Siege of Jerusalem (637)
| Siege of Jerusalem (637) | |||||||||
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| Part of the Muslim conquest of Syria (Arab–Byzantine Wars) |
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 The Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, is one of the most sacred sites for Muslims. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Rashidun Caliphate
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 Byzantine Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah Khalid ibn al-Walid Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan Amr ibn al-A'as Sharjeel ibn Hassana |
Patriarch Sophronius | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~20,000 | Unknown | ||||||||
The Siege of Jerusalem was part of a military conflict which took place in the year 637 between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate. It began when the Rashidun army, under the command of Abu Ubaidah, besieged Jerusalem in November 636. After six months, the Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender, on condition that he submit only to the Rashidun caliph. In April 637, Caliph Umar traveled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city. The Patriarch thus surrendered to him.
The Muslim conquest of the city solidified the Arab control over Palestine, control which would not again be threatened until the First Crusade in the late 11th century. Thus, it came to be regarded as a holy site by Islam, as well as by Christianity and Judaism. This stabilized control of Palestina Prima. In 613, the Jewish revolt against the Byzantine Heraclius culminated with the conquest of Jerusalem in 614 by Persian and Jewish forces and establishment of Jewish autonomy. The revolt ended with the departure of the Persians and an eventual massacre of the Jews in 629 by the Byzantines ending 15 years of Jewish autonomy.
Following the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, Jews were once again allowed to live and practice their religion in Jerusalem, 8 years after their massacre by the Byzantines and nearly 500 years after their expulsion from Judea by the Roman Empire.
It is believed in Islam that the prophet Muhammad foretold the conquest of Jerusalem in numerous authentic hadiths in various Islamic sources, including a narration mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari in the book of Jizyah and Mawaada'ah:
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