The battle halted Muslim expansion into Central Asia for a decade and its casualties contributed to the Abbasid Revolution that ended Umayyad rule.
Key Facts
- Date
- July 731 CE (three days)
- Umayyad army size
- 28,000 troops
- Sawra's relief force
- 12,000 (nearly annihilated) troops
- Duration of impact
- Halted Muslim expansion for ~10 years
- Primary historical source
- History of al-Tabari
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Türgesh khaganate besieged Samarkand, prompting its commander Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani to appeal for relief to Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, the newly appointed Umayyad governor of Khurasan. Junayd assembled a 28,000-strong army and marched through the Takhtakaracha Pass to relieve the city.
Over three days in July 731 CE, Türgesh forces ambushed Junayd's army in the Takhtakaracha Pass in present-day Uzbekistan. The Umayyad army suffered enormous casualties but managed to reach Samarkand. Simultaneously, Sawra's 12,000-man relief force, ordered to strike the Türgesh from the rear, was nearly annihilated.
The battle halted or reversed Umayyad expansion into Central Asia for roughly a decade. The severe losses in Khurasan necessitated troop transfers from the Caliphate's core regions, progressively weakening Umayyad power and contributing to the conditions that produced the Abbasid Revolution, which began in Khurasan approximately twenty years later.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani.
Side B
1 belligerent