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Rashidun army



 
 
The Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Empire

The Rashidun Caliphate , also referred to as the Islamic Empire or Rashidun Empire, was the first of the four Arab caliphates. It was controlled by the first four successors of Muhammad, known as the "Rightly Guided" caliphs....
's armed forces during the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests

Arab Muslim conquests , also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
 of the 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun Navy. The Rashidun army maintained a level of discipline, strategic prowess, and organization.

In its time, the Rashidun army was one of the most powerful and effective military forces in the world. The size of the Rashidun army was initially 13,000 troops in 632, but as the Caliphate
Caliphate

The caliphate represented the political leadership of the Muslim ummah in classical and medieval Islamic history and juristic theory. The head of state's position is based on the notion of a successor to the Prophets of Islam Muhammad's political authority....
 expanded, the army gradually grew to 100,000 troops by 657.






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The Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Empire

The Rashidun Caliphate , also referred to as the Islamic Empire or Rashidun Empire, was the first of the four Arab caliphates. It was controlled by the first four successors of Muhammad, known as the "Rightly Guided" caliphs....
's armed forces during the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests

Arab Muslim conquests , also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
 of the 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun Navy. The Rashidun army maintained a level of discipline, strategic prowess, and organization.

In its time, the Rashidun army was one of the most powerful and effective military forces in the world. The size of the Rashidun army was initially 13,000 troops in 632, but as the Caliphate
Caliphate

The caliphate represented the political leadership of the Muslim ummah in classical and medieval Islamic history and juristic theory. The head of state's position is based on the notion of a successor to the Prophets of Islam Muhammad's political authority....
 expanded, the army gradually grew to 100,000 troops by 657. The two most successful generals of the Rashidun army were Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid

Khalid ibn al-Walid also known as Sayfu l-Lahi l-Maslul , was one of the most successful military commanders of all time. He is noted for his military prowess, commanding the forces of Muhammad and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab....
, who conquered Iraq from the Persian Empire
Islamic conquest of Persia

The Islamic conquest of Persian Empire led to the end of the Sassanid Persian Empire and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrianism religion in Iran....
 and Roman Syria, and 'Amr ibn al-'As, who conquered Roman Egypt
Muslim conquest of Egypt

At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian_Empire#Sassanid_Persia_.28AD_226-650.29 under Khosrau II of Persia ....
.

Army

Only Muslims were allowed to join the Rashidun army as a regular troops, the army during the Ridda wars
Ridda wars

The Ridda wars , also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a set of military campaigns against the rebellion of several Arabic tribes against the Caliph Abu Bakr during 632 and 633 AD, following the death of Muhammad....
 in the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Abi Quhafa As-Siddiq was an early convert to Islam and a senior companion of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad. Throughout his life, Abu Bakr remained a friend and confidante of Muhammad....
, mainly consisted of the corps from Madinah, Mecca
Mecca

Mecca , also spelled Makkah , Makka is a city in Saudi Arabia. Home to the Masjid al-Haram, it is the holy city in Islam and plays an important role in the faith....
 and Taif
Taif

Dave "Taif" Ball is a bassist who has toured and recorded with many artists and bands, including Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, John Martyn, David Knopfler, How We Live, Killing Joke, Lloyd Cole, Phillip Boa, Steve Hackett, Voodoocult, Vanessa Mae, John Hiseman's Colosseum, and The Billy Thompson Quartet....
, later on during the conquest of Iraq
Islamic conquest of Persia

The Islamic conquest of Persian Empire led to the end of the Sassanid Persian Empire and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrianism religion in Iran....
 in 633 many bedouin
Bedouin

The Bedouin, , are predominantly Muslim, desert-dwelling Arab nomadic pastoralist, or previously nomadic group, found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert , Sinai Peninsula, and Negev to the Arabian Desert....
 corps recruited in the forces as a regular troops. During the Islamic conquest of Sassanid Persian Empire (633-656), some 12,000 elite persian
Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
 troops converted to Islam and served later on during the wholescale invasion of the empire. During the Muslim conquest Roman Syria (633-638) some 4,000 greek Byzantine soldiers under their commander Joachim
Joachim

Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and therefore is ascribed the title of "forebearer of God", in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Anglican traditions....
 (later Abdullah Joachim) converted to Islam and served as regular troops in the conquest of both Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. During the conquest of Egypt (641-644), the Copts converts to Islam, recruited and eased the conquest. During the conquest of North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
, berber
Berber

Berber may refer to:*a member of the Berber people**the Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages**Berberism, a political-cultural supporting a distinct Berber identity....
 converts to Islam were recruited as regular troops, who later made the bulk of Rashidun army and later Ummayad's army in Africa.

Infantry

Rashidun army relied heavily on their infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
. Mubarizun, were the recognized part of the Muslim army. It was comprised of the champions. Their role was to undermine the enemy moral by slaying their champions. Then infantry would then make repeated charges and withdrawals known as karr wa farr, using spears, swords and with arrow volleys to weeken the enemies and worn them out, though the main energy was still had to be conserved for a counter attack supported by cavalry that would charge straight from center or often from flanks, making flanking or encircling movements. Defensively the Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 spearman
Spearman

Spearman could refer to any of the following:* An ancient combat unit, armed with a spear, and in some cases, a shield.* Spearman, Texas is a city in Texas....
 with their two and a half meter long spears would close ranks, forming a close formation (Tabi'a), a protective wall for archer
Archer

An archer is a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow . Examples of archers can be found at the List of archers article.They were used in ancient and medieval times as part of armies....
s to continue their fire. This close formation was remarkable in first 4 days of defensive battle from Muslims side in Battle of Yarmouk
Battle of Yarmouk

The Battle of Yarmouk comprised a series of engagements between the Rashidun and the Byzantine Empire over six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border between Syria and Jordan, south-east of the Sea of Galilee....
.

Cavalry

The Rashidun cavalry was a one of the most successful light cavalry
Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly-armed and armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored....
. It was armed with lance
Lance

The term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different pole weapons based on the spear. The name is derived from lancea, Ancient Rome auxiliaries' javelin, although according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word may be of Iberian language origin....
s, up to five and a half meter long, and sword
Sword

A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. The word sword comes from the Old English language wikt:sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sver? Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Dutch langua...
s. Both short Arabian swords and Sassanid long swords were used by the horsemen. Often they were armed with both of them at a time. The cavalry used to be reserved, with the main role to attack the enemy once they were weakend by the repeated charges of the infantry. Then they would then make flanking or encircling movements against the enemy army, either from the flanks or straight from the center, with main objective of destroying the already disrupted enemy. The cavalry probably used to attack in a wedge-shaped formation. Some of the best examples of the use of the cavalry force were commanded by Khalid ibn Walid in the Battle of Walaja
Battle of Walaja

The Battle of Walaja was a battle fought in Mesopotamia in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies....
 against the Sassanid Persians
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
 and in the Battle of Yarmouk
Battle of Yarmouk

The Battle of Yarmouk comprised a series of engagements between the Rashidun and the Byzantine Empire over six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border between Syria and Jordan, south-east of the Sea of Galilee....
 against the Byzantine
Byzantine

The word Byzantine may refer to:Topics directly related to the Byzantine Empire* A citizen of Byzantine Empire, or native Greeks during the Middle Ages ....
s. In both cases the cavalry regimets were initially stationed behind the flanks and center.

Weaponry

Reconstructing the military equipment of early Muslim armies is problematic. Compared with Roman armies—or, indeed, later mediaeval Muslim armies—the range of visual representation is very small, often imprecise and difficult to date. Physically very little material evidence has survived and again, much of it is difficult to date. Most of the Pre-Islamic Arabian military equipments came from Syria, Iraq, Armenia and Yeman. A great deal more would then have been captured during the early conquest.

Helmets

The helmets included gilded helmets similar to that of silver helmets of Sassanid empire. Both pointed and rounded helmets were used. The later referred as ‘’Baidah’’ (egg) was of standard two-piece early Byzantine type and the former was of segmented central Asian type called ‘’Tarikah’’. Mail was commonly used to protect the face, neck and cheek either as an aventail from the helmet or as a mail coif like it was used in Romano-Byzantine armies since 5th century. The face was often used to be half covered with a tail of a turban, that also served as a protection against the strong desert winds. Heavy leather sandals as well as Roman type sandal boots were also typical of the early Muslim soldiers.

Armor

Hardened leather scale or lamellar armour was locally being produced in Yeman, Iraq and along the gulf coast. The mail armors was more preferable and became more common later during the conquest of neighbouring empires and were captured as a booty. It was known as Dir, and was opened part-way down the chest. To avoid rusting it was polished and stored in themixture of Dust, oil and camel dung. Infantry soldiers were more heavily armored then the horsemen. There are also references to the practice of wearing two coats of mail (dir’ayn), the second being shorter or even made of fabric or leather.

Shields

Large wooden or wickerwork shield
Shield

A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand, as opposed to armour or a bullet proof vest....
s were in use, but most shields were of leather. For this purpose camel's or cow's hide was used and it would be anointed, a practice since ancient Hebrew times. During the invasion of Levant, Byzantine Elephant hide shields were also extensively used, and were probably captured in booty.

Spears

Long-shafted spears were locally made with the reeds of gulf coast. Infantry spears were two and a half meter long and that of cavalry were up to five and a half meters long.

Sword

Sword was the most prestigious weapon of Early Muslims. It was usually a short infantry weapon, similar to the gladius
Gladius

Gladius is a Latin word for sword. Early Ancient Rome swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early part of the conquest of Hispania....
. High quality swords were being made in Yeman from Indian wootz steel. There are also sometimes references to Indian swords. Inferior swords were being made throughout Arabia. Both short Arab swords and Sassanid long swords were being used. Often horsemen and infantry soldiers are described to have two swords, both a Sassanid long sword and an Arabian short sword. All swords hanged in a baldric
Baldric

A baldric is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon or other implement such as a bugle or drum. The word may also refer to any belt in general, but this usage is poetic and not considered standard....
. Another personal weapon was the dagger in the a last line of defence.

Bows

Bows were locally made in various parts of Arabia, the finest and typical were the hijazi bows. It could be one piece of wood or two pieces joined together back to back. It used to be about two meter long when unbraced, similar to the English longbow
English longbow

Self bow longbows, widespread across Europe since Mesolithic times, were used in Middle Ages Europe as a decisive weapon of war. Particularly powerful bows were employed to penetrate all but the best of contemporary armour....
. The maximum useful range of the traditional Arabian bow used to be about 150 meters. Early Muslim archers were infantry archers who proved to be very effective against the cavalry.

Siege weaponry

Catapult
Catapult

A catapult is any one of a number of non-handheld mechanical devices used to throw a projectile a great distance without the aid of an explosive substance?particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines....
s were used extensively in siege operations. Under Caliph
Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah....
 Umar
Umar

Umar , also known as Umar the Great or Omar the Great was a Muslim from the Banu Adi clan of the Quraysh Tribes of Arabia, and a sahaba of Muhammad....
 siege towers, called Dababah
Helepolis

Helepolis was an ancient siege engine invented by Polyidus of Thessaly and improved by Demetrius I of Macedon and Epimachus of Athens for the unsuccessful siege of Rhodes , based on an earlier, less massive design used against Salamis ....
 were also employed. These wooden towers moved on wheels and had several stories. They were driven up to the foot of the besieged fortification and then the walls were pierced with a battering ram. Archer
Archer

An archer is a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow . Examples of archers can be found at the List of archers article.They were used in ancient and medieval times as part of armies....
s guarded the ram and the soldiers who moved it.