Read The Great Arab Conquests Online
Authors: Hugh Kennedy
The Great Arab Conquests (44 page)
Finally the river reaches, or used to reach, the Aral Sea. Alas, the ‘dash of waves’ imagined by the poet can no longer be heard, for the sea has dried out, so much water having been taken off to irrigate the cotton fields of Turkmenistan; now the fishing boats lie stranded where the shoreline used to be, surrounded by a desolate world of salt-laden dust and sand.
East of the Oxus and north of the Hissar mountains, in modern Uzbekistan, lay the land of Soghdia (Sughd), around the river nowadays known as the Zarafshan (the ‘Gold Scatterer’) but known more prosaically to the Arab conquerors as ‘the River of Soghdia’. The river flows from east to west, rising in the Turkestan mountains and flowing through the lowlands, past Samarqand and Bukhara, losing itself in the sands of the Kizil Kum before it can join the Oxus. The river created Soghdia as the Oxus created Khwārazm or the Nile created Egypt.
We know much more about Soghdia than the other areas. It was the centre of an ancient civilization which also had its own Iranian language, written, like the language of Khwārazm, in a variation of the Aramaic script. A substantial number of Soghdian documents have survived. It was also the scene of the most prolonged and hard fought of the Arab campaigns, and the Arab narratives tell us of the deeds of local kings, such as the stubborn and wily Ghūrak of Samarqand.
Soghdia was a land of princes, the most important of whom were based in the two great urban centres of Bukhara and Samarqand. These princes maintained a chivalrous and courtly culture, images of which survive on wall paintings discovered in Soghdian palaces in Old Samarqand and Penjikent. Something of the atmosphere of one of these princely courts can be glimpsed in the account that the local historian of Bukhara, Narshakhī, gives
7
of the court of his native city shortly before the Arab conquest in the time of the lady Khātūn (
c
. 680-700), of whom it was said that ‘in her time there was no one more capable that she. She governed wisely and the people were obedient to her’. This tribute is particularly striking in contrast to the generally hostile attitude to female rule encountered in early Muslim historical sources. Every day she used to ride out of the gate of the great citadel of Bukhara to the sandy open ground known as the Registan. Here she would hold court, seated on a throne, surrounded by her courtiers and eunuchs. She had obliged the local landowners and princes (
dehqānān ve malikzādegān
) to send 200 youths every day, girded with gold belts and carrying swords on their shoulders. When she came out, they would stand in two rows while she enquired into affairs of state and issued orders, giving robes of honour to some and punishing others. At lunchtime she returned to the citadel and sent out trays of food to her retinue. In the evening she came out again and sat on her throne while the landowners and princes waited on her in two lines. Then she mounted her horse again, and returned to the palace while the guests returned to their villages. The next day another group would attend, and it was expected that each group would take their turn at court four times a year.
7
of the court of his native city shortly before the Arab conquest in the time of the lady Khātūn (
c
. 680-700), of whom it was said that ‘in her time there was no one more capable that she. She governed wisely and the people were obedient to her’. This tribute is particularly striking in contrast to the generally hostile attitude to female rule encountered in early Muslim historical sources. Every day she used to ride out of the gate of the great citadel of Bukhara to the sandy open ground known as the Registan. Here she would hold court, seated on a throne, surrounded by her courtiers and eunuchs. She had obliged the local landowners and princes (
dehqānān ve malikzādegān
) to send 200 youths every day, girded with gold belts and carrying swords on their shoulders. When she came out, they would stand in two rows while she enquired into affairs of state and issued orders, giving robes of honour to some and punishing others. At lunchtime she returned to the citadel and sent out trays of food to her retinue. In the evening she came out again and sat on her throne while the landowners and princes waited on her in two lines. Then she mounted her horse again, and returned to the palace while the guests returned to their villages. The next day another group would attend, and it was expected that each group would take their turn at court four times a year.
Soghdia was also a land of merchants. The period from the fifth to the eighth centuries saw the first great flowering of the overland ‘Silk Road’ between China and the west. The ‘Silk Road’ is a term loved by romantic historians and travel agents, conjuring a world of luxury goods, azure-tiled cities fragrant with spices and long photogenic caravan journeys through some of the bleakest landscapes on earth. The reality is rather more prosaic. The overland routes between China and the west were only intermittently used for trade, and for much of the Middle Ages the sea route from the Middle East through the Indian Ocean to China was a much more important highway of commerce. There were two main historical periods when the overland route came into its own and when the Silk Road became a major focus for world trade. The first of these was the period just before and during the Muslim conquests; the second was the period in the thirteenth century when the Mongol Empire provided a measure of security along the route, encouraging merchants like Marco Polo.
The emphasis on silk, however, is not just an empty cliché: it reflects an important reality. Though imperial China used a lot of bronze coinage, it had very little high-value coined money, silver or gold. Instead, silk, along with bushels of wheat, was used as an alternative currency. Much of this ‘money’ found its way to Central Asia. In the seventh century the Chinese authorities were attempting to consolidate their control in Sinkiang by expending massive resources in paying officials and soldiers. Some indication of how this worked can be gleaned from ancient documents recovered from the Gobi Desert near the great Buddhist shrine at Dunhuang. One example describes an army officer in 745 who was owed 160 kilograms of bronze coins by the central government for half a year’s salary.
8
Only by paying him in light, easily transportable silk, instead of coins, could this system be practicable. The official would then be able to sell the silk to Soghdian merchants in exchange for silver or goods from the west. The Soghdians in turn would carry the silk to the markets of Iran and Byzantium. Control of this lucrative commerce was certainly one of the reasons why the Arabs were so determined to expand their power in this remote area.
8
Only by paying him in light, easily transportable silk, instead of coins, could this system be practicable. The official would then be able to sell the silk to Soghdian merchants in exchange for silver or goods from the west. The Soghdians in turn would carry the silk to the markets of Iran and Byzantium. Control of this lucrative commerce was certainly one of the reasons why the Arabs were so determined to expand their power in this remote area.
The fourth, and most remote, part of Transoxania was the lands around the Jaxartes (modern Syr Darya) river, now part of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. These lay 160 kilometres north of Soghdia across the plains grimly known as the Hungry Steppe, where the trail across the desert was marked by the whitening bones of men and animals that had perished along the way. Smaller than the Oxus and fordable in many places, the Jaxartes watered the lands of the principality of Shāsh (modern Tashkent) and, further east, the open plains of the vast Farghāna valley. Beyond that, over the mountains, lay Kashgar and the lands of the Chinese Empire.
The nomads of Inner Asia are generally described in the Arab sources as Turks, and it was during their invasions that the Arabs first encountered these people, who were to have such a profound effect on the development of Muslim culture.
9
The relationship between these Turks and the inhabitants of modern Turkey is not straightforward. At the time of the Muslim conquest, what is now Turkey was part of the Byzantine Empire, and was to remain so for the next four centuries. As far as we know, not a single Turk lived there. The origins of the Turks are to be found far to the east. In the mid sixth century, Chinese chronicles begin to refer to a people called the T’u-chüeh, who were establishing an empire in the vast grassy steppe lands north of the Great Wall which were later to be the home of the Mongols. The founder of this empire, according to the Chinese sources, seems to have been Bumin, who died in 553, with his brother Ishtemi. We have confirmation of this in a series of remarkable inscriptions in old Turkish, carved on stones found in the grassy valley of the Orkhon river in Mongolia. A later king recorded in stone the glory days of the founders of the dynasty:
9
The relationship between these Turks and the inhabitants of modern Turkey is not straightforward. At the time of the Muslim conquest, what is now Turkey was part of the Byzantine Empire, and was to remain so for the next four centuries. As far as we know, not a single Turk lived there. The origins of the Turks are to be found far to the east. In the mid sixth century, Chinese chronicles begin to refer to a people called the T’u-chüeh, who were establishing an empire in the vast grassy steppe lands north of the Great Wall which were later to be the home of the Mongols. The founder of this empire, according to the Chinese sources, seems to have been Bumin, who died in 553, with his brother Ishtemi. We have confirmation of this in a series of remarkable inscriptions in old Turkish, carved on stones found in the grassy valley of the Orkhon river in Mongolia. A later king recorded in stone the glory days of the founders of the dynasty:
When high above the blue sky and down below the brown earth had been created, betwixt the two were created the sons of men. And above all the sons of men stood my ancestors, the kaghans
j
Bumin and Ishtemi. Having become masters of the Turk people, they installed and ruled its empire and fixed the law of the country. Many were their enemies, but, leading campaigns against them, they subjugated and pacified many nations in the four corners of the world. They caused them to bow their heads and bend their knees. These were wise kaghans, they were valiant kaghans: all their officers were wise and valiant; the nobles, all of them, the entire people were just. This was the reason why they were able to rule an empire so great, why, governing the empire, they could uphold the law.
10
The power of the Turks was based on more than justice and individual valour. It was based on the skills of these hardy nomads as mounted warriors and, above all, as mounted archers. The early Turks were horse nomads; they lived on their horses, they drank the milk of the mares, they ate their horses and,
in extremis
, they would open their veins and drink the blood of the living animals. A young Turk could often ride before he could walk. In addition to being great riders, they were also unbelievably hardy. Brought up in the blistering heat and painful cold of Inner Asia, they were able to endure hardships that would destroy other people.
in extremis
, they would open their veins and drink the blood of the living animals. A young Turk could often ride before he could walk. In addition to being great riders, they were also unbelievably hardy. Brought up in the blistering heat and painful cold of Inner Asia, they were able to endure hardships that would destroy other people.
The fighting techniques of the Turks were described at the beginning of the seventh century by the author of the
Strategikon
, ascribed to the Byzantine emperor Maurice. He writes:
Strategikon
, ascribed to the Byzantine emperor Maurice. He writes:
The nation of the Turks is very numerous and independent. They are not versatile or skilled in most human endeavours, nor have they trained themselves for anything else except to conduct themselves bravely against their enemies . . . They have a monarchical form of government and their rulers subject them to cruel punishments for their mistakes. Governed not by love but by fear, they steadfastly bear labours and hardships. They endure heat and cold and the want of many necessities, since they are nomadic peoples. They are very superstitious, treacherous, foul, faithless, possessed by an insatiate desire for riches. They scorn their oath, do not observe agreements, and are not satisfied by gifts. Even before they accept the gift, they are making plans for treachery and the betrayal of their agreements. They are clever at estimating suitable opportunities to do this and taking prompt advantage of them. They prefer to prevail over their enemies not so much by force as by deceit, surprise attacks and cutting off of supplies.They are armed with mail, swords, bows and lances; lances slung over their shoulders and holding bows in their hands, they make use of both as need requires. Not only do they wear armour themselves but in addition the horses of their leaders are covered in front with iron or felt. They give special attention to training in archery on horseback.A vast herd of male and female horses follows them, both to provide nourishment and give the impression of a huge army. They do not encamp inside earthworks, as the Persians and Romans do, but until the day of battle, spread about according to tribes and clans, they continuously graze their horses both summer and winter. They then take the horses they think necessary, hobbling them next to their tents, and guard them until it is time to form their battle line, which they begin to do under cover of night. They station their sentries at some distance, keeping them in contact with one another, so that it is not easy to catch them by surprise attack.In combat they do not, as do the Romans and Persians, form their battle line in three parts, but in several units of irregular size, all closely joined together to give the appearance of one long battle line. Separate from their main force, they have an additional force which they can send out to ambush a careless adversary or hold in reserve to aid a hard-pressed section. They keep their spare horses close behind their main line and their baggage train to the right or left of the line about a mile or two away under a moderately sized guard. Frequently they tie the extra horses together to the rear of their battle line as a form of protection.They prefer battles fought at long range, ambushes, encircling their adversaries, simulated retreats and sudden returns, and wedge shaped formations, that is, in scattered groups. When they make their enemies take to flight, they put everything else aside, and are not content, as the Persians, the Romans and other people are, with pursuing them a reasonable distance and plundering their goods, but they do not let up until they have achieved the complete destruction of their enemies, and they employ every means to this send. If some of the enemy they are pursuing take refuge in a fortress, they make continual and thorough efforts to discover any shortage of necessities for horses or men. They then wear their enemies down by such shortages and get them to accept terms favourable to themselves. Their first demands are fairly light, and when the enemy has agreed to these, they impose stricter terms.They are vulnerable to shortages of fodder which can result from the huge number of horses they bring with them. Also in the event of battle, when opposed by an infantry force in close formation, they stay on their horses and do not dismount, for they do not last long fighting on foot. They have been brought up on horseback, and, owing to their lack of practice, they simply cannot walk about on their own feet.
11
It was these formidable warriors that the Arabs encountered when they crossed the great River Oxus, and they were impressed.
Between 557 and 561 the Turks, led by Bumin’s brother and successor Ishtemi, made an alliance with the Sasanian shah Chosroes I (531-79) to destroy a nomad people known to history as the Hepthalites, who had dominated the steppes of Transoxania for a century. This brought Turkish power right up to the borders of the Persian Empire. There was even a marriage alliance between the Sasanian shah and the daughter of the khagan Ishtemi. At the same time, direct diplomatic links were established between the Turks and the Byzantine authorities, with a view to establishing a trade in Central Asian silks through the steppe lands to the north of the Black Sea.
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