Mavia, (ماوية‎, Māwiyya) an Arab warrior-queen

Mavia was a Tanukh ( تنوخ‎), An Arab tribe that had migrated northwards from the Arabian peninsula because of the growing influence in Iran in the area. She married al-Hawari, the last king of the semi-nomadic Tanukh confederation in southern Syria in the latter half of the fourth century. When he died in 375 CE Mavia rose to rule the confederation.

After al-Hawari's death, death in 375 AD, the Roman emperor Valens, disregarded the requests of the Arabs and appointed them an Arian bishop. This sparked an uprising, and Mavia withdrew her people from Aleppo and moved into the desert, were she formed alliances with desert Arabs, and gained support throughout much of Arabia and Syria. 

FRANÇOIS-EMILE DE LANSAC 1803-1890 PREPARING FOR BATTLE

In the spring of 378 CE Mavia began to fight a guerrilla style war against the Romans, moving about the desert on horseback and striking Roman forces whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was during her military exploits that she met an ascetic monk who so impressed her that she converted to Orthodox Christianity, and her conditions for any truce with Rome, was this monk's appointment as bishop over her people.

Her forces were difficult for Rome to deal with. The Tanuhk had fought side by side with Roman soldiers for over a century, since they assisted in quelling the uprising by Zenobia a century earlier.  The Tanuhk cavalry was faster, and their lances longer, and they had the advantage of their knowledge of the terrain.   Furthermore, the Tanuhk had no home base, giving the Romans no target to aim at.  

The Arab Warrior Leading a Charge, Adolf Schreyer (1828-1899) German

Rome had to call on it’s finest soldiers; lead by the Commander in Chief of the Eastern Roman military himself.  But that didn't stop Mavia or her men, who defeated the reinforcements, killing their commander in the process.  Without additional troops to call upon for assistance the emperor was forced to sue for peace, allowing Mavia to choose the bishop of her people; a man named Moses, of Saracen birth who had lead an especially pious life in the desert, earning their respect as a people.

As part of the truce agreement, Mavia sent her forces to Thrace to help the Romans fight the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople. Her forces proved less effective outside of their native territory and the Goths pushed the Romans back to Constantinople, even killing the emperor. 

Mavia's forces returned home, badly bruised and depleted in number. The new emperor, Theodosius I, favored the Goths, giving them many positions within the Roman establishment, at the expense of the Arabs. After having demonstrated their loyalty to Rome, the Arabs felt increasingly betrayed and mounted another revolt in 383 CE. This revolt was quickly put down and the Tanukh-Roman alliance ended for good, as Rome courted another Arab tribe, the Salih.

To solidify the peace, Mavia married her daughter to Victor, a prominent military official under Valens. Marriage to Victor was a was a big plus, because that suddenly put her in the center of the Roman-Byzantine administration.

Mavia died in Anasartha, east of Aleppo in the heart of the Tanukh tribal territory, where there is an inscription recording her death there in 425 CE.

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10 Works, RELIGIOUS ART - Interpretation of the Koran, Khawla bint Al-Azwar was a Muslim Arab warrior

Henry Zaidan

Khawlah bint al Azwar

OpenArt

Khawla bint Al-Azwar, who lived in 7th Century Arabia, was the daughter of a powerful chief of the Bani Assad tribe. As a young girl Khawla learned swordsmanship and literary from her brother  Zirrar, a well-known local warrior-poet. Zerar, as the son of the chief, had been trained from birth in the art of literature and war. 

Khawla and her brother were early converts to the religion of Islam, in the early 600s, and participated in the entire Islamic Conquest, as the sons of the Prophet conquored most of the Middle East civilizations. She served as a nurse and a healer, and fought as a front-line warrior.  

Traveling with general Khalid bin Walid in Palestine, Syria and Jordan, Khawla was one of a team responsible for patching together gaping sword wounds, bringing water to dying men, and replacing bandages and cleaning out wounds. 

PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA, (b. 1416, Borgo San Sepolcro, d. 1492, Borgo San Sepolcro)

Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes, 1452-66

Fresco

329 x 747 cm

San Francesco, Arezzo

One of the most important events in that period was the famous battle near the Yarmouk River in August 636, in which the Arabs completely crushed the Byzantine army.

Piero della Francesca (c. 1415 – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is characterized by its serene humanism, its use of geometric forms and perspective. His most famous work is the cycle of frescoes The History of the True Cross in the church of San Francesco in the Tuscan town of Arezzo.

He was probably apprenticed to the local painter Antonio di Giovanni d'Anghiari. He certainly took notice of the work of some of the Sienese artists active in San Sepolcro during his youth. In 1439 Piero received, together with Domenico Veneziano, payments for his work on frescoes for the church of Sant'Egidio in Florence, now lost.

Piero returned to his hometown in 1442. Three years later, he received his first commission, to paint the Madonna della Misericordia altarpiece for the church of the Misericordia in Sansepolcro. In 1449 he executed several frescoes in the Castello Estense and the church of Sant'Andrea of Ferrara, now also lost. His influence was particularly strong in the later Ferrarese allegorical works of Cosimo Tura.

In his later years, painters such as Perugino and Luca Signorelli frequently visited his workshop. More on Piero della Francesca

One day, during a battle against the Byzantine Empire outside Jerusalem, Khawla was watching the battle from a ridge when she saw her brother Zerar get knocked from his horse and dragged off by Byzantine troops as a prisoner. Rather than sit back and weep about over her brother, Khawla ran to the supply tent, grabbed a suit of armor, threw on a black robe with a green sash, turned a black strip of cloth into a mask that concealed everything on her face except her eyes, and rode out into battle on horseback carrying a heavy spear and a scimitar.

Maciej Kuciara

Stories written down from people who were there claimed that they just saw a knight in a black hood blasting into the Byzantine lines, swinging around a spear that dripped blood, and massacring everything in the way. One man mentioned that he thought this warrior fought with such fury that it must have been Khalid himself. 

Maciej Kuciara has established himself as a go-to talent for awe-inspiring concept art. Originally hailing from Poland, Maciej quit university to create artwork for tabletop games, then landed jobs at video game developers People Can Fly (Painkiller), Crytek (Crysis) and Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and then worked on movies including the Ghost in the Shell remake, Blade Runner 2049 and Terminator: Dark Fate.

Most recently, Maciej unleashed his short film “Showtime,” a painstakingly accurate homage to classic animes Akira and Ghost in the Shell. He tells Chris about his life behind the Iron Curtain, his love of role-playing games and anime, how working hard on major games and movies helped him bring his incredible vision to life — and his plans for its future. More on Maciej Kuciara

Arab Trap

When the real Khalid arrived, he saw this one warrior wasting an entire battalion singlehandedly, and ordered all of his men to attack; he even sent a trusted member of his personal bodyguard out to ensure that the warrior made it through the battle alive. 

In the battle that ensued, the Byzantines were driven from the field. Khawla had not only helped turn the tide of the battle, but as the Byzantine army was routing she led a small detachment that rode down their ranks, found her brother (and the other Muslim prisoners), slew the guards, and brought all of the POWs back to friendly lines.

cosplay, nightingale armor

At the end of the battle, Khalid tracked down this mysterious black-clad knight and demanded her to reveal his true identity. Once she revealed herself as a woman Khalid really didn't seem upset, but told her that while she may have started the battle standing with the women, now she was going to fight like a man. From that point on, she continued to serve throughout the campaign, battling on horseback with sword and spear in battles across Palestine, Syria and Jordan, including one fight when she personally rallied a routed Muslim force, re-organized them, and led them in an all-out counter-attack.

Khawla served the rest of the war, eventually married a powerful Arab prince, and is now remembered as one of the greatest female warriors in the Muslim world. 

Found on garoopatternandcolour.tumblr.com

ضریح خوله

Khawla bint Al-Azwar's Shrine

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.