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Byzantine Territory 633 CE
Our leader was always interested in going further into the Byzantine Territory. After our win in the many battles with the Sassanid empire, Abu Bakr became confident in us. We were always motivated to conquer land if it meant that people were going to be able to know the religion of Islam. We also did this for wealth and the potential of obtaining prosperous land. We were split into different groups, which made it easier to cover different fronts in Roman Syria. Our leaders were heavily informed in the sense of the extensive Byzantine armies. Our commander, Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, knew the geography of the Byzantine territories well. He knew not to take the Daumat-Ul-Jandal or pass through Mesopotamia but instead, he had chosen a tedious route that would expedite our travels. The journey was transient but scalding. The intense heat of the Syrian desert was dreadful. We marched for two days, under the heat with no fluids.
We entered the territory in June of 634 and immediately secured the forts of Sawa, Arak, Tadmur, Sukhnah, Al Qarytayn, and Hawarin. After securing the forts we had plans to go towards then Bosra, we did this by passing through mountain Sanita-al-Uqab. This resulted in the Battle of Marj-al-rahit then we laid siege on Bosra which allowed us to dismantle the Ghassanid dynasty in around July 634. The plan after was to concentrate on Ajnadayn. We fought a great battle against Byzantine which created a span of vulnerability. Momentarily after we seized Damascus, it wasn't easy. There was a 6-month siege that delayed our passages. During our time conquering Byzantine, our leader, Abu Bakr passed, we hadn't gotten the news until after the triumph. Abu Bakr wasn't able to see our formidable combat and what we had defeated but it was known that he laid the foundations for us to succeed. Without Abu Bakr and our Commander Khalid Ibn Al-Walid. Islamic expansion wouldn't have flourished.12
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