Battle of Balanjar (652)

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Battle of Balanjar
Part of the Arab–Khazar Wars
Date652 AD
Location
Outside Balanjar
Result Khazar victory
Belligerents
Khazar Khaganate Rashidun Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah  
Casualties and losses
Unknown 10,000 killed

The Battle of Balanjar took place during the First Khazar-Arab War between the armies of the Khazar Khaganate and the Caliphate, whose commanding general was Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah. [1]

Contents

According to the Arab chroniclers, the Arabs captured Derbent in 642, when Abd al-Rahman ibn Rabiah secured the surrender of the Persian governor of Derbent, Shahrbaraz. [2] Based at Derbent, Abd al-Rahman led frequent raids against the Khazars over the following years, but these were small-scale affairs, and no event of major note is recorded in the sources. [3]

In 652, despite the orders of Caliph Uthman to avoid risks, Abd al-Rahman led a major invasion north, targeting the city of Balanjar. [4] According to Baladhuri and Ya'qubi, however, it was his brother Salman ibn Rabiah who led the invasion. [5]

In the subsequent siege, both sides made use of catapults and ballistae. [4] After several days, the Khazar garrison launched a sortie, which coincided with the arrival of a large Khazar relief army. After Abd al-Rahman was killed, the Arabs collapsed, despite the efforts of his brother, Salman, to rally them. [6] 4,000 Arabs were killed, many fled to Derbent with Salman, while others had to conduct a fighting retreat all the way to Gilan and Jurjan. [5] [6]

Abd al-Rahman's body was left behind. The Khazars reportedly kept it in a cauldron and venerated it, claiming that it could be used to bring rain or drought, and ensured victory in war. [7] [5]

See also

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References

  1. Howard-Johnston, J. D. (2010). Witnesses to a World Crisis : Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 378. ISBN   978-0-19-920859-3.
  2. Dunlop 1954, pp. 47–49.
  3. Dunlop 1954, pp. 49–54.
  4. 1 2 Dunlop 1954, p. 55.
  5. 1 2 3 Artamonov 1962, p. 179.
  6. 1 2 Dunlop 1954, p. 56.
  7. Dunlop 1954, p. 57.

Sources