Aretion

Aretion was a Byzantine governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Heraclius , and a general in the Arab–Byzantine wars. He is described by al-Tabari as "the most cunning of the Byzantines, the most far-sighted, and the most harmful".

Name Since Aretion is not easily identifiable with anyone attested in Byzantine sources, his original Greek name is unknown. Most Arab sources give his name as "Arṭabūn" (أرطبون), with a few (like Abu 'l Mahasin and Al-Waqidi) instead calling him "Areṭîūn" (ارطيون). Hendrik Arent Hamaker translated the latter into Latin as "Aretion". Alfred J. Butler believed that "Aretion" was the correct form and "Artabun" was a corruption. An alternate translation is "Artabanus".

However, some historians (such as Michael Jan de Goeje ) believe that "Artabun" may not be a name at all, but rather a corruption of the Roman title . This allows Aretion to be identified with other attested figures. Walter Kaegi believed he "may be identical" with Vardan, whom Al-Azdi al-Basri names as a Byzantine general at the Battle of Ajnadayn.

Biography Ajnadayn and Jerusalem Map detailing the route of Muslim invasion of central Syria. Aretion was the governor of Jerusalem in 634, when an Arab army led by Khalid ibn Walid invaded much of Syria. After taking Bosra, they began marching south into Palaestina Prima. Under orders from Heraclius, Aretion placed garrisons in Jerusalem and Ramla, while he himself remained in Ajnadayn (near Bayt Jibrin) to lead its defence, alongside the emperor's brother Theodore and a general named Vardan. The caliph, Umar, ordered Amr ibn al-As to go and conquer Ajnadayn. For a long time, Aretion foiled the Muslims' attempts by simply refusing to leave his fortified position at Ajnadayn. However, when Umar arrived in Palestine in April 637, Aretion went to Egypt to gather reinforcements, leaving Jerusalem in the hands of the Patriarch Sophronius, who surrendered it after a long siege.

Egypt

In Egypt, Aretion began rallying an imperial army to retake the Levant. This was one of the reasons Amr ibn al-As cited when he proposed an invasion of Egypt to Umar. In December 639, an Arab army headed by Amr marched into Egypt. After taking Pelusium, they continued onto Bilbeis. Cyrus of Alexandria, who was both the governor of Egypt and the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria, came out with Aretion and two Christian monks to negotiate with Amr. He offered them three alternatives: adopt Islam, pay the jizya, or engage in armed conflict. Initially, they requested three days to deliberate and then an additional two days, as recorded by al-Tabari.