| Siege of Laodicea | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMuslim conquest of Syria (Arab–Byzantine wars) | |||||||||
 Jami' al-Bazaar mosque inLatakia built by 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit during conquest of Levant | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Rashidun Caliphate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown | Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit Anas ibn Malik | ||||||||
Thesiege of Laodicea was aRashidun Caliphate campaign that occurred in 636, during theMuslim conquest of the Levant. The siege of theByzantine port city of Laodicea (modernLatakia) was led byAbu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah and'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, two of theCompanions of theIslamic prophetMuhammad.
After the city ofTartus was subdued in 636, 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit was immediately instructed by his superior, Abu 'Ubaydah to march towardsJablah andLatakia, then known as Laodicea.[1][2]
During the siege, 'Ubadah met stiff resistance from the local garrison. He saw that the city had a massivegate that could only be opened by many men. 'Ubadah then ordered them to camp at a distance from the city. They dug a trench deep enough to conceal hiscavalry. 'Ubadah and his army pretended to return toHoms during the hours of daylight, but later that night he and his army silently returned and hide themselves within the trench.[3]
Believing 'Ubadah and his men had gone, the citizens opened the city gate and drove forth their cattle. 'Ubadah immediately ordered his entire army to attack. The Byzantines, caught by surprise, were unable to close the gate again. 'Ubadah climbed upon the wall and shouted thetakbir battle cry, whereupon his soldiers entered into the city. The terrified Byzantine defenders then fled towards Al-Yusaiyid, leaving the city undefended.[3]
The fleeing Byzantine soldiers and the local citizens surrendered to 'Ubadah, who allowed the population to return to their homes, on the condition that they paid thekharaj land tax.[3]
Latakia was left largely intact by 'Ubadah, who supervised the building ofmosques in the city, and stayed to imposeCaliphate laws upon the population. He built the great mosque, Jami' al-Bazaar. Laodicea, the Greco-Roman name of the city, was changed to Latakia (Al-Ladhiqiyah).[3][4]
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