Dirar ibn al-Azwar

Conquest of Iraq

Dhiraar participated in the first Muslim conquest of Persia under Khalid ibn al-Walid, which occurred immediately after the Ridda wars.^[14] Dhiraar played a pivotal role in the Battle of Walaja, as he was assigned to be one of two cavalry commanders tasked with leading detachments of Rashidun cavalry to strike the advancing Sassanid army from the rear, trapping them in a double envelopment maneuver strategy designed by Khalid.^[15]

• 
  Khalid led main army to engage and bait the Sassanid while cavalry of Dhiraar and Suwaid ibn Muqrin hiding behind the hill
• 
  Sassanids launched counter-attack, on Khalid's instructions the Muslim withdrawing their position to lure the Sassanid advance.
• 
  Dhiraar and Suwaid ibn Muqrin cavalry launching envelopment attack.
• 
  Muslim cavalry and infantry complete the encirclement of the Persian army.

During the battle of Hira, Dhiraar and Ayas ibn Qubaisah were tasked to subdue the fortress of al-Qasr al-Abyad; Dhiraar asked the fortress to surrender.^[16][14] However, the fortress garrison resisted and attacked the Rashidun soldiers under Dhiraar with "cylindrical ceramic rollers".^{[Notes 3]} In response, Dhiraar ordered his soldiers to shower the fortress wall with arrows, and continued to storm the people outside the fortress. His forces eventually breached inside and captured the houses and monasteries inside al-Qasr al-Abyad.^[14] This caused the residents to immediately surrender to Dhiraar.^[14]

Later, Dhiraar was recorded along with Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab, Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, and Dhiraar ibn al-Muqarrin as being appointed as quarter commanders of the Rashidun garrison in al-Sib.^[14] Dhiraar and the others mounted raids that penetrated into an area that reached the banks of the Tigris river.^[14]

Conquest of Levant

The Rashidun army left the capital Medina probably in the autumn of 633 or at the beginning of 634. They first engaged and defeated the Byzantines at Dathin on February 4; after that, Emperor Heraclius, then stationed in Emesa (now Homs, Syria), had reinforcements sent south to protect Caesarea Maritima. As a possible reaction, commander Khalid ibn al-Walid was ordered to aid Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah in Syria.^{[citation needed]} Sometime before the Siege of Emesa, a Byzantine commander from Baalbek named Harbees collided with patrolling Rashidun troops which were led by Dhiraar, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Rabia ibn Amr, and Malik Al-Ashtar.^[17] The forces of Harbees were swiftly demolished by the Rashidun troops under Amr. Dhiraar and Amr then continued by leading more than 5,000 cavalry troops to join Maysarah ibn Masruq in besieging Homs.^[18]

Battle of Yarmouk

In the battle of Yarmouk, Dhiraar was placed on the left wing commanded by Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, leading his personal squadron among a dozen other squadrons on the left wing.^[32] During this battle, Dhiraar served largely in a unit of elite cavalry called the Mobile Guards, which was specifically tasked with plugging the gaps between Muslim ranks to avoid enemy penetration.^[33] It is recorded that in one particular clash, as a rank of Muslims fell back at the Byzantine onslaught, Dhiraar grouped together with Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, stood firm with 400 men holding the deserted line, and successfully defended the Muslim position until the fleeing Muslim ranks returned to the battlefield and reinforced the position again.^[34][35] The circumstances were expounded on in Al-Tabari's comprehensive history, wherein Ikrimah is recorded as saying:

"Would I fight the Messenger of God in every place, yet flee from you today?! Who will take an oath (to fight) to the death?!"^[14]

Al-Harith ibn Hisham and Dhiraar ibn Al-Azwar both swore an oath along with 400 notable men and knights. They fought in front of Khalid's command tent until all of them were disabled by wounds. Many of them, including Ikrimah, died after the clash due to heavy wounds, although some, like Dhiraar, were able to recover.^[14]

On the final day of the battle, Dhiraar played a prominent role when Khalid assigned him to capture a bridge at Ayn al-Dhakar to safely cross the deep gorges of the ravines of Wadi ar-Raqqad with 500 soldiers. He was then ordered by Khalid to set an ambush there to eliminate the Byzantine armies who had been routed and who intended to use this bridge to withdraw.^[36] The next day, Dhiraar moved with 500 mounted troops around the northern flank of the Byzantines and captured the bridge. The plan was successful as the Byzantines retreated onto this path, where Dhiraar had been waiting for them at Wadi ar-Raqqad Bridge.^[26] The Byzantines were surrounded on all sides now. Some fell off into the deep ravines, others tried to escape into the water, only to be smashed on the rocks below, and still others were killed in their attempted escape.^[37]

Battle of Qadisiyyah

Later, Caliph Umar instructed a portion of the Rashidun troops from Yarmouk to be transferred to Iraq as reinforcements for Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah against the Sassanid Empire. Dhiraar was counted among them. At this stage, Ya'qubi has recorded that along with Dhiraar, bin Al-Azwar, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Tulayha, and Kurt ibn Jammah al-Abdi discovered the corpse of Rostam Farrokhzad, the highest commander of the Sassanid army, during this battle.^[38] The death of Rostam shocked the entire Sassanid side, which prompted Sa'd to instruct a general assault by all the Muslim soldiers.^[39]

Conquest of Africa

Later, according to Waqidi, during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Dhiraar participated in a campaign under Miqdad ibn Aswad that pacified several areas in the al-Gharbia region, starting from Kafr Tanah (in modern day Dakahlia Governorate) and Tinnis.^[40] Then Miqdad continued his march, leading forty horsemen which included Dhiraar.^[41] As they reached Damietta, Miqdad found the city was fortified by a man named al-Hammuk, an uncle of Al-Muqawqis.^[42] Al-Hammuk fortified the city and closed the gates as Miqdad besieged the city.^[42] As Damietta subdued, Miqdad was appointed to govern the city.^[43]

Later, Dhiraar was involved in the Muslim campaign to Bahnasa.^[44] Amr ibn al-As sent Dhiraar and the Muslim army under his command to meet the Sudanese Christian auxiliaries of Beja.^{[Notes 6]} Before the battle, the Rashidun army camped in Dashur.^[47] Benjamin Hendrickx reported that the African Christians had mustered around 20,000 Sudanese symmachoi corps,^{[Notes 7]} 1,300 elephant-mounted archers, and anti-cavalry units named al-Quwwad which were armed with iron staffs,^[46] led by a Patrician named Batlus. Meanwhile, al-Maqqari even stated there was a 50,000-strong Christian army of Byzantine-Sudanese alliance at the "Battle of Darishkur".^[45][46]

The record of al-Maqrizi stated that in this conflict, Dhiraar along with Miqdad ibn Aswad, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Uqba ibn Amir each commanded Muslim cavalry facing the elephant corps led by the Byzantine exarchate commander Batlus.^[45] The Rashidun cavalry were armed with spears which, after the tips were soaked in santonin plants and sulphur, ignited in flames. The flaming spears were used to drive the elephants away in terror,^[47] while the elephant riders were thrown from the elephant's back and crushed underfoot.^[47] Meanwhile, the al-Quwwad warriors were routed by Rashidun cavalry soldiers who used seized chain weapons to overcome the iron staffs used by the Byzantine al-Quwwad corps.^[47]

Historical death controversy

It is widely accepted by historical consensus that Dhiraar died in Syria from the Plague of Amwas, the plague that killed many other Companions of Muhammad, including Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah. The year of his death is believed to be 18 AH/640 AD^[53] and his final resting place is in Syria.^[54] The tomb shrine believed to belong to Dhiraar is located in the town of Deir Alla in the Central Jordan Valley, in northwestern Jordan. It is a modern mosque with a wide courtyard and a garden decorated with trees.^[55]

Still, other accounts of Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar's death exist. For instance, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said he fell at the Battle of Ajnadayn. This is contrary to al-Waqidi's report which said he fell at the Battle of Yamama.^[56]Al-Tabari discussed in his book the conflicting reports of two versions of his death. The first asserts that Dhiraar was killed in the battle of Ajnadayn, while the other asserts that he in the battle of Yamama^[1]. Ya'qubi wrote that he lived long enough to witness the Battle of Qadisiyyah and that together with Tulayha, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib and Kurt ibn Jammah al-Abdi, he discovered the corpse of Rostam Farrokhzād.^[12] Despite this, the chronicle of Ya'qubi has been plagued with skepticism due to his excessive Shi'i sympathies.^{[Notes 10]}

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani remarked in his work Fath al-Bari about Muhammad al-Bukhari's commentary that there was weakness in the narrative chain of the death of Dhiraar in Yamama.^[58] Ibn Hajar further surmised that there were two different persons called Dhiraar. The first was Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar from the Asad tribe and the other named Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab. Thus, some chroniclers like Abd al-Barr made the mistake of identifying those two different persons as one.^[59] Although the confusion was evident here, the older chroniclers such as Abu Ismail al-Azdi and Sayf ibn Umar were conscious of the existence of two different Dhiraars, but they also recorded that both Dhiraar al-Azwar and Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab were present in the Syrian campaign, particularly at the Battle of Yarmouk, thus dismissing al-Barr and al-Waqidi's claims.^[60] Mashhoor bin Hassan al-Salman [ar], a Jordanian Hadith expert and pupil of Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, has warned in his book against the tradition authored by Waqidi. Al-Salman regards the death of Dhiraar in the battle of Yamama as inauthentic narration.^[61] Meanwhile, Mahmud Shakir also recorded that both Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar and Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab lived long enough past the battle of Yamama to attend the battle of Qadisiyyah.^[62]

Socio-political

Regarding the modern era historiographical study of the conquest of al-Bahnasa, Sudanese history researchers said the old chronicles from traditional History of Bahnasa Conquest supported the al-Maqrizi narration of the background for the Arab invasions of Sudan^{[45][Notes 11]}, though MacMichaels doubts it.^{[Notes 12]} Nevertheless, al-Dukhayli mentioned there are several battle poetries regarding the battle of Darishkur that were allegedly recited by several Muslim leaders during the battle, such as Dhiraar, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, al-Qa'qa' ibn Amr al-Tamimi, and others.^[67] Meanwhile, modern excavation and archaeological research teams from the Egyptian ministry also showed interest in the tombs of the Muslims fallen during the battle, and the alleged encampment of the Rashidun army during the campaign, in which Dhiraar participated.^[68] Dhiraar was a fluently accomplished poet who devoted many of his poetic narrations to his expression of Jihad and his Islamic stance.^[69] His work has been studied as the historical heritage of Iraq.^[69]

The Dharri clan, also known as the Zarari, are an Arabian tribe in modern day Iraq who can allegedly trace their ancestry to Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar.^[70]

In popular culture

Several 20th-century films made about Muslim conquests included Dhiraar in their cast:

• Syrian actor Ahmed Slan played the role of Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar in the first season of the series Khalid ibn al-Walid, directed by the Jordanian Mohammed Azizia.^{[citation needed]}
• Egyptian actor Abdullah Ghaith played the role in the series Under the Shade of Swords^{[71][better source needed]} by the Egyptian director Saeed Al-Rashidi.
• He is also portrayed in Swords of Arabia (Siyouf Al Arab), a historical drama series from Qatar, alongside his sister warrior Khawla bint Al-Azwar.