Write an account of the Battle of Yarmuk fought during the caliphate of 'Umar.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2014). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) When reports of the fall of Damascus and defeat at Fihl and Hims in 635 AD was given to Heraclius he was determined to recover Palestine - the Holy Land - for Christian rule; he mobilized a large army, several times the size of the Muslim army to fight them; the Muslim army initially was under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who began to group his forces along the River Yarmuk; ‘Umar was in contact with the army and sent them messages and encouragement; the Romans tried to drive out the Muslims from Syria through negotiations and bribery but Khalid refused and in turn elaborated upon the positive changes that Islam had brought about in the Arabs and invited the Romans to accept Islam or pay jizya; during the course of the battle the caliph appointed Abu 'Ubaidah bin Jarra as the new commander-in- chief, the Muslim strategies paid off and after a fierce battle that lasted 6 days the Romans were defeated. The Muslims also lost 3000 men in this battle; the battle of Yarmuk was a turning point in the history of the Byzantine empire in the middle east and the fate of Syria was decided; though the Muslims had been successful in securing almost all of Syria the city of Jerusalem, besieged by Amr bin al-'Aas since the Yarmuk conflict had withstood surrender but after Abu Ubaidah's victory they agreed to surrender but only to the caliph himself. The candidates may give many facts about this battle and develop some of them or give a few facts and develop them in great detail. The answer will need to be read as a whole and given marks accordingly.
2. [4] (b) 'Umar went about conducting the affairs of the caliphate even though there was a threat to his life, he did not increase the security around him, nor did he succumb to the demands of Abu Lulu who threatened his life for not relieving him from paying a tax. Candidates may well give this background but to get to the higher levels they need to evaluate the points they make e.g. they could say that Muslims should learn from 'Umar's action and have complete faith in Allah and believe that only He is the giver and taker of life. They must not give in to unjust demands and work honestly at whatever they do, etc. In Part (b) answers it is evaluation that will earn the candidates marks even if it is simply put.