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Battle of Balanjar (723)
Encyclopedia
In 722 or 723, according to Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
, Umayyad
soldiers under al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah
crossed the Caucasus Mountains
and attacked Balanjar
. The inhabitants of Balanjar tried to defend their town by fastening 3,000 wagon
s 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.
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
soldiers under al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah
Al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah
Abu `Uqbah al-Djarrah ibn `Abdullah al-Hakami was an Arab nobleman of the Hakami tribe. During the course of the early 700s he was at various times governor of Seistan, Khurasan, Armenia, and Arran...
crossed the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
and attacked Balanjar
Balanjar
Balanjar was a medieval city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River. It flourished from the seventh to the tenth centuries CE...
. The inhabitants of Balanjar tried to defend their town by fastening 3,000 wagon
Wagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
s 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
Samandar (city)
Samandar was a city in Khazaria on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, south of the city of Atil, in the North Caucasus. The exact location of the city is unknown, but most likely, it was situated on the Terek river near the present-day city of Kizlyar, which, like Samandar, is noted for its...
. The victorious Arab army stole much booty
Booty
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and the soldiers received large sums of money.