December 11, AD 630

Conquest of Mecca

Muhammad’s forces enter and take control of Mecca

Hatib’s warning letter was recovered from a woman’s braid before it could reach Mecca.

A secret march, then four columns

The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi treats 20 Ramadan 8 AH — conventionally 11 January 630 — as the generally accepted date; the date attached to this entry is off by eleven months. After marching secretly from Medina and camping at Marr al-Zahran with a force of roughly 10,000, Muhammad divided his troops for entry into Mecca and instructed the commanders to avoid fighting unless compelled. Abu Sufyan reached the camp and saw so many campfires that he compared them to the fires at Arafat.

Most columns met no organized resistance. Khalid ibn al-Walid’s defeated the one Meccan force that fought, near the Handama slopes — the principal combat of the takeover, with reported casualties of 12 or 28 Meccans and two or three Muslims.

At the sanctuary

Muhammad entered from the upper or northwestern side wearing a helmet rather than pilgrim dress, set his standard at al-Hajun and joined the other columns near Safa.

He then announced security for people sheltering in designated houses or the Sacred Mosque, those staying at home, and those laying down their weapons. The amnesty was broad but carried about ten named exceptions; the TDV encyclopedia says three were captured and killed, while others fled or were later pardoned.

Which date, and how bloodless

A hadith report says Muhammad struck the 360 cult images around the Kaaba with a stick; another says he ordered images removed from inside before entering the building. By the end of the operation Quraysh rule of Mecca had ended and the sanctuary was under his authority.

The early traditions differ on the entry date: 10, 17/18, 19 and 20 Ramadan 8 AH are all reported. Other calendar models place stages of the campaign in December 629.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes Traditional date

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

Traditional date. Conventionally dated here; the research places it at 0630-01-11.

What the sources leave uncertain

The exact entry date varies in the early traditions: 10, 17/18, 19 and 20 Ramadan 8 AH are all reported.
TDV identifies 20 Ramadan 8 AH, conventionally 11 January 630, as the generally accepted date. Other calendar models place stages of the campaign in December 629.
Casualty totals also vary; the operation was comparatively limited in bloodshed but was not literally bloodless.