Battle of Balanjar (652)

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]

Battle of Balanjar
Part of the Arab–Khazar Wars
Date 652 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

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

• Battle of Balanjar (disambiguation)

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. Dunlop 1954, p. 55.
5. Artamonov 1962, p. 179.
6. Dunlop 1954, p. 56.
7. Dunlop 1954, p. 57.

Sources

• Artamonov, M. I. (1962). История хазар [History of the Khazars] (in Russian). Leningrad: Издательство Государственного Эрмитажа. OCLC 490020276.
• Dunlop, Douglas M. (1954). The History of the Jewish Khazars. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. OCLC 459245222.