Siege of Jerusalem (636–637)
| Siege of Jerusalem (637) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Muslim conquest of the Levant (Arab–Byzantine wars) | |||||||||
Map of the Muslim invasion of Syria and the Levant (September 636 to December 637) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Rashidun Caliphate | Byzantine Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Patriarch Sophronius | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~20,000 | Unknown | ||||||||
| Part of a series on |
| Jerusalem |
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The siege of Jerusalem (636–637) was part of the Muslim conquest of the Levant and the result of the military efforts of the Rashidun Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire in the year 636–637/38. It began when the Rashidun army, under the command of Abu Ubayda, besieged Jerusalem beginning in November 636. After six months, Patriarch Sophronius agreed to surrender, on condition that he submit only to the caliph. In 637 or 638, Caliph Umar (r. 634–644) traveled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city. The patriarch thus surrendered to him.
The Muslim conquest of the city solidified Arab control over Palestine, which remained part of various Sunni Caliphates until the Shia-led Fatimid Caliphate took over in 969. In 1073 the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem, and Christian rulers regained control at the time of the First Crusade in 1099.