In 624, a caravan Abu Sufyan was leading back to Mecca from Syria faced an assault by Muhammad, prompting him to send for aid. In response, a 1,000-strong Meccan army led by Abu Jahl was dispatched. In the ensuing confrontation, Abu Sufyan, "by skillful and vigorous leadership eluded the Muslims", according to the historian W. Montgomery Watt. However, under Abu Jahl's command, the Meccans pursued a direct confrontation with the Muslims, which resulted in the rout of the Quraysh at the Battle of Badr. Abu Jahl and the father of Abu Sufyan's wife, Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, were slain. Abu Sufyan's son Hanzala was also killed and another son, Amr, was taken captive, but released. In the aftermath, Abu Sufyan was charged with avenging Meccan losses, the command he held likely being hereditary. He inflicted significant losses on the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud in 625, but the Quraysh were generally unsatisfied with the battle's results. Two years later, he led the attempted siege of Medina, but was defeated by the Muslim defenders at the Battle of the Trench. His morale may have taken a blow from this failure, as Meccan command in the war with Muhammad passed to his Qurayshi rivals, Safwan ibn Umayya, Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl and Suhayl ibn Amr.