battle of talas

When the Muslims exploded out of Arabia, they did not stop at fighting their immediate foes, the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires. Rather, they continued beyond them, conquering lands from Iberia to India. But when the Umayyads and later the Abbasids attack the region of Central Asia known as...

In 751, two of the greatest powers of the age squared off in the valley of the Talas River. On one side was the Abbasid Caliphate, aided by its ally the Tibetan Empire. On the other was the Tang dynasty, aided by Ferghana and some Karluk mercenaries. After several days of stalemate, the Karluks...