The Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, also called the Arab conquest of Transoxiana, was part of the early Muslim conquests. It began shortly after the Muslim conquest of Persia enabled the Arabs to enter Central Asia. Relatively small-scale incursions had taken place under the Rashidun Caliphate, but it was not until after the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate that an organized military effort was made to conquer Transoxiana, a region that today includes all or parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The campaign continued under the Abbasid Caliphate, and gradually saw the Islamization of the region.
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👉 Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Khuttal
Khuttal, frequently also in the plural form Khuttalan (and variants such as Khutlan, Khatlan, in Chinese sources K'o-tut-lo) was a medieval region and principality on the north bank of the river Oxus (modern Amu Darya), lying between its tributaries Vakhsh and Panj. It corresponds roughly to the modern Khatlon Province of Tajikistan.
The pre-Islamic Principality of Khuttal played an active role, sometimes as an ally, sometimes as an enemy, of the Umayyads during the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, and it was not until 750/1 that the Abbasids finally established direct control over it. A branch of the Banijurids of Tokharistan ruled over the area under the Abbasids, and acknowledged the suzerainty of the Samanids in the 10th century. The area apparently retained an autonomous line of rulers in the 11th–12th centuries, when it came first under the loose control of the Ghaznavids, and after the middle of the 11th century of the Seljuq Empire. With the decline of Seljuq power, Khuttal passed to the control of the Ghurids and the Khwarazmshahs, under whom no native princely line is known. In the 13th century Khuttal became a part of the Mongol Empire and of its successor, the Chagatai Khanate, emerging once again as an autonomous principality following the latter's disintegration in the mid-14th century. In the 16th century, the Shaybanids took over Khuttal, and the name itself ceases to be used, being replaced by Kulob.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Muslim conquest of Transoxiana
- 👉 Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Khuttal
- Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Sogdians
- Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Islam in Central Asia
- Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Qutayba ibn Muslim
- Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Sogdian city-states
- Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Ikhshid
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Sogdians
Sogdia (/ˈsɒɡdiə/) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya rivers, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire, and listed on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. Sogdiana was first conquered by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, and then was annexed by the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great in 328 BC. It would continue to change hands under the Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, the Sasanian Empire, the Hephthalite Empire, the Western Turkic Khaganate, and the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana.
The Sogdian city-states, although never politically united, were centered on the city of Samarkand. Sogdian, an Eastern Iranian language, is no longer spoken. However, a descendant of one of its dialects, Yaghnobi, is still spoken by the Yaghnobis of Tajikistan. It was widely spoken in Central Asia as a lingua franca and served as one of the First Turkic Khaganate's court languages for writing documents.
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Islam in Central Asia
Islam in Central Asia has existed since the beginning of Islamic history. Non-denominational and Sunni branch of Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Central Asia. Shiism of Imami and Ismaili denominations predominating in the Pamir plateau and the western Tian Shan mountains (almost exclusively Ismailis), while boasting to a large minority population in the Zarafshan river valley, from Samarkand to Bukhara (almost exclusively Imamis). Islam came to Central Asia in the early part of the 8th century as part of the Muslim conquest of the region. Many well-known Islamic scientists and philosophers came from Central Asia, and several major Muslim empires, including the Timurid Empire and the Mughal Empire, originated in Central Asia. In the 20th century, severe restrictions on religious practice were enacted by the Soviet Union in Soviet Central Asia and the People's Republic of China in Xinjiang.
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Qutayba ibn Muslim
Abū Ḥafṣ Qutayba ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Muslim ibn ʿAmr al-Bāhilī (Arabic: أبو حفص قتيبة بن أبي صالح مسلم بن عمرو الباهلي; 669–715/6) was an Arab commander of the Umayyad Caliphate who became governor of Khurasan and distinguished himself in the conquest of Transoxiana during the reign of al-Walid I (705–715). A capable soldier and administrator, he consolidated Muslim rule in the area and expanded the Caliphate's border to include most of Transoxiana. From 705 to c. 710, he consolidated Muslim control over the native principalities of Tokharistan and conquered the principality of Bukhara, while in 710–712 he conquered Khwarizm and completed the conquest of Sogdiana with the capture of Samarkand. The latter opened the road to the Jaxartes valley, and during the last years of his life Qutayba led annual campaigns there, extending Muslim control up to the Fergana Valley and parts of Chinese Turkestan.
To increase his strained manpower, Qutayba initiated the wide-scale levy of native Khurasani and Transoxianian soldiers who fought alongside the Arab Muslim troops. Following Walid's death, Qutayba, insecure of his position under the new regime, rebelled but failed to secure the support of his army, and was killed. Most of his conquests in Transoxiana were lost in the years after his death; only in the 740s was the Muslim position restored to the line reached by Qutayba, and only after the Battle of Talas in 751 did the region come solidly under Muslim control.
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Sogdian city-states
The Sogdian states refers to a number of independent or autonomous city-states in the Iranian region of Sogdia in late antiquity and the medieval period. Most of the city-states were ruled by a king or queen, who was called "first among equals". However, the succession of rule was not stable, and the people could influence who would become the new ruler. The period, which experienced its peak in the 7th century, ended with the conquest of Transoxiana by the Islamic Caliphate.
Bukhara and Samarkand – the famous cities of Persian literature – were the largest and wealthiest Sogdian states.
Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the context of Ikhshid
Ikhshid (Persian: اخشید; from Sogdian: xšyδ, əxšēδ) was the princely title of the Iranian rulers of Soghdia and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. The title is of Iranian origin; scholars have derived it variously from the Old Iranian root khshaeta, lit. 'shining, brilliant', or from khshāyathiya, 'ruler, king' (which is also the origin of the title 'shah').
The Ikhshids of Sogdia, with their capital at Samarkand, are well attested during and after the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. The line survived into Abbasid times, although by then its seat was in Istikhan. Among the most notable and energetic of the Soghdian kings was Gurak, who in 710 overthrew his predecessor Tarkhun and for almost thirty years, through shifting alliances, managed to preserve a precarious autonomy between the expanding Umayyad Caliphate and the Türgesh khaganate.