Battle of Aksu - Tang vs Umayyad

[retaxis]

Very few battles happened between China and Arabs

Aksu is one of the few that happened before the An Lushan Rebellion that crippled the Tang Dynasty

Battle of Aksu (717) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Battle[edit]​

In 717 AD, the Umayyads along with their Turgesh and Tibetan allies besieged two cities in the Aksu region which was under Chinese protection. The commander of China's four Anxi garrisons in Central Asia, Tang Jiahui, sent two armies: one composed of Tang irregular troops led by Jiahui himself and the other composed of Karluk horsemen led by Ashina Xin.[1] In the resulting battle, the Umayyad army was heavily defeated and forced to retreat. Many Umayyad troops were taken prisoner but were subsequently released after the Caliphate paid a ransom in gold.

Aftermath[edit]​

As a result of the battle, the Umayyads were expelled from Northern Transoxiana. The Turgesh submitted to the Tang and subsequently attacked the Umayyads in Ferghana. For their loyalty, the Tang emperor conferred imperial titles on the Turgesh khagan Suluk and awarded him the city of Suyab.[13] With Chinese backing, the Turgesh launched punitive attacks into Umayyad territory eventually wresting all of Ferghana from the Umayyads with the exception of a few forts.

 

[Maira La]

the Tang emperor conferred imperial titles on the Turgesh khagan Suluk and awarded him the city of Suyab.[13] With Chinese backing, the Turgesh launched punitive attacks into Umayyad territory eventually wresting all of Ferghana from the Umayyads with the exception of a few forts.

The Turkic confederation led by Suluk was defeated multiple times by Ummayads in future wars.

It's impressive how far the Arabs had reached, from their base in the Levant, and still fought and won wars.