Khalid bin Walid

Khalid bin Walid died of natural causes in 642 CE in Homs, Syria, several years after being removed from overall military command by Caliph Umar. He did not die in battle — a fact tradition holds he found deeply frustrating, having survived more than 100 engagements without a scratch fatal enough to end him, only…

Khalid bin Walid was a 7th-century Arab military commander with an undefeated record across more than 100 battles, which earned him the title “Sword of Allah” (Sayf Allah). He actually started out on the other side — commanding Meccan cavalry against the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud in 625 CE — before converting to…