Battle of Balanjar (730s)

The Battle of Balanjar was fought around 732 near the Khazar city of Balanjar. The Umayyad army, commanded by the prince Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, was victorious and advanced on towards Samandar.

Battle of Balanjar
Part of the Second Arab–Khazar War
Date c. 732 Location Balanjar Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Khazar Khaganate	Umayyad Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik
Strength
250	1,000
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Low

The clashes with the Khazars had ended until Maslama b.Abd al-Malik came to the region. After Maslama came to the region, he laid siege to the Hizan (Hayzan) castle in the Shirvan region. He called the people of the region to obey him, but when they refused to obey, he fought with them. As the siege was prolonged and they suffered, they made an agreement with Maslama. Maslama ordered the city's castle to be destroyed. Even though they were given security, they did not keep their word. Thereupon, Mesleme put them to the sword. Maslama then made an agreement with the emirs of Cibal on the condition that they would pay their tribute. Shervanshah, Lîrânşah, Taberserânşah, Fîlânşah, Cerşânşah and Muscat emirs told him. Then he turned to the city of Derbend and besieged it. In order to capture the city, he first had stones thrown and then irons shaped like stones, but these did not help. Thereupon, Maslama had cows and sheep slaughtered there. He poured their offal and the gum of the hiltite tree into the waters leading to the castle. It flowed. As a result, their water became wormy overnight. Thereupon, the Khazars fled and evacuated the castle. Continuing his walk, Mesleme advanced as far as Belencer. Learning that Mesleme was advancing in the region and capturing his lands, the Khazar Khan gathered a large army against Mesleme. When Maslama learned that the Khazars were moving against him with a large army, he consulted with his soldiers about whether to fight or not. The soldiers stated that they were with him, that they would be martyrs when they died, and that they would achieve the conquest they wanted when they stayed. Severe clashes occurred in the war in which Marwan b. Muhammad commanded the right wing of the army. Meanwhile, after one of the Khazars said that he had converted to Islam, Hakan's location was learned from him. Mesleme called Sübeyt en-Nahrânî, who had previously fought for the Armenian governorship here. Mesleme stated that he would give him a great reward if he killed Hakan or captured Hakan along with 1,000 people of his choice. Nahrânî attacked Hakan at night with about 1,000 cavalry he chose. Hakan did not die, but his army dispersed, confused as to what to do.

See also

• Battle of Balanjar (disambiguation)

Bibliography

• Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 3rd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2018.
• Douglas M. Dunlop. The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954.
• Peter B. Golden. Khazar Studies: An Historico-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980.