AHMAD IBN YAHYA AL-BALADHURI
(ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jabir al-Balādhurī)
This event and quotation is an interesting reversal of the 2004 Iraq war where the “Judeo-Christian” United States defeated a Muslim tyrant, freeing the Muslims of the country. In 636 the Muslim Armies attacked Syria which was under the oppressive yoke of the Byzantine Christian Emperor Heraclius. The Muslims won and freed the Christians and Jews. One difference was however that in 636, the Christians and Jews celebrated the Muslim victory as is described herein.
ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jabir al-Balādhurī (Arabic: أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al-Mutawakkil. He travelled in Syria and Iraq, compiling information for his major works.