Battle of the Defile
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Defile or Battle of the Pass was fought over three days in the Tashtakaracha Pass (in modern Uzbekistan
) between a large Umayyad
army and the Turgesh
in July 731 CE. The Turgesh had been besieging Samarkand
, and its commander, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani, senτ a request for relief to the newly appointed governor of Khurasan
, Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, Junayd's army was attacked by the Turgesh in the pass, and although the Umayyad army managed to extricate itself from the pass and reach Samarkand
, it suffered enormous casualties (some 25,000–30,000 men), while Sawra's 12,000 men, who had been commanded to attack the Turgesh in the rear in a relief effort, were almost annihilated. The battle, for which one of the most detailed accounts of the entire Umayyad era survives in al-Tabari, halted Muslim expansion into Central Asia
for two decades.
had been conquered by the Muslims under Qutayba ibn Muslim in the reign of Al-Walid I (r. 705–715), following the Muslim conquest of Persia and of Khurasan
in the mid-7th century. The loyalties of its native Iranian and Turkic inhabitants and autonomous local rulers however remained volatile: in 719, they sent a petition to the Chinese and their Turgesh
vassals for military aid against the Muslims. Turgesh attacks began 720, coupled with uprisings by the Sogdians
against the Caliphate. These were suppressed with great brutality by the governor of Khurasan, Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi, but in 724 his successor, Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi suffered a major disaster while trying to relieve a Turgesh siege of Ferghana (the so-called "Day of Thirst"). For the next few years, Ummayad forces were limited to the defensive. Efforts to placate and win the support of the local population were undertaken, but these were half-hearted and contradictory. In 728 a large-scale uprising, coupled with a Turgesh invasion, led to the abandonment of most of Transoxiana except for the region around Bukhara
by the Caliphate's forces.
In the hope of reversing the situation, in early 730 the Caliph appointed a new governor in Khurasan, the experienced Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, recently engaged in the pacification of Sindh
. The difficult security situation at the time is illustrated by the fact that he needed an escort of 7,000 cavalry after crossing the Oxus, and that he was attacked by the Turgesh khagan
while riding to link up with the army of his predecessor, Ashras al-Sulami, in Sogdia. Junayd was able to repel the attack, assume command of al-Sulami's forces and defeat the khagan in battle shortly after. He then retired with his troops to winter in Merv
. During the winter, rebellions broke out south of the Oxus, in Tokharistan, which had hitherto been quiescent to Muslim rule. Junayd was forced to set out for Balkh
with his troops and quell the revolt, dispatching some 28,000 of his army in various directions. This left him seriously weakened when, in early 731, the Turgesh laid siege to Samarkand
and appeals for aid arrived from the city's governor, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani. Despite the opinion of the Khurasani army's leadership, who counselled that he should wait to reassemble his forces and not cross the Oxus with less than 50,000 men. Junayd resolved to march immediately to Samarkand's rescue.
west to Samarkand and which was held by the Turgesh. Instead he led his army south to Kish
, some 70 km in direct line from Samarkand. Thence he intended to cross the Zarafshan Range
at the short (some 2 km long) but steep Tashtakaracha Pass, hopefully catching the Turgesh by surprise. The decision was unpopular with the army, largely Khurasanis who distrusted the "outsider" Junayd, and some Khurasanis began deserting. Junayd however pressed on, with some 28,000 men. The course battle is described in some detail by al-Tabari
, who in turn draws upon the work of the earlier historian Abu'l-Hasan al-Mada'ini.
The Turgesh, supported by troops from the rulers of Sogdia, Tashkent and Ferghana, attacked the Ummayad army in the pass on the second day from Kish, some 24 km from Samarkand. Junayd was able to position his forces, placing his troops according to their tribal affiliations (Tamim, Rabi'a and Ad), and stationing himself at the center. The Arabs initially met the Turgesh attack on horseback, but as their casualties mounted, Junayd's herald ordered them to dismount and fight on foot, digging trenches (khandaq) in front of their lines. Having persevered the initial onslaught, Junayd now sent messengers to Sawra in Samarkand, ordering him to come to his assistance as a diversionary attack. Sawra and the Samarkand garrison were initially reluctant, but Junayd's threats forced them to comply. In response, the Turgesh set fire on the dry grasslands, and in the ensuing battle only one to two thousand of Sawra's 12,000 men survived.
Junayd intended to use the diversion to break through to Samarkand, but his officers persuaded him to make camp and spend the night there. The camp's fortifications could not be completed before the next day, when the Turgesh renewed their attack. Junayd even promised the army's slaves their freedom if they would fight. Many did so, sing saddle blankets as their armour. The Turgesh attacks were repelled, and despite the heavy casualties the Ummayad army reached Samarkand after almost three days of battle.
The battle was a major disaster for the Muslims. The 10th-century historian Ibn A'tham al-Kufi puts the Muslim casualties at at least 20,000 out of a total of 43,000 or 48,000, while contemporary poets inflate the number to 50,000. Judging by the numbers of replacements ordered sent into or levied in Khurasan in the aftermath of the debacle, K.Y. Blankinship estimates the dead at between 25,000 and 30,000. Although the Turgesh also suffered heavy losses—Ibn A'tham gives the unverifiable figure of over 10,000 dead the defeat at the Defile led to a rapid deterioration of the Muslim position in Central Asia
. Junayd remained as governor of Khurasan until his death in early 734, by which time the Muslims had lost control of everything north of the Oxus save for Bukhara, Kish and the region of al-Saghaniyan.
The defeat increased the Khurasani disaffection with the Ummayad regime and its representatives, as exemplified by the words supposedly addressed by a Khurasani to Junayd before the battle: "If we win it will be for your benefit; if we perish, you will not weep over us. By my life, if we win and I survive, I will never speak a word to you." The subsequent period in Khurasan was turbulent, with revolts and anti-Ummayad agitation among the local Khurasanis, which necessitated the introduction of 20,000 loyal Syrian troops into the province in addition to the 20,000 Iraqis sent in after the Defile. Only in 739–741, after the Turgesh Khaganate collapsed following the murder of its leader Suluk, was the new governor of Khurasan, Nasr ibn Sayyar
, able to partly restore the Caliphate's position in Transoxiana, extending Muslim control again up to Samarkand.
The Battle of the Defile also followed a year after a similarly costly defeat at the Battle of Marj Ardabil against the Khazars
. In the aftermath of these and other similar disasters, the need to reinforce the buckling frontiers stretched the military and financial resources of the Caliphate. This was especially the case with the powerful Syrian army (the ahl al-Sham), the main pillar of the Ummayad dynasty, which was parcelled out into distant provinces. Eventually, this weakening of the Syrian army would be the major factor in the fall of the Ummayad dynasty.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
) between a large Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
army and the Turgesh
Turgesh
The Türgesh, Turgish or Türgish were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Kaganate...
in July 731 CE. The Turgesh had been besieging Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, and its commander, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani, senτ a request for relief to the newly appointed governor of Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, Junayd's army was attacked by the Turgesh in the pass, and although the Umayyad army managed to extricate itself from the pass and reach Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, it suffered enormous casualties (some 25,000–30,000 men), while Sawra's 12,000 men, who had been commanded to attack the Turgesh in the rear in a relief effort, were almost annihilated. The battle, for which one of the most detailed accounts of the entire Umayyad era survives in al-Tabari, halted Muslim expansion into Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
for two decades.
Background
The region of TransoxianaTransoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
had been conquered by the Muslims under Qutayba ibn Muslim in the reign of Al-Walid I (r. 705–715), following the Muslim conquest of Persia and of Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
in the mid-7th century. The loyalties of its native Iranian and Turkic inhabitants and autonomous local rulers however remained volatile: in 719, they sent a petition to the Chinese and their Turgesh
Turgesh
The Türgesh, Turgish or Türgish were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Kaganate...
vassals for military aid against the Muslims. Turgesh attacks began 720, coupled with uprisings by the Sogdians
Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
against the Caliphate. These were suppressed with great brutality by the governor of Khurasan, Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi, but in 724 his successor, Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi suffered a major disaster while trying to relieve a Turgesh siege of Ferghana (the so-called "Day of Thirst"). For the next few years, Ummayad forces were limited to the defensive. Efforts to placate and win the support of the local population were undertaken, but these were half-hearted and contradictory. In 728 a large-scale uprising, coupled with a Turgesh invasion, led to the abandonment of most of Transoxiana except for the region around Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
by the Caliphate's forces.
In the hope of reversing the situation, in early 730 the Caliph appointed a new governor in Khurasan, the experienced Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, recently engaged in the pacification of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. The difficult security situation at the time is illustrated by the fact that he needed an escort of 7,000 cavalry after crossing the Oxus, and that he was attacked by the Turgesh khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
while riding to link up with the army of his predecessor, Ashras al-Sulami, in Sogdia. Junayd was able to repel the attack, assume command of al-Sulami's forces and defeat the khagan in battle shortly after. He then retired with his troops to winter in Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
. During the winter, rebellions broke out south of the Oxus, in Tokharistan, which had hitherto been quiescent to Muslim rule. Junayd was forced to set out for Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
with his troops and quell the revolt, dispatching some 28,000 of his army in various directions. This left him seriously weakened when, in early 731, the Turgesh laid siege to Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and appeals for aid arrived from the city's governor, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani. Despite the opinion of the Khurasani army's leadership, who counselled that he should wait to reassemble his forces and not cross the Oxus with less than 50,000 men. Junayd resolved to march immediately to Samarkand's rescue.
The battle
Junayd could not advance along the old Persian Royal Road, which led from BukharaBukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
west to Samarkand and which was held by the Turgesh. Instead he led his army south to Kish
Shahrisabz
Shakhrisabz , is a city in Uzbekistan located approximately 80 km south of Samarkand with the population of 53,000 . It is located at the altitude of 622 m. Once a major city of Central Asia, it is primarily known today as the birthplace of 14th century Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur...
, some 70 km in direct line from Samarkand. Thence he intended to cross the Zarafshan Range
Zarafshan Range
The Zarafshan Range is a mountain range in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir-Alay mountains. It stretches south of the Zeravshan River. The range extends over 370 km in the east-west direction along the south of Sughd Province in Tajikistan, reaching the highest point of 5,489 m in its...
at the short (some 2 km long) but steep Tashtakaracha Pass, hopefully catching the Turgesh by surprise. The decision was unpopular with the army, largely Khurasanis who distrusted the "outsider" Junayd, and some Khurasanis began deserting. Junayd however pressed on, with some 28,000 men. The course battle is described in some detail by al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, who in turn draws upon the work of the earlier historian Abu'l-Hasan al-Mada'ini.
The Turgesh, supported by troops from the rulers of Sogdia, Tashkent and Ferghana, attacked the Ummayad army in the pass on the second day from Kish, some 24 km from Samarkand. Junayd was able to position his forces, placing his troops according to their tribal affiliations (Tamim, Rabi'a and Ad), and stationing himself at the center. The Arabs initially met the Turgesh attack on horseback, but as their casualties mounted, Junayd's herald ordered them to dismount and fight on foot, digging trenches (khandaq) in front of their lines. Having persevered the initial onslaught, Junayd now sent messengers to Sawra in Samarkand, ordering him to come to his assistance as a diversionary attack. Sawra and the Samarkand garrison were initially reluctant, but Junayd's threats forced them to comply. In response, the Turgesh set fire on the dry grasslands, and in the ensuing battle only one to two thousand of Sawra's 12,000 men survived.
Junayd intended to use the diversion to break through to Samarkand, but his officers persuaded him to make camp and spend the night there. The camp's fortifications could not be completed before the next day, when the Turgesh renewed their attack. Junayd even promised the army's slaves their freedom if they would fight. Many did so, sing saddle blankets as their armour. The Turgesh attacks were repelled, and despite the heavy casualties the Ummayad army reached Samarkand after almost three days of battle.
Aftermath
Junayd remained in Samarkand for some four months until October 731, allowing his army to recover. The Turgesh meanwhile made for Bukhara, which they besieged. Junayd again resolved to meet them, and marched off with his army. He managed to inflict some defeats on the Turgesh in early November and raise the siege if Bukhara. In Samarkand, Junayd left only a token garrison of 800 men behind. Once the Turgesh had withdrawn for the winter, he evacuated the city of its Muslim inhabitants.The battle was a major disaster for the Muslims. The 10th-century historian Ibn A'tham al-Kufi puts the Muslim casualties at at least 20,000 out of a total of 43,000 or 48,000, while contemporary poets inflate the number to 50,000. Judging by the numbers of replacements ordered sent into or levied in Khurasan in the aftermath of the debacle, K.Y. Blankinship estimates the dead at between 25,000 and 30,000. Although the Turgesh also suffered heavy losses—Ibn A'tham gives the unverifiable figure of over 10,000 dead the defeat at the Defile led to a rapid deterioration of the Muslim position in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Junayd remained as governor of Khurasan until his death in early 734, by which time the Muslims had lost control of everything north of the Oxus save for Bukhara, Kish and the region of al-Saghaniyan.
The defeat increased the Khurasani disaffection with the Ummayad regime and its representatives, as exemplified by the words supposedly addressed by a Khurasani to Junayd before the battle: "If we win it will be for your benefit; if we perish, you will not weep over us. By my life, if we win and I survive, I will never speak a word to you." The subsequent period in Khurasan was turbulent, with revolts and anti-Ummayad agitation among the local Khurasanis, which necessitated the introduction of 20,000 loyal Syrian troops into the province in addition to the 20,000 Iraqis sent in after the Defile. Only in 739–741, after the Turgesh Khaganate collapsed following the murder of its leader Suluk, was the new governor of Khurasan, Nasr ibn Sayyar
Nasr ibn Sayyar
Nasr ibn Sayyar was an Arab general and the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan in 738–748. An experienced commander in the wars against the Turgesh, as governor he introduced tax reforms in his province and stabilized Umayyad control beyond the Oxus...
, able to partly restore the Caliphate's position in Transoxiana, extending Muslim control again up to Samarkand.
The Battle of the Defile also followed a year after a similarly costly defeat at the Battle of Marj Ardabil against the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
. In the aftermath of these and other similar disasters, the need to reinforce the buckling frontiers stretched the military and financial resources of the Caliphate. This was especially the case with the powerful Syrian army (the ahl al-Sham), the main pillar of the Ummayad dynasty, which was parcelled out into distant provinces. Eventually, this weakening of the Syrian army would be the major factor in the fall of the Ummayad dynasty.