Battle of Balanjar (723)

The Battle of Balanjar took place during the Khazar–Arab Wars. In 722 or 723, according to Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Umayyad soldiers under al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah crossed the Caucasus Mountains and attacked Balanjar. The inhabitants of Balanjar tried to defend their town by fastening 3000 wagons together and circling them around the key fortress on high terrain, but were defeated in the attack. The Arabs massacred much of the town's population; survivors fled to other towns, including Samandar. The victorious Arab army stole much booty and the soldiers received large sums of money. After this battle, the Arabs went on to capture Samandar and the Muslims once again became a dominant force in Transcaucasia.

Sack of Balanjar (723)
Part of the Arab–Khazar Wars
Date 723 Location Balanjar Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Khazar Khaganate	Umayyad Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Tarkhan	Jarrah
Casualties and losses
Massacred much of the town's population. Survivors fled to other towns.	unknown

See also

• Battle of Balanjar (disambiguation)

Sources

• Dunlop, Douglas M. (1954). The History of the Jewish Khazars. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. OCLC 459245222.
• Semyonov, Igor G. (2008). "Эпизоды биографии хазарского принца Барсбека" [Biographical episodes of the Khazar prince Barsbek] (PDF). Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual International Conference on Jewish Studies, Part 2 (in Russian). Moscow. pp. 282–297. ISBN 978-5-8125-1212-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)