From: “khalid issa” <gps7500@yahoo.com>
To: <defjrnl@pathfinder9.com>
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 7:37 AM
Subject: historical errors of army sizes estimation

Assalaam Alaikum Columnist Mukhtar Ahmad Gilani!

I read your article about army sizes in historical battles in the defence Journal and found some errors. I hope you put this article in the Pakistani defence Journal which I feel proud toward Pakistani military writers who publish their articles in this magazine.

1. In battle “Aleece” between Muslims and Persians, Muslims under command of Khalid bin Al-Waleed were 18,000, the Persians were 150,000, ratio of 1:8.33. Persians were defeated and lost 70,000 killed.

2. Agnadeen battle Muslims were 24,000-27,000, (not 35,000), Byzantines were 100,000 not 90,000. Byzantines lost 10,000 killed. Muslims lost 450 killed. Muslims won the battle.

3. Before Al-Yarmuk battle, there was a battle near Al-Yarmuk river between Byzantines and Muslims. Muslims were under General “Khalid bin Saeed” who is not Khalid bin Al-Waleed who was at the time of battle that was led by Bin Saeed at the eastern front fighting killed.

At that battle Muslims were defeated losing 6,000 killed while Byzantine army entered the battle with a portion of its forces consisting of 150,000 soldiers against 24,000 Muslims. Muslim army under the lead of Khalid bin Saeed were defeated losing 6,000 soldiers, the rest left 18,000 Muslim soldiers withdrew to Madena.

This is why there are different numbers. Pakistani General Akram in his book “The Sword of Allah” about Khalid bin Al-Waleed is mixing wrongly between the army size of Byzantine which was used in this battle 150,000 soldiers with

Al-Yarmuk battle which the army sizes were different, the 150,000 Byzantine soldiers that defeated Khalid bin Saeed consisted about half of the total Byzantine army in Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Turkey which was a total of 336,000 soldiers according to Byzantine records they were paying the soldiers their salaries.

And this registered in historical records that showed that Byzantine and their paid allies has a total force of 336,000 soldiers were (28 legions of Byzantine soldiers citizens + 28 legions of allies auxiliary force who were called auxiliary because they were not citizens they were mostly Arabs and Turks. Each legion consists of 6,000 soldiers (infantry and cavalry). Before that time under former Roman Empire in Ceaser’s ruling era the records showed 405,600 soldiers in the total Roman Empire.

The Byzantine army didn’t use its total army force because they knew that General Khalid bin Saeed had no previous war experience so they only used about less than half of their army. Khaled bin Saeed was defeated in the battle against Byzantine army. The remaining 18,000 Muslim army soldiers withdrew to Madena. Then Caliph Abu Bakr ordered the famous General Khalid bin Al-Waleed to move from the Persian front to the Byzantine front. The Muslim armies were 6 army groups. The 18,000 who came back from Madena consisted of 5 army groups. 4 groups were each consisted of 3,000 soldiers, the fifth group consisted of 6,000 soldiers combined a total of 18,000 soldiers then Khalid bin Al-Waleed came from Iraq with 9,000 soldiers leaving the remaining 9,000 soldiers in Iraqi front to be ready for any Persian counter-attack.

Now the total Muslim army is 27,000 soldiers. At Agnadeen battle they lost 450 soldiers and also there was several non-major battles with the Byzantines in Syria where the Muslims won all of them and lost nearly 2,500 soldiers. Now the remaining Muslim army was 24,000 soldiers not 40,000 as General Akram said, the Muslim army consisted of 36 army units called Kurds, there was 10 cavalry Kurds each Kurds consisted of 800-1,000 with an average of 840 elements for each Kurdus unit and 26 infantry Kurds units. Each Kurds consists of 600 elements. So there was a total of 15,600 infantry + 8,400 cavalry making a combined force of 24,000 soldiers. They camped near Al-Yarmuk river and because the Byzantines knew General Khalid bin Al-Waleed very well and saw how he defeated the Persians and the Byzantines themselves in several battles they decided to use nearly all their near available total ultimate forces so they combined all their armies and camped near Al-Yarmuk river the Byzantine total army force combined were 240,000 soldiers including the 90,000 soldiers who fled from Agnadeen battle where they were defeated.

So at Al-Yarmuk battle which was led by General Khalid bin Al-Waleed the Muslim army were 24,000 soldiers. They were faced by the total ultimate Byzantine armies which consisted of 240,000 soldiers.

The two army ratio were: 1:10 the highest battle ratio between two armies ever in the human history. The Byzantines were defeated losing 70,000-120,000 soldiers killed. The Muslims lost 4,030 soldiers killed.

At Muta’ battle General Akram said in his book “The Sword of Allah” that Muslims were 3,000 but Byzantines were nearly 15,000, this is a mistake, as the mistake of estimating the Byzantines and their auxiliary Arab allies of 200,000 soldiers which is also exaggerated, the Byzantine army weren’t known of moving or mobilzing to any battle with less than 30,000 soldiers also the Arab auxiliary allies didn’t step or move or mobile to any battle with less 30,000 soldiers. This number of 30,000 soldiers were called an army unit which consist of 5 legions.

The exaggerated estimations of 100,000 Byzantine soldiers + another 100,000 auxiliary Arab allies soldiers is also not realistic. The most accurate number for the two army units: Byzantine army unit of 30,000 soldiers + auxiliary Arab allies 30,000 soldiers were gathered near Muta’ to combine a total army of 60,000 soldiers which was the most realistic, so 3,000 Muslim soldiers faced 60,000 Byzantine and Arab mixed soldiers with a ratio of 1:20 Muslims lost 12 soldiers while Byzantines lost 7,000 soldiers. Then Muslims withdrew at night. Muslims withdrawal was equal to the huge loss of Byzantine soldiers. 12 Muslims compared to 7,000 Byzantine soldiers then the battle result was a draw.

Neither part was defeated or victorious without favour to any part.

Khalid Boreene
Jordan