Khalid ibn al-Walid

Khalid ibn al-Walid was one of the most important military commanders of early Islam. He came from the Banu Makhzum, an aristocratic clan of the Quraysh, the leading tribe of Mecca; his birth year is not securely recorded (the figure of c. 585 CE is a modern estimate, not an attested date). Before accepting Islam he fought against the early Muslim community: tradition credits his cavalry command on the Meccan right flank with turning the Battle of Uhud (625) against the Prophet Muhammad's forces. Sources place his conversion around 627 (6 AH) or 629 (8 AH); the historian Michael Lecker judges the later date the more trustworthy. After the Muslim withdrawal at the Battle of Mu'ta (629) against Byzantine and allied forces, he is traditionally said to have received the honorific 'Sayf Allah' ('Sword of God').

Under the caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar he became a field commander in the Ridda wars (632-633) against tribes that broke with Medina, then led campaigns on the Sasanian Iraqi frontier (633-634) — though the historian Patricia Crone has argued he may have played no real role there at all. The tradition credits him with a celebrated waterless desert march, which the historian Hugh Kennedy calls a memorable feat of military endurance, before he commanded in the conquest of Byzantine Syria, notably at Yarmuk (636) and the taking of Damascus.

Caliph Umar later removed him from command (reportedly c. 638); sources differ on the reasons, with some historians citing his administration of war-spoils and others reporting Umar's unease that people had grown too reliant on Khalid's fame. He died in 21 AH (c. 642). The year is well attested, but the place is disputed: traditions place his death at either Homs or Medina.