of Allah against them and recite:

لَا‭ ‬حَوْلَ‭ ‬وَلَاقُوَةَّ‭ ‬اِلَّا‭ ‬بِاللّٰهِ‭ ‬الْعَلِيِّ‭ ‬الْعَظِيْم‬‬‬‬‬‬

“[There is no scheme nor any power except with the help of Allah, the Great] and:

اَللّٰهُ رَبُّنَا وَثِقَتُنَا وَرَجَاؤُنَا وَمَوْلٰنَا، نِعْمَ الْمَوْلٰی وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيْرُ

Meaning, “It is through Allah alone that one can acquire the strength to refrain from sin and perform virtuous deeds for He is the Most Lofty, the Great. He is our Lord and in Him we place all our trust and hope. He is our Master and what a great Master He is indeed and He is our Helper.”

It is written in Al-Farooq that amongst the Muslims, it was Amr (ra) bin Al-Aas who first launched an attack in Caesarea in 13 AH and despite a prolonged siege, they were unable to gain victory. After the demise of Abu Ubaidah (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra) appointed Yazid (ra) bin Abi Sufyan in his place and instructed him to go to Caesarea. He went along with 17,000 soldiers and laid siege of the city; however, in 18 AH, when he fell ill, he appointed his brother, Amir Muawiyah (ra) in his place and went to Damascus where he passed away.

Caesarea is situated on the coast of the Levantine Sea and is counted amongst the provinces of Palestine. Today, it is completely uninhabited; however previously, it was a huge city and according to Al-Baladhuri, it had 300 bazaars and a huge Byzantine army was appointed to safeguard it. At the edge of the coast, they also had a very strong fort which posed a great danger for others. Hazrat Muawiyah (ra) arrived in Caesarea and laid siege. The Byzantines would launch an attack on the Islamic army but would face defeat and retreat to its trenches. Eventually, when the siege was prolonged, the enemy came forth for an all-out battle; however, they suffered such a devastating defeat that 80,000 soldiers of theirs were killed on the battlefield. Including those who ran away, this figure reached 100,000.

After the conquest of Caesarea and the destruction of its army, the Muslims were at ease from this direction and felt secure because the Byzantines could no longer receive reinforcement from this route. Hazrat Muawiyah (ra) sent the news of the victory along with one-fifth of the spoils of war [Khums] to Hazrat Umar (ra). According to one other narration, Hazrat Amir Muawiyah (ra) laid a siege with a lot of equipment and weaponry.

On numerous occasions, the people of the city came out from their fort to fight, but each time they faced defeat. However, they could still not take complete control over the city. One day, a Jewish man by the name of Yusuf, came to Amir Muawiyah (ra) and showed him a tunnel which lead right through the city and right up to the door of the fort. Subsequently, a few brave men reached the fort through the tunnel and opened the door of the fort and with this the entire army launched an attack and attained victory.

Hazrat Ubadah (ra) bin Samit is among the companions who took part in the Battle of Badr and also took part in this battle. His brave efforts during the Battle of Caesarea have been mentioned as follows:

Upon the siege of Caesarea, Hazrat Ubadah (ra) bin Samit was the commander of the right flank of the Muslim army. He stood up in order to grant counsel to his men and commanded them to refrain from committing sin and to constantly assess their conditions. He then proceeded forth with a large group of Mujahideen and they killed many of the Byzantine soldiers, but they were still unable to properly accomplish their objective. Hence, he returned to his original post and once again encouraged his fellow men to go all out for battle. But despite launching an attack with a huge army of men, he was greatly surprised to have returned without accomplishing their objective. He then stated:

“O ye Muslims! Among the leaders appointed on the occasion of the Bai‘at al-Aqabah, I was the youngest. I have lived the longest among them and Allah the Almighty decreed that I remain alive to the extent that I am now fighting against the enemy along with you.

“I swear by Him in Whose hands is my life, whenever I have taken a party of believers to launch an attack against the idolaters, they left the battlefield, we triumphed and we were granted victory over them by Allah the Almighty. What has happened on this occasion that you could not overcome them having launched an attack on them?”

Then he expressed his fear in relation to this incident in the following words:

“I fear two things in relation to you. Either someone from among you is a traitor or when you launched an attack, you were not sincere.” Either someone from among them was guilty of treachery or they were not sincere at the time of launching the attack.

Thereafter, he instructed them to seek the station of martyrdom with absolute sincerity. He then said, “I will remain at the forefront and will not move back until Allah the Almighty grants us victory or the station of martyrdom.”

Subsequently, when the Byzantines and Muslims came up against each other in battle, Hazrat Ubadah (ra) bin Samit dismounted from his horse and began to walk on foot.

When Umair bin Saad Ansari saw him walking on foot, he spread the news that the leader of the Muslim army was fighting on foot and stated that everyone should follow suit. Following this, they all tremendously fought against the Byzantines and pushed them back to the point that they fled and took refuge in their fortresses. The way the Arabs took control of Caesarea, in the same manner was Gaza conquered. The Muslims had taken control of Gaza once before as well during the era of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra), but later they had to leave from there. When both these frontier regions were in the control of the Muslims, Hazrat Amr (ra) bin Al-Aas felt at ease from any danger arising from the coastal side.

(Sayyiduna Umar Farooq A‘zam, Muhammad Husain Haikal, [translated], pp. 357-359, Islami Kutub Khana, Lahore) (Sirat Amir-il-Mu‘minin Umar bin al-Khattab (ra), Al-Salabi, pp. 735-736, 744-745, Dar al-Isha‘ah Karachi, 1991)