|
As part of his preparations
for battle, which in fact did not take place until some days later,
Khalid decided to send a brave scout to carry out a close reconnaissance
of the Roman camp. Dhiraar volunteered for the job and was sent
forward accordingly. The youth stripped to the waist and rode up
to a little hillock not far from the centre of the Roman camp. Here
he was seen, and a body of 30 Romans rode out to catch him. As they
approached, Dhiraar began to canter back to the Muslim camp; and
when they drew nearer, Dhiraar increased his pace. His purpose was
to draw these Romans away from their camp, so that others should
not be able to come to their assistance. When he had reached a spot
between the two armies, Dhiraar turned on his pursuers and attacked
the one nearest him with his lance. After bringing him down, Dhiraar
assaulted a second and a third and a fourth and so he continued,
throughout the combat manoeuvring his horse in such a way that he
should not have to tackle more than one man at a time. Against some
he used his sword also; and it is believed that he killed 19 of
the Romans before the remainder turned and galloped back to their
camp. That night the Roman camp was full of stories of the dreaded
Naked Champion.
On his return Dhiraar was greeted with joy
by the Muslims; but Khalid looked at him sternly and rebuked him
for engaging in combat when the task given to him was reconnaissance.
To this Dhiraar replied that he was conscious of the possible disapproval
of his commander, and that but for this he would have pursued the
fleeing Romans to kill every one of them!
Following this incident, Qubuqlar, the Roman
deputy commander, sent a Christian Arab to enter the Muslim camp,
spend a day and a night with the Muslims and gather all possible
information about the strength and quality of the Muslim army. This
Christian Arab had no difficulty in entering the Muslim camp, as
he was taken for a Muslim. The following day he slipped out and
returned to Qubuqlar, who questioned him about the Muslims, "By
night they are like monks, by day like warriors", said
the spy. "If the son of their ruler were to commit theft,
they would cut off his hand; and if he were to commit adultery,
they would stone him to death. Thus they establish righteousness
among themselves."
"If what you say be true",
remarked Qubuqlar, "it would be better to be in the belly
of the earth than to meet such a people upon its surface. I wish
it were my portion from Allah to stay away from them, so that He
would not have to help either me against them or them against me."
1
Wardan, the Commander-in-Chief, was full
of fight; but Qubuqlar had lost his nerve.
Early in the morning of July 30, 634 (the
28th of Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 13 Hijri), as the men finished their morning
prayers, Khalid ordered the move to battle positions, detailed instructions
for which had been given the day before. The Muslims moved forward
and formed up for battle on the plain a few hundred yards ahead
of the camp. Khalid deployed his army facing west on a front of
about 5 miles, stretched sufficiently to prevent the more numerous
Roman army from overlapping his flanks. The army was deployed with
a centre and two strong wings. On either side of the army, next
to the wing, as an extension of the front, was positioned a flank
guard to counter any Roman attempt to envelop the Muslim flanks
or to outflank their position entirely.
The centre was placed under Muadh bin Jabal,
the left wing under Saeed bin Amir and the right wing under Abdur-Rahman,
the Caliph's son. We also know that the left flank guard was commanded
by Shurahbil, but the name of the commander of the right flank guard
is not recorded. Behind the centre, Khalid placed 4,000 men under
Yazeed, as a reserve and for the close protection of the Muslim
camp in which the women and children stayed. Khalid's place was
near the centre, where he kept a number of officers near him to
be used as champions or as commanders of groups needed for any specific
task in battle. These included Amr bin Al Aas, Dhiraar, Raafe and
Umar's son, Abdullah.
When the Romans saw the Muslims moving,
they also rushed out and began to form up in their battle positions
about half a mile from the Muslim front line. They formed up on
about the same frontage, but had much greater depth in their dispositions,
the detailed layout of which is not known. Wardan and Qubuqlar stood
surrounded by their bodyguards in the centre. The massive formations
of the Romans, carrying large crosses and banners, were an awe-inspiring
sight.
1. Tabari:
Vol. 2, p. 610.
|
