Central Asia is Central Asia because Iran is located to the south of it, nomadic peoples to the north, and India and China to the east. Therefore, when attacked by a strong enemy, the locals have always had a rich choice of allies. The local political leaders always understood this well, and therefore tried to be friends with each of their neighbors. When the Macedonians tried to conquer the region, they attracted Scythian tribes. When the Arabs came here, the Turks helped them fight back. One of their steppe warlords was so successful that he almost turned back the invasion.
That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
The Arab conquest of Persia ended safely in the 650s, but the caliphate was strong enough to move on. The logical thing to do would have been to move into the Central Asian possessions of Sassanid Iran, which, however, were almost lost to Turkic expansion. But after the collapse of the unified nomadic state, the Umayyad dynasty decided to take a risk. Already after the organization of the central administration in the new possessions, the Arabians began raids in the areas beyond the Amu Darya River. They called them Maverannahr (mā wara al-nahr — «land beyond the river»).
Soon local attacks turned into conquests. Local princes could not resist the unified onslaught. Tokharistan (former Bactria), Sogdiana, Khorezm and Fergana were conquered, after which their systematic conversion to Islam began. Samarkand became one of the main centers of the region — a large Arab garrison settled here, military settlements appeared, mosques and madrassas were built.
But the locals, and most importantly, their princes, did not submit to the new people. In 719 they sent a letter to the Turkic people of Turgesh and their vassals of the Chinese dynasty Tang. After that, the nomads began their raids, and an almost universal popular uprising began.
In 724, the Muslim army crossed the Syr Darya, but was turned back by a superior Turgesh army. It suffered casualties in a difficult retreat, which the Muslims called the Day of Thirst. The new caliph decided to turn the situation around and appointed new governors in the provinces. The experienced commander Junayd was advised not to cross the Amu Darya with an army of less than 50,000 men. But he gathered those who were at hand and decided to break through to besieged Samarkand.
The warlord could not take the Persian royal road, as it was blocked by hordes of Turks. Instead, he opted for a route through a steep but short pass, intending to take the enemy by surprise. Hagan Suluk’s reconnaissance was at its best, and the Turgesh army set out to meet the enemy. One of the most detailed recorded battles of the Arab Caliphate took place there.
The military philosophy of these opponents was radically different. The Arabs had historically relied on an effective fusion of spear-wielding infantry and light cavalry designed for swift attacks and waste. But a good hundred years had passed since their withdrawal from the Arabian Peninsula. The caliphate had impressive contingents of heavily-armed cavalrymen who chopped in close combat.
The Turgesh relied on large masses of shooting cavalry; their own army consisted of only shooting cavalry. However, the allied mounted and foot contingents of the inhabitants of the cities of Maverannahr greatly altered their tactics and strategy. In any case, these allies gave the Muslims the kind of resistance they had not encountered elsewhere.
The Turks attacked the Arabs when they stopped for a rest. The attack was repulsed by the cavalry, but then the Muslims hastened to confront the nomads with their long spears. They managed to dig earth mounds behind them and then retreated behind them in an organized manner. Although the advance of the enemy was halted, the losses of the defenders were exceptionally high.
In order not to fight head-on, Junayd called for reinforcements from Samarkand, which with great difficulty, but managed to get through. Then Kagan Suluk ordered to set fire to the steppe, and the battle lost all organization. The Arabs managed to get out of the pass, but set up camp in the open, so that the nomads could not attack on the march. The attack began anyway, and the Muslims even freed the camp slaves in exchange for a promise that they would fight.
After three days of hard fighting, the Arabians managed to reach Samarkand, but they were far from victory. When the fighting stopped for the winter, Junayd had to evacuate all Muslims from Maverannahr. The arrival of reinforcements from Syria and Iraq did not change the situation, and a breakthrough occurred only after Kagan Suluk passed away. But after that the nominal suzerains of the Türgeshs — the Chinese — joined the confrontation. In 751 there was a grandiose Talas battle, which gave a new turn to the matter.