Siege of Aleppo (637)
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36°11′53″N 37°09′48″E / 36.198133°N 37.16328°E
changes Aleppo captured by the Rashidun Caliphate
| Siege of Aleppo. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Muslim conquest of Syria (Arab–Byzantine wars) | |||||||||
 Aleppo citadel | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Rashidun Caliphate |
Byzantine Empire Ghassanids | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Khalid ibn al-Walid Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah | Joachim | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 17,000 | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Minimal | Unknown but more than Muslims | ||||||||
The siege of Aleppo, the Byzantine stronghold and one of few remaining Byzantine castles in the northern Levant after the decisive Battle of Yarmouk, was laid between August and October 637.
After the decisive Battle of Yarmouk, the Muslims marched northward deeper into Syria. After taking many small and large cities, both Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and Khalid ibn al-Walid met at Qinnasarin, and they marched to Aleppo, where a strong garrison under a Roman general named Joachim held the fort. Aleppo consisted of a large walled city and a smaller but virtually impregnable fort outside the city atop a hill, a little more than a quarter of a mile across, surrounded by a wide moat.
Battle
._Rawdat_al-safa_(Garden_of_felicity)_by_Mirkhwand_(d._1498),_Shiraz,_1571-72_(Arthur_M._Sackler_Collection,_S1986.241).jpg)
The Byzantine commander at Aleppo, Joachim, met the Muslim army under the command of Khalid and Abu Ubaidah in the open outside the fort. He was defeated and hastily retreated to the fort. He boldly launched many sallies to break the siege but failed every time. Joachim received no signs of any help from the emperor Heraclius (who could indeed send none). Consequently, around October 637, the Romans surrendered on terms according to which the soldiers of the garrison were allowed to depart in peace.