Did Wikipedia remove the word "massacre" from the Battle of the Yarmuk article?

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When did the Battle of the Yarmuk article stop using the word "massacre"?

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What did Wikipedia remove from the Battle of the Yarmuk article?

The opening as it read in 2005

Battle of Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmuq or Hieromyax) took place between the Muslim Arabs and the Byzantine Empire in 636 . It is considered by some historians to have been one of the most significant battles in the history of the world, since it marked the first great wave of Muslim conquests outside Arabia , and heralded the rapid advance of Islam into Christian Palestine , Syria and Mesopotamia . The battle took place only four years after the prophet Muhammad died in 632 . He was succeeded by the first Caliph , Abu Bakr , who sought to bring all the Arabic-speaking peoples under Muslim control. In 633 Muslim armies invaded Syria, and after raids and skirmishing quickly captured Damascus in 635 . Byzantine emperor Heraclius organized a force of about 40 000 troops on learning of the loss of Damascus and Emesa . The advance of this large Byzantine army, caused the Muslims under Khalid ibn Walid to abandon the cities, and retreat southward towards the River Yarmuk, a tributary of the River Jordan . Part of the Byzantine force under Theodore the Sacellarius was defeated outside Emesa. The Muslims under Khalid ibn Walid met the other Byzantine commander, Baänes in the valley of the Yarmuk River in late July. After a month of skirmishes, with no decisive action, the two armies finally confronted each other on August 20 . According to Muslim accounts, a strong south wind blew clouds of dust into the Christians' faces, and the soldiers wilted under the heat of the August sun. Despite this, Khalid was at first pushed back, but although his army was only about half the size of the Byzantine force, it was more unified than the multinational Imperial Army which contained Armenians , Slavs and Ghassanids as well as regular Byzantine troops. According to some accounts the Muslims successfully bribed elements in the Byzantine army to defect, this task being made easier by the fact that the Arab Christians, Ghassanids , had not been paid for several months and whose Monophysite Christianity was persecuted by the Orthodox Byzantines. The Christian advance on the right flank, towards one of the camps containing the Arab women and families, was finally repulsed with the aid of some of the Arab women. Eventually renewed Muslim counter-attacks broke through the Byzantine lines, and a rout ensued. Most of Baänes men were either encircled and massacred, or driven to their deaths over a steep ravine. As a result of this, all of Syria lay open to the Muslim Arabs. Damascus was recaptured by the Muslims within a month, and Jerusalem fell shortly after. When news of the disaster reached Heraclius at Antioch, it is said that he bade a last farewell to Syria, saying, "Farewell Syria, my fair province. Thou art an enemy's now"; and left Antioch for Constantinople . Heraclius began to concentrate his remaining forces on a defense of Egypt instead.¹

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The opening as it stood in 2010 21 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

The Battle of Yarmouk ( , also spelled Yarmuk , Yarmuq or, in Greek, Hieromyax ) was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the Roman- Byzantine Empire . The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River , along what is today the border between Syria and Jordan , south-east of the Sea of Galilee . The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which permanently ended Byzantine rule south of Anatolia . The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of Muhammad , heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then Christian Levant . In order to check the Muslim advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Byzantine army approached, the Muslims retreated from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmouk plains close to Arabia where, after being reinforced, they defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is also considered to be one of Khalid ibn al-Walid 's greatest military victories. It cemented his reputation as a great tactician and cavalry commander, and as one of the most successful commanders in history.

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The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate . The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River , along what today are the borders of Syria - Jordan and Syria- Israel , east of the Sea of Galilee . The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which ended Byzantine rule in Syria. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of Muhammad , heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then Christian Levant . In order to check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Roman army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmouk plains close to Arabia where, after being reinforced, they defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is considered to be one of Khalid ibn al-Walid 's greatest military victories. It cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history.

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Theodore Trithyrius † Vahan † Jabalah ibn al-Aiham Dairjan † Niketas the Persian Buccinator ( Qanatir ) Gregory Strength 15,000–40,000 (modern estimates) 24,000–40,000 (primary sources) 15,000–150,000 (modern estimates) 100,000–200,000 (primary Arab sources) 140,000 (primary Roman sources) Casualties and losses 3,000 killed 45% or 50,000+ killed (modern estimates) 70,000–120,000 killed (primary sources) Battle location on a map of modern Syria Show map of Syria Battle of the Yarmuk (State of Palestine) Show map of State of Palestine Battle of the Yarmuk (Jordan) Show map of Jordan Battle of the Yarmuk (Middle East) Show map of Middle East The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate . The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River , along what are now the borders of Syria–Jordan and Syria–Israel , east of the Sea of Galilee . The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory that ended Byzantine rule in Syria. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of early Muslim conquests after the death of Muhammad , heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then Christian Levant . To check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Byzantine army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmouk plains close to the Arabian Peninsula , where they were reinforced and defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is Khalid ibn al-Walid 's greatest military victory and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history.

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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

636 CE conflict between the Rashidun Caliphate and Byzantine Empire Belligerents Rashidun Caliphate Byzantine Empire Ghassanid Kingdom Tanukhids Commanders and leaders Umar Khalid ibn al-Walid Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah Amr ibn al-As Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Malik al-Ashtar Khawlah bint al-Azwar Shurahbil ibn Hasana Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr al-Tamimi Amru bin Ma'adi Yakrib Iyad ibn Ghanm Dhiraar bin Al-Azwar Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr Ubadah ibn al-Samit Heraclius Theodore Trithyrius † Vahan † Jabalah ibn al-Aiham Dairjan † Niketas the Persian Buccinator ( Qanatir ) Gregory Strength 15,000–40,000 (modern estimates) 24,000–40,000 (primary Arab sources) 15,000–150,000 (modern estimates) 100,000–200,000 (primary Arab sources) 140,000 (primary Roman sources) Casualties and losses 4,000 killed 40,000 (modern estimates) 70,000–120,000 killed (primary Arab sources) Battle location on a map of modern Syria Show map of Syria Battle of the Yarmuk (State of Palestine) Show map of State of Palestine Battle of the Yarmuk (Israel) Show map of Israel Battle of the Yarmuk (Jordan) Show map of Jordan Battle of the Yarmuk (Middle East) Show map of Middle East Battle of the Yarmuk (Levant) Show map of Levant The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk ) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate . The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River (also called Hieromyces River), along what are now the borders of Syria–Jordan and Syria-Israel , southeast of the Sea of Galilee . The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory that ended Byzantine rule in Syria. The Battle of the Yarmuk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of early Muslim conquests after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then-Christian Levant . To check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Byzantine army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmuk plains close to the Arabian Peninsula , where they were reinforced, and defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is widely regarded to be Khalid ibn al-Walid 's greatest military victory and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history.

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636 CE conflict between the Rashidun Caliphate and Byzantine Empire Not to be confused with Battle of Yarmouk Camp . The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk ; Arabic : معركة اليرموك ) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate . The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River (also called the Hieromyces River), along what are now the borders of Syria–Jordan and Syria-Israel , southeast of the Sea of Galilee . The result of the battle was a decisive Muslim victory that ended Roman rule in Syria after about seven centuries. The Battle of the Yarmuk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of early Muslim conquests after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then-Christian/Roman Levant . To check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. As the Byzantine army approached, the Arabs tactically withdrew from Syria and regrouped all their forces at the Yarmuk plains close to the Arabian Peninsula , where they were reinforced, and defeated the numerically superior Byzantine army. The battle is widely regarded to be Khalid ibn al-Walid 's greatest military victory and to have cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history. Early in 636 he withdrew south of the Yarmūk River before a powerful Byzantine force that advanced from the north and from the coast of Palestine. The Byzantine armies were composed mainly of Christian Arab, Armenian, and other auxiliaries, however; and when many of these deserted the Byzantines, Khālid, reinforced from Medina and possibly from the Syrian Arab tribes, attacked and destroyed the remaining Byzantine forces along the ravines of the Yarmūk valley (Aug. 20, 636). Almost 50,000 Byzantine troops were slaughtered , which opened the way for many other Islamic conquests.

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