The Muslim conquest of Transoxiana or Arab conquest of Transoxiana were the 7th and 8th century conquests, by

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, of

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

, the land between the

Oxus The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

(Amu Darya) and

Jaxartes The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

(Syr Darya) rivers, a part of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

that today includes all or parts of

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Background

The Arabs had reached

in the decade after their decisive victory in the Battle of Nihavend in 642, when they completed their conquest of the former

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

by seizing

Sistan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...

and

Khurasan Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...

. Marv, the capital of Khurasan, fell in 651 to Abdallah ibn Amir, and with it the borders of the nascent

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

reached the river

(modern Amu Darya). The lands beyond the Oxus—Transoxiana or Transoxania, known simply as "the land beyond the river" (''mā wara al-nahr'') to the Arabs—were different to what the Arabs had encountered before: not only did they encompass a varied topography, ranging from the remote mountains of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

to fertile river valleys and deserts with oasis cities; they were also settled by a variety of peoples, both sedentary and

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

, and instead of the imperial administration of the Persians, the region was divided into many small independent principalities. Geographically, politically, and socially, Transoxiana was divided into four regions:

Tokharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan c ...

on the upper Oxus, surrounded by the Hissar Mountains to the north and the Hindu Kush to the east and south;

Sogdia Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Emp ...

or Sogdiana, to the east of the middle Oxus and around the

Zarafshan Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, زرافشان) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau. It has an area of and it h ...

river;

Khwarezm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...

or Chorasmia, on the lower Oxus and its confluence into the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazak ...

; and the lands north of the Hissar Mountains and along the

river (modern Syr Darya), including

Zhetysu Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...

and the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

. As today, the population belonged to two broad linguistic groups: the speakers of

Iranian languages The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

, who in the 7th century tended to be urbanized, and the

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging to ...

, who at the time were still mostly

. Indeed, the history of Transoxiana had been dominated by the invasions of nomadic peoples from Central Asia. In the 2nd century BC the

Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...

destroyed the

Greco-Bactrian Kingdom The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Ind ...

and supplanted it with the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, ...

, under which

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

entered the area. The Kushans were succeeded by the

Hephthalites The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...

in the early 5th century, whose dominance lasted until the rise of the

First Turkic Khaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of B ...

in the mid-6th century. After the great Khaganate became divided in two, the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after ...

retained its position of overlordship over the various principalities of Transoxiana, on occasion even launching raids as far as

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

. When the Chinese Buddhist monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

visited Tokharistan in 630, he found no less than 27 different principalities, under the overall authority of a Turkish prince (''

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
Qunduz, who was the eldest son of the Western Turkic ''

Jabghu Yabghu ( otk, 𐰖𐰉𐰍𐰆, yabγu,Entrabγu">"𐰖𐰉𐰍𐰆_[yabγuйабғұ"in_"Ethno-Cultural_Dictionary"_''Türik_Bitig''_),_also_rendered_as_Jabgu,_Djabgu_or_Yabgu,_was_a_state_office_in_the_early_Turkic_peoples.html" ;"title="abγuй ...

''. Following the collapse of the Western Turkic Khaganate in the 650s, this viceroy became an independent ruler, claiming the title of ''Jabghu'' for himself. The ''Jabghus'' maintained some sort of suzerainty over the other principalities of Tokharistan, but this authority was largely nominal, and the local princes—many of whom were Turkish chieftains and local governors who had likewise seized authority in the wake of the Khaganate's collapse—were effectively independent. North of the Oxus, in Upper Tokharistan, the most important principalities from east to west were Badakhshan, Khuttal, Kubadhiyan, and Saghaniyan. South of the Oxus, in Lower Tokharistan, was Balkh, the ancient capital of the entire region, which remained the most important settlement of Tokharistan and its main religious centre, with the famous Buddhist

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

of Nawbahar attracting pilgrims from far and wide. Important principalities were those of Juzjan, Badghis,

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, and

Bamiyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an al ...

. Behind these, over the Hindu Kish, lay

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

. North and west of the Hissar range, along the river Zarafshan, lay the region of Sogdia. This was an ancient Iranian land, with its own culture, language, and script, which are well documented through archaeological discoveries and literary references. Sogdia was likewise split into several small principalities, but the two major centres of

Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...

and

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

dominated the rest. The Sogdians were particularly active as merchants in the so-called "

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

". Chinese records seem to suggest that most of the local princes belonged to branches of the same ruling house, and that the head of this house, the ruler of Samarkand, was allied by marriage to the Turkic ''

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

s''. Most of these rulers used Persian titles ('' khudah'', ''

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

'') but some also had Turkish titles, and the ruler of Samarkand, as the pre-eminent among them, used the Sogdian title of ''

ikhshid ''Ikhshid'' ( sog, xšyδ, ) was the princely title of the Iranian rulers of Soghdia and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. The title is of Iranian origin; scholars have derived it variously from ...

'' (as did the kings of Fargana). Rulership was hereditary, but an important role was played also by the landed gentry ('' Dihqans'') and wealthy merchants, who possessed, according to

H. A. R. Gibb Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb (2 January 1895 – 22 October 1971), known as H. A. R. Gibb, was a Scottish historian and Orientalist. Early life and education Gibb was born on Wednesday, 2 January 1895, in Alexandria, Egypt, ...

, "not only a large measure of independence but also on occasion the power to depose the ruling prince and elect his successor". Ayaz_Kala_(Khorezm,_Ouzbékistan)_(5608879653)

Ayaz_Kala_(Khorezm,_Ouzbékistan)_(5608879653)

To the north and east of Sogdia stretched the so-called "Hungry Steppe", an expanse of ca. 160 km, which gave way to the fertile regions around the river Jaxartes. The Jaxartes was smaller than the Oxus and easily fordable. The region encompassed the principality of Shash (modern

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

) in the northwest, and the Fergana Valley to the east, bordering the

Tien Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

Mountains, behind which lay

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...

, the westernmost outpost of the Chinese Empire. To the west of Sogdia, likewise isolated amidst the desert, lay Khwarezm. It was inhabited by a sedentary, urbanized Iranian people. The history of the area between the late 3rd century and the onset of the Muslim conquest is often unclear due to the lack of adequate literary and archaeological sources. Modern scholars dispute whether the area came under Kushan rule, notably due to the absence of any traces of Buddhism in the area and the continued prevalence of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

;

al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

reports that the area was conquered by the Sasanians under

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new ...

(r. 224–242), and although later Sasanian province lists don't include Khwarezm, the area probably remained in some kind of dependence from Sasanian Persia. From the early 4th century, Khwarezm was ruled by the native Afrighid dynasty, which is known through coins and the narrative of the 11th-century Khwarezmian scholar

al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

. It is equally unclear whether Khwarezm came under Turkic dominion in the 6th–7th centuries. Transoxiana, as Hugh N. Kennedy remarks, "was a rich land, full of opportunities and wealth but defended by warlike men who valued their independence very highly", and indeed its subjugation would prove to be the longest and hardest-fought of the early

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

, not being completed until the

Battle of Talas The Battle of Talas or Battle of Artlakh (; ar, معركة نهر طلاس, translit=Maʿrakat nahr Ṭalās, Persian: Nabard-i Tarāz) was a military encounter and engagement between the Abbasid Caliphate along with its ally, the Tibetan Empi ...

secured Muslim dominance over the region in 751.

First Muslim incursions

Afghanistan, Tokharistan, figura maschile, vii-viii sec

Although the Arab sources give the impression that the Arabs began their conquest of the region in the 650s, in reality most of the early warfare in the area were little more than raids aiming at seizing booty and extracting tribute. Indeed, Arab presence was limited to a small garrison at

Marw Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...

, and armies were sent by the governors of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

every year to raid and plunder the native principalities. The first expedition, under Ahnaf ibn Qays, in 652, was repulsed by the united forces of Lower Tokharistan, and returned to

Marw al-Rudh Marw-Rud ( fa, مرورود, also fa, مروروذ ''Marw-Rudh'') or Marw al-Rudh (from ar, مرو الروذ; "Marw on the river"), locally used to be known by the older variants Marwarudh () and Marrudh (),"مرورود" in Dehkhoda Dictionary ...

. A second expedition under al-Aqra ibn Habis however was able to defeat the prince of Juzjan, and occupy Juzjan, Faryab,

Talaqan Taloqan (Persian, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006. In 2021, the Taliban gained contro ...

, and Balkh. Detachments of Arabs plundered far and wide, some reaching as far as Khwarazm. In 654, the town of Mayamurgh in Sogdia was raided. Shortly after, however, the local population, led by Qarin (possibly a member of the

House of Karen House of Karen (Middle Persian: ''Kārēn'', Parthian: ''𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 Kārēn,'' fa, کارن ''Kārin'' or ''Kāren''), also known as Karen-Pahlav (''Kārēn-Pahlaw'') was one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran during the rule of Parthian ...

) rose in revolt. The Arabs evacuated all of Khurasan, and according to Chinese sources, the princes of Tokharistan restored Yazdegerd III's son

Peroz Feroz or Firuz is a Persian name meaning 'victorious', derived from the middle Persian name Peroz or Piruz. Related names are Phiroze, Feroze, and Parviz. It may refer to: People (historical) * Peroz I (), Sasanian king of Iran * Peroz II (), Sas ...

as titular king of Persia for a time. Preoccupied with the

First Fitna The First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of ...

(656–661), the Arabs were unable to react, although raiding expeditions continue to be recorded in 655–658. After the end of the civil war, Abdallah ibn Amir was again entrusted with restoring Muslim control over Khurasan. The exact events of the next few years are unclear as the historical traditions confuse them with Ibn Amir's original conquest of the area, but what information there is, mostly from tribal accounts, suggests occasional fierce resistance and rebellions, leading to acts like the destruction of the Nawbahar stupa by Ibn Amir's deputy Qays ibn al-Hatham. It was not until the appointment of

Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi ( ar, أبو المغيرة زياد بن أبيه, Abū al-Mughīra Ziyād ibn Abīhi; – 673), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, زياد بن أبي سفيان, Ziyād ibn Abī Sufyān), was an adminis ...

to the government of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate that the Arabs undertook a systematic pacification campaign in Khurasan. From 667 until his death in 670, Ziyad's deputy in Khurasan, al-Hakam ibn Amr al-Ghifari, led a series of campaigns in Tokharistan, which saw Arab armies crossing the Oxus into Saghaniyan in the process. Peroz was evicted and once again fled to China. Al-Hakam's death was followed by another large-scale uprising, but his successor,

Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi Rabi ibn Ziyad al-Harithi () was an Arab military leader, who served the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates. Biography In 651, Rabi ibn Ziyad invaded the Sasanian province of Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Ki ...

, took Balkh and defeated the rebels at

Quhistan Quhistan ( fa, قهستان) or Kohistan (, "mountainous land") was a region of medieval Persia, essentially the southern part of Khurasan. Its boundaries appear to have been south of Khorasan to north, Yazd to West, Sistan to South, Afghanistan to ...

, before crossing the Oxus to invade Saghaniyan. Other Arab forces secured the crossing-points of Zamm and Amul further west, while the Arab sources mention a conquest of Khwarazm at the same time. More importantly for the future of Muslim presence in the region, in 671 Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan settled 50,000 warriors, mostly drawn from

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

and to a lesser degree from

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...

, with their families in Marw. This move not only bolstered the Muslim element in Khurasan, but also provided the forces necessary for future expansion into Transoxiana. When Ziyad died, his policies were continued by his son,

Ubayd Allah Ubayd Allah ( ar, عبيد الله), also spelled or transliterated Obaidullah, Obaydullah, Obeidallah, or Ubaydullah, is a male Arabic given name that means "little servant of God". Given name Obaidullah * Obaidullah (detainee), an Afghan detaine ...

, who was appointed governor of Khurasan and arrived at Marw in autumn 673. In the next spring, Ubayd Allah crossed the Oxus and invaded the principality of Bukhara, which at the time was led by the queen-mother, known simply as Khatun (a Turkic title meaning "lady"), as regent for her infant son. The Arabs achieved a first success near the town of Baykand, before marching on to Bukhara itself. The local historical tradition records that the Arabs besieged Bukhara, and that the Turks were called for help, although this is missing in the Arab sources, which simply state that the Arabs won a great victory over the Bukharans. Following a practice that was apparently common at the time, Ubayd Allah recruited 2,000 captives, all "skillful archers", as his personal guard. The fate of Bukhara is left unclear, but according to Gibb this arrangement suggests that it acknowledged some form of Arab suzerainty and became a

tributary state A tributary state is a term for a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This to ...

. Ubayd Allah's success was not followed up by his successors,

Aslam ibn Zur'a Aslam ibn Zurʿa ibn ʿAmr ibn Khuwaylid al-Ṣāʿiq al-Kilābī () () was a prominent Arab chieftain of the Qays tribal faction in Basra and Khurasan and served as the governor of Khurasan in 675 and 677–679. In the period between his two terms, ...

and

Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ziyād ibn Abīhi () was the Umayyad governor of Khurasan in 678/79–681. He is credited for reasserting Umayyad authority over the Arab tribesmen who garrisoned the province and ensuring the flow of Khurasan’s revenues an ...

, apart from launching summer raids across the Oxus. Only during the brief governorship of Sa'id ibn Uthman in 676 did the Arabs launch a major expedition into Sogdia. According to

al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and e ...

and

Narshakhi Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi (or Narshaki) (ca. 899–959), a Sogdian scholar from the village of Narshak in the Bukhara oasis is the first known historian in Central Asia. His unique ''History of Bukhara'' (''Tarikh-i Bukhara'') was writ ...

, Sa'id defeated a local coalition comprising the cities of Kish, Nasaf, Bukhara, and the Turks, compelled the Khatun to re-affirm Bukhara's allegiance to the Caliphate, and then marched onto Samarkand, which he besieged an captured. He then took 50 young nobles as hostages, who were later executed at

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, and on his return journey captured

Tirmidh Termez ( uz, Termiz/Термиз; fa, ترمذ ''Termez, Tirmiz''; ar, ترمذ ''Tirmidh''; russian: Термез; Ancient Greek: ''Tàrmita'', ''Thàrmis'', ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it i ...

on the Oxus and received the surrender of the prince of Khuttal. The first Arab attacks across the Oxus ranged as far as Shash and Khwarazm, and were interrupted by the intertribal warfare that broke out in Khurasan during the

Second Fitna The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...

(683–692). Subsequent governors, most notably Sa'id ibn Uthman and

al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra Abū Saʿīd al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufra al-Azdī ( ar, أَبْو سَعِيْد ٱلْمُهَلَّب ابْن أَبِي صُفْرَة ٱلْأَزْدِي; 702) was an Arab general from the Azd tribe who fought in the service of the Ra ...

, made attempts to conquer territory across the river, but they failed. The native princes, for their part, tried to exploit the Arabs' rivalries, and with the aid of the Arab renegade

Musa ibn Abdallah ibn Khazim Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...

, who in 689 seized the fortress of

for his own domain, they managed to eject the Arabs from their holdings. Nevertheless, the Transoxianian princes remained riven by their own feuds, and failed to unite in the face of the Arab conquest, a fact which would be suitably exploited by Qutayba after 705.

Umayyad–Türgesh Wars

The larger part of Transoxiana was finally conquered by the Umayyad leader

Qutayba ibn Muslim Abū Ḥafṣ Qutayba ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Muslim ibn ʿAmr al-Bāhilī ( ar, أبو حفص قتيبة بن أبي صالح مسلم بن عمرو الباهلي; 669–715/6) was an Arab commander of the Umayyad Caliphate who became governor of ...

in the reign of

al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from O ...

(r. 705–715). The loyalties of Transoxiana's native

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and Turkic populations and those of their autonomous local sovereigns remained questionable, as demonstrated in 719, when the Transoxianian sovereigns sent a petition to the Chinese and their Turgesh overlords for military aid against the Caliphate's governors. Qutayba's campaigns have been mixed up with a diplomatic mission. They sent to China in chronicles written by Arabs. Documents in Chinese give 713 as the year the Arab diplomatic delegation was sent. China was asked for help by Shah's Prince against Qutayba. The Turgesh responded by launching a series of attacks against the Muslims in Transoxiana, beginning in 720. These incursions were coupled with uprisings against the Caliphate among the local

Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...

. The Umayyad governor of Khurasan,

Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi ( ar, سعيد بن عمرو الحرشي, Saʿīd ibn ʿAmr al-Ḥarashī, ) was a prominent general and governor of the Umayyad Caliphate, who played an important role in the Arab–Khazar wars. Biography Sa'id ibn Am ...

, harshly suppressed the unrest and restored the Muslim position almost to what it had been during the time of Qutayba, except for the

Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

, control over which was lost. The Chinese and Turks were reported to have come to aid the Sogdians in their war against the Arabs which raised the hopes of Divashtich. After the Arabs seized Penjikent, the rebel leader Divashtich retreated to his fortress on Mount Mugh. Archives in the Sogdian language found at Divashtich's fortress reveal his precarious position and the events leading up to his capture. After Divashtich's capture, the governor of Khurasan, Said al-Harashi, ordered his crucifixion on a na'us (burial mound). Samarkand, Bukhara and Paikent fell to Qutayba ibn Muslim. In response, the Arabs were almost beaten back by the Turgesh, who were partners with the Sogdians. Sulaiman most likely executed Qutayba, who, after seizing Samarkand and Bukhara, had crushed Sassanian remnants and had Khorezmian scholars slaughtered. Ferghana, Khojand and Chach had fallen to Qutayba. In 721, Turgesh forces, led by Kül Chor, defeated the Caliphate army commanded by Sa'id ibn Abdu'l-Aziz near

. Sa'id's successor, Al-Kharashi, massacred Turks and Sogdian refugees in

Khujand Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند‌, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...

, causing an influx of refugees towards the Turgesh. In 724, Caliph

Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...

sent a new governor to Khurasan, Muslim ibn Sa'id, with orders to crush the "Turks" once and for all, but, confronted by Suluk, Muslim hardly managed to reach Samarkand with a handful of survivors after the so-called " Day of Thirst". In 724, the Muslims were defeated by the Turks of the Turgesh as the Sogdians and Turks fought against the Umayyads. The Sogdians were pacified by Nasr ibn Sayyar after Sulu, Khagan of the Turgesh, died. Islam did not widely spread until the Abbasid rule. Samarkand was taken by Qutayba after they achieved victory over the army of the Eastern Turks under Kul Tegin Qapaghan Qaghan came to assist against the Arabs after his vassal, the Tashkent King, received plea from the Samarkand Prince Ghurak against the Arab attack by Qutayba bin Muslim. Qutayba's Muslims obliterated and triumphed over the union of several Ferghana states as fierce fighting took place in Sogdian Samarkand and Khorezm against Qutayba ibn Muslim. An easier time was had in the conquest of Bukhara. Under Ghurak, Sogdian Samarkand was forced to capitulate to the joint Arab-Khwarazmian and Bukharan forces of Qutayba. The obliteration of idols was ordered by Qutayba along with the construction of a Mosque, 30,000 slaves and 2,200,000 dirhams. Dewashtich's uprising was an example of anti Islamification sentiment felt after the conquest of the region by the Arabs. A string of subsequent appointees of Hisham were defeated by Suluk, who in 728 took

and later on still inflicted tactical defeats such as the

Battle of the Defile The Battle of the Defile or Battle of the Pass ( ar, وقعة الشعب, Waqʿat al-Shʿib) was fought in the Takhtakaracha Pass (in modern Uzbekistan) between a large army of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Turkic Türgesh khaganate over three ...

upon the Arabs. The Turgesh state was at its apex, controlling Sogdiana and the

. By 732, two large Arab expeditions to Samarkand managed, if with heavy losses, to reestablish Caliphal authority in the area; Suluk renounced his ambitions over Samarkand and abandoned Bukhara, withdrawing north. Turkish officers during a audience with king Varkhuman of Samarkand

Turkish officers during a audience with king Varkhuman of Samarkand

In 734, an early Abbasid follower, al-Harith ibn Surayj, rose in revolt against Umayyad rule and took

and Marv before defecting to the Turgesh three years later, defeated. In winter 737, Suluk along with his allies al-Harith,

Gurak Gurak or Ghurak (Chinese: 乌勒伽 ''wūlèjiā'') was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Central Asia during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. In 710, he was installed as king ( Sogdian: ''ikhshid'') of Samarkand after the populace over ...

(a Turco-Sogdian leader) and men from Usrushana,

and Khuttal launched a final offensive. He entered

Jowzjan Jowzjan, sometimes spelled Jawzjan or Jozjan (Dari: ), is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. The province is divided into 11 districts and contains hundreds of v ...

but was defeated by the Umayyad governor

Asad Asad ( ar, أسد), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning " lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named ''Asad'', ...

at the

Battle of Kharistan The Battle of Kharistan was fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Turkic Türgesh in December 737 near the town of Kharistan in Juzjan, eastern Khurasan (modern northern Afghanistan). The Umayyads, under the governor of Khur ...

. Next year, Suluk was murdered by his general with Chinese support. Then in 739, the general himself was killed by the Chinese and the Chinese power returned to Transoxiana. Much of the culture and heritage of the Sogdians was lost due to the war. Geographic names used by Muslims contained reminders of the Sogdians. The role of lingua franca that Sogdian originally played was succeeded by Persian after the arrival of Islam.

Umayyad-Tang China wars

Arab sources claim

briefly took Kashgar from China and withdrew after an agreement but modern historians entirely dismiss this claim. The Arab

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

in 715 AD deposed

Ikhshid ''Ikhshid'' ( sog, xšyδ, ) was the princely title of the Iranian rulers of Soghdia and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. The title is of Iranian origin; scholars have derived it variously from ...

, the king the

, and installed a new king Alutar on the throne. The deposed king fled to

Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...

(seat of

Anxi Protectorate The Protectorate General to Pacify the West (Anxi Grand Protectorate), initially the Protectorate to Pacify the West (Anxi Protectorate), was a protectorate (640 – ) established by the Chinese Tang dynasty in 640 to control the Tarim Basin. Th ...

), and sought Chinese intervention. The Chinese sent 10,000 troops under

Zhang Xiaosong Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

Ferghana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...

. He defeated Alutar and the Arab occupation force at

Namangan Namangan (; ) is a city in eastern Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Namangan Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Namangan is located in the northern edge of the Fergana Valley, less than ...

and reinstalled Ikhshid on the throne.* Bai, Shouyi et al. (2003). ''A History of Chinese Muslim (Vol.2)''. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. ., pp. 235–236 General Tang Jiahui led the Chinese to defeat the following Arab-Tibetan attack in the

Battle of Aksu (717) The Battle of Aksu () was fought between Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate and their Turgesh and Tibetan Empire allies against the Tang dynasty of China. In 717 AD, the Arabs, guided by their Turgesh allies, besieged Buat-ɦuɑn (Aksu) and Dai-d ...

. The attack on Aksu was joined by Turgesh Khan Suluk. Both Uch Turfan and Aksu were attacked by the Turgesh, Arab, and Tibetan force on 15 August 717. Qarluqs serving under Chinese command, under Arsila Xian, a Western Turkic Qaghan serving under the Chinese Assistant Grand Protector General Tang Jiahui defeated the attack. Al-Yashkuri (the Arab commander) and his army fled to Tashkent after they were defeated.

Last battles

Samarra, Baghdad, Nishapur and Merv were destinations for Sogdians who worked for the Abbasids and became Muslims. The coming to power of the Abbasids resulted in the local Sogdian rulers being relocated from the area to become the Caliph's officers. The last major victory of Arabs in Central Asia occurred at the

(751). The

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...

was allied to the Arabs during the battle against the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. Because the Arabs did not proceed to

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

at all, the battle was of no importance strategically, and it was

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lush ...

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

which ended up by forcing the Tang out of Central Asia. Despite the conversion of some Karluk Turks after the Battle of Talas, the majority of

Karluks The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, otk, 𐰴𐰺𐰞𐰸, Qarluq, Para-Mongol: Harluut, zh, s=葛逻禄, t=葛邏祿 ''Géluólù'' ; customary phonetic: ''Gelu, Khololo, Khorlo'', fa, خَلُّخ, ''Khallokh'', ar, قارلوق ...

did not convert to Islam until the mid-10th century, when they established the

Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...

. Turks had to wait two and a half centuries before reconquering Transoxiana, when the

Karakhanids The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...

reconquered the city of Bukhara in 999. Denis Sinor said that it was interference in the internal affairs of the

which ended Chinese supremacy in Central Asia, since the destruction of the Western Khaganate rid the Muslims of their greatest opponent, and it was not the Battle of Talas which ended the Chinese presence.

Islamization

The process of islamization of local peoples was slow during the

period, but it became more intensive during the following

period. The Umayyads treated the local non-Muslims as second class citizens and did not encourage conversions, therefore only few Soghdian commoners converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

during their rule.Grousset However, during the Abbasid period non-Arabs gained an equal status with conversion and as a result, Islam began spreading across

References

Citations

Sources

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