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The conquests of Islam continued.
After the plague, in 18 Hijri, Ayadh again invaded the Jazeera; and by
the end of the following year had completed its subjugation, after several
battles, as far north as Samsat, Amid (now Diyar Bakr) and Bitlis. He
even raided successfully as far as Malatya. (See Map
29) News from the eastern front was just as thrilling. By the time
of Khalid's dismissal, Sad bin Abi Waqqas had conquered most of what is
now Iraq and parts of present-day South-Western Persia-Ahwaz, Tustar,
Sus. On this front further advances were made, though the last great battles
against the still formidable Persians were not fought till after Khalid's
death. In 640 (19 Hijri) Caesarea surrendered to the Muslims and Amr bin
Al Aas invaded Egypt.
Like all Muslims, Khalid gloried in the
conquests of Islam; but each victory also reminded him that he had
not taken part in the battle. The news that reached him at Emessa
was, to him, bitter-sweet. He was like an ardent lover who sees
his beloved before him but is unable to move towards her. Thus lived,
for the last few years of his life, the man whom Gibbon, in his
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, has described as "....the
fiercest and most successful of the Arabian warriors." 1
Fortunately, in Khalid's relations with
Umar there was a marked change for the better. Umar was no longer
the harsh, impetuous, hot-tempered man that he had once been. With
the burdens of the caliphate on his shoulders, he had mellowed and
grown more patient. He was still stern and puritanical, but he imposed
no burden upon others which he did not carry himself. He was strict
with the strong, kind to the weak, generous to widows and orphans.
He sat with the poor and often spent the night sleeping on the steps
of the mosque. At night he would walk the streets of Medina with
a whip in his hand, and Umar's whip was feared more than the sword
of another man. He lived on salted barley bread, dry dates and olive
oil, and allowed no better fare to his family. His clothes were
made of the poorest material, patched in many places. Unshakeable
in his resolve to do justice, he had his own son, Ubaidullah, whipped
for drinking.
Khalid, now having more time for reflection,
saw the great virtues and enviable qualities of his old rival. He
forgave him. One day he said to a visitor, "Praise be to
Allah who took Abu Bakr away. He was dearer to me than Umar. Praise
be to Allah who appointed Umar in authority He was hateful to me,
but I grew to like him." 2 This
change in attitude was so great that when he died, Khalid named
Umar as his heir, to receive whatever he left. Time, mercifully,
healed the wounds.
Khalid spent a good deal of his time thinking
of his battles, as old soldiers are wont, to do. He would relieve
the battles and duels in which he had challenged the greatest champions
of the world and made them bite the dust. He was naturally proud
of his victories, but there was no vanity or conceit in Khalid's
mind. He attributed his victories to the help of Allah and to his
red cap, in which was woven the hair of the Holy Prophet. When not
thinking of his battles, his mind would be occupied by memories
of his fellow generals-Abu Ubaidah, Sharhabeel, Yazeed, Amr bin
Al Aas; and his valiant champions like Abdur-Rahman bin Abi Bakr,
Raafe bin Umairah and the incomparable Dhiraar bin Al Azwar, whose
feats of skill and daring, like his own, would glow for ever in
the pages of history. He did not, however, know his place in history
as we do now.
Khalid was the most versatile soldier history
has ever known-a true military genius. He had the strategical vision
of a Changez Khan and a Napoleon, the tactical brilliance of a Timur
and a Frederick the Great, and the individual strength and prowess
of the half-legendary Rustam of Persia. In no other case in history
do we see such diverse military virtues combined in one man. Khalid
was one of only two great generals in history who never suffered
a defeat. The other was Changez Khan, but Changez Khan was not a
champion fighter like Khalid, even though his conquests covered
a far greater region of the earth. Combined with Khalid's strategical
and tactical genius was the extreme violence of his methods. To
him a battle was not just a neat manoeuvre leading to a military
victory, but an action of total violence ending in the total annihilation
of the enemy. The manoeuvre was only an instrument for bringing
about the enemy's destruction.
1. While some sources have stated that Khalid
fought under Ayadh in the Jazeera, most early historians have quoted
other sources to indicate that after death of Abu Ubaidah, Khalid
did not serve under anyone. I accept the latter version as correct.
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 598.
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