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The most significant feature
of the battlefield was the existence of the two ravines-the Wadi-ur-Raqqad
and the Yarmuk River. Both had banks 1,000 feet high, and while
the steepness of the banks was sufficient to make the ravines serious
obstacles to movement, they were made even more frightening by the
precipices which lined the banks along most of their length. These
precipices were sometimes at the bottom, sometimes at the top and
sometimes half-way up the bank and created sheer, vertical drops
100 to 200 feet in height. Near the junction of the two ravines,
the banks became steeper and the precipices higher-a fearful prospect
for anyone who had to cross in haste.
The only dominating tactical feature on
the plain of Yarmuk was one named on maps as the Hill of Samain,
3 miles southwest of the present village of Nawa. There was also
the Hill of Jabiya, north-west of Nawa, but it lay outside the battlefield
and was to play no part in the battle. The Hill of Samein, 300 feet
high, so dominated the area around it, and gave such excellent observation
over the entire plain, that no general would fail to occupy it should
he be the first to deploy his forces on this part of the plain.
As a result of this battle the hill was named the Hill of Jamu'a
(gathering), because part of the Muslim army was concentrated
on it. There was no other dominating ground on the plain of Yarmuk.
The plain itself was generally flat, sloping
gently from north to south with a certain amount of undulation.
One stream which formed an important tactical feature was Allan,
running southwards across the plain to join the Yarmuk, and in the
last 5 miles of its journey this stream also formed a ravine with
steep sides though it was not such a serious obstacle as the bigger
ravines. The battlefield was ideal for the manoeuvre of infantry
and cavalry and, except for the southern portion of Allan, offered
no impediment to movement.
Mahan deployed the imperial army forward
of Allan. He used his four regular armies to form the line of battle
which was 12 miles long, extending from the Yarmuk to south of the
Hill of Jabiya. 1 On his right he placed
the army of Gregory and on his left the army of Qanateer. The centre
was formed by the army of Dairjan and the Armenian army of Mahan-both
under the command of Dairjan. The Roman regular cavalry was distributed
equally among the four armies, and each army deployed with its infantry
holding the front and its cavalry held as a reserve in the rear.
Ahead of the front line, across the entire 12-mile front, Mahan
deployed the Christian Arab army of Jabla, which was all mounted-horse
and camel. This army acted as a screen and skirmish line, and was
not concerned with serious fighting except as its groups joined
the army in front of which they were positioned.
The army of Gregory, which formed the right
wing, used chains to link its 30,000 foot soldiers. 2
These chains were in 10-men lengths, and were used as a proof of
unshakeable courage on the part of the men who thus displayed their
willingness to die where they stood. The chains also acted as an
insurance against a break-through by enemy cavalry, as has been
explained in the chapter on The Battle of Chains. All these
30,000 foot soldiers had taken the oath of death.
Although the imperial army established a
front of about the same length as the Muslim front, it had the advantage
of having four times as many troops and Mahan exploited this numerical
superiority by establishing a whole army (Jabla's) as a forward
screen and achieving much greater depth in the solid, orderly formations.
The Roman ranks stood 30 deep.
1. In terms of present-day geography, the
Roman line started from about two miles west of Nawa, and went south-south-west
to just west of Seel, then over Sahm-ul-Jaulan to the Yarmuk bank
forward of Heet. Of course, these villages probably did not exist
then as there is no mention of them in the narrative of this battle.
2. There is also talk of a deep ditch here,
but I cannot place it or see its significance, as the Romans are
said to have deployed forward of it rather than behind it. It may
have been an anti-retreat measure.
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