Nezak Tarkhan (-710 CE) was a nomadic ruler of

Tokharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is a historical name used by Islamic sources in the early Middle Ages to refer to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. By the 6 ...

who led a revolt against the Arab commander Qutayba bin Muslim around 709 CE. Nezak Tarkhan is first mentioned in 651 CE as the

Hephthalite The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, ...

ruler of

Badghis Bādghīs () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northwest of the country, on the border with Turkmenistan. It is considered to be one of the country's most underdeveloped provinces, with the highest poverty rate. T ...

, when he allied with the ''

marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱𐭰𐭠𐭭𐭯 transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭱 ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the Middle Persian suffix: 𐭡𐭭𐭯 ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ...

'' of

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

against the Sasanian ruler

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also Romanized as ''Yazdgerd'', ''Yazdgird'') was the last Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar (son of Khosrow II), Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne a ...

. Yazdegerd III was defeated and barely escaped with his life, but he was murdered in the vicinity of Merv soon after, and the Arabs managed to capture the city of Merv the same year. In 659, Chinese chronicles still mentioned the "Hephtalite Tarkhans" (悒達太汗 ''Yida Taihan'', probably related to "Nezak Tarkhan"), as some of the rulers in

who remained theoretically subjects to the

Chinese Empire Chinese Empire (), or Empire of China, refers to the realm ruled by the Emperor of China during the era of Imperial China. It was coined by western scholars to describe the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties (or imperial Dyna ...

, and whose main city was Huolu 活路 (modern

Mazār-e Sherif Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highways ...

, Afghanistan).Referencing Tangshu XLIII, B, pp. 6-9 and Chavannes, Documents, p. 69, n. 2 in

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

called Badghis "the headquarters of the Hephthalites" (). Thâbit and Hurayth ibn Qutba, who were brothers and leaders of the merchant community of

, allied with Arab rebel and ruler of

Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...

, Musa ibn Abd Allah ibn Khazim, who was the son of the

Zubayrid Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of t ...

governor of Khurasan Abd Allah ibn Khazim al-Sulami, against the forces of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

. This alliance expanded to include Nezak, as well as the Hepthalite princes of Transoxiania and Tukharistan. They rebelled and Musa drove out the Umayyads from Transoxiania. While Musa's allies suggested to him to conquer all of Khorasan, his Arab allies told him to only take over Transoxiana, which he achieved. The Umayyad forces under

Yazid ibn al-Muhallab Yazid ibn al-Muhallab al-Azdi (; 672/673–24 August 720) was a commander and statesman for the Umayyad Caliphate in Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq and Greater Khorasan, Khurasan in the early 8th century. In 720, he led the last of a series of wide scal ...

however defeated this alliance, defeating Nezak in Badghis in 703 and capturing

from Musa in 704. Nezak Tarkhan, the ruler of the Hephthalites of Badghis, led a new revolt in 709 with the support of other principalities as well as his nominal ruler, the Yabghu of Tokharistan. In 710, the Umayyad general Qutaiba ibn Muslim was able to re-establish Muslim control over Tokharistan and captured Nizak Tarkhan, who was executed on the orders of

al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Abu Muhammad al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi (; ), known simply as al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (), was the most notable governor who served the Umayyad Caliphate. He began his service under Caliph Abd al-Malik (), who successiv ...

, despite promises of pardon, while the Yabghu was exiled to

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and kept there as a hostage. According to some authors, he may have been of

Nezak The Nezak Huns ( Pahlavi: 𐭭𐭩𐭰𐭪𐭩 ''nycky''), also Nezak Shahs, was a significant principality in the south of the Hindu Kush region of South Asia from circa 484 to 665 CE. Despite being traditionally identified as the last of the ...

descent and "Nezak Tarkhan" was a title of multiple rulers encountered by the Muslims rather than a personal name.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite book , title = The ʿAbbāsid Revolution , first = M. A. , last = Shaban , publisher = Cambridge University Press , location = Cambridge , year = 1970 , isbn = 0-521-29534-3 , url = {{Gbook, 1_03AAAAIAAJ, plainurl=y Hephthalites 7th-century monarchs in Asia 8th-century monarchs in Asia Rebellions against the Umayyad Caliphate 8th-century executions by the Umayyad Caliphate History of Badghis Province Medieval rebels 8th-century rebels