Tarikh (al-Tabari) 1901
The caliphate of ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb
قِصَّةُ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ وَحَصْرِ الرُّومِ لَهُ بِحِمْصَ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ وَقُدُومِ عُمَرَ إِلَى الشَّامِ أَيْضًا لِيَنْصُرَهُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ جَمْعًا مِنَ الرُّومِ عَزَمُوا عَلَى حِصَارِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بِحِمْصَ، وَاسْتَجَاشُوا بِأَهْلِ الْجَزِيرَةِ وَخَلْقٍ مِمَّنْ هُنَالِكَ، وَقَصَدُوا أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ، فَبَعَثَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ إِلَى خَالِدٍ ; فَقَدِمَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ قِنَّسْرِينَ وَكَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَرَ بِذَلِكَ وَكَانَ عُمَرُ قَدِ اتَّخَذَ فِي كُلِّ مِصْرٍ خُيُولًا عَلَى قَدْرِهِ مِنْ فُضُولِ أَمْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ عُدَّةً لِكَوْنٍ إِنْ كَانَ، فَكَانَ بِالْكُوفَةِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَرْبَعَةُ آلَافِ فَرَسٍ، وَكَانَ الْقَيِّمَ عَلَيْهَا سَلْمَانُ بْنُ رَبِيعَةَ الْبَاهِلِيُّ وَنَفَرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ، وَفِي كُلِّ مِصْرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْصَارِ الثَّمَانِيَةِ عَلَى قَدْرِهِ، فَإِنْ تَأْتِهِمْ آتِيَةٌ رَكِبَهَا النَّاسُ وَسَارُوا إِلَى أَنْ يَتَجَهَّزَ النَّاسُ. وَاسْتَشَارَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فِي أَنْ يُنَاجِزَ الرُّومَ، أَوْ يَتَحَصَّنَ بِالْبَلَدِ حَتَّى يَجِيءَ أَمْرُ عُمَرَ ؟ فَكُلُّهُمْ أَشَارَ بِالتَّحَصُّنِ إِلَّا خَالِدًا فَإِنَّهُ أَشَارَ بِمُنَاجَزَتِهِمْ، فَعَصَاهُ وَأَطَاعَهُمْ. وَتَحَصَّنَ بِحِمْصَ وَأَحَاطَ بِهِ الرُّومُ، وَكُلُّ بَلَدٍ مِنْ بُلْدَانِ الشَّامِ مَشْغُولٌ أَهْلُهُ عَنْهُ بِأَمْرِهِمْ، وَلَوْ تَرَكُوا مَا هُمْ فِيهِ وَأَقْبَلُوا إِلَى حِمْصَ لَانَخْرَمَ النِّظَامُ فِي الشَّامِ كُلِّهِ. وَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ إِلَى سَعْدٍ أَنْ يَنْدُبَ النَّاسَ مَعَ الْقَعْقَاعِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، وَيُسَيِّرَهُمْ إِلَى حِمْصَ مِنْ يَوْمِ يَقْدَمُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ نَجْدَةً لِأَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ فَإِنَّهُ مَحْصُورٌ. وَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يُجَهِّزَ جَيْشًا إِلَى أَهْلِ الْجَزِيرَةِ الَّذِينَ مَالَئُوا الرُّومَ عَلَى حِصَارِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، وَيَكُونَ أَمِيرَ الْجَيْشِ إِلَى الْجَزِيرَةِ عِيَاضُ بْنُ غَنْمٍ فَخَرَجَ الْجَيْشَانِ مَعًا مِنَ الْكُوفَةِ ; الْقَعْقَاعُ فِي أَرْبَعَةِ آلَافٍ نَحْوَ حِمْصَ لِنَجْدَةِ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، وَخَرَجَ عُمَرُ بِنَفْسِهِ مِنَ الْمَدِينَةِ لِيَنْصُرَ أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ، فَبَلَغَ الْجَابِيَةَ. وَقِيلَ: إِنَّمَا بَلَغَ سَرْغَ. قَالَهُ ابْنُ إِسْحَاقَ وَهُوَ أَشْبَهُ. وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ أَهْلَ الْجَزِيرَةِ الَّذِينَ مَعَ الرُّومِ عَلَى حِمْصَ أَنَّ الْجَيْشَ قَدْ طَرَقَ بِلَادَهُمْ، انْشَمَرُوا إِلَى بِلَادِهِمْ، وَفَارَقُوا الرُّومَ، وَسَمِعَتِ الرُّومُ بِقُدُومِ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرَ لِنُصْرَةِ نَائِبِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَضَعُفَ جَانِبُهُمْ جِدًّا. وَأَشَارَ خَالِدٌ عَلَى أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بِأَنْ يَبْرُزَ إِلَيْهِمْ لِيُقَاتِلَهُمْ، فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ، فَفَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَنَصَرَهُ، وَهُزِمَتِ الرُّومُ هَزِيمَةً فَظِيعَةً، وَذَلِكَ قَبْلَ وُرُودِ عُمَرَ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَقَبْلَ وُصُولِ الْأَمْدَادِ إِلَيْهِمْ بِثَلَاثِ لَيَالٍ. فَكَتَبَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ إِلَى عُمَرَ وَهُوَ بِالْجَابِيَةِ يُخْبِرُهُ بِالْفَتْحِ، وَأَنَّ الْمَدَدَ وَصَلَ إِلَيْهِمْ بَعْدَ ثَلَاثِ لَيَالٍ، وَسَأَلَهُ هَلْ يُدْخِلُهُمْ فِي الْقَسْمِ مَعَهُمْ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ؟ فَجَاءَ الْجَوَابُ بِأَنْ يُدْخِلَهُمْ مَعَهُمْ فِي الْغَنِيمَةِ، فَإِنَّ الْعَدُوَّ إِنَّمَا ضَعُفَ وَإِنَّمَا انْشَمَرَ عَنْهُ الْمَدَدُ مِنْ خَوْفِهِمْ مِنْهُمْ، فَأَشْرَكَهُمْ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ فِي الْغَنِيمَةِ. وَقَالَ عُمَرُ: جَزَى اللَّهُ أَهْلَ الْكُوفَةِ خَيْرًا، يَحْمُونَ حَوْزَتَهُمْ وَيَمُدُّونَ أَهْلَ الْأَمْصَارِ.
Translation
✧ The story of Abū ʿUbaydah and the Romans' siege of him at Ḥimṣ in Muḥarram, and ʿUmar's coming to Syria again to aid him That was because a group of Romans resolved to besiege Abū ʿUbaydah at Ḥimṣ, sought help from the people of the Jazīrah and many of those there, and headed toward Abū ʿUbaydah. Abū ʿUbaydah sent for Khālid, who came to him from Qinnasrīn, and he wrote to ʿUmar about that. ʿUmar had established in every garrison town cavalry in proportion to its size from the surplus funds of the Muslims as a standby in case something happened. In Kufa there were four thousand horses from that, and the man in charge of them was Salmān b. Rabīʿah al-Bāhilī and a group from the people of Kufa; in each of the eight garrison towns there were mounts according to its size, so that if a raid came upon them the people would ride them and move out until the people could equip themselves. Abū ʿUbaydah consulted the Muslims about whether to meet the Romans in battle or to fortify himself in the town until ʿUmar's order arrived. All of them advised fortifying except Khālid, who advised fighting them, but Abū ʿUbaydah disobeyed him and followed them, fortifying himself in Ḥimṣ. The Romans surrounded him, and every town in Syria was distracted from him by its own affairs; if they had left what they were engaged in and turned toward Ḥimṣ, the order throughout Syria would have been disrupted. ʿUmar wrote to Saʿd to call up the people with al-Qaʿqāʿ b. ʿAmr and send them to Ḥimṣ from the day the letter reached him as a reinforcement for Abū ʿUbaydah, for he was besieged. He also wrote to him to equip an army against the people of the Jazīrah who had joined the Romans in besieging Abū ʿUbaydah, and that the commander of the army to the Jazīrah should be ʿIyāḍ b. Ghanm. The two armies set out together from Kufa: al-Qaʿqāʿ with four thousand men toward Ḥimṣ to reinforce Abū ʿUbaydah, and ʿUmar himself set out from Madinah to aid Abū ʿUbaydah, reaching al-Jābiyah. It is said that he only reached Sargh; Ibn Isḥāq said that, and it is more likely. And God knows best. When the people of the Jazīrah who were with the Romans at Ḥimṣ learned that the army had raided their lands, they withdrew to their lands and left the Romans. The Romans heard of the arrival of the Commander of the Faithful ʿUmar to aid his deputy against them, and their side weakened greatly. Khālid advised Abū ʿUbaydah to go out against them and fight them, and Abū ʿUbaydah did that. God granted him victory and aided him, and the Romans were routed in a terrible defeat. That was before ʿUmar arrived at them and before the reinforcements reached them by three nights. Abū ʿUbaydah wrote to ʿUmar while he was at al-Jābiyah, informing him of the victory and that the reinforcements reached them after three nights, and asked him whether he should include them in the division of what God had granted as spoils. The answer came that he should include them in the booty, for the enemy had only weakened and the reinforcements had only withdrawn from him out of fear of them. So Abū ʿUbaydah included them in the booty. ʿUmar said: May God reward the people of Kufa with good; they protect their own region and reinforce the people of the garrison towns.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.