Battle of the Baggage

Part of the Umayyad-Turgesh Wars and the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana

Map of Khurasan and Transoxiana in the 8th century

Date	30 September 737
Location	Upper course of the Oxus river (modern northern Afghanistan)
Result	Turgesh victory

Belligerents

Umayyad Caliphate
al-Saghaniyan

Turgesh Khaganate
Principality of Khuttal and other Transoxianian allies

Commanders and leaders

Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri
Ibrahim ibn Asim al-'Uqayli

Suluk

Strength

unknown

50,000

The Battle of the Baggage (Arabic: ﻳﻮﻡ ﺍلاﺛﻘﺎﻝ‎‎, Yawm al-athqāl) was fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Turkic Turgesh tribes in September/October 737. The Umayyads under the governor of Khurasan, Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri, had invaded the principality of Khuttal in Transoxiana, and the local ruler called upon the Turgesh for aid. The Umayyad army retreated in haste before the Turgesh arrived, managing to cross the Oxus river just in time, while their rearguard engaged the pursuing Turgesh. The Turgesh crossed immediately after, and attacked the exposed Muslim baggage train, which had been sent ahead, and captured it. The main Umayyad army came to the rescue of the baggage train's escort, which suffered heavy casualties. The failure of the Umayyad campaign meant the complete collapse of the Arab control in the Upper Oxus valley, and opened Khurasan itself to the Turgesh.

The region of Transoxiana (Arabic: Ma wara' al-nahr) had been conquered by the Arab Muslims under Qutayba ibn Muslim in 705–715, following the Muslim conquest of Persia and of Khurasan in the mid-7th century. The loyalty of Transoxiana's native Iranian and Turkic populations to the Umayyad Caliphate remained questionable, however, and in 719 the various Transoxianian princes sent a petition to the Chinese court and their Turgesh vassals for military aid against the Caliphate's governors. In response, from 720 on the Turgesh launched a series of attacks against the Muslims in Transoxiana, coupled with uprisings among the native Sogdians. The Umayyad governors initially managed to suppress the unrest, but control over the Ferghana Valley was lost and in 724 the Arabs suffered a major disaster (the "Day of Thirst") while trying to recapture it. Half-hearted efforts by the Umayyad government to placate the local population and win their support were soon reversed, and heavy-handed Arab actions further alienated the local elites. Consequently, in 728 a large-scale Transoxianan uprising broke out with Turgesh aid, which led to the Caliphate losing most of Transoxiana except for the region around Samarkand.

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