Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar Al-Asadi () also spelled as Diraar or Dirar (original name Dhiraar ibn Malik) was a skilled warrior who participated in the early Muslim conquests and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Dhiraar was known to his tribe as al-Azwar.
Dhiraar was feared by the Byzantine army and was given the nickname "the Barechested Warrior" or "the Barechested Champion" for his tendency to fight without armor or upper garments. Dhiraar is mostly known for killing three dozen enemy commanders in the Battle of Ajnadayn, blocking the enemy retreat in the Battle of Yarmouk, and killing more than a hundred soldiers single-handedly in the siege of Oxyrhynchus Bahnasa.
Dhiraar was a member of the elite Rashidun cavalry unit and also a dueling specialist of the Rashidun Army operating mostly under the famous general Khalid ibn al-Walid, who trusted him with various tasks during the Ridda Wars and the Muslim conquests of the Levant, Persia, North Africa and Egypt. Historians agree that Dhiraar died due to the Plague of Amwas during the later stage of the Levant campaign. Muslim scholars and chroniclers honored Dhiraar due to his status as a companion of Muhammad; during the modern era, his descendants, known as the Dharri tribe, spread mostly throughout Iraq.
Biography
Dhiraar belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Asad. He was the son of one of its chieftains, known as al-Azwar Malik, the sixth generation descendant of Asad ibn Khuzaymah, the progenitor of the Asad tribe, who descended in the seventh generation from Adnan. Dhiraar became Muslim after the Battle of the Trench, as he was sent with Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid by the Asad clan; he then urged the clan to embrace Islam after his visit to the prophet of Islam. Dhiraar's family was among the first converts to Islam. Muhammad admonished that it is allowed for Muslims to possess property which he gained before he convert to Islam. It is recorded that Dhiraar was known as a very wealthy person. It was said that he possessed a thousand camels.
During the initial period of the Ridda Wars, Dhiraar was a tax collector. He was one of the Arabian clansmen from Asad that stayed loyal and pledged allegiance to the Islamic government in Medina, with its newly appointed caliph Abu Bakr. Dhiraar showed his loyalty by warning and chastising the conduct of the peoples who rebelled against the caliphate. Later, he participated as a scout in the elite Rashidun cavalry led by the general Khalid ibn al-Walid. Dhiraar was sent to quell a rebellion. He was sent by Khalid to lead a detachment consisting of Banu Tamim warriors to confront Malik ibn Nuwayra, chief of the Bani Yarbu, a Banu Tamim clan, on accusations of apostasy. Dhiraar participated in Battle of Yamama, where he testified that around 7,000 followers of Musaylima were killed on the battlefield, the plain of Aqraba, while 7,000 others were killed inside their fortress, in a garden called "the garden of death".
Conquest of Iraq
Dhiraar participated in the first Muslim conquest of Persia under Khalid ibn al-Walid, which occurred immediately after the Ridda wars. Dhiraar played a pivotal role in the Battle of Walaja, as he was assigned to be one of two cavalry commanders tasked with leading detachments of Rashidun cavalry to strike the advancing Sassanid army from the rear, trapping them in a double envelopment maneuver strategy designed by Khalid.
During the battle of Hira, Dhiraar and Ayas ibn Qubaisah were tasked to subdue the fortress of al-Qasr al-Abyad; Dhiraar asked the fortress to surrender. However, the fortress garrison resisted and attacked the Rashidun soldiers under Dhiraar with "cylindrical ceramic rollers". In response, Dhiraar ordered his soldiers to shower the fortress wall with arrows, and continued to storm the people outside the fortress. His forces eventually breached inside and captured the houses and monasteries inside al-Qasr al-Abyad. This caused the residents to immediately surrender to Dhiraar.
Later, Dhiraar was recorded along with Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab, Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, and Dhiraar ibn al-Muqarrin as being appointed as quarter commanders of the Rashidun garrison in al-Sib. Dhiraar and the others mounted raids that penetrated into an area that reached the banks of the Tigris river.
Conquest of Levant
The Rashidun army left the capital Medina probably in the autumn of 633 or at the beginning of 634. They first engaged and defeated the Byzantines at Dathin on February 4; after that, Emperor Heraclius, then stationed in Emesa (now Homs, Syria), had reinforcements sent south to protect Caesarea Maritima. As a possible reaction, commander Khalid ibn al-Walid was ordered to aid Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah in Syria. Sometime before the Siege of Emesa, a Byzantine commander from Baalbek named Harbees collided with patrolling Rashidun troops which were led by Dhiraar, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, Rabia ibn Amr, and Malik Al-Ashtar. The forces of Harbees were swiftly demolished by the Rashidun troops under Amr. Dhiraar and Amr then continued by leading more than 5,000 cavalry troops to join Maysarah ibn Masruq in besieging Homs.
Battle of Ajnadayn According to George Nafziger, Dhiraar accomplished several impressive feats during the Battle of Ajnadayn, where he reportedly slew multiple Byzantine champions, including two provincial governors. At one point, Dhiraar impetuously confronted Khalid and asked:
Al-Waqidi recorded another event in which Dhiraar duelled against Vahan. Dhiraar unfastened and discarded his armor and upper garments during the duel, thus continuing bare-chested. In a very fierce duel, Dhiraar eventually speared Vahan through the chest, killing him. He then continued on, charging through the Byzantine ranks and killing at least three dozen Byzantine soldiers alone, according to witnesses. The deaths of the Byzantine commanders sowed disorder and loss of morale among the Byzantine ranks, which Khalid used to his strategic advantage.
Further battles in Levant After the defeat of the Byzantine-allied Ghassanids by April 24, Khalid's force was able to enter Bosra, Syria almost unopposed. Dhiraar was captured once by Byzantine forces during the Battle of Eagle Pass, which occurred during the siege of Damascus. Shortly after, he was rescued by a team led by his sister, Khawla bint al-Azwar. Dhiraar then participated in the siege of Damascus. Later in the same year, Dhiraar was appointed by Khalid to be cavalry commander during the battle of Fahl.
During the siege of al-Rastan, it is recorded that the supreme commander of Rashidun forces, Abu Ubayda, employed a certain plan that allowed Dhiraar and about 20 warriors which included al-Musayyab ibn Najaba, Dhu'l Kala al-Himyari, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib al-Zubaydi, Hashim ibn Utba, Qays ibn Makshuh, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, Malik al-Ashtar, and others to enter the city. They were to cause a riot inside which would throw the entire city into confusion, then open the gate from inside to allow the Muslim forces waiting outside to overwhelm the defenses, thus allowing the city to be captured despite its very strong fortifications.
Battle of Yarmouk
In the battle of Yarmouk, Dhiraar was placed on the left wing commanded by Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, leading his personal squadron among a dozen other squadrons on the left wing. During this battle, Dhiraar served largely in a unit of elite cavalry called the Mobile Guards, which was specifically tasked with plugging the gaps between Muslim ranks to avoid enemy penetration. It is recorded that in one particular clash, as a rank of Muslims fell back at the Byzantine onslaught, Dhiraar grouped together with Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, stood firm with 400 men holding the deserted line, and successfully defended the Muslim position until the fleeing Muslim ranks returned to the battlefield and reinforced the position again. The circumstances were expounded on in Al-Tabari's comprehensive history, wherein Ikrimah is recorded as saying:
Al-Harith ibn Hisham and Dhiraar ibn Al-Azwar both swore an oath along with 400 notable men and knights. They fought in front of Khalid's command tent until all of them were disabled by wounds. Many of them, including Ikrimah, died after the clash due to heavy wounds, although some, like Dhiraar, were able to recover.
On the final day of the battle, Dhiraar played a prominent role when Khalid assigned him to capture a bridge at Ayn al-Dhakar to safely cross the deep gorges of the ravines of Wadi ar-Raqqad with 500 soldiers. He was then ordered by Khalid to set an ambush there to eliminate the Byzantine armies who had been routed and who intended to use this bridge to withdraw. The next day, Dhiraar moved with 500 mounted troops around the northern flank of the Byzantines and captured the bridge. The plan was successful as the Byzantines retreated onto this path, where Dhiraar had been waiting for them at Wadi ar-Raqqad Bridge. The Byzantines were surrounded on all sides now. Some fell off into the deep ravines, others tried to escape into the water, only to be smashed on the rocks below, and still others were killed in their attempted escape.
Battle of Qadisiyyah
Later, Caliph Umar instructed a portion of the Rashidun troops from Yarmouk to be transferred to Iraq as reinforcements for Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah against the Sassanid Empire. Dhiraar was counted among them. At this stage, Ya'qubi has recorded that along with Dhiraar, bin Al-Azwar, Amr ibn Ma'adi Yakrib, Tulayha, and Kurt ibn Jammah al-Abdi discovered the corpse of Rostam Farrokhzad, the highest commander of the Sassanid army, during this battle.The Origins of the Islamic State quoting Yalubi volume II p. 165 The death of Rostam shocked the entire Sassanid side, which prompted Sa'd to instruct a general assault by all the Muslim soldiers.
Conquest of Africa
Later, according to Waqidi, during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Dhiraar participated in a campaign under Miqdad ibn Aswad that pacified several areas in the al-Gharbia region, starting from Kafr Tanah (in modern day Dakahlia Governorate) and Tinnis. Then Miqdad continued his march, leading forty horsemen which included Dhiraar. As they reached Damietta, Miqdad found the city was fortified by a man named al-Hammuk, an uncle of Al-Muqawqis. Al-Hammuk fortified the city and closed the gates as Miqdad besieged the city. As Damietta subdued, Miqdad was appointed to govern the city.
Later, Dhiraar was involved in the Muslim campaign to Bahnasa. Amr ibn al-As sent Dhiraar and the Muslim army under his command to meet the Sudanese Christian auxiliaries of Beja. Before the battle, the Rashidun army camped in Dashur. Benjamin Hendrickx reported that the African Christians had mustered around 20,000 Sudanese symmachoi corps, 1,300 elephant-mounted archers, and anti-cavalry units named al-Quwwad which were armed with iron staffs, led by a Patrician named Batlus. Meanwhile, al-Maqqari even stated there was a 50,000-strong Christian army of Byzantine-Sudanese alliance at the "Battle of Darishkur".
The record of al-Maqrizi stated that in this conflict, Dhiraar along with Miqdad ibn Aswad, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Uqba ibn Amir each commanded Muslim cavalry facing the elephant corps led by the Byzantine exarchate commander Batlus. The Rashidun cavalry were armed with spears which, after the tips were soaked in santonin plants and sulphur, ignited in flames. The flaming spears were used to drive the elephants away in terror, while the elephant riders were thrown from the elephant's back and crushed underfoot. Meanwhile, the al-Quwwad warriors were routed by Rashidun cavalry soldiers who used seized chain weapons to overcome the iron staffs used by the Byzantine al-Quwwad corps.
Siege of Bahnasa City