Khawlah Bint Al-Azwar

Khalid watched a knight, in black attire, with a big green shawl wrapped around his waist and covering his chest. That knight broke through the Roman ranks as an arrow. Khalid and the others followed him and jointed battle, while the leader was wondering about the identity of the unknown knight.

Al Waqidi, The Conquering of Al Sham

Khawlah was the daughter of the chief, and trained in the art of swordsmanship and battle by her brother. During a war with the Byzantines, she witnessed her brother be captured by the enemy. She immediately ran to a supply tent, grabbed a suit of armor, wrapped herself with a green sash, and ripped a black strip of cloth to wrap her face completely except for her eyes. She rode into battle on horseback carrying a heavy spear and a scimitar.

Nobody knew who the knight was, only that he was crazy and wore a black hood, swinging into the Byzantine lines with a spear that dripped blood and massacring everything in sight. When the enemy General saw that this one knight was slaying an entire battalion alone, they sent all of his personal troops to attack. Khawlah not only won the battle, but she found her brother, slew the guards, and returned home with all the prisoners of war. Afterward, it was demanded that she reveal her identity. When she showed herself as a woman, the General inducted her into the army so she would fight with the rest of the men.

In another battle in Ajnadin, Khawlah’s spear broke, and her mare was killed, and she found herself a prisoner. But she was astonished to find that the Romans attacked the women camp and captured several of them. Their leader gave the prisoners to his commanders, and order Khawlah to be moved into his tent. She was furious, and decided that to die is more honorable than living in disgrace. She stood among the other women, and called them to fight for their freedom and honour or die. The others were enthusiastic to her plan. They took the tents’ poles and pegs and attacked the Roman guards, keeping a formation of a tight circle, as she had instructed them.

She served the remainder of her life in war, eventually marrying a powerful Arab prince and is remembered as one of the greatest female warriors in the Muslim world.

Other reincarnations

1st Age –Tanis Peregrym, she is an Atharim hunter based in the greater Moscow region.

2nd Age – Thalei Covunetin, late in the Age, she was a champion of gladiatorial games, a dueling blood sport that pit combatants against one another to the point of defeat before a crowd. Later, during the war, she declared her allegiance to an Aes Sedai patron and fought in his armies.

3rd Age – Tiallin Sharif, a Maiden of the Spear of the Aiel and guard of the Dragon Reborn.

4th Age – Sylara Telukai, Deathwatch Guard who served the Emperor and Empress of Seanchan as a member of her their personal guard. 

5th Age – Bānu Gošab, Persian mythology. A heroine knight who frequently killed or captured suitors who did not meet her standards.

6th Age – Vishpala, a warrior of Hindu pantheon who who lost her leg in battle, was given a ‘leg of iron’, and returned to fight. 

7th Age – Khawla bint Al-Azwar, legendary Muslim warrior. 

Categories:

0 Comments

Leave a Reply