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Concept
Battle of Talas
Summary
The Battle of Talas or Battle of Artlakh (; معركة نهر طلاس) was a military encounter and engagement between the Abbasid Caliphate along with its ally, the Tibetan Empire, against the Tang dynasty. In July 751, Tang and Abbasid forces met in the valley of the Talas River to vie for control over the Syr Darya region of Central Asia. According to Chinese sources, after several days of stalemate, the Karluks, originally allied to the Tangs, defected to the Abbasid side and tipped the balance of power, resulting in a Tang rout.
The defeat marked the end of the Tang westward expansion and resulted in Islamic control of Transoxiana for the next 400 years. However, direct Muslim Arab control ended in 821 when power shifted to the Tahirid dynasty. Then the Turkic Ghaznavids took power in 977. Islamic control ended in 1124 when the non-Muslim Qara Khitai conquered Transoxania. Control of the region was economically beneficial for the Abbasid Arabs because it was on the Silk Road. Chinese prisoners captured in the aftermath of the battle are said to have brought papermaking technology to West Asia.
The exact location of the battle has not been confirmed but is believed to be near Taraz and Talas, on the border between present-day Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The Chinese name, Daluosi (怛羅斯, Talas), was first seen in the account of Xuanzang. Du Huan located the city near the western drain of the Chui River.
The oasis towns on the Silk Road in Central Asia had once been controlled by the Türgesh, but the Turkic tribal confederation plunged into chaos in the latter half of the 7th century. The Tang empress Wu had retaken control of the Tarim Basin from the Tibetan Empire in 692 as part of the Tang expansion in Inner Asia and the oasis towns became a major source of income for the Chinese Tang dynasty. In 705 Qutayba ibn Muslim started to lead the army of the caliphate into wars to conquer Silk Road towns, exploiting Türgesh infighting. The caliphate conquered the oasis towns Bukhara and Samarqand, expanding the border of their empire eastwards.
Official source
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