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As the masked rider returned
from his charge, he passed by Khalid, who called to him sternly
to stop. The rider pulled up his horse, and Khalid continued, "You
have done enough to fill our hearts with admiration. Who are you?"
Khalid nearly fell off his horse when he
heard the reply of the masked rider, for it was the voice of a girl!
"O commander, I only turn away from you out of modesty.
You are the glorious commander, and I am of those who stay behind
the veil. I fight like this because my heart is on fire."
"Who are you?"
"I am Khaulah, sister of Dhiraar.
My brother has been captured, and I must fight to set him free."
Khalid marvelled at the old man, Al Azwar,
who had fathered two such dauntless fighters, a boy and a girl.
"Then come and attack with us", he said. 1
The Muslim attack continued in force and
at about midday the Romans began to withdraw from the battlefield
in good order. The Muslims followed, keeping up a steady pressure,
but there was no sign of Dhiraar, dead or alive. Then, as good luck
would have it, some local Arabs came to the Muslims with the information
that they had seen 100 Romans riding to Emessa with a half-naked
man in their midst, tied to his horse. Khalid at once guessed that
Dhiraar had been sent away from the battlefield and ordered Raafe
to take 100 picked riders, move wide around the flank of the Romans,
get to the Emessa road and intercept the escort taking Dhiraar to
Emessa. Raafe at once selected 100 stalwarts and set off, accompanied,
of course, by Khaulah bint Al Azwar.
Raafe got to the Emessa road at a point
which the escort had not yet reached and waited in ambush. When
the 100 Romans arrived at this point, Raafe and his men assailed
them, killed most of the soldiers and set Dhiraar free. The Naked
Champion and his loving sister were happily reunited. The party
again made a wide detour to avoid the Roman army, and rejoined Khalid
who was very, very grateful to Raafe for rescuing Dhiraar.
Under the unrelenting pressure of the Muslims,
the Romans increased the pace of their retreat. As the Muslims struck
with greater ferocity, the retreat turned into a rout, and the Romans
took to their heels and fled in the direction of Emessa.
Khalid could not pursue the fleeing enemy
because he had to get back to Damascus. The Muslim forces investing
the city had been weakened by 9,000 men with the departure of first
Raafe's detachment and then the reinforcement of the Mobile Guard.
In case the Romans should attack in strength against any Muslim
corps, there would be a serious danger of their breaking through.
Consequently Khalid sent only a mounted regiment under Samt bin
Al Aswad to follow the Romans to Emessa. Samt got there in due course
and found that the Romans had withdrawn into the fort. The local
inhabitants of Emessa, however, approached Samt and let it be known
that they had no desire to fight the Muslims, with whom they would
make peace and even feed any soldiers quartered in their city. After
a friendly exchange of messages, Samt returned to Damascus.
Meanwhile Khalid had rejoined the Muslim
army at Damascus. He resumed command and re?established the Muslim
dispositions as they had been before the appearance of the Roman
relief column.
The news of the sad fate of the relief column
spread among the inhabitants of Damascus, and it was a grievous
blow indeed. The Damascenes had pinned their hopes on Heraclius
sending such a force to save them. Heraclius had in fact done his
best, but the hopes of the city had been shattered by Khalid's action
at Bait Lihya. Heraclius could no doubt raise more forces, but that
would take time. Meanwhile the supplies were running low and there
was no fresh ray of hope to brighten the horizon and give assurance
and strength to the people of Damascus.
1. Waqidi: p. 28.
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