Back غزوة الخندق Arabic غزوة الخندق ARZ Хандакъалъул гъазават AV Xəndək döyüşü Azerbaijani خندق دؤیوشو AZB Ур һуғышы Bashkir খন্দকের যুদ্ধ Bengali/Bangla Bitka na Hendeku BS Batalla del Fossat Catalan شەڕی خەندەق CKB
| Battle of the Trench | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Muslim–Quraysh War | |||||||
 Map of the Battle of the Trench | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Muslims including |
Confederates including
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Muhammad Ali Ibn Abi Talib Salman the Persian 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit[6] Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (WIA) |
Abu Sufyan Amr ibn Abd al-Wud † Tulayha | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000[7] |
10,000 7,500 (Watt's estimate)[8] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5[9] – 6[10][11] | 3[10][11] | ||||||
  Location within Saudi Arabia | |||||||
The Battle of the Trench (Arabic: غزوة الخندق, romanized: Ghazwat al-Khandaq), also known as the Battle of Khandaq (Arabic: معركة الخندق, romanized: Ma’rakah al-Khandaq) and the Battle of the Confederates (Arabic: غزوة الاحزاب, romanized: Ghazwat al-Ahzab), was part of the conflict between the Muslims and the Quraysh. The Quraysh advanced towards the Muslims, who defended themselves in Medina by digging a trench around their settlement at the suggestion of Salman the Persian.[12] The battle took place in 627 and lasted around two weeks,[11] resulting in five to six casualties reported by the Muslim, and three casualties amongst the Quraysh.[10][11][9]
The Quraysh instigated the battle in response to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's continued raids on their trade caravans, and thus decided to occupy his city base of Medina.[4] Realizing that they had little military capability as they were merchants, they negotiated with the Bedouins to get them to join the campaign.[4] The Banu Nadir, whom Muhammad had previously expelled from Medina, were also part of this effort and offered the Bedouins half of their crops in Khaybar to persuade them to participate.[13] They reported to have gathered a confederate force of between 7,500 and 10,000 men, including Banu Ghatafan, Banu Sulaym, and Banu Asad.[8]
Muhammad, having learned of the impending Quraysh advance, took the advice of Salman the Persian to have his followers make a deep trench to impede the opponent's movement.[14][12] The Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza assisted with this effort by digging the trench and lending them their tools.[15][16][17] When the Quraysh approached, they were unfamiliar with this tactic and struggled to get beyond the trench.[12] Muhammad used the time to negotiate secretly with the Banu Ghatafan, sowing distrust among his opponents. After about two weeks, the weather deteriorated and the invading party withdrew.[4]
The battle caused the Meccans to lose their trade to Syria and much of their prestige.[5] After the battle, Muhammad was reportedly visited by Gabriel, who directed him to attack the Banu Qurayza - who had betrayed the Muslims and had secretly aligned with the Quraysh.[18] This led to the slaughter and enslavement of its population by the Muslims.[a]
- ^ Watt 1956, p. 35–36.
- ^ Brockopp 2010, p. 9.
- ^ Lapidus 2012, p. 42.
- ^ a b c d Buhl & Welch 1993, p. 370.
- ^ a b Watt 1961, pp. 167–174.
- ^ Gil, Moshe (27 February 1997). Ibn Sa'd, 1(1), 147 VII(2), 113f, Baladhuri, Tarikh Tabari, 1 2960, Muqaddasi, Muthir, 25f; Ibn Hisham, 311. Cambridge University press. p. 119. ISBN 0521599849. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Rodinson 2002, p. 208.
- ^ a b Watt 1961, p. 166-167.
- ^ a b Hazleton 2014, p. 259.
- ^ a b c Rodgers 2012, p. 148.
- ^ a b c d Watt 1961, p. 169.
- ^ a b c Watt 1961, p. 168.
- ^ Watt 1961, p. 166.
- ^ Rodgers 2012, p. 143.
- ^ Rodinson 2021, p. 209.
- ^ Gabriel 2014, p. 136.
- ^ Rodgers 2012, p. 145.
- ^ Spellberg 1994, p. 45.
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