According to
Ibn Hazm, his full
Nisba lineage was
Arfaja b. Harthama b. Abd-al-Uzza b. Zuhayr b. Thailbh b. Amr b. Sa`d b. Thailbh b. Kinanah al-Bariqi; the
Bariq were descendants of
Al-Azd. According to Ahmad Jawdat Pasha, who quoted Waqidi, Arfajah grew up in a wealthy family and was known as a gifted orator. Arfajah also had powerful martial prowess as he is said to have been skilled in sword-fighting and equestrian methods, while also possessing good social skills. following the orders of Abu Bakr, then sent Ikrimah to march and join Arfajah. As Arfaja had not yet arrived, Ikrimah, instead of waiting for him, tackled the local rebels on his own. At Jairut, Ikrimah met two rebel armies preparing for battle. He persuaded the weaker to embrace Islam and then joined up with them to defeat their opponents. Having re-established Islam in Mahra, Ikrimah moved his corps to
Abyan, where he rested his men and awaited further developments. Until further instruction arrived for Arfaja and his Azd army to assist the Al Azdi Ruler, Abd Al-Juland and his brother Jayfar, who ruled the interior of the Oman peninsula and travelled to
Medina in 632 to swear fealty to the
Caliph Abu Bakr, who received him with pleasure. The leader of the apostates of Oman was
Laqit bin Malik Al-Azdi, known as "the one with the crown", or ''Dhu'l Taj''. A natural rival to the Julanda kings, he forced them into retreat before the army from Medina completed its arduous journey through the
Rub' al Khali to reach the Oman peninsula. Meeting up with the Madinan army, the forces of the Julanda were bolstered by tribes from the region who deserted Laqit. Then the Omanite and Azd allied army in turn attacked the Sasanian governor Maskan and defeated Maskan's forces at Damsetjerd in
Sohar, killing Maskan. Leaving behind all their silver and gold, the
Sasanians evacuated the country. The allied forces of Arfajah and the Julandi brothers fought the rebels under Laqit in the final engagement of the
Battle of Dibba, where the rebel leader placed his men's families behind their lines in order to encourage them to fight harder. However, the Medinan army prevailed following the arrival of reinforcements, the Beni Abdul Kais and Beni Najia tribes who had formed part of the Caliph's army but who had been delayed during the long journey from Medina. After the rebellion of Laqit was put down, Hudhayfah ibn Muhsin stayed in the area to consolidate the place, while Ikrimah commenced mop-up operations against remnants of rebels left in Mahra, and Arfajah was tasked to escort the spoils of war brought to the Caliphate citadel in Medina. It is said by
Yaqut al-Hamawi that in the aftermath of this conflict Arfajah found and brought a boy named
Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra, a future famous anti-
Kharijites general, to Medina.
Conquest against Persia First naval campaign that Arfajah conquered from the coast of Oman. In the year 12
AH, Arfajah led the first Arab-Islamic
naval invasions in history, and conquered a large number of islands in the
Gulf of Oman.
Ahmed Jawdat Pasha, who narrated from the text of
Al-Waqidi, pointed that Arfajah did not have trouble to raise an army and ships which needed to mount this naval invasion without the support of central caliphate, due to his notably wealthiness and powerful influence of followers from within his clan. Ahmed Jawdat further narrated that the background of Arfajah naval expedition from
Al-Waqidi's book that Arfajah were filled by impetuous Jihad spirit And he disregarded the advice of
Al-Faruq, boarded the ships and marched for the conquest in the Sea of Oman. However, Jawdat mistook as he though this campaign occurred during Umar caliphate, while in reality it is occurred during caliphate of Abu Bakr. Tabari narrated that as caliph Abu Bakar learned Arfajah acted without his consent, he immediately dismissed Arfajah.
Campaign under Muthanna As
Khalid ibn al-Walid transferred to
Levant, Arfajah marched to rendezvous with the army under
al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, who are now being in charge of Rashidun forces in Iraq, and served under him in the victorious
Battle of Namaraq and the
Battle of Kaskar. However the Muthanna and Arfaja experienced major drawback in the
Battle of the Bridge, where they suffered heavy losses. responded to this calamity, caliph Umar reacted to send the contingent of
Bajila tribe under the leadership of for reinforcement. although there is some minor quarrel between Jarir and Arfajah, in the end they are agree to joint their forces under Muthanna to fight the Persians. then Arfajah and Muthanna, have been replenished by Bajila host of Jarir, marched toward Buwaib, where they fought the Sassanid again, in the victorious
Battle of Buwaib, where they even succeeded slaying the Sassanid general, Mihran. which also called by Tabari and
Ali ibn al-Athir as "day of tenth" (Yawm al-Ashir), due to the intensity of the battle where each one of Muslim soldiers managed to kill ten of
Sassanid soldier. After the battle, Arfajah march to Hirah, and recapture the city, which has been fallen to the Sassanid before after the Battle of the Bridge. Later, in the year 12 AH, Bahrain were suffered from constant naval raids by Persians. Arfajah, who just conquered the town of
Sawad immediately goes to Bahrain to reinforce his superior in Bahrain, al-Ala al Hadrami.
Second naval campaign In the end of the year 13 AH, al Ala ibn Hadrami commanded Arfajah started sending ships and boats for further maritime expedition, as they are ordered by caliph Umar to detach himself from
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha while they are in
Hirah. This time, Arfajah, under al Ala, were attacking the island of to exterminate the feeling apostate rebels who flee from mainland of Arabian peninsula toward that island. the Muslim armies began attacking the capital of Darin and killing the rebels there, pacified the eastern Arab coasts. Then, on their own initiative, Arfajah, under instruction from al Ala, started to send ships towards Sassanid coast in
Tarout Island. This continued until Arfajah reached the port of
Borazjan, where according to
Ibn Sa'd Arfajah sunk many
Persian navy ships in a battle,
Shuaib Al Arna'ut and al-Arqsoussi recorded the words of
Al-Dhahabi regarding Arfaja naval campaign during this occasion:
"...Arfaja sent to the coast of Persia, destroying many(enemy) ships, and conquered the island and build mosque". It is said by historians this Arfajah operations in the coast of
Persian Gulf secured the water ways for Muslims army and paving the way for the later
Muslim conquest of Pars. Ibn Balkhi wrote that Arfajah write his progress to al Ala, who in turn inform to 'Umar. This satisfy 'Umar, who in turn instructed al Ala to further resupply Arfajah who still continued fighting off coast, which Arfajah responds continued the naval campaigns the mainland of Fars. The coastal incursions commenced by Arfajah spans from
Jazireh-ye Shif to an Island, which identified by
Ahmad ibn Mājid as
Lavan Island Then continued to until they reached
Kharg Island. Poursharianti recorded this second Arfajah naval adventure were ended with the annexation of Kharg, in month of Safar, 14 AH. However, this time caliph 'Umar disliked Arfajah unnecessarily dragged sea adventures, as the naval forces of Arfajah were originally dispatched to support
Utbah ibn Ghazwan to conquer Ubulla. Arfajah manage to rendezvous with Utbah later in the location that will become a
Basra city, and together they besiege Ubulla until they managed to capture the port city.
Abu Mikhnaf reported in Ali Ibn Athir book, al Kamal, that the conquest of Ubulla by Arfajah and Utbah were bloodless, as the Sassanid garrison somehow terrified by the besiegers so they gave up fighting and leave Ubulla undefended, allowing Utbah and Arfajah to capture it. Then after they take Ubulla and used it as headquarters, Utbah and Arfajah commence operation in south-eastern Iraq, and capturing
Maysan Governorate. Later, Arfajah also witnessed the
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah under
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Arfajah marched from Basra to Join Sa'd before the battle, while also brought 400 to 700 Azd cavalry under him, which he brought earlier in the conquest of Ubulla. As the Muslims has emerged victorious from the hard battle in Qadisiyah, they immediately marched towards the Sassanid capital, which are nicknamed by the Arabs as
Al-Mada'in. Sa'd lead the Muslim army to cross the river and engaged in the
besiege the capital, until
Yazdegerd III fled and the capital fallen to the Muslims. Sa'd and his army, including Arfajah stay for while in the conquered capital of Sassanid and manage to establish base there. The
Rashidun cavalry which led by Arfajah were the first to arrive in Tikrit, where they facing the Byzantine army allied with
Iyad and
Taghlib ibn Wa'il tribe. After they finished with Tikrit, Ibn al-Mu'ta'm sent Rabi'i ibn al-Afkal and Arfajah to subdue
Nineveh and Mosul, before the news about Byzantine under Antiqa defeat in Tikrit spreading wide. then both Arfajah and Ibn al Mu'ta'm succeeded to force surrender from both city and subject both to Jizya tribute. However, regarding Mosul there is conflicting reports that
Khalifah ibn Khayyat recorded the one who subdue Mosul was instead
Iyad ibn Ghanm, governor of
Jazira, as Jazira were adjacent to Mosul. The alternative explanation were offered by
Baladhuri who giving a reconcilliary explanation that Arfajah were indeed the first conqueror of Mosul, while Mosul rebelled sometimes later, which then recaptured for the second time now by Iyad ibn Ghanm. However, Baladhuri admit that his version were narrated through unreliable chains. and was appointed Wali (governor) there, particularly managing the revenue. The area of Mosul was very sparsely populated when it was conquered by the Muslims. During the reign of
Umar, the Muslim army found it a suitable place to construct a base. Later, when the area was settled and a mosque was erected,
Umar ordered the resettlement of the 4000 settlers to
Mosul. The new buildings were constructed from mud bricks, instead of reeds, a material that was popular in the region and other already populated areas were greatly expanded. At
Mosul, Harthama, at the command of Umar, constructed a fort, few churches, a mosque and a locality for the Jewish population. He used it as his headquarters for the northern military operations. Utba consolidated his position in Tikrit and later advanced to Bajurmi and Shahrazour where his troops settled there. At
Mosul Arfaja at the command of
Umar, constructed a fort, few churches, a mosque and a locality for the Jewish population. Until this moment,
Ibn Khaldun has remarked the rivalry between Arfajah with Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali over leadership of the
Bajila tribe army.
Founding Basra After a short tenure of his governance, Arfajah instructed by caliph Umar to march with his 700 Azd soldiers to march towards the location which will be known in the future as
Basra, while delegate the governance of Mosul to al Harith ibn Hassan. Arfajah and Utbah then founded the
Amsar(garrison city) which named as Basra, where the military encampment in the location gradually supported with further permanent structures and growing into large settlement, as Arfajah instructed his soldiers to construct seven tribal complexes which can fit the 700 garrison troops. Then Arfajah instructed to build houses of mud bricks, plaster and mud to replace the camps. As the buildings stands, Arfajah and other army leaders such as
Mujaz'ah ibn Thawr as-Sadusi, and Arfajah fellow tribesmen,
Hudhayfah ibn Muhsin, started to fill the complex with tribes of Azd, Tamim, and tribe of
Sadus ibn Shayban. Arfajah then designed seven dams of adobe in Basra, two in the settlement of Al-Khuraybah, one in az-Zabuqah, two in
Banu Tamim, and the last two in al-Azd tribe settlement
Assisting al Ala al Hadrami in Fars In 17 AH, al Ala commencing a naval operation towards Fars without permission from the caliph. However, the three forces sent by al Ala were beaten badly by the Sassanids and stranded overseas as their ships and boats were burned by the Sassanids. 'Umar responded in the month of
Shaban of 17 AH, Umar wrote to Utbah to mobilize army forces to assist Al-Ala Al-Hadrami to the province of Persia and set sail by sea. In response, Utbah sent an army of 12,000 fighters, which led by
Asim ibn Amr al-Tamimi, Arfajah bin Harthama,
Ahnaf ibn Qais, and Abu Sabrah bin Abi Rahm. In this rescue operation, Arfajah advising Utbah a strategy to send the forces of Abu Sabrah alone to the coastal area, in order to bait the Sassanid forces while hiding their main forces beyond the sight of the enemy and even the isolated Muslim forces that they intend to rescue. Then as Sassanid army saw Abu Sabrah came with only few soldiers, they immediately gave chase as they though it is the whole Muslim reinforcement soldiers. At this certain moment, Utbah commence Arfajah final plan to commit his main forces to flank the unexpected Sassanid force, causing heavy casualties on them and routing them, thus this operation of relieving al Ala Hadrami mariners which had been posed to the danger of being isolated in the Persian soil succeeded. Then as Utbah marched his army to return to Basra, he himself died while performing
Hajj in 17 AH during the month of
Dhu al-Hijjah. These Basra contingents were further reinforced by garrison of
Kufa, governed by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, before the battle against Hormuzan. Before they engage Hormuzan, Arfajah and the Muslim armies marches to the vicinity of the area, to subdue several places including
Kashkar, to cut off supply route and reinforcements for the Sassanids in Ahvaz. Arfajah managed to defeat the Hormuzan in this battle and the latter sued for peace. Arfajah marched on with
Al-Bara' ibn Malik, Majza' bin Thawr, and reinforcements from Kufah led by Abu Sabrah ibn Abi Rahm, Then they later defeated Hormuzan, who led the Sassanid resistance before in Ahvaz. Hormuzan then flee from Ramhormoz and escape towards
Shushtar, which then chased by the Muslim armies that ended in the lengthy
Siege of Shushtar, which is where Hormuzan finally taken captive. until Arfajah arrived in the great
Battle of Nahavand,
Second Mosul governance Arfajah showing his energy after he was appointed for the second time as governor of Mosul, as he built four new districts of Arab Muslim soldiers and their families in both in Mosul, In addition, Arfajah arranged fortifications in frontiers delegated soldiers and men to them to protect the borders of the caliphate territory. In year 25 AH, Arfajah choose a small village near
Nineveh in the eastern bank of
Tigris to build a new garrison city, which later known as city of Haditha Mosul(new Mosul), that in the future will be simply known as city of
Haditha. These garrison cities under Arfajah became main headquarters and supply route for the army that were sent to
Muslim conquest of Armenia and
Muslim conquest of Azerbaijan. While also setting up armed forces in this area to control security and
Kharaj revenue. In the year 29 AH the next wave of Arab Muslim settlers arrived in Iraq under the leadership of
Abdallah ibn Amir, the governor of Basra at that time. Then, as those soldiers returned to Mosul after the conquest, Arfajah host these soldiers his jurisdiction cities of Mosul and Haditha, while sent them to commence routine raids against remaining Sassanid elements, while maintain
Ribat military patrols on the borders. For the rest of Arfajah tenure in Mosul, Mosul became one of the most important city in Iraq that were immediately filled by immigrant Arab soldiers, and non-Arab
Arameans and
Persians, who also poured into the city in large numbers, Arfajah ruled Mosul until his death in 34 AH/654 AD == Legacy ==