The Battle of Talas
Sometime in June 751, a battle took place on the banks of the Talas River, just over the present day border in Kazakhstan, near the modern day city of Taraz (Djambul) – is sometimes hailed as one of the major turning points in history.
At the time, the battle was considered to be of minor importance – arising out of “a little local dispute” – but it’s implications and effects were major. Indeed, one of the most outstanding early historians in the Islamic world, Al-Tabari, ignores the battle completely. Chinese historians seem to agree – they depict the battle as arising out of a purely local quarrel between two petty kingdoms, which dragged the super-powers of the time into a conflagration that was to mark the limit the growth for two of them … as well as having a monumental effect on the distribution of technology and wealth.
At this point in time, the area was a melting pot of different influences. As well as the native nomads, and the settled communities of the Ferghana valley, there were three large empires vying for influence: the Chinese to the East, the Arabs to the West, and the newly rising star, Tibet.
The Chinese had extended their empire to the West establishing themselves as masters over the 72 kingdoms of in the Western territories – what is now, roughly, Xinjinag province, extending control by extracting vows of allegiance in return for eloquent and grandiose, if meaningless, titles. Chinese troops were to be found as far afield as in Tokmak, but links with the kingdoms further.West tended to be diplomatic and based on trade.
The Arab empire had swiftly expanded in the two decades following the death of the prohet, Mahammed. Inspired by their new religion, Islam, their empire stretched from the Atlantic coast of North Africa, through the Missdle East into the heart of Central Asia – to the heart of what is now Afghanistan. The majority of Central Asia, however, had remained resistant to the encroachment of this new medieval super-power. The Arab armies eventually crossed the Oxus river (today known as the AmuDarya) into Transoxiana (in today’s Uzbekistan) and began colonizing the new lands and tradinig with China.
Neither of these great empires really seemed to want war with the other. There would have been serious problems associated with supply lines and securing their rear, as well as facing the problems of negotiating new and unknown territories and terrain. There was much more to be gained by mainting lucrative trade between them, than risking it all in outright conflict.
The catalyst for the battle seems to have been the rise of a third super-power – Tibet. The Tibetans had been a major force conquering lands to the South including the Wakhan area of modern day Afghanistan The first king of Tibet, Srong-btsan Sgam-po, hadburst onto the international scene, and his armies even succeeded in wrestling the Tarim Basin from China and holding onto it for 20 years. During the first half of the 8th century there were many hard fought engagements between China and Tibet, with the Chinese trying to make allies amongst the smaller neighbours to the West of Tibet, in order to reign in their new rival. Eventually, a crisis developed when a pro-Tibetan king ascended came to power in the kingdom of Gilgit (now in Pakistan). The Chinese sent an army under the Korean general Kao Hsien Chi to reassert Chinese authority over the lands to the West, and deal with the “upstart”. In a daring move, and against the odds, he managed to defeat a well positioned Tibetan Army, outflanking the retreating troops in time to destroy the only bridge across the river over which Tibetan reinforcements could arrive to relieve their comrades … he seized the capital, imprisoned the king and his Tibertan wife and beheaded the pro-Tibetan ministers and counselors.
The scene was now set with with the borders of three opposing powers meeting at a central point – focused around the Ferghana valley. A minor, “local difficulty” was to set alight a conflict which was to have far reaching effects and help to shape the rest of history.
The year before the battle itself, in 750, the Chinese had received an appeal fro assistance from Ferghana, who feared an attack from the King of Tashkent (Chach) and his Turkish allies. Kao Hsien Chi , who was now the local Chinese governor, responded by sending an army to besiege and capture Tashkent – plundering the city, slaughtering the old and weak, he sold the young and healthy inhabitants into slavery and deported the King and his leading alies back to China, (although there are accounts that, having promised safe passage to the king, he treacherously had him decapitated). However, the king’s son had made his escape to Samarkand and appealed to the newly installed Arab Caliphate for assistance, and an Arab army assembled at Merv, (in modern Turkmenistan) and moved North, gathering re-inforcements along the way.
An alliance of local nomads, Tibetans and Arabs was formed to do battle against this encroaching Chinese Imperial army.
Now, the Chinese, warned of the approaching reinforcements, marched to meet them. According to Chinese sources – they mustered 30,000 troops – but the Arabs claimed it was more like 100,000.
The two armies met outside the city of Atlakh – long since disappeared – in July, 751. The two armies fought for five days. At first, the Chinese cavalry seemed to overwhelm their Arad opposite numbers, but then the Qarlug Turks, supposd allies of the Chinese, defected to the enemy, sealing the fate of the Chinese force – attacking them from the rear. They forded a river encircling a partv of the Chinese army, and butchered it “to a man” . The Qarlug archers then turned their attention on the Chinese center where Kao was based – which the Arab cavalry charged and destroyed. The Chinese force then found themselves routed, eventually retreating through a gorge which was packed with fleeing refugees. The Qarlug fell upon the abandoned Chinese supplies and animals – carrying off whatever theyb could for their retrun journey home. Although the Chinese general Kao Hsien Chi managed to escape – many of his troops were not so lucky: they were captured and marched to Samarkand.
One of those prisoners wea called Du Hwai. A soldier, he was imprisoned for ten years following the battle, eventually being released and finding his way from Tashkent, through Samakand, and Northern Iran as far as modern day Iraq and into Syria. At last, at a port on the Perisan Gulf, he boarded a foreign ship and set sail – back to China. Sailing through the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, he eventually landed at Canton. His account of the battle and his prison life in Central Asia was written up as a book.
This was the first and last major battle between the two empires. Its effect was debilitating to both sides –marking both the limit of the Western expansion of the Chinese empire and the Eastward expansion of Arab – and Muslim – influence into Asia. The Arab conquest of the then known world had been blocked to the West in 732, at Poitiers in France and now, in 751, also in the East.
The battle had other far reaching consequences. Some of the Chinese who were marhed into captivity turned out to be more than simple soldiers. There were experts in a number of areas which had long been protected as a monopoly by the Chinese Empire. These included Silk weavers, metal workers (gold and silversmiths) and experts in making paper. In fact, expertise in silk production had long since emerged from the empire … but now there were skilled craftsmen who could teach the secrets of their trade to their captors. Likewise the skilled metal workers, and the paper makers. Many were deported to the new capital of Bagdad, and Samarkand became a center for the manufacture of paper. The introduction of the new technologies associated with paper took a while to spread – but when it did, it enabled a remarkable technological revolution – an “information age” – ushered in with the invention of the printing press.
According to the Kazakh Information service (KazInform) carried a report plans to make a major Kazakh-US joint venture to produce a film based on the battle, to be directed by the American, Ron Maxwell.
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Bishkek