Baggage, Battle of the
737 CE
The Battle of the Baggage is fought between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Turkic Turgesh tribes in September/October 737 CE.
The Umayyads under the governor of Khurasan, Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri, have invaded the principality of Khuttal in Transoxiana, and the local ruler calls upon the Turgesh for aid.
The Umayyad army retreats in haste before the Turgesh arrive, managing to cross the Oxus river just in time, while their rearguard engages the pursuing Turgesh.
The Turgesh cross immediately after, and attack the exposed Muslim baggage train, which had been sent ahead, and capture it.
The main Umayyad army comes to the rescue of the baggage train's garrison, which suffers heavy casualties.
The failure of the Umayyad campaign means the complete collapse of the Arab control in the Upper Oxus valley, and opens Khurasan itself to the Turgesh.
Related Events
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The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, pursue them south of the Oxus and, in the Battle of the Baggage (September 30), capture their baggage train.
The Turgesh and their Transoxianan allies launch a major invasion of the lands south of the Oxus, entering Jowzjat in December 737 and threatening to overrun the whole of Khurasan and Arab East, but are stopped by the Umayyad governor Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri at the Battle of Kharistan, which halts Turgesh expansion into the East.