Army and Warfare__in Medieval Times.pptx

Describe the structure of Muslim armies in medieval times.

1. Rashidun Army The Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Muslims during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century , serving alongside the Rashidun navy . The size of the Rashidun army was initially 13,000 troops in 632, but as the Caliphate expanded , the army gradually grew to 100,000 troops by 657. The three most successful generals of the Rashidun army were Khalid ibn alWalid , who conquered Persian Mesopotamia Abu Ubaidah ibn al- Jarrah who conquered Roman Syria , ' Amr ibn al-'As, who conquered Roman Egypt .

2. Army Only Muslims were allowed to join the army as regular troops . During the Ridda wars , the army mainly consisted of the corps from Madinah , Mecca and Taif . Later on during the conquest of Iraq in 633 many bedouin corps were recruited as regular troops . In the conquest of Sassanid Persia (633-656), some 12,000 elite Persian troops converted to Islam and served later on during the invasion of the empire . During the conquest of North Africa , Berber converts to Islam were recruited as regular troops , who later made the bulk of the Rashidun army and later the Umayyad army in Africa .

3. Infantry / Piyadah Rashidun army relied heavily on their infantry . Mubarizun were a special part of the army , composed of the champions . Their role was to undermine the enemy morale by slaying their champions . The infantry would make repeated charges and withdrawals known as karr wa farr , using spears and swords combined with arrow volleys to weaken the enemies and wear them out . However , the main energy had to still be conserved for a counterattack , supported by a cavalry charge , that would make flanking or encircling movements .

4. Cavalry / Sipahis The Rashidun cavalry was one of the most successful light cavalry forces , provided it was competently led . It was armed with lances and swords . C avalry regiments were initially stationed behind the flanks and center . The proportion of cavalry within the Rashidun forces were initially limited to less than 20% due to the inability of the poor economic condition and arid climate of the Arabian Peninsula to support large numbers of warhorses .

5. Weaponry / Asliha and Divisions Helmets : miğfer Armour : Dir /zırh , Shields : Kalkan Sword : Sayf /kılıç Bows-arrows : yay-ok Siege weaponry : ed Dababah The army divisions Muqaddimah or The vanguard Qalb or The center Al- khalf or The rear Al- mou'akhira or The rearguard I n battle The army was organized on the decimal system . 1. Qalb or The center 2. Maimanah or The right wing 3. Maisarah or The left wing Every tribal unit had its leader called Arif s . In such units , there were commanders for each 10, 100, and 1,000 men Arifs were grouped and each group was under a commander called Amir- ul - Ashar and Amir - ul - Ashars were under the command of a section commander , who were under the command of the commander in chief , Amir- ul - jaish .

6. Warfare ethics- jurisprudence of Muslims Development of rulings The first military rulings were formulated in accordance with the interpretations of the Qur'an and Hadith The key themes in these rulings were the justness of war , and the injunction to jihad . The rulings do not cover feuds and armed conflicts in general. Jihad ( Arabic for " struggle ") was given a military dimension after the oppressive practices of the Meccan Quraish against Muslims . It was interpreted as the struggle in God's cause . Injunctions relating to jihad have been characterized as individual as well as collective duties of the Muslim community . The nature of attack is important in the interpretation — if the Muslim community is attacked jihad becomes incumbent on all Muslims .

7. Ethics of warfare The basic principle in fighting in the Qur'an is that other communities should be treated as one's own . Fighting is justified for legitimate self- defense , to aid other Muslims and after a violation in the terms of a treaty , but should be stopped if these circumstances cease to exist . The principle of forgiveness is reiterated in between the assertions of the right to self- defense .

8. Civilian areas it is not permissible to kill women or children unless they are fighting against the Muslims . the Shafiis : permissible to kill all types of adult men. the Hanafiis , Hanbalis and Malikis : not permissible to kill old men, monks , peasants , employees and traders ( this meaning male non-combatants ). Harming civilian areas and pillaging residential areas is also forbidden , as is the destruction of trees , crops , livestock and farmlands . not loot travelers n ot have the right to use the local facilities of the native people without their consent . If such a consent is obtained , the Muslim army is still under the obligation to compensate the people financially for the use of such facilities .