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Umar confirmed the various
corps commanders in the roles allotted to them by Abu Bakr. Amr
bin Al Aas would command in Palestine, Yazeed in Damascus, Shurahbil
in Jordan and Abu Ubaidah in Emessa-after it was taken. These roles
included not only the military command of the various corps, but
also political control over the provinces. Thus, for instance, Shurahbil
was not only the corps commander for operations in Jordan but also
the governor of the District of Jordan. And yet Abu Ubaidah remained
the Commander-in-Chief of the army as a whole, although he would
command the army only when the corps fought together against the
Romans. For Khalid there was no role. By the order of Umar he would
operate under Abu Ubaidah, and the latter confirmed him as the commander
of the corps of Iraq which included the Mobile Guard. In military
status Khalid was equal to the other corps commanders; but politically
he was now a nobody.
There was inevitably a slowdown in the pace
of operations. Abu Ubaidah was a great man and personally a fearless
and skilful fighter. Over the next few years he would also become
a good general as a result of Khalid's coaching. He would rely heavily
on the advice of Khalid, whom he kept beside him as much as possible,
but he never possessed the strategic vision or the tactical perception
of Khalid. More often than not, he would hold councils of war or
write to Madinah to seek the Caliph's decision regarding his next
objective. Whereas Khalid would rush like a tornado from battle
to battle, using surprise, audacity and violence to win his battles,
Abu Ubaidah would move slowly and steadily. Yet, he too would win
his battles.
With this new arrangement, with the mutual
respect and affection between Abu Ubaidah and Khalid unimpaired,
and with Khalid throwing the great weight of his genius behind the
new Commander-in-Chief, the conquest of Syria continued.
1. Waqidi:
p. 66.
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 658.
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