Eighth Century (Saracen Jihad)

‘’Following the decisive defeat of Charles and Odo at the Battle of Tours in 732, the fate of Europe was forever changed. This timeline begins after that battle, detailing the events that would lead up to the modern day.’’

Battle of Tours
The Muslim forces of Abd Ar-Rahman Al Ghafiqi and the forces of Charles engaged in battle in October of 732, leading to a decisive Muslim victory at the Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers, during the Islamic invasion of Gaul. Fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, in north-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about 20 km northeast of Poitiers, the location of the battle was close to the border between the Frankish realm and then-independent Aquitaine. The battle pitted Frankish and Burgundian forces under Austrasian Mayor of the Palace Charles, who was slain in battle, against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus.

Although a costly battle for both sides initially, the Muslim cavalry under the command of ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân would ravage the disoriented and routing Frankish infantry after the battle. The Muslims would proceed north into the city of Tours, looting much of the city and plundering the Basilica of Saint-Martin-de-Tours. The city was laid to waste, and with their stolen treasure secured, the Muslims withdrew south.

Reign of Pepin
The Battle of Tours left Gaul demoralized and leaderless. Many in the south no longer felt safe and attempted to flee north or east, while many Christian men were levied for battle, angered by the desecration of their lands and holy shrines.

Following his death at Tours the lands of Charles were divided between Pepin and his elder brother, Carloman, his surviving sons by his first wife. Carloman becomes Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, while Pepin becomes Mayor of the Palace of Neustria. Grifo, Charles's son by his second wife, Swanahild (also known as Swanhilde), would demand a share in the inheritance, but is imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. The Frankish rulers would immediately be faced with problems in the south as the Muslims continued to reign free.

Shortly after their coronation, Pepin and Carloman would receive word of Abd al-Rahman receiving without a fight the submission of the cities of Avignon, Arles, and Marseille, ruled by count Maurontus. The patrician of Provence had called Islamic forces in to protect his strongholds from a potential Carolingian invasion, estimating his own garrisons too weak to fend off a well-organised, strong army made up of infantry enriched with Church lands.

Further problems arose when in 735 Odo, Duke of Aquitaine died, leaving his son Hunald as ruler. Hunald would refuse to recognize the high authority of the Frankish mayor of the palace. Hunald made significant advances north before being met by the Frankish armies raised in Gaul, primarily from north of the Loire River. The Frankish forces under Pepin and Carloman would ransack the region of Berry surrounding the city of Bourges, before continuing on to seize Bordeaux, effectively ending Hunald’s rebellion. Hunald was allowed to retain Aquitaine, but was required to pledge fealty to the Frankish rulers once more.

To secure unity in the Frankish realm Carloman raised the Merovingian Childeric to the throne. Carloman would later be pressured into entering a monastery, leaving Francia in the hands of Pepin as sole mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum. Grifo, who had been imprisoned at the time of Pepin’s accession as mayor, escaped imprisonment and fled to Bavaria, under the command of Duke Odilo. This sparked a war in Bavaria against Pepin, who was forced to move valuable assets east to deal with the conflict.

The newly raised army of Pepin found itself not fighting in southern Gaul, but rather in Bavaria, causing much resentment among many levies. For the next three years the war in Bavaria continued, costing many casualties for the Frankish. Finally in 740 peace would be declared between Odilo, Duke of Bavaria and Pepin, with the Bavarians conceding defeat. Pepin, however, would fail to capture Grifo, who would continue to live in Bavaria under Odilo’s guidance.

With internal matters mostly settled in the east, in 741 Pepin launched a campaign to free southern Gaul from Muslim influence. Charles faced the opposition of various regional nobles, including the Gothic and Gallo-Roman nobility of the region, who feared his aggressive and overbearing policy, forcing him to gather support from elsewhere. Pepin turned to Liutprand, King of the Lombards, who sent him an army over the Alps to help Pepin expel the Moors from Aix-en-Provence and Arles.

By now, however, the Muslim rulers had been given a large period of time to fortify their position and were heavily equipped and ready to defend against a long siege. Pepin struck first at Avignon, where after a long siege he was victorious, leading the city being reduced to rubble. A second force under the command of Pepin’s uncle Childebrand besieged Narbonne, but was repulsed and forced to retreat. The Lombard army made progress in the east, assaulting Aix-en-Provence, but otherwise being unable to continue into Muslim held territory.

At the Battle of Avignon Pepin was forced to use a direct frontal assault, one which required a large amount of infantry, as well as rope ladders, rams, and a few catapults. Pepin knew that he would be unable to take the more heavily fortified city of Narbonne this way, and by attempting to he would use up most of his resources. Unable to spend years sieging the city, and facing continued opposition from regional lords such as the patrician Maurentius, from Marseille, Pepin withdrew from the city’s proximity.

During this campaign Pepin would also incorporate some tactics that his father had pioneered so minimal success, such as the first use of heavy cavalry with stirrups to augment his phalanx. Having learned from his difficult victory at Tours, Abd al-Rahman and his generals knew that they could not allow the Franks to catch them unaware and dictate the location and circumstances of any major engagement. The Muslims instead focused on seizing portions of the coastal plains around Narbonne and heavily reinforcing Arles as he advanced inland. The Muslims planned to move from city to city, fortifying each as they proceeded, so that if the Franks attacked in an attempt to permanently halt their expansion they would need to meet the Muslims on the open battlefield.

Umayyad Caliphate
Having secured their position in Hispania and southern Gaul, the Muslim invaders sought to use their stolen treasure to finance proper defenses and armies, laying the foundations for a permanent territory. Cordoba grew as a regional capital, becoming an important node in a land route to Gaul, while the sea was used frequently to resupply strongholds on the coast. During this time a large portion of Caliphate forces would be ordered west from North Africa and the Middle East, bringing large portions of Berber and Arab settlers into Hispania. Although this helped to strengthen the Muslim position in the west, it weakened many other sections of the empire.

Berber Revolt
Many Berbers in the empire began to become dissatisfied with Arab rule, particularly the Umayyad governors in Kairouan, Ifriqiya, who had authority over the Maghreb and al-Andalus. Many Arab commanders had treated Berbers and other non-Arabs poorly. Although the Berbers were important to the successful invasion of Hispania, they were often given a lesser share of the spoils and frequently assigned to dangerous or harsher roles. Arab governers has also continued to levy extraordinary dhimmi taxation (the jizyah and kharaj) and slave-tributes on non-Arab populations that had converted to Islam, which the Berbers felt went against Islamic law.

The levying of extraordinary taxation and slave tributes from non-Arab Muslims was finally forbade in 718 by Umar II, which helped to quell tensions. Following the military campaigns of the 720’s and 730’s however, the Arab authorities were forced to look for other ways to collect revenue and replenish their treasuries.

The Berbers grew resentful and became receptive to Kharijite activists who preached a form of Islam that promisied a new political order, where all Muslims would be equal, irrespective of ethnicity or tribal status, and Islamic law would be strictly adhered to. Kharijite activists became popular in Berber regiments and cities, leading to several mutinies, including one by Munnus in Cerdanya, Spain, which were put down with difficulty. Yazid ibn Abi Muslim, an Ifriqiyan governor who openly resumed the jizya and humiliated his Berber guard by branding their hands, was assassinated in 721.

Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab was appointed Umayyad governor in Kairouan in 734, with supervisory authority over all the Maghreb and al-Andalus. Following a period of mismanagement, Ubayd Allah soon resumed the extraordinary taxation and slave-tribute in an effort to expand his resources, relying heavily on the non-Arab population. His deputies Oqba ibn al-Hajjaj al-Saluli in Córdoba and Omar ibn el-Moradi in Tangier were given similar instructions. Following the expensive garrisoning of Gaul to the north the tax only increased, while in the east the government in Damascus was unable to provide aid.

In 739 the powerful Ifriqiyan general Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri left the Sous valley of Southern Morocco for al-Andalus, weakening the Arab hold over Morocco. The North African Berber tribes of western Morocco; the Ghomara, Berghwata and Miknasa broke into open rebellion against their Arab overlords, choosing Maysara al-Matghari as their leader. With Habib gone Maysara assembled his coalition of Berber armies, his men donning shaved heads in the Sufri Kharijite fashion and with Qura'nic inscriptures tied to their lances and spears, and marched on Tangier.

After a brief battle the city soon fell into rebel hands and the hated governor Omar al-Moradi was killed. Maysara took up the title and pretension of amir al-mu'minin ("Commander of the Faithful", or "Caliph"), rallying support to his cause. A Berber garrison was left in Tangier under the command of Abd al-Allah al-Hodeij al-Ifriqi, while Maysara's army proceeded to sweep down western Morocco. As he marched his ranks increased as Berbers joined his cause, and soon he had overwhelmed the Umayyad garrisons from the Straits down to the Sous.

Taken aback by the sudden revolt, the Umayyad governor in Kairouan, Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab, immediately sent messengers to the general Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri in Al-Andalus, urging him to immediately send his army back to Africa to add to his small garrison. As he waited for his army to return, Ubayd Allah assembled an army almost entirely consisting of cavalry from the Arab elite of Kairouan. Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri was appointed as their commander, and was dispatched to Tangier to keep the Berber rebels contained. Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Mughira al-Abdari was also placed in command of a small reserve army and instructed to hold Tlemcen, to protect against a potential Berber army breaking the column and marching toward Kairouan.

The Arab army under Khalid ibn Abi Habib attacked Tangier where they met Maysara’s Berbers on the outskirts of the city. The vanguard Arab cavalry engaged in a brief skirmish before Maysara ordered a withdraw into the city. Rather than pursuing the Berbers, the attackers held the line south of the city, cutting off the enemy army from supplies as they awaited the army from the north to arrive. Having set out from Gibraltar the main army arrived north of the city.

In the city an internal coup was launched by the Berbers against their leaders. After Maysara’s seemingly cowardly actions against the Arab cavalry, many within his ranks saw him as an unfit ruler. Maysara was swiftly deposed and executed, and was replaced by the newly elected Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati, a Zenata Berber chieftain, as the new Berber 'caliph'. Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati immediately ordered an attack on the resting Arab column outside the city before they could be reinforced. In the so called ‘Battle of the Nobles’, the Arab cavalry was caught off guard and initially pushed back by the defenders. However, the re-inforcing army having recently arrived managed to turn the tide of the battle.

In the end the reinforcements were able to continue the siege, although almost all of the Arab cavalry initially around the city had been killed. Following the heavy loss of life the Arab command was shocked by this unexpected turn of events. In Tlemcen the reserve army of Ibn al-Mughira was ordered west to reinforce the army at Tangiers, which they did voluntarily to leave the a city filled with Sufrite preachers all around them.

In the meantime Habib ibn Abi Obeida entrenched the gathered army and his own in the vicinity of Tlemcen, and called upon Kairouan for reinforcements. The request was forwarded to Damascus. In the east Caliph Hisham was shocked and outraged by the Berber revolt, and ordered an army to crush resistance to his rule.

News of the Berber Revolt also reached al-Andalus where the heavily outnumbered Arab population became paranoid of a similar conflict in their own territory. The Arab elite of al-Andalus quickly deposed Obeid Allah's deputy, Oqba ibn al-Hajjaj al-Saluli, in January 741 and reinstated his predecessor, Abd al-Malik ibn Qatan al-Fihri, a more popular figure among local Arabs and Berbers alike.

In February 741, Kulthum ibn Iyad al-Qasi was appointed by the Umayyad Caliph Hisham as governor in Kairouan, replacing the disgraced Obeid Allah ibn al-Habhab, whose misgovernment had provoked the revolt. As governor Kulthum was to lead an Arab army numbering 30,000 regulars, raised from the regiments (junds) of Syria, and an additional 3,000 from Egypt, into Morocco to combat the rebelling Berbers. Caliph Hisham also appointed Kulthum's nephew Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri as his lieutenant and designated successor, and the Jordanian commander Thalaba ibn Salama al-Amili as his second successor in case of emergency.

In the summer of 741 the first forces from Syria arrived, consisting of elite Syrian cavalry under Balj ibn Bishr, which had moved ahead of the bulk of the forces. Kulthum ibn Iyad did not enter Kairouan himself, but dispatched a message assigning the government of the city to Abd al-Rahman ibn Oqba al-Ghaffari, the qadi of Ifriqiya instead. Kulthum collected the Syrian forces and the remaining Ifriqiyan forces of Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri holding ground in the vicinity of Tangiers and began his military campaign in the Maghreb immediately. The North African and Eastern forces often bickered in the initial months of the campaign, but were quelled by Kulthum ibn Iyad, keeping the contingency together for the time being.

Having gathered his forces, Kulthum ibn Iyad clashed with Berber forces for the first time at the Battle of Bagdoura in October by the Sebou river. Having taken the experiences and cautious advice of the Ifriqiyans, Kulthum ibn Iyad used his elite cavalry to his advantage, targeting the enemy flanks and the undefended light infantry. Despite being under equipped the Berber infantry heavily outnumbered the Arab infantry, and managed to severely weaken the Arab line throughout the battle. Arab forces were entrenched and prepared for the long waves of attack however, and with frequent aid from the elite cavalry were able to hold the line.

Throughout the battle the Arabs were forced to fight defensively, taking notice of the Berber’s slingers who could easily knock through cavalry units if the Arabs stayed out in the open. The Berbers also employed the use of wild mares maddened by water bags and leather straps tied to their tails, which rushed straight across the Arab ranks, sowing much confusion.

Finally, having suffered numerous casualties, the Berber forces fell into retreat. In their defensive positions the Arabs did not give chase for the most part, allowing the remaining Berber army to slip away. Leaders of the Syrian expedition would later be chastised for this, although having defeated the Berbers on their own territory, the morale of the Arab army greatly recovered, and Kulthum ibn Iyad’s forces gained much needed experience.

The costly engagements under the command of the Zenata Berber leader Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati didn’t help to persuade remaining Berber tribes in Morocco and al-Andalus to join his revolt, severely weakening the Berber effort. Many quiet Berber communities would continue to remain neutral or limit support for the rebellion in the wake of such a disastrous war. The few tribes that answered the call to arms against the Umayyad in the eastern Maghreb were defeated. This included the Sufrite leader Oqasha ibn Ayub al-Fezari, who raised a Berber army and laid siege to Gabès and Gafsa. A small Ifriqiyan army was deployed south under the Kairouan qadi Abd al-Rahman ibn Oqba al-Ghaffari, who managed to defeat and disperse Oqasha's forces near Gafsa in December.

Caliph Hisham ordered the Umayyad governor of Egypt, Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi to capture Oqasha and disperse his forces. Handhala ibn Safwan hurried his army from Egypt in February 742 and reached Kairouan around April 742, just as forces under Oqasha raised from Algeria returned to raid the area around the city. Oqasha was once again defeated outside the city, but fled back into Algeria to gather support once more.

A large force under the Hawwara Berber chieftain Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid al-Hawwari came to Oqasha’s aid, advancing east to attack the Umayyad army in Algeria and Kairouan. Assembled from the remaining Berber forces in Morocco, Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid al-Hawwari’s army was one of the largest ever gathered that far east throughout the war, posing an immediate threat to Umayyad administration in the Maghreb and cutting off supplies to the west where an army centered around Tangiers continued operations in Morocco. Handhala ibn Safwan knew it was important to cut off the Berber army before it arrived in full at Kairouan, dispatching a cavalry force to harass and slow down Abd al-Wahid in the north. The majority of Handhala’s forces were concentrated on Oqasha, who had taken a southern route to meet up with the rest of the Berber forces. Oqasha’s army was crushed in a bloody battle at El-Qarn and he was taken prisoner, although at a heavy cost to Handhala’s main army.

Handhala gathered every abled bodied man in Kairouan to serve as militia in his army before setting out again to combat the approaching army of Abd al-Wahid. In May 742 Handhala ibn Safwan defeated the great Berber army of Abd al-Wahid ibn Yazid at El-Asnam, just beyond the city limits of Kairouan. Some 100,000-150,000 Berbers, including Abd al-Wahid, fell in the field of battle in that single encounter. Oqasha was executed shortly after. The defeat of Abd al-Wahid effectively ended the revolt in the core of Ifriqiya, but the Umayyad still had to take back the rest of the Maghreb, including Morocco, which remained heavily under the sway of the Berber forces.

With Syrian and Egyptian forces under Handhala now advancing toward Morocco, the remaining forces of the initial Syrian expedition garrisoned within Tangiers disembarked for al-Andalus to aid in dispersing a number of minor revolts. Leaving a small garrison in Tangiers, the Arab army marched for the north, where the majority of the garrison consisted of Berber soldiers. Acting quickly the minor revolt was able to be put down swiftly, but the weakness along the border forced the expedition to garrison there permanently to protect against possible raids from Asturias. Several skirmishes would occur with the Christians of the north and the Syrian garrison, trapping Berber communities between to be raided by Asturias. Any captured Berbers in the area would become known as "Maragatos" by the local Christians (etymology uncertain, possibly from mauri capti, "captive Moors").

By 743 the Berber Revolt was considered over. With the failed attempts to seize Kairouan and other major cities, the Berbers had not gained any significant holdings to decisively defeat the Umayyad. In Morocco, however, the Berbers had established a foothold in North Africa, which heavily resisted the advances of Umayyad soldiers. Territory south of Fez and along the coast was lost to the Berber rebels, who established several independent kingdoms hostile to the Umayyad Caliphate.

Morocco
Grasping toward independent rule by the end of the Berber Revolt, several Berber tribes would unite into a series of confederacies. The first of these monarchies to form in the aftermath of the war would be the nation of Barghawata, a confederation of Berber tribes along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Alongside the Ghomara and the Miknasa, the Barghawatas were one fo the first tribes to revolt against the Arab rulers of the Maghreb, and were also Sufri Kharlijite converts. By the end of the revolt, however, the Berber alliances had dissolved, and much of the rebel army had been disbanded.

Having grown resentful to many later adherents, notably the Zenata chieftains, as the founders of the revolt movement, the Barghawata had attempted to become leaders of the revolt while it still operated. Following the end of the war however, the Barghwata retreated to the Tamesna region, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, where they founded their new independent state and abandoned their Sufri Kharijitism. Led by Tarif al-Matghari, the Barghawata established a kingdom stretching from Safi to Salé, and including the city of Azemmour.

Farther to the south, many Berbers settled the city of Sijilmasa. Led by Sufrite Kharijites, the early group of settlers numbered about four thousand people, who began construction of this new city. Founded on the northern edge of the Sahara Desert, along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis, the settlement attracted many other Berber soldiers and settlers from northern Morocco. ‘Isa bin Mazid al-Aswad was selected as the group’s first leader, who handled the city’s affairs during the town’s establishment and early history. However, after ruling for 14 years, he was blamed by his companions of corruption and executed. Abu al-Qasim Samgu bin Wasul al-Miknasi, chief of a branch of the Miknasa tribe, became the leader of the town. This Abu al-Qasim and his descendants are known as the Midrarid dynasty.

Arab–Khazar Wars
As conflict ensued across the Umayyad Caliphate’s holdings in the Maghreb, similar conflict erupted in the Caucasus region between the Arabs and the Khazars. Ongoing since 642 AD, the Arab-Khazar War once again erupted during Hisham’s rule. By this time the Muslims had suffered heavy casualties assaulting the Khazars, even losing the decisive Battle of Marj Ardabil in 730, and allowing the Khazar army to advance as far south as Mosul.

In the summer of 732, an army of 40,000 men advanced into Khazar lands under the command of Marwan ibn Muhammad. Marwan would spend time in the south raising troops from Ashot III Bargratuni in Armenia, while the Khazars strengthened their relations with the Roman Empire against their common enemy, marrying the son of the emperor, Leo III the Isaurian to the Khazar princess Tzitzak.

After the expedition of 732 led by Marwan, no serious expeditions into Khazar territory took place for some time. In 733 Sa'id al-Harashi replaced Marwan as governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan, but he too was unable to undertake any campaigns into enemy territory. In 735 al-Harashi lost his sight and Marwan was reappointed. Marwan would not lead any attacks against the Khazars until 735, when he assaulted three fortresses near the Darial Pass under the command of Tuman Shah, a North Caucasian prince who was captured during the campaign. Another Caucasian prince named Wartanis was also defeated and killed in 736. Despite these two victories the Arabs lacked the manpower to make any serious advances into enemy territory, and were largely stalled during this period.

The next large campaign did not come until 737, when the Arabs prepared a massive strike intending to end the war for good. Marwan persuaded Hisham in person to back the campaign and was provided with an army said to be 120,000 strong, to be assembled from regular troops in Syria and the Jazira, volunteers for the Jihad, Armenian troops under Ashot Bagratuni, and even armed camp followers and servants. With an army gathered, Marwan marched on the Khazars with the largest force ever gathered against them.

The Armenian factions hostile to the Arabs and their client Ashot were defeated by Marwan first to secure his rear, before marching against the Caucasian Iberians. The Chosriod rulerof the Iberians chose to seek refuge in the fortress of Anakopia on the coast of the Black Sea, located in the Byzantine protectorate of Abkhazia. The fortress was besieged by Marwan, but he was eventually forced to retreat after dysentery broke out among his forces.

Despite failure to capture Anakopia, the region of Transcaucasia was largely subdued. A two pronged offensive was devised by Marwan that would send 30,000 men under the command of Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami, governor of Derbent, to advance north along the coast of the Caspian Sea. The second half of his forces would be let by Marwan himself, who would cross the Darial Pass. At Samandar the two armies met, where the continued toward the Khazar capital of Atil, known as al-Bayda, in the Volga River. 40,000 captives were said to be taken after the engagement of the Slavs, while 40,000 men under the command of al-Kawthar ibn al-Aswad al-'Anbari were sent across the river to pursue the Khazar forces. 10,000 Khazars were killed, including the tarkhan, and the Arabs took 7,000 captive, causing a massive defeat for the Khazars.

The Khazar khagan himself is said to have requested peace, promising he would convert to Islam and recognize the Caliph's authority. Marwan also took with him large numbers of Slav and Khazar captives, whom he resettled in the eastern Caucasus, including some 20,000 Slavs who were settled at Kakheti, while the Khazars were resettled at al-Lakz. Shortly after the campaign the Slavs rebelled and killed their Arab governor, prompting Marwan to send an army after the fleeing Slavs and slay them.

The most successful campaign against the Khazars thus far, ultimately Marwan's campaign did little to actually defeat the Khazars. Although the offensive may have discouraged the Khazars from further warfare, promised conversions and recognition of Islam were not carried out unless Arab troops were present, a force that was not present for long. The khagan's own conversion is disputed, and it was believed that a minor lord converted for him, who was placed in charge of the Khazars at al-Lakz. It is also believed that by this time the khagan was actually a follower of Judaism.

Warfare between the Arabs and the Khazars largely ceased for more than two decades after Marwan's campaigns of 737. Until 741 Arab activity in the area would continue, as Marwan launched several expeditions into the Caucasus against northern princes, most notably Tuman Shah. These campaigns were largely intended as raids, seizing plunder and extracting tribute to pay for the army's upkeep, rather than as actual conquests. Despite the establishment of a frontier at Derbent, in reality the Arabs were primarily limited to the lowlands and the coast, and much of the land they seized was too poor to compensate for the expenses of the war. Maintaining a large garrison at Derbent further overextended the Umayyads, and depleted the Syro-Jaziran army, the main pillar of the Umayyad army. The weakening of the Syrian army would be one of major contributing factors in the fall of the Umayyad dynasty during the civil wars of the 740s and the Abbasid Revolution that followed.

Arab–Byzantine Wars
In 718 the Arabs were forced to withdraw from the city of Constantinople after, ending prospects of conquering the Byzantine Empire. The border between the Byzantines and the Arabs was established along the mountains of eastern Anatolia, bringing about a period lacking any major military campaigns from either side. Periodic raids and counter attacks were still common, but the inability for either to successfully subjugate the other allowed for formal diplomatic relations to begin in which each side formally recognized the legitimacy of the other. The largest raids during this period occurred in 720/721. With the Umayyads distracted in distant reaches of their empire the Byzantines had attempted to reconquer several cities in Armenia, and the Umayyads responded by launching a large offensive, with the aim of heavily raiding, pillaging, and plundering the Byzantine countryside, seldom attacking major forts or settlements.

Continuing attacks against the Byzantines was viewed as a tradition and a part of the continuing jihad. Annual expeditions against the Caliphate's "traditional enemy" quickly became organized, composed of one to two summer expeditions (pl. ṣawā'if, sing. ṣā'ifa) and sometimes by a naval attack and/or followed by winter expeditions (shawātī). Summer attacks were usually broken down into two separate expeditions, with the "expedition of the left" (al-ṣā'ifa al-yusrā/al-ṣughrā) being launched from the Cilician thughur and consisting mostly of Syrian troops. The "expedition of the right" (al-ṣā'ifa al-yumnā/al-kubrā), usually the larger of the two, was launched from Malatya and composed of Mesopotamian troops. Raids were largely concentrated on the borderlands and of the central Anatolian plateau, with Arab troops occasionally reaching the Byzantine coastline, which was subsequently heavily fortified to protect important settlements.

Expeditions intensified under the rule of the more aggressive Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, with some of the Caliphate's most capable generals, including princes of the Umayyad dynasty like Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik and al-Abbas ibn al-Walid or Hisham's own sons Mu'awiyah, Maslama and Sulayman, leading attacks against the Byzantines. Many of the frontier provinces of the Byzantine Empire became heavily devastated by war, with ruined cities and deserted villages becoming characteristic of life in the reaches of the empire. What little population remained scattered among the border relied on the mountains and natural barriers to protect them, where the armies of the empire could not.

With Arab invasions being renewed, parried with a series of natural disasters, such as the eruptions of the volcanic island of Thera, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian interpreted recent events as the Empire losting divine favor. Already in 722 he had tried to force the conversion of the Empire's Jews, but soon he began to turn his attention to the veneration of icons, which some bishops had come to regard as idolatrous. In 726, Leo had published an edict condemning their use and had become increasingly critical of the iconophiles personally. In 730 he formally banned depictions of religious figures in a court council. The decision to do so angered many, and the emperor was met with opposition from both the church and the people, including the Bishop of Rome.

Muslim Conquest of Transoxiana
Following the of 633–654 the Muslim Caliphate directly bordered the many city states of Transoxiana, which included the partially Turkic population and several local populations of Iranian people. With the Sassanid Persian Empire collapsing the local Iranian-Turkic and Arab armies clashed several times over control of Transoxiana's Silk Road cities. The Turgesh under the leadership of Suluk and the Khazars under the command of Barjik clashed several times with the Arabs during this period, fighting over important economic regions.

Both Suluk and the Khazar Empire to the west aimed to reconquer the region of Transoxiana from the Arab invaders, and in 721 Turgesh forces under the command of Kül Chor, attacked and defeated a Caliphal army under the command of Sa'id ibn Abdu'l-Aziz near Samarkand. After the battle many Turks and Sogdian refugees in Khujand were massacred by Sa'id's successor, Al-Kharashi in retaliation. This caused an influx of refugees towards the Turgesh, and in 724 Caliph Hisham sent a new governor to Khorasan, Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi, with orders to crush the "Turks" once and for all.

Following the news of a new caliph and a new governor in Iraq, the Yemeni troops in Balkh initially refused to join a campaign against the Turkic, but were forced to join the army when a force composed of Mudaris (northern Arabs) under Nasr ibn Sayyar marched against them and defeated them at Baruqan. The army continued on until Khalid's brother Asad, arrived in Khurasan, and with 4,000 troops from the Yemeni Azd tribe withdrawn from the army.

Al-Kilabi first marched on the Jaxartes Valley toward Ferghana, pillaging much of the countryside outside the city before laying siege to the city itself. The Turgesh khagan Suluk marched against the Umayyad with a much stronger army, and so the Arabs abandoned their advance, retreating hastily towards the south. The Arabs crossed the river Wadi al-Subuh after a day of forced marching, where the Turgesh army caught up to them. A secondary camp set up by Abdallah ibn Abi Abdallah, separate from the main Arab force was attacked by the Turgesh, causing the Arabs and their Sogdian allies to suffer heavy casualties, including the brother of the ruler of Samarkand, Ghurak. Despite heavy loses the attack was eventually repusled.

The Arabs recovered from the costly attack and continued their retreat, during which they were constantly harassed by Turgesh cavalry forces. Upon returning to the Jaxartes the Arabs found their path blocked by an enemy army composed of forces from the native principalities of Shash and Farghana, and the remnants of the Sogdian rebellion Sa'id al-Harashi had suppressed much earlier.

In preparation for battle the Arabs set up camp for the night and burned their baggage, which allegedly consisted of some one million dirhams worth of supplies and plunder. Despite suffering from heavy thirst and being surrounded, with the Turgesh on their rear and the Transoxianian forces in front, the desperate Arabs managed to break through the enemy lines and cross the Jaxartes. After fleeing the battle the exhausted Arab army feel into disorder, scattering in panic. Any remaining forces were transferred to the command of Abd al-Rahman ibn Na'im al-Ghamidi, who led the remnants of the army back to Samarkand. The battle would become known as the "Day of Thirst" (Arabic: Yawm al-'Atash) in Arabic historiography, and would serve as a massive defeat for the Arab forces.