Khawla was the daughter of the chief, and trained in the art of swordsmanship and battle by her brother. During a war with the Byzantines, her brother was captured by the enemy that she witnessed. She immediately ran to a supply tent, grabbed a suit of armor, wrapped herself with a green sash, turned a black strip of cloth that wrapped 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 swinging 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. Khawla 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 told her that she was to fight with the rest of the soldiers. At a future battle, her horse was killed from under her. The Byzantines captured her and put her in a prison tent with other Arab women captured during the campaign. After beholding her beauty and might, the Byzantine General demanded that she be brought to him personally. Khawla heard about her future rape, organized the Arab women, and revoked after dark with sharpened tent spears. The women fought their way out and escaped. Khawla killed five men alone.
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.
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