• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BATTLE OF YARMOUK (YARMOUK BATTLEFIELD)

December 7, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Kafir-Ul-Ma, Syria (636 AD)

The Battle of Yarmouk was the first major clash between the nascent Islamic Caliphate and ancient Byzentine Empire.  Because it opened up the Mediterranean world to further Muslim conquests, it was also one of the most important battles of the early Middle Ages.  It pitted two of the greatest military leaders of the time against each other: Emperor Heraclius and Caliph Umar, each of whom had just won immense victories against the powerful Sassanid Empire.  The Muslim victory at Yarmouk essentially set the stage for the total hegemony of Islam in the Middle East and North Africa that persists to the present day.

History

The 630s were among the most turbulent and critical years in the history of the Middle East.  In 629, the Byzantine Empire had just delivered a crushing defeat against the Sassanid Empire in Persia, the latest (and as it turned out the last) in a series of wars between the Roman west and Persian east that stretched back nearly eight centuries.  This allowed the Byzantines to re-annex all of their lost territory in the eastern Mediterranean.

Unfortunately, it also severely weakened the Sassanid Empire at the worst possible time.  A new threat had gathered to the south, a frontier which had never before given the Persians much pause for thought.  In 632, the Arabian Peninsula was consolidated into a single Islamic realm under the first caliph, Abu Bakr.  Almost immediately, the caliph hurled his army northwards in a war of conquest.  Under the brilliant general Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Muslims crushed all Sassanid opposition and conquered the entire region of what is now Iraq in less than a year.

With barely a pause, the whirlwind campaign of conquest then proceeded against the Byzantines.  The suddenness of the arrival and ferocity of this hitherto unknown enemy, as well as the collapse of the Sassanid Empire, took the Byzantines completely by surprise.  In 634 Damascus fell, and the Muslim army now threatened Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor.  The Byzantines mustered a huge army, greatly outnumbering the Arab forces, to meet the threat.

The two forces met on the plains of Yarmouk, beginning a six-day battle which was one of the best recorded in medieval history.  The tide of the battle turned several times, with heavy casualties on both sides.  However, on the sixth day, the Muslim cavalry outmaneuvered and smashed the Byzantine cavalry, then routed and annihilated the imperial infantry forces.  The overwhelming Arab victory was the high point of Khalid ibn al-Walid’s career and marked the beginning of the decline of the Eastern Empire.

Visiting

The Yarmouk site actually consists of several battlefields spread out over a large area.  The vicinity of the battlefield is now home to small villages, but is otherwise largely pristine and looks much as it did in the seventh century.  Unfortunately, the site of the battle is not well marked, though it is close to the road from Damascus to Amman which passes through the area.

The Yarmouk Battlefield is located on the south side of the Yarmouk River in southern Syria close to the border of Jordan andthe Sea of Galilee, approximately forty miles south of Damascus.  As of this writing no visitor information was available.  Web: www.visit-syria.com (official tourism website of Syria).

Filed Under: Battlefield Tagged With: Syria/Jordan/Lebanon

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2025 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.