Siege of Damascus (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 |
| Coordinates | 33.5131, 36.2919 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Damascus (634) lasted from 21 August to 19 September 634 before the city fell to the Rashidun Caliphate. Damascus was the first major city of the Eastern Roman Empire to fall in the Muslim conquest of Syria.
The last of the Roman–Persian Wars ended in 628, after Heraclius concluded a successful campaign against the Persians in Mesopotamia. At the same time, Muhammad united the Arabs under the banner of Islam. After his death in 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as the first caliph. Suppressing several internal revolts, Abu Bakr sought to expand the empire beyond the confines of the Arabian Peninsula.
In April 634, Abu Bakr invaded the Byzantine Empire in the Levant and decisively defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Ajnadayn. The Muslim armies marched north and laid siege to Damascus. The city was taken after a bishop informed Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Muslim commander in chief, that it was possible to breach city walls by attacking a position only lightly defended at night. While Khalid entered the city by assault from the Eastern gate, Thomas, commander of the Byzantine garrison, negotiated a peaceful surrender at the Jabiyah gate with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, Khalid's second in command.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Damascus (634) (revision 1380475657), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Damascus (1148) 1148 · 1 km
- Battle of Damascus (2012) 2012 · 1 km
- Capture of Damascus (1918) 1918 · 1 km
- Battle of Damascus (1941) 1941 · 2 km
- Fall of Damascus (2024) 2024 · 4 km
- Battle of Yarmouk Camp (2015) 2015 · 4 km
Other battles of the Muslim conquest of the Levant
- Battle of Ajnadayn 634
- Battle of Bosra 634
- Battle of Marj Rahit (634) 634
- Battle of al-Qaryatayn 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