Heraclius now, at last, was thoroughly aroused. It was but a few years before that he had gloriously repulsed the Chosroes; but after that he had relapsed into the inactivity of earlier years. Tidings of the invasion—a fresh irruption, as it would seem, of barbarians from the south instead of from the north—awakened him from his lethargy. Repairing to Hims, he gathered together an immense force, and sent it, in separate divisions, to stem the advancing tide. The largest of these, numbering (tradition tells us) 90,000 men, was commanded by his brother Theodoric.[157] The Moslems were alarmed at the formidable array, and they consulted how to meet it. Amru urged his brother generals to gather all into one body.—‘For how,’ he sent to say, ‘can our scanty numbers, divided and apart, encounter these mighty hosts?’ The Saracen generals resolve to draw together.To this they agreed, and Abu Bekr, who had constant tidings of their progress, was of the same mind. ‘Draw ye all together,’ was his command, ‘by the banks of the Yermûk. Ye are the Lord’s host, and shall surely put the enemy to flight. Such as you shall not be discomfited by reason of the fewness of your numbers. Tens of thousands are smitten in battle because of their sins. Wherefore, do ye eschew sin. Let every man stand close by his fellow. So shall the Lord give you the victory.’
Romans and Moslems face each other at Wacûsa on the Yermûk. Safar, A.H. XIII. April, A.D. 634.
Acting on this counsel, the four columns concentrated to the south of the Yermûk, near where it was crossed by the military road from Damascus. The Romans, suiting their tactics to the change, also drew together, and, under command of Theodoric, pitched their camp on the northern bank of the river. The place was singular. The Yermûk, taking its rise in the high lands of the Haurân, and fed by many affluents, is a large and swift stream. In its lower course it runs, far below the level of the plain, in a deep and rugged gorge, through which its waters, rapidly descending to the Ghôr, fall into the Jordan at Gadara, below the Lake of Galilee. The battle-ground was probably 30 or 40 miles above the junction. Here the stream, fetching a compass, formed on the northern bank a great plain,—the plain of Wacûsa, bounded on three sides by a sheer precipice. The remaining side was hemmed in by a ravine which nearly closed the circuit. A narrow neck was left for entrance, across which the military road passing, formed the key of the position. The Romans were tempted by the wide expanse of level ground, which offered room for their great camp, and was secure on every side. Advancing, therefore, from the north, they entered this plain, and spread themselves out upon it. Thereupon the Moslems crossed the river, and encamped also on the northern bank, upon another plain adjoining the neck; thus they commanded the road, and threatened the exit of the enemy. Amru, seeing this, rejoiced and said: ‘Be of good cheer, my friends; the Romans are shut in, and few that are shut in escape.’[158] A desultory warfare ensued without any definite result. The Romans often formed up in force, and as often were driven back; but the ravine was to them a strong protection, and the Arabs gained no material advantage. In such indecisive skirmishing two months passed away, and the armies remained still facing one another.[159]
Khâlid transferred to Syria.
Abu Bekr became anxious at the delay, and at the urgent appeals that came to him for reinforcements. It was not so much the poverty of numbers, as the lack of fire and military genius that disquieted him. Abu Obeida was mild and kindly even to timidity; Amru an able counsellor, but lacking military dash. The mettle of none of the generals had yet been fully tested; and their independence one of another, in the absence of a general-in-chief, while it gave opportunity to each, had a paralysing effect on all. When, therefore, the cry reached Medîna for help, the Caliph exclaimed: ‘Khâlid, son of Welîd, is the man for this! By him, with the help of the Lord, shall the machinations of Satan and the Romans be overthrown.’ The stealthy pilgrimage of Khâlid had come to his knowledge, and he now marked his displeasure by indirectly hinting at it in the order for his deputation to Syria, which ran as follows: ‘Depart and join thyself unto the armies of the Faithful on the Yermûk, for they are downcast and forlorn. But beware that thou return not again to do what thou hast done. The Lord helping, thy removal shall not dishearten thy followers in Irâc. Go forward then, Father of Suleimân, high resolve and success attend thee! Fill up the measure of the Lord’s benefits upon mankind, and He shall fulfil the same unto thee. Have a care lest the world and the flesh ensnare thee, so that thou stumble and thy works perish. The Lord doth recompense!’[160]
Khâlid, with reinforcements from Irâc, sets out for Syria.
This order at the first disconcerted Khâlid. He set it down to Omar, who, envying him the conquest of Irâc, would thus, on the eve of accomplishment, snatch it from his hand. There was too much reason for the fear; but had Abu Bekr lived, it would have been otherwise, for his order continued thus:—‘Take with thee half the army, and leave Mothanna half. Safar, A.H. XIII. April, A.D. 634.When the Lord shall have given thee victory in Syria, then thou shalt return with the troops to thy command in Irâc.’ Reconciled by this assurance, and loyal to his chief, Khâlid set to work at once, and began by selecting the ‘Companions’ and flower of the force to accompany him. Mothanna insisted that the division should be equal both in kind and number, and protested that he would not be responsible for the safety of Irâc unless it was effected fairly. He was conciliated by getting back a goodly portion of the veterans. The strength of either moiety is put at 9,000.[161] The spring was far advanced when Khâlid marched. Mothanna accompanied him to the border of the desert, and, taking a last farewell of the great general whom he had served so loyally, retraced his steps to Hîra.
Khâlid marches across the Syrian desert;
The Syrian desert lay between Khâlid and his new sphere of action. He could not take the northern route, because of hostile tribes and Roman garrisons; therefore, turning south by Ain Tamar, he crossed the second time the Nefûd—that strange and tumbled red sea of sand—to the north of the mountains of the Beni Tay, and halted at Dûma.[162] Thence he took the direct road to Syria, along the Wady Sirhân; and surprising Corâcar, a settlement of the Beni Kelb lying half way, he plundered it. Keeping the same route, he would in a few days have reached Bostra. But he feared the Roman garrisons, lest they should check him on that road, and hinder his junction with the Moslem army. He formed, therefore, the bold design of striking right across the Syrian desert to the north, emerging at Tadmor, and so turning the Roman flank. A council of war was held, and a Bedouin, well versed in the desert, set before them. ‘There is but one track,’ said the guide, ‘a track so bare, and for five days so waterless, that even single horsemen shun it, lest they perish by the way.’ ‘By the same way shall we go,’ was Khâlid’s prompt resolve; and when expostulated with on the wild and perilous attempt, he answered that, with Divine aid and firm resolve, nothing was wild and nothing perilous. The words fired his followers with the same adventurous zeal, and the project was by acclamation carried. ‘Do this then,’ said the guide, ‘if ye be bent upon the enterprise. Gather as many camels as ye can; make them thirsty by withholding water for a while; then let them drink plentifully, and again a second time; afterwards, bind their ears and slit their lips so that they ruminate not. So haply may your water last.’ At each stage across the wilderness, ten such camels were slain for every troop of a hundred lances. The water drawn from them was mixed with milk for the horses. The men were given but a single draught each day. On the fifth day a shudder crept over the host. The supply was at an end. They had reached the neighbourhood, marked by two hills on the right hand and on the left, where water should have been, but the signs were wanting, and the guide was at fault. After casting anxiously about in all directions, he cried in despair—‘Search for the bramble bush; the bramble should be here; if ye find it not, we are lost.’ So they searched all around. At last they came upon a half-concealed root, and raising the Takbîr, shouted ‘Great is the Lord!’ Rushing to the spot, they dug down into the ground, and found a plentiful supply of water.[163]
and effects a junction with the Syrian army. Rabi II. or Jumâd I. June or July.