Siege and Conquest of Damascus

The conquest of Damascus, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major Byzantine administrative centre, marked a turning point in the Muslim conquest of Syria. Following the victory at Ajnadayn, Muslim forces moved northward. Damascus was besieged from multiple sides, with Khalid ibn al-Walid and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah commanding different sectors. After several months of siege, the city fell in September 635 CE — though accounts differ on whether one sector surrendered by negotiation while another was taken by storm simultaneously. The different terms agreed upon on different sides of the city led to some confusion in the sources. The population was offered the same terms as other conquered cities: security of life, property, and places of worship in exchange for the jizya. Damascus became the operational base for subsequent campaigns northward and remained the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate for nearly a century.