Jund Filastin

Quick Facts: Who was Jund Filastin?

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Jund Filastin

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Historical military district encompassing Palestine, crucial during the early Islamic conquests.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Jund Filasṭīn (Arabic: جُنْد فِلَسْطِيْن, "the military district of Palestine") was one of the military districts of the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Bilad al-Sham (Levant), organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the c. 630s CE. Jund Filastin, which encompassed most of Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Tertia, included the newly established city of Ramla as its capital and eleven administrative districts (kura), each ruled from a central town. The Muslim conquest of Syria Palaestina is difficult to reconstruct, according to the historian Dominique Sourdel. It is generally agreed that the Qurayshite commander Amr ibn al-As was sent to conquer the area by Caliph Abu Bakr, likely in 633 CE. Amr traversed the Red Sea coast of the Hejaz (western Arabia), reached the port town of Ayla at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, then crossed into the Negev Desert or further west into the Sinai Peninsula.

Career & Major Achievements

He then arrived to the villages of Dathin and Badan near Gaza, where he entered negotiations with the Byzantine garrison commander. The talks collapsed and the Muslims bested the Byzantines in the subsequent clash at Dathin in February or March 634. At this stage of the conquest Amr's troops encamped at Ghamr al-Arabat in the middle of the Araba Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The town of Gaza was left alone, with Amr's primary objective at the time being the subjugation of the Arab tribes in the vicinity. After the Muslim armies led by Khalid ibn al-Walid captured Bosra in the Hauran in May 634 they crossed the Jordan River to reinforce Amr as he faced a large Byzantine army.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In the ensuing Battle of Ajnadayn, fought at a site 25 kilometers (16 mi) southwest of Jerusalem in July or August, the Muslims under Amr's overall command routed the Byzantines. In the aftermath of Ajnadayn, Amr captured the towns of Sebastia, Nablus, Lydda, Yibna, Amwas, Bayt Jibrin and Jaffa. Most of these towns fell after minor resistance, hence the scant information available about them in the sources. Following the decisive Muslim victory against the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmouk (c. 636 CE), fought along the Yarmouk tributary of the Jordan River east of Palestine, Amr besieged Jerusalem, which held out until the arrival of Caliph Umar, to whom Jerusalem's leaders surrendered in c. 637 CE. The coastal towns of Gaza, Ascalon and Caesarea had continued to hold out.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Jund Filastin

True or False: “The primary administrative center of Jund Filastin remained Jerusalem throughout all its historical periods.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While Jerusalem was the religious focal point, the city of Ramla became the established administrative capital for Jund Filastin during the Umayyad period.

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