Leaving, therefore, a garrison in Hims under Obâda, one of the Twelve leaders,[309] Abu Obeida resumed his northward march. Hâma, and other towns of inferior note, tendered their submission.[310] The strongly fortified city of Laodicea alone showed an obstinate front; but the Arabs made a feint of withdrawing, and then, a squadron, darting suddenly back in the early morning through an open portal, seized the defences, and overpowered the garrison. Advancing still to the north, Khâlid, with great slaughter, defeated the Romans near Kinnisrîn--a stronghold which, after a short defence, was seized and dismantled.[311] In the battle we are told that a prince called Minas, in dignity second only to the Emperor, was slain. Aleppo next fell, after a brief resistance; and then Abu Obeida turned his arms westward to Antioch. [Sidenote: Siege and surrender of _Antioch_.]In this, the famous capital of Northern Syria, and emporium of merchandise, art, and luxury, the broken troops of the Empire rallied. And here, at length, within the great lines of circumvallation which ran along the surrounding heights, we might have expected Heraclius to make a stand; and, drawing fresh troops together, to battle against the disasters which had befallen Syria. But no effort befitting the crisis appears to have been even thought of. A heavy battle, indeed, was fought on the wooded plain outside the walls; but the garrison was driven back, and the city, surrounded on all sides, at last capitulated.[312] Such are the details, comprised within the space of a few lines, which tell us whatever we know of the loss of Northern Syria, stretching from Damascus to the hilly range of Asia Minor. [Sidenote: Northern Syria reduced.] Eastwards, in the direction of Aleppo, the Romans made a last but feeble attempt to regain their footing. They were again hopelessly beaten, their leader slain, and great numbers taken prisoner. The arm of the Empire was for the moment paralysed, and Syria, from the Great River to the seashore, brought entirely under the sway of Islam. The Arab tribes, as well as the settled inhabitants of towns and villages, became tributary, and bound by engagements to keep the conquerors informed of the movements of the enemy. Before long time, the Bedouins, who sit ever loose to the trammels of religion, went for the most part over to the Moslem faith. [Sidenote: State of the Christian population.]But the urban population, as a whole, resisted the inducements to abandon Christianity; and, although reduced, as the Corân demanded, to an humbled and politically degraded state, they were yet treated with moderation, their churches spared, and their worship respected. They either reconciled themselves to their unhappy fate, or retired unmolested into Roman territory. [Sidenote: Heraclius retires to Constantinople.]