Read The Great Arab Conquests Online
Authors: Hugh Kennedy
The Great Arab Conquests (53 page)
Samarqand, behind its great mud-brick ramparts, thus became the major Arab stronghold beyond the Oxus and its conquest had been one of Qutayba’s most enduring achievements. It was under constant military pressure from the Soghdians and their Turkish allies and the fall of Kamarja had left it even more isolated: the Arab garrison there could not be expected to hold out for much longer. At the beginning of 730 yet another new governor, Junayd,
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was appointed to Khurasan. According to court gossip in Damascus, he had got the job only because he had given the caliph’s wife a particularly valuable necklace. He was young and inexperienced, never having visited the province before. As soon as he arrived in Khurasan, he crossed the river and began campaigning.
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was appointed to Khurasan. According to court gossip in Damascus, he had got the job only because he had given the caliph’s wife a particularly valuable necklace. He was young and inexperienced, never having visited the province before. As soon as he arrived in Khurasan, he crossed the river and began campaigning.
His first objective was Tukhāristan, so he went to Balkh, which had remained in Arab hands. He had divided his army and sent detachments in different directions when a message came from Sawra b. al-Hurr, the commander at Samarqand, saying that he was under attack and had been unable to defend the outer wall. He needed help fast. The experienced staff officers warned Junayd that he should wait until he had gathered all his troops; the Turks were a formidable army and ‘no governor ought to cross the Oxus with fewer than fifty thousand men’. Junayd, however, was very conscious of the danger that faced the Muslims in Samarqand and of the damage it would do to his reputation if he failed to help them and the city fell. He announced that he would cross the river and head for Samarqand, even if he only had the few men of his own tribe who had come with him from Syria.
His first stop was Kish. Here he found that the Turks had already poisoned many of the wells and were advancing towards him. He had to defeat or bypass them if he were to relieve Samarqand. There are two routes from Kish to Samarqand. One is a circuitous route through the plains to the west, then cutting back, around the end of the mountains, to the Zarafshan valley. The other was more direct but involved going up the steep and rugged Tashtakaracha Pass. When Junayd asked his advisers which one they thought he should take, most of them were in favour of the flat route, but one of his most senior officers, the one who had advised him not to cross the river without a large army, said that it would be better to go over the pass: ‘Being killed by the sword is better than being killed by fire,’ he argued. ‘The road through the plains has trees and tall grass by it. The area has not been cultivated for years. If we meet the Khagan there, he will set fire to it all and we will be killed by fire and smoke.’
The next day the army set out to climb the pass. Morale was low: many of the troops were openly distrustful of Junayd’s military abilities and, as usual, claimed that he was favouring some tribes over others. They met the enemy some 24 kilometres (6
farsakhs
) from the city. The enemy appeared while the men had stopped to eat and Junayd hurriedly arranged his battle lines between the sides of the pass, each tribal group fighting as a unit under its own commanders, gathered round its own banners. He ordered the commanders to dig earthworks in front of their positions.
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Junayd started by commanding at the centre of the line but soon moved to the right wing, where the tribe of Azd were under fierce attack. Junayd now came and stood right by their banner to show his support. His action was not appreciated. The standard-bearer was blunt: ‘If we win, it will be for your benefit, if we perish, you will not weep over us. By my life, if we win and I survive, I will never speak another word to you!’ It was tribal solidarity around the banner which kept these units together, not loyalty to the commander, still less to the caliph in far-off Damascus. The fighting was hand to hand and very fierce; swords became blunt from too much use and slaves of the Azdis cut wooden staves to fight with. The struggle continued until both sides parted, exhausted. The standard-bearer’s resolve was not put to the test, for he was soon slain, fighting bravely, with about eighty of his fellow Azdis.
farsakhs
) from the city. The enemy appeared while the men had stopped to eat and Junayd hurriedly arranged his battle lines between the sides of the pass, each tribal group fighting as a unit under its own commanders, gathered round its own banners. He ordered the commanders to dig earthworks in front of their positions.
54
Junayd started by commanding at the centre of the line but soon moved to the right wing, where the tribe of Azd were under fierce attack. Junayd now came and stood right by their banner to show his support. His action was not appreciated. The standard-bearer was blunt: ‘If we win, it will be for your benefit, if we perish, you will not weep over us. By my life, if we win and I survive, I will never speak another word to you!’ It was tribal solidarity around the banner which kept these units together, not loyalty to the commander, still less to the caliph in far-off Damascus. The fighting was hand to hand and very fierce; swords became blunt from too much use and slaves of the Azdis cut wooden staves to fight with. The struggle continued until both sides parted, exhausted. The standard-bearer’s resolve was not put to the test, for he was soon slain, fighting bravely, with about eighty of his fellow Azdis.
As usual with accounts of battles in the early Islamic conquests, we have a number of vignettes, rather than an overall picture. Some of these vignettes are martyrdom stories, no doubt preserved to inspire the faithful in later campaigns. They all use the classical (and modern) Arabic word for martyr,
shahīd
, and show different ways in which men could attain this distinction.
shahīd
, and show different ways in which men could attain this distinction.
One of them concerns a very rich man
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who had just returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca, on which he had spent the enormous sum of 180,000 dirhams, much of it presumably given in alms. He now accompanied the army with a private supply train of a hundred camels loaded with
sawīq
, a sort of barley porridge, for the troops. Before he set out he asked his mother to pray that God would grant him martyrdom and her prayers were answered. With him when he died were two slaves. He had ordered them to flee and save their lives but they had refused and fought with him until they were all killed, so they too became martyrs.
55
who had just returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca, on which he had spent the enormous sum of 180,000 dirhams, much of it presumably given in alms. He now accompanied the army with a private supply train of a hundred camels loaded with
sawīq
, a sort of barley porridge, for the troops. Before he set out he asked his mother to pray that God would grant him martyrdom and her prayers were answered. With him when he died were two slaves. He had ordered them to flee and save their lives but they had refused and fought with him until they were all killed, so they too became martyrs.
In another story, the hero
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is splendidly caparisoned, on a sorrel horse in gilded armour. He charged into the enemy ranks seven times, killing a man on each occasion so that everyone in that part of the battle was impressed by him, including the enemy. An interpreter (
tarjumān
) shouted out that if he would come over to their side, they would abandon the worship of their idols and worship him instead! Needless to say, pious Muslim that he was, he scornfully rejected any such idea, for, he said, ‘I am fighting so that you will abandon the worship of idols and worship God alone.’ He fought on until he was slaughtered and achieved martyrdom. In yet another such story, the martyr-to-be
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asked his wife how she would react if he were brought in from the battle on a saddle-blanket, stained with blood. Naturally the poor woman was distraught and started to tear her clothes and wail. The martyr, however, was made of sterner, if somewhat ungallant, stuff: ‘Enough from you!’ he said. ‘If any woman on earth wailed for me, I would still reject her out of longing for the black-eyed houris of paradise!’ With that he returned to the fray and was martyred.
56
is splendidly caparisoned, on a sorrel horse in gilded armour. He charged into the enemy ranks seven times, killing a man on each occasion so that everyone in that part of the battle was impressed by him, including the enemy. An interpreter (
tarjumān
) shouted out that if he would come over to their side, they would abandon the worship of their idols and worship him instead! Needless to say, pious Muslim that he was, he scornfully rejected any such idea, for, he said, ‘I am fighting so that you will abandon the worship of idols and worship God alone.’ He fought on until he was slaughtered and achieved martyrdom. In yet another such story, the martyr-to-be
57
asked his wife how she would react if he were brought in from the battle on a saddle-blanket, stained with blood. Naturally the poor woman was distraught and started to tear her clothes and wail. The martyr, however, was made of sterner, if somewhat ungallant, stuff: ‘Enough from you!’ he said. ‘If any woman on earth wailed for me, I would still reject her out of longing for the black-eyed houris of paradise!’ With that he returned to the fray and was martyred.
The climax of the battle seems to have been a determined charge on the Arab lines by the Turks. Junayd responded with a tactic that was typical of Umayyad armies. He ordered his men to dismount and get down on the ground. They would have knelt with their spears pointing upwards towards the enemy, creating a sort of wall of spear points. Protected by the trenches they had dug, they could face the enemy with some confidence.
Junayd’s position, however, remained very weak. His forces had clearly suffered significant casualties and he had failed to break through to Samarqand, stuck as he was in the inhospitable mountain pass. There is some indication that the Turks had come round to his rear and interrupted his supply lines near Kish.
58
In this dangerous situation he accepted the advice of one of his officers and sent to Sawra, the governor of Samarqand, ordering him to leave the safety of the city and come to his aid. It was not a very courageous decision. He was told by his officers that he had a choice between perishing himself or having Sawra perish, to which he replied that it was ‘easier’ for him that Sawra should die.
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When Sawra received the order to join Junayd, he initially refused to obey and his own officers pointed out that he was walking into a death trap, but Junayd sent another abusive message, calling him the son of a foul woman and threatening to send one of his enemies to take over the governorate in his place. In the end, Sawra felt that he had no choice but to obey. Again his officers urged caution, suggesting that he went by way of the river, but Sawra replied that that would take two days; instead he would order a night march to reach Junayd in the morning. The Turks were immediately aware of his movements and intercepted him at dawn. There was some fierce fighting and the Turks set fire to the grass and prevented the Muslims reaching water. Once again Sawra asked his officers for their opinion. One pointed out that the Turks were after only animals and booty: if they slaughtered their beasts, burned their baggage and drew their swords, the Turks would leave them alone. Another suggested that they should all dismount and walk ahead with the spears held out in front of them, a sort of mobile spear wall. Sawra rejected all this advice and decided on a direct attack. Conditions were terrible, Turks and Muslims alike obscured by the smoke and dust and falling into the flames. Sawra fell, his thigh smashed. In the heat and the dust, the Muslim forces were scattered and the Turks hunted them down, picking them off one by one. Of 12,000 men who had set out from Samarqand with Sawra, only 1,000 survived.
58
In this dangerous situation he accepted the advice of one of his officers and sent to Sawra, the governor of Samarqand, ordering him to leave the safety of the city and come to his aid. It was not a very courageous decision. He was told by his officers that he had a choice between perishing himself or having Sawra perish, to which he replied that it was ‘easier’ for him that Sawra should die.
59
When Sawra received the order to join Junayd, he initially refused to obey and his own officers pointed out that he was walking into a death trap, but Junayd sent another abusive message, calling him the son of a foul woman and threatening to send one of his enemies to take over the governorate in his place. In the end, Sawra felt that he had no choice but to obey. Again his officers urged caution, suggesting that he went by way of the river, but Sawra replied that that would take two days; instead he would order a night march to reach Junayd in the morning. The Turks were immediately aware of his movements and intercepted him at dawn. There was some fierce fighting and the Turks set fire to the grass and prevented the Muslims reaching water. Once again Sawra asked his officers for their opinion. One pointed out that the Turks were after only animals and booty: if they slaughtered their beasts, burned their baggage and drew their swords, the Turks would leave them alone. Another suggested that they should all dismount and walk ahead with the spears held out in front of them, a sort of mobile spear wall. Sawra rejected all this advice and decided on a direct attack. Conditions were terrible, Turks and Muslims alike obscured by the smoke and dust and falling into the flames. Sawra fell, his thigh smashed. In the heat and the dust, the Muslim forces were scattered and the Turks hunted them down, picking them off one by one. Of 12,000 men who had set out from Samarqand with Sawra, only 1,000 survived.
Meanwhile Junayd took advantage of the diversion to head for Samarqand, but he was not out of trouble yet. On the advice of one of his most experienced officers
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he pitched camp rather than pressing on to the city. It was just as well that he did, because if the Turks had caught him in open country, they would probably have annihilated him. As it was there was a fierce battle the next morning. Junayd gave the order that any slave who fought for the Muslims would receive his freedom. The regular troops were amazed by the fierceness with which the slaves fought, cutting holes in saddle-blankets and putting them over their heads as a sort of makeshift armour. Finally the Turks withdrew and Junayd was able to go on to the city, saving himself behind its massive walls. The Turkish army, denied a complete victory, now began to withdraw and the Muslim presence in Soghdia survived, but only just.
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he pitched camp rather than pressing on to the city. It was just as well that he did, because if the Turks had caught him in open country, they would probably have annihilated him. As it was there was a fierce battle the next morning. Junayd gave the order that any slave who fought for the Muslims would receive his freedom. The regular troops were amazed by the fierceness with which the slaves fought, cutting holes in saddle-blankets and putting them over their heads as a sort of makeshift armour. Finally the Turks withdrew and Junayd was able to go on to the city, saving himself behind its massive walls. The Turkish army, denied a complete victory, now began to withdraw and the Muslim presence in Soghdia survived, but only just.
The verdict of popular opinion was hard on Junayd and the poets were savage in their criticism:
You weep because of the battle
You should be carved up as a leader
You abandoned us like pieces of a slaughtered beast
Cut up for a round-breasted girl.
Drawn swords rose
Arms were cut off at the elbows
While you were like an infant girl in the women’s tent
With no understanding what was going on.
If only you had landed in a pit on the day of the Battle
And been covered with hard, dry mud!
War and its sons play with you
Like hawks play with quails.
Your heart flew out of fear of battle
Your flying heart will not return
I hate the wide beauty of your eye
And the face in a corrupt body
Junayd, you do not come from real Arab stock
And your ancestors were ignoble
Fifty thousand were slain having gone astray
While you cried out for them like lost sheep.
Nobody’s reputation could survive an onslaught like that. Junayd lost all credibility as a military leader and was shamed for ever. Meanwhile the air of martyrdom hung over the battlefield where Sawra and his men had died. Some claimed to have seen tents pitched between earth and sky for those about to be martyred, others averred that the land where they had fallen smelled of musk.
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After Junayd died in office in 734 open dissent broke out among the Arabs in Khurasan and the authority of the Umayyad governors was threatened by a rebel army led by one Hārith b. Surayj. Resentments over pay and the hardships of campaigning were exacerbated by the effects of famine and constant warfare. The years of Hārith’s revolt, 734-6, marked the nadir of Arab fortunes in Transoxania. It seems that all the lands beyond the river were lost except Kish. The Soghdian king, Ghūrak, seems to have been able to recover control of his ancient capital at Samarqand.
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It was the most significant reverse Arab conquerors had suffered in any theatre of operations, and it is noticeable that it came very shortly after the defeat of Arab armies in Europe at the battle of Poitiers in 732. But there was an important difference. In the west, Poitiers really did represent the end of the Arab advance. In the east, the reverses that followed the battle of the Tashtakaracha Pass represented a serious but only temporary setback.
62
It was the most significant reverse Arab conquerors had suffered in any theatre of operations, and it is noticeable that it came very shortly after the defeat of Arab armies in Europe at the battle of Poitiers in 732. But there was an important difference. In the west, Poitiers really did represent the end of the Arab advance. In the east, the reverses that followed the battle of the Tashtakaracha Pass represented a serious but only temporary setback.
The tide began to turn for the Arabs in 737. Ghūrak, king of Samarqand, the crafty old survivor, died of natural causes and his kingdom was divided among his heirs. In the autumn of that year, the Khagan, in league with the Arab rebel Hārith b. Surayj, invaded Tukhāristan. The Arab governor at the time (Asad (the Lion) b. Abd Allāh) had moved his capital from Merv to Balkh. He probably wanted to escape from the feuding Arab groups in the old capital but Merv had always been the capital of the western invaders, whether Sasanian or Arab, and he may have also have hoped that by moving to the ancient capital at Balkh he would be able to send a different signal to the local princes. Asad had good relations with many of them and important individuals converted to Islam at his hands, including, it is said, Barmak, founder of the famous Barmakid dynasty of viziers, and Sāmān-khudā, ancestor of the Samanids who were to rule much of Khurasan and Transoxania in the tenth century. Asad’s diplomacy and conciliatory policy may have made a crucial difference and laid the foundations of future Muslim dominance in the area.
In December 737 the Khagan began raiding in the neighbourhood of Balkh. He made the fatal mistake of dispersing his troops to raid the towns and villages of Tukhāristan, perhaps trying to find supplies at this bleak and desolate time of year. Whether they had been won over by Asad’s gestures or alienated by the rapacity of the Khagan’s followers, some of the local princes threw in their lot with Asad and the Muslims. It seems that Asad, with 30,000 soldiers, went out to meet the Khagan and surprised him at a place called Khāristān at a moment when he only had 4,000 men with him. The struggle was fierce but was decided by the king of Jūzjān, one of Asad’s local allies, who attacked the Khagan from the rear. The Turks fled with Asad in hot pursuit and it was only a snowstorm allowing them to escape which prevented a total massacre.
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