The Conquest of Mecca—During the Trench, Part 2

During the Battle of the Trench between the Quraysh of Mecca with their Confederacy and Muhammad and the Muslims who had headquartered in Medina, Muhammad was looking for ways to dissolve the enemy's alliance. Fortunately for him, a high-ranking member from Mecca who had converted to Islam approached him, and was given the task of finding ways to sow discord among the Confederacy.

His name was Nuaym ibn Masud of the powerful Ghatafan tribe that had joined the Confederacy because they had been offered a large bribe of half the harvest of the Banu Nadir, a tribe of Jews that had been expelled from Medina by Muhammad. Muhammad had directly tried to barter a third of the date harvest of Medina to get the Ghatafan to leave the Confederacy, but that plan failed.

Masud (pictured above from this article) went to the Qurayza, a Jewish tribe south of Medina who had remained neutral. The Confederacy had approached them and pointed out the overwhelming numbers of the Confederacy and that the Muslims would surely lose. Masud told the Qurayza (speaking as a member of the Confederacy) that if the siege failed the Confederacy would abandon the Qurayza, leaving them at Muhammad's mercy. He suggested that the Qurayza guarantee the Confederacy's support by demanding hostages from them.

Masud then went back to the Confederacy and told its leader, Abu Sufyan, that the Qurayza had defected to Muhammad and should not be trusted if they ask for hostages as a guarantee; that the hostages were really prisoners to turn over to Muhammad as a sign of faith, to become slaves.

The Confederacy then sent a messenger to the Qurayza to discuss a united assault on Medina. The Qurayza took the opportunity to demand hostages as insurance of cooperation and support. This of course fed into the Confederacy's Masud-stoked fears that hostages would be turned over to Muhammad. Abu Sufyan took this news to the leader of the Banu Nadir, who was absolutely shocked that a tribe of Jews would be allied with Muhammad, who had treated the Jews so poorly in Medina. Fears of treachery and distrust between these and the various tribes of the Confederacy made success seem less and less likely.

Also, the Confederacy suffered from the situation on the ground. They were used to battle, not a long siege. The Trench prevented them from attacking and resolving things quickly, and they were getting hungry and thirsty. The weather was also cold and wet (this was October).

By the end of 20 days, the confederacy gave up and went their separate ways. That is when Muhammad turned his attention to the Banu Qurayza, who had at one point aided him and at another chose to support the Confederacy. He decided they had to be dealt with severely, but that's a story for tomorrow.

The Conquest of Mecca—The Battle of The Trench

After the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud, the next encounter between the Quraysh of Mecca and the Muslims who followed Muhammad was the Battle of the Trench. This was in January of 627.

Muhammad's Muslims continued to raid and plunder Quraysh caravans, especially at Badr, and so it was decided by the Quraysh to advance on Medina and occupy it. The Quraysh needed military reinforcements, and so negotiated with the Bedouins to join them. A tribe of Jewish Arabs, the Banu Nadir, who had been expelled from Medina by Muhammad, offered to the Bedouins half of their crops if the Bedouins would participate. Other tribes also joined the effort: the Ghatafan, Ased, Salem, Murra, Fuzarah, and Shuja. This alliance was called the Confederacy.

A group of 7000-10,000 men were assembled to march on Medina, led by Abu Sufyan. Muhammad learned of their plans, and at the suggestion of Salman the Persian, Muhammad ordered a deep trench to be dug. Some of the tools used were loaned from the Banu Qurayza, another Jewish tribe. The Banu Qurayza, occupying an oasis near Medina, unlike the Nadir, tried to remain neutral. The material from the trench was thrown up on the Medina side, creating a high embankment from which the Muslims could shoot arrows or throw stones down on anyone trying to cross the trench.

The illustration shows the three contingents of Quraysh and their allies (the red arrows) approaching the trench. Uncertain of how to proceed across the barrier meant the "battle" became more of a siege, an unfamiliar tactic in Arabian warfare. Attempts to fight over a span of 20 days led to a half-dozen casualties among the Muslims and three of the Quraysh. The Quraysh gave up and went home.

That is too simplified, however. Muhammad tried to break up the Confederacy by negotiating with some of the different tribes, even offering bribes. I'll go into detail tomorrow about the Ghatafan, and what happened to the Banu Qurayza when they changed their stance.

The Conquest of Mecca—The Battle of Uhud

After the Battle of Badr and the deaths of some of the Quraysh leaders, the leader of the large caravan involved, Abu Sufyan, became leader of the Quraysh. He determined to avenge the deaths at Badr, and therefore led an army of about 3000 (three times the size of the Meccan force at Badr) to attack Muhammad and his Muslim followers at Medina.

When word of the gathering army reached Medina, Muhammad and his senior leaders were confident in the fortifications of the city. His younger and more energetic members, however, wanted to march and fight the approaching Quraysh in the open. The glory of open battle won the debate.

The Muslim army from Medina numbered only 1000 when they went to Mount Uhud north of Medina (pictured), and was reduced further when 300 men returned to Medina, uncertain about the decision to fight in the open. Muhammad sent 50 archers to the slopes of Uhud to protect the flank of the majority, who were positioned in a valley. The battle took place on 19 March 625.

The initial success of the Muslims prompted the archers to leave their position to take part more directly against the Quraysh. This was against the orders of Muhammad, who had told them to stay on the slope (now called the Mount of the Archers). The Quraysh realized that they were no longer as vulnerable to arrows from above, and were able to send a group to outflank the archers.

Several Muslims were killed at the Battle of Uhud, and Muhammad was injured. The Muslims retreated up the slopes, and the Quraysh took this as a victory and returned to Mecca.

Six months later, the Quraysh decided again to take the offensive and occupy Medina, initiating The Battle of the Trench, a battle that turned out to not be a battle. I'll explain next time.

The Conquest of Mecca—The Battle of Badr

Mecca was occupied largely by the Arab Quraysh tribe—a grouping of many clans. Muhammad was born into one of these clans, the Hashim. Muhammad's spread of Islam in Mecca did not stir up any trouble among the Quraysh until he started attacking their polytheistic beliefs.

Relations with Muhammad's group deteriorated, and so Muhammad took his followers to Medina, an event called the Hijra ("a severing of ties of kinship or association"), Latinized to Hegira. In the Julian calendar, this event took place on 16 July 622.

While in Medina, Muhammad began raids on Quraysh trade caravans in order to enrich his people. News of a particularly large caravan from Gaza to Mecca—supposedly 1000 camels carrying 50,000 dinars' worth of goods—prompted him to send his men to attack it at the town of Badr. The leader of the caravan, Abu Sufyan, heard rumors of the intended attack, so he sent messengers to Mecca for help. Mecca sent 1000 Quraysh. Their leader sent scouts ahead to reconnoiter. He diverted the caravan to a more difficult route that would take them out of danger.

Word was sent back to the approaching Quraysh force, at which several hundred decided to go home. One group that left was related to Muhammad's mother. Muhammad learned of the nearby presence of the Quraysh and ordered his people to fill all the available water wells with sand except one that the Muslims controlled. A clash between the Quraysh and Muslims followed. The Quraysh assumed that the Muslims would simply be scared off by a show of force, but the Muslims were well-watered and filled with visions of heavenly reward for fighting, while the Meccans were dealing with thirst and aware that they could be fighting against their own kin and former friends. Also, the Meccans' intent was to capture the enemy for punishment; the Muslims were ready to kill.

The Battle of Badr started with individual combat between three warriors of each side, but quickly devolved into a melee. It did not last much past noon. The Muslims gained loot as well as camels, weapons, armor, and captives for ransom. The illustration is of the aftermath of the Battle of Badr and the casting of the defeated Quraysh bodies into a dry well, from a 14th century retelling.

This was motivation for the Quraysh to send an attack against the Muslims. How that went will be tomorrow's topic.