Battle of Heliopolis (640)

Battle of Heliopolis

Part of: Islamic Expansion

date	July 6, 640 (641?)
place	Heliopolis
output	Arab victory

Parties to the conflict
caliphate	Eastern Roman Empire
Commander
ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs	Theodorus
Troop strength
approx. 16,000	approx. 18,000
losses
unknown	unknown, probably almost the entire force was destroyed

The Battle of Heliopolis was a decisive battle between the Arab troops under ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs and the Eastern Roman Empire , in the course of Islamic expansion . As a result of this defeat of the Romans or Byzantines, the Arabs succeeded in bringing all of Egypt under their control. The exact dating of the battle is - like that of most of the events of these years - disputed; most likely it took place in July 640 or 641.

prehistory

The Arab attack on Africa came as a surprise to the East Romans; evidently Emperor Herakleios had assumed that the Arab armies were claimed by the fighting against the Sassanid Empire . Either in 639 or 640, however, a small Muslim force of about 4,000 men marched on Aegyptus . When this army had conquered some cities such as Pelusium , Bilbeis and Babylon and crossed the Nile in the direction of Fayyum , they met an Eastern Roman army at most 20,000 strong at Heliopolis . The imperial troops had set up camp near the city and were waiting, for reasons that have not yet been clarified, to attack the army of ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs , which has now grown to 15,000 men through reinforcements .

The battle

After the Romans / Byzantines opened the battle, ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs divided his forces into three parts. A division of cavalry under his trusted commander Kharjia was hiding behind nearby hills and was not spotted by the Byzantines either. This division was supposed to attack the weakest side of the Byzantines, either the flank or their rear. Another division of cavalry was sent south in order to pursue any falling troops more quickly. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs marched with his main force directly on the attacking Eastern Romans. After the ranks of the two armies had met on the battlefield, Kharjia and his horsemen attacked the Byzantines in their rear. Surprised by the sudden appearance of the enemy cavalry, the order of battle of the imperial army was disrupted, and many of the fleeing units were provided by the troops of ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs located in the south. The Eastern Roman commander Theodorus managed to escape with a few faithful.

Effects

After the defeat, the heartland of Egypt was defenseless against the Arabs. The majority of the population of Egypt belonged to monophysitism and was critical of monotheletism , which was given by the imperial government as a new dogma. Egypt, which had previously been occupied by the Sassanids for years , had only come under imperial control again in 630/31; loyalty to Constantinople was therefore weak. Above all, the new rulers lowered the extremely high taxes, if only for a short period of time. Whether the Arab conquerors were welcomed or even supported by the majority of the local population is very controversial in recent research.

After further skirmishes and skirmishes, the Arabs finally succeeded in 641 in conquering Alexandria and with it all of Egypt. With the victory at Alexandria , the Roman sole rule over the Mediterranean ended. The loss of rich Egypt, the breadbasket of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the rule of the sea, however, was preceded by the decisive defeat at Heliopolis.

literature

• Hugh Kennedy: The Great Arab Conquests. How the Spread of Islam changed the World we live in. Da Capo, Philadelphia PA 2007, ISBN 978-0-306-81585-0 .