Battle of Marj Rahit (634) 634
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 634 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Syria | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Muslim conquest of the Levant | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Khalid ibn al-Walid | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 33.6039, 36.5176 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Marj Rahit (Arabic: معركة مرج راهط) was a minor conflict fought between the Ghassanid Arab allies of Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun army under the command of Khalid bin Walid in April 634. The morning after the Battle of Huwwarin, Khalid moved his army of 9000 towards Damascus.
Approximately 20 miles from Damascus there lies a pass with an elevation of 2000 feet above the surrounding countryside. The associated ridge is part of the range known as Jabal-ush-Sharq, which is an offshoot of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and runs in a north-easterly direction to Tadmur. The pass itself, although not formidable, is quite long. Khalid stopped at the peak and planted his standard. As a result of this action, the pass became known as Saniyyat-ul-Uqab (ثنية العقاب), i.e. the Pass of the Eagle, after the name of Khalid's standard.
From that place, Khalid moved his army to Marj Rahit, a large meadow near the current city of Adra, northwest of Damascus.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Marj Rahit (634) (revision 1370449088), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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- Battle of Marj Rahit (684) 684 · 6 km
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Other battles of the Muslim conquest of the Levant
- Battle of Ajnadayn 634
- Battle of Bosra 634
- Battle of al-Qaryatayn 634
- Siege of Damascus (634) 634
- Battle of Fahl 635
- Siege of Emesa 635
- Battle of the Yarmuk 636
- First Muslim conquest of Jerusalem 636
- Battle of Hazir 637
- Battle of the Iron Bridge 637
All 13 battles of the Muslim conquest of the Levant →
Browse more: battles in Syria · Asia · Medieval battles