Muslim conquest of the Levant
The Muslim conquest of the Levant (Arabic: فَتْحُ الشَّام, romanized: Fath eş-Şâm; lit. "Conquest of Syria"), or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and developed into the provincial region of Bilad al-Sham. Clashes between the Arabs and Byzantines on the southern Levantine borders of the Byzantine Empire had occurred during the lifetime of Muhammad, with the Battle of Muʿtah in 629 CE. However, the actual conquest did not begin until 634, two years after Muhammad's death. It was led by the first two Rashidun caliphs who succeeded Muhammad: Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. During this time, Khalid ibn al-Walid was the most important leader of the Rashidun army.
| Muslim conquest of the Levant | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars | |||||||||
Scene of the Roman Theatre at Palmyra, 2005 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Rashidun Caliphate |
Byzantine Empire Ghassanids Tanukhids | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| |||||||||