36°11′53″N37°09′48″E / 36.198133°N 37.16328°E /36.198133; 37.16328
| Siege of Aleppo. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMuslim 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 | ||||||||
Thesiege of Aleppo, the Byzantine stronghold and one of few remaining Byzantine castles in the northernLevant after the decisiveBattle of Yarmouk, was laid between August and October 637.
After the decisiveBattle of Yarmouk, the Muslims marched northward deeper into Syria. After taking many small and large cities, bothAbu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah andKhalid ibn al-Walid met at Qinnasarin, and they marched toAleppo, where a strong garrison under aRoman 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.
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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 emperorHeraclius (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.
Joachim converted to Islam along with his 4,000 Greek soldiers. He would prove himself a remarkably able and loyal officer to the caliphate and would fight gallantly under various Muslim generals.[2] However, according to Peter Crawford, the account of Joachim's conversion with his 4,000 soldiers is doubtful.[3]Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah sent a column underMalik al-Ashtar to takeAzaz on the route to 'Rome'. The region which the Muslims called Rome included the area which is now SouthernTurkey east of theTaurus Mountains. Malik, assisted by Joachim, captured Azaz and signed a pact with the local inhabitants, whereafter he returned toAleppo. The capture and clearance of Azaz was essential to ensure that no large Roman forces remained north of Aleppo, whence they could strike at the flank and rear of the Muslims as the next major operation was launched. As soon as Malik bin Ashtar rejoined the army, Abu Ubaidah marched westwards to captureAntioch, which was captured after theBattle of the Iron Bridge on October 30, 637.[2]