The Southern Roman Empire
- Thread starter Prefrence
- Start date
Yes, that's an update.
CHAPTER 32
AVAR AND KHAZAR KHAGANATES ALLY AGAINST ARAB CALIPHATE.
BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES.
Bayan the Great was a reliable partner and a friend to the Arabs during the time of their rapid expansion against his enemy, the Persian Empire; and he ripped some benefits from it - loot, of course, and lots of prisoners columns after columns made their way into the Avar Khanate to settle empty lands with civilized population, and to increase Avar taxable base.
Even destruction of the once mighty Southern Roman Empire by the Arabs did not bother him too much; he had occupied some "core imperial Roman lands", and any threat of the Roman reconquest vanished.
Bayan the Great gladly saw the first Arab Civil wars, he truly believed that such a spectacular expansion had to stop somewhere sometime; and even a bit of Arab disintegration wouldn't hurt.
But the Caliphate stood as a rock, and no signs of Arab conquests slowing down showed so far.
Here realization slowly came down upon the qhagan that instead of two great powers fighting near Avar border, he helped to grow up a single superpower with world ambitions. And Bayan started to dislike the arrogant tone of the letters from caliphs; the Arabs seemed to forget that the Avars had never been their vassals. The Avars considered themselves the partners, no more. And Bayan started to say "no" to the caliphs, when they demanded to send Avar auxiliary troops somewhere a thousand miles from home. The tension between two entities began to grow.
So most naturally Bayan started to look in the direction of the other Turkic regional Power - the Khazar Khaganate. Being neighbors, the Khazars and the Avars had their unsolved territorial problems, but now they were quickly settled, facing the looming Arab danger.
As it was obviously clear that if/when the Arabs strike - they would first attack the Khazars, khagan Bayan got lavish territorial concessions from the Khazars, married the most noble Khazarian princess and received an insanely rich dowry (big enough to build a navy, which he actually did).
In exchange the Khazars received promise of the Avar khagan to join the Khazars against the Arabs, if the Caliphate declares war on the Khazar Khaganate. The same conditions were sworn by the Khazar Khagan. The only difference in the pact was Avar promise to do their best to solve the conflict peacefully if possible, having in mind history of Arab-Avar long cordial relations.
The usual exchange of the legal sons from the noble families of the both Khaganates followed - to strengthen the alliance, call them hostages if you like, but there were khagans' sons among them.
Strange enough, but these preparations went unnoticed by the Arabs, or not taken seriously, probably considered as the usual Turkic fuss.
In 649 a local insignificant Arab force led by Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah moved unprovoked against the Khazars; this raid was definitely not sanctioned by the Caliph and was purely a local initiative. Outside the Khazar town of Balanjar the Arabs were met with Khazar delegation, with a certain number of Avar representatives, which happened to be there. The Arabs killed the Khazars, captured the Avars. In the following battle the Arabs suffered the crushing defeat, and the Avar prisoners were liberated by the Khazars.
Immediately Khagan Bayan sent the most reprehensive delegation, including princes of blood and those Khazars, who witnessed the onslaught, to Caliph. They were not welcomed, just detained, no negotiations, no official explanations made.
Khagan Bayan gathered his army and carried it from Europe into his part of Anatolia.
Khazar army was already assembled in Transcaucasia and began slowly entering the Arabian possessions plundering everything on their way.
The Grand Arab army began its movement North-West to Avars; not North-East as was expected. Khazars accelerated their moving westward to their allied Avar army.
It seemed the words meant anything here no more, only arms.
* 16 maps
CHAPTER 32
AVAR AND KHAZAR KHAGANATES ALLY AGAINST ARAB CALIPHATE.
BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES.
Bayan the Great was a reliable partner and a friend to the Arabs during the time of their rapid expansion against his enemy, the Persian Empire; and he ripped some benefits from it - loot, of course, and lots of prisoners columns after columns made their way into the Avar Khanate to settle empty lands with civilized population, and to increase Avar taxable base.
Even destruction of the once mighty Southern Roman Empire by the Arabs did not bother him too much; he had occupied some "core imperial Roman lands", and any threat of the Roman reconquest vanished.
Bayan the Great gladly saw the first Arab Civil wars, he truly believed that such a spectacular expansion had to stop somewhere sometime; and even a bit of Arab disintegration wouldn't hurt.
But the Caliphate stood as a rock, and no signs of Arab conquests slowing down showed so far.
Here realization slowly came down upon the qhagan that instead of two great powers fighting near Avar border, he helped to grow up a single superpower with world ambitions. And Bayan started to dislike the arrogant tone of the letters from caliphs; the Arabs seemed to forget that the Avars had never been their vassals. The Avars considered themselves the partners, no more. And Bayan started to say "no" to the caliphs, when they demanded to send Avar auxiliary troops somewhere a thousand miles from home. The tension between two entities began to grow.
So most naturally Bayan started to look in the direction of the other Turkic regional Power - the Khazar Khaganate. Being neighbors, the Khazars and the Avars had their unsolved territorial problems, but now they were quickly settled, facing the looming Arab danger.
As it was obviously clear that if/when the Arabs strike - they would first attack the Khazars, khagan Bayan got lavish territorial concessions from the Khazars, married the most noble Khazarian princess and received an insanely rich dowry (big enough to build a navy, which he actually did).
In exchange the Khazars received promise of the Avar khagan to join the Khazars against the Arabs, if the Caliphate declares war on the Khazar Khaganate. The same conditions were sworn by the Khazar Khagan. The only difference in the pact was Avar promise to do their best to solve the conflict peacefully if possible, having in mind history of Arab-Avar long cordial relations.
The usual exchange of the legal sons from the noble families of the both Khaganates followed - to strengthen the alliance, call them hostages if you like, but there were khagans' sons among them.
Strange enough, but these preparations went unnoticed by the Arabs, or not taken seriously, probably considered as the usual Turkic fuss.
In 649 a local insignificant Arab force led by Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah moved unprovoked against the Khazars; this raid was definitely not sanctioned by the Caliph and was purely a local initiative. Outside the Khazar town of Balanjar the Arabs were met with Khazar delegation, with a certain number of Avar representatives, which happened to be there. The Arabs killed the Khazars, captured the Avars. In the following battle the Arabs suffered the crushing defeat, and the Avar prisoners were liberated by the Khazars.
Immediately Khagan Bayan sent the most reprehensive delegation, including princes of blood and those Khazars, who witnessed the onslaught, to Caliph. They were not welcomed, just detained, no negotiations, no official explanations made.
Khagan Bayan gathered his army and carried it from Europe into his part of Anatolia.
Khazar army was already assembled in Transcaucasia and began slowly entering the Arabian possessions plundering everything on their way.
The Grand Arab army began its movement North-West to Avars; not North-East as was expected. Khazars accelerated their moving westward to their allied Avar army.
It seemed the words meant anything here no more, only arms.
* 16 maps
Last edited:
CHAPTER 33
ARABS TRY TO FIGHT TWO KHAGANATES ONE AT A TIME
From the very beginning it became clearly evident, that the Arabs would catch the Avar army first, before it would be able to reach the allied Khazar army. Because Avar disembarkation took place on the Asian part of Constantinople, and the Khazars started movemen from the Caucasus.
The Arabs moved on their territory, they were holding initiative at the moment.
Knowing caution of Qagan Bayan (his enemies preffered to call it cowardice) it was expected that the Avars withdrew to Europe. But obviously Bayan had a good reconnaissance data. He knew that the Arabs took mostly cavalry, leaving infantry behind - they sacrificed troop numbers for speed.
So Qagan Bayan carried his infantry by ship into the designated place, closer to the Khazars, and ordered to construct some reinforcements on the supposed field of battle. The Avar cavalry started by land, following the seashore of the Black Sea.
The dangerous race began, it was a gamble from all sides, the Khazars also had to leave their infantry behide (which was not too much to speak about though).
Once the Arabs nearly intercepted the Avar horse, missed them by just half a day. But in the end the exhausted Avar cavalry reached their infantry on the already prepaired positions of earth fortifications on the low forested hill. From two sides of the hill there were a few miles of even land suitable for cavalry closed by mountains further. Supplied by his fleet from the sea, Qagan Bayan was ready to wait for the allied Khazars or give a battle to the Arabs.
Yazid ibn Abu, the Arab general, had his cavalry near the battlefield, also pretty tired after fruitlessly chasing the Avars. His foot troops were coming after him but they were good weak away. But the Khazar horse was only a day from the place.
Yazid ibn Abu had to make a quick decision. He was sure that his Arab cavalry was better than the Avars’ or the Khazars’ if fighting against only one of them alone. He was not that certain about his victory against united Turkic horse armies: Avars and Khazars together would be formidable.
There was of course fresh Avar infantry; but he personally knew, that Slavic infantry were used by Avars as disposable auxiliaries, “cannon meat” of dubious quality, usually thrown by the Avars first into battle to diminish the losses among the more valuable nomad troops. Good in ambush and skirmishes, no threat in real battle.
So Yazid ibn Abu started to station his troops in the afternoon. He knew that he would have less time to pursue the defeated enemy before the dark, but he delibiretly sacrifised this advantage. The Khazar cavalry was coming in a day or two and he wanted to give some rest to his people and horse after the battle and pursuit.
What the Arab general saw surprised him, as he expected the foot Slavic troops being dispersed as a first line in front of the Turkic cavalry to get the first shock and the heaviest casualties. Instead the infantry stayed on a low hill behind some primitive fortifications made of wood and earth. On both sides of the hill stood the Avar cavalry, where Yazid ibn Abu decided to concentrate his forces and attention.
Indeed Qagan Bayan changed the traditional Avar battle pattern, when he placed infantry as a separate force in the centre of his battle formation. And more than that he personally placed himself at the head of it, with a one thousand elite qagan cavalry guard, carefully hidden on the other side of the forested hill.
Qagan foot troops:
Majority were actually Slavs - 15 000, but those were his best equipped Slavs (part of his military reform), most of them had some body protective steel/leather armours, helmits, shields of course, battle axes, some swords and usual set of darts; so they were not usual light Slavic skirmishers, which the Arabs expected to meet.
3 000 were heavy infantry - those black Negroid Constantinople guards from savage African tribes (a gift of the Roman emperor): almost full body metal armour, huge shields, long pikes with enormous steel shining spearheads, swords. Wearing lion’s and leopard’s skins, bright feathers on the helmets they were impressive excotic sight.
2 000 miscellaneous infantry, mostly of Germanic and some other Balkan origin; rugged-looking, battleworthy.
Qagan right and left wings were mostly equal in number and composition - Turkic nomad cavalry:
15 000 each wing, the Bulgars form the first line, the Avars - the second line.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Arabs (only cavalry):
Left wing - 12 000
Centre - 5 000
Right wing - 12 000
Yazid ibn Abu was at the head of the right wing.
It might seem that the Arabs were outnumbered, but the Arabs were probably the best fighters in the world of the time; and in this army there were mostly “pure ethnic” Arabs with good experience, from good families with innumerable chain of stunning victories behind them. The best fighting force actually.
The Arab centre was weak. But first of all, nobody expected serious resistance from the Slavic rabble. And secondly, if this riffraff don’t run away at once and keep the Arab centre busy; the victorious right and left wings of the Arabs would come back and finish off these Slavic leftovers for sure.
The blazing Anatolian sun already crossed its zenith, when proud Arabs started their attack.
The ground shattered under the horses’ hooves of the empires’ crushers.
* 16 maps
ARABS TRY TO FIGHT TWO KHAGANATES ONE AT A TIME
From the very beginning it became clearly evident, that the Arabs would catch the Avar army first, before it would be able to reach the allied Khazar army. Because Avar disembarkation took place on the Asian part of Constantinople, and the Khazars started movemen from the Caucasus.
The Arabs moved on their territory, they were holding initiative at the moment.
Knowing caution of Qagan Bayan (his enemies preffered to call it cowardice) it was expected that the Avars withdrew to Europe. But obviously Bayan had a good reconnaissance data. He knew that the Arabs took mostly cavalry, leaving infantry behind - they sacrificed troop numbers for speed.
So Qagan Bayan carried his infantry by ship into the designated place, closer to the Khazars, and ordered to construct some reinforcements on the supposed field of battle. The Avar cavalry started by land, following the seashore of the Black Sea.
The dangerous race began, it was a gamble from all sides, the Khazars also had to leave their infantry behide (which was not too much to speak about though).
Once the Arabs nearly intercepted the Avar horse, missed them by just half a day. But in the end the exhausted Avar cavalry reached their infantry on the already prepaired positions of earth fortifications on the low forested hill. From two sides of the hill there were a few miles of even land suitable for cavalry closed by mountains further. Supplied by his fleet from the sea, Qagan Bayan was ready to wait for the allied Khazars or give a battle to the Arabs.
Yazid ibn Abu, the Arab general, had his cavalry near the battlefield, also pretty tired after fruitlessly chasing the Avars. His foot troops were coming after him but they were good weak away. But the Khazar horse was only a day from the place.
Yazid ibn Abu had to make a quick decision. He was sure that his Arab cavalry was better than the Avars’ or the Khazars’ if fighting against only one of them alone. He was not that certain about his victory against united Turkic horse armies: Avars and Khazars together would be formidable.
There was of course fresh Avar infantry; but he personally knew, that Slavic infantry were used by Avars as disposable auxiliaries, “cannon meat” of dubious quality, usually thrown by the Avars first into battle to diminish the losses among the more valuable nomad troops. Good in ambush and skirmishes, no threat in real battle.
So Yazid ibn Abu started to station his troops in the afternoon. He knew that he would have less time to pursue the defeated enemy before the dark, but he delibiretly sacrifised this advantage. The Khazar cavalry was coming in a day or two and he wanted to give some rest to his people and horse after the battle and pursuit.
What the Arab general saw surprised him, as he expected the foot Slavic troops being dispersed as a first line in front of the Turkic cavalry to get the first shock and the heaviest casualties. Instead the infantry stayed on a low hill behind some primitive fortifications made of wood and earth. On both sides of the hill stood the Avar cavalry, where Yazid ibn Abu decided to concentrate his forces and attention.
Indeed Qagan Bayan changed the traditional Avar battle pattern, when he placed infantry as a separate force in the centre of his battle formation. And more than that he personally placed himself at the head of it, with a one thousand elite qagan cavalry guard, carefully hidden on the other side of the forested hill.
Qagan foot troops:
Majority were actually Slavs - 15 000, but those were his best equipped Slavs (part of his military reform), most of them had some body protective steel/leather armours, helmits, shields of course, battle axes, some swords and usual set of darts; so they were not usual light Slavic skirmishers, which the Arabs expected to meet.
3 000 were heavy infantry - those black Negroid Constantinople guards from savage African tribes (a gift of the Roman emperor): almost full body metal armour, huge shields, long pikes with enormous steel shining spearheads, swords. Wearing lion’s and leopard’s skins, bright feathers on the helmets they were impressive excotic sight.
2 000 miscellaneous infantry, mostly of Germanic and some other Balkan origin; rugged-looking, battleworthy.
Qagan right and left wings were mostly equal in number and composition - Turkic nomad cavalry:
15 000 each wing, the Bulgars form the first line, the Avars - the second line.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Arabs (only cavalry):
Left wing - 12 000
Centre - 5 000
Right wing - 12 000
Yazid ibn Abu was at the head of the right wing.
It might seem that the Arabs were outnumbered, but the Arabs were probably the best fighters in the world of the time; and in this army there were mostly “pure ethnic” Arabs with good experience, from good families with innumerable chain of stunning victories behind them. The best fighting force actually.
The Arab centre was weak. But first of all, nobody expected serious resistance from the Slavic rabble. And secondly, if this riffraff don’t run away at once and keep the Arab centre busy; the victorious right and left wings of the Arabs would come back and finish off these Slavic leftovers for sure.
The blazing Anatolian sun already crossed its zenith, when proud Arabs started their attack.
The ground shattered under the horses’ hooves of the empires’ crushers.
* 16 maps
Last edited:
CHAPTER 34
BATTLE, AVARS AGAINST ARABS (part 1)
Before the very battle while the Arabs were finishing their preparations, Qagan Bayan personally went over his infantry battle lines on foot; surrounded by his courtiers, who were also walking, no horses seen around. He placed his tegins (princes of blood), curses, tarqans, tuduns, el-tabars and other prominent figures in crucial points to witness the courage of his officers and soldiers. Bayan also promised to stay with his foot troops to share their fate; he called the bravest officers and soldiers by name and recalled their feats of arms, they performed, their heroic deeds.
That was very unusual, as qagan traditionally has to be with his pure Avar nomad warriors, that was his place. Actually it was strange from the very beginning of the war - ageing qagan, so wary and prudent all his life, personally takes charge on the field of battle against the strongest Empire of the world. Did he calculate everything or take an unnecessary risk?
A few hours will show…
The Arabs struck, courageously going through the shower of Turkic arrows. The right Avar wing was headed by kanartikin (the heir to the throne). The left wing was under command by ichigirboil, commander of the military.
The Avars hold for two hours, it was evident that both sides suffer heavy casualties. Then Avar wings started to withdraw slowly. When that withdrowal began to look like flight, Yazid ibn Abu sent two more thousands Arabs to the centre and the Arabs started a quick pursuit of the Avar horse.
The Avar camp was behind the centre hill. No Arab went there, which proved high discipline of the Arab soldiers.
In an hour the wing cavalry was neither seen nor heard from the centre. The Arabs fought through to the middle of the slope, but here they stuck, but stalemate was in favour of the Arabs, as they were of the proven fortitude. The Slavic infantry couldn’t boast such quality as their usual tactics had been ‘hit and run’ previously.
But half an hour ago qagan sent his hidden 1 000 cavalry guard from the back of the hill in the direction of the Khazars to the left, there they unnoticed turned forward through mountains and appeared from behind the Arabs fighting on the hill. As the Avar guards appeared from the direction where the Khazars were waited from, the Arabs thought that it was the Khazar vanguard; and the Slavic infantry started to cry “Khazars, Khazars!”, as they had been previously taught.
It is to the credit of the Arab command and the courage of their warriors, they didn’t stop the attack up the hill; just one thousand turned and attacked the appearing cavalry detachment. But it was truly elite Avar detachment - their arrows stopped the Arabs half way and the rest of the Arabs were swiftly annihilated in melee. The Avars formed a line and started to shoot the Arabs in the backs; the arrows were so accurate, that the Arabs didn’t have a chance. Panic flight soon turned into massacre of the Arabs by the Avar infantry and cavalry. Perhaps no Arab escaped his fate.
Bayan ordered the troops to get into the Avar camp behind the hill, he was sure that returning victorious Arabs would go there.
* 16 maps
BATTLE, AVARS AGAINST ARABS (part 1)
Before the very battle while the Arabs were finishing their preparations, Qagan Bayan personally went over his infantry battle lines on foot; surrounded by his courtiers, who were also walking, no horses seen around. He placed his tegins (princes of blood), curses, tarqans, tuduns, el-tabars and other prominent figures in crucial points to witness the courage of his officers and soldiers. Bayan also promised to stay with his foot troops to share their fate; he called the bravest officers and soldiers by name and recalled their feats of arms, they performed, their heroic deeds.
That was very unusual, as qagan traditionally has to be with his pure Avar nomad warriors, that was his place. Actually it was strange from the very beginning of the war - ageing qagan, so wary and prudent all his life, personally takes charge on the field of battle against the strongest Empire of the world. Did he calculate everything or take an unnecessary risk?
A few hours will show…
The Arabs struck, courageously going through the shower of Turkic arrows. The right Avar wing was headed by kanartikin (the heir to the throne). The left wing was under command by ichigirboil, commander of the military.
The Avars hold for two hours, it was evident that both sides suffer heavy casualties. Then Avar wings started to withdraw slowly. When that withdrowal began to look like flight, Yazid ibn Abu sent two more thousands Arabs to the centre and the Arabs started a quick pursuit of the Avar horse.
The Avar camp was behind the centre hill. No Arab went there, which proved high discipline of the Arab soldiers.
In an hour the wing cavalry was neither seen nor heard from the centre. The Arabs fought through to the middle of the slope, but here they stuck, but stalemate was in favour of the Arabs, as they were of the proven fortitude. The Slavic infantry couldn’t boast such quality as their usual tactics had been ‘hit and run’ previously.
But half an hour ago qagan sent his hidden 1 000 cavalry guard from the back of the hill in the direction of the Khazars to the left, there they unnoticed turned forward through mountains and appeared from behind the Arabs fighting on the hill. As the Avar guards appeared from the direction where the Khazars were waited from, the Arabs thought that it was the Khazar vanguard; and the Slavic infantry started to cry “Khazars, Khazars!”, as they had been previously taught.
It is to the credit of the Arab command and the courage of their warriors, they didn’t stop the attack up the hill; just one thousand turned and attacked the appearing cavalry detachment. But it was truly elite Avar detachment - their arrows stopped the Arabs half way and the rest of the Arabs were swiftly annihilated in melee. The Avars formed a line and started to shoot the Arabs in the backs; the arrows were so accurate, that the Arabs didn’t have a chance. Panic flight soon turned into massacre of the Arabs by the Avar infantry and cavalry. Perhaps no Arab escaped his fate.
Bayan ordered the troops to get into the Avar camp behind the hill, he was sure that returning victorious Arabs would go there.
* 16 maps
Last edited:
CHAPTER 35
BATTLE, AVARS AGAINST ARABS (part 2)
The Avar camp was fortified much better than the hill, actually it was a solid wooden fortress, the Slavic woodcutters had enough time for construction. When Bayan’s central troops neared it they found a few Arab marauders in there.They were quickly put to death by Avar guards’ arrows.
It seemed that either Arab discipline didn’t live up to its reputation, or the Avar cavalry wings were already destroyed, and these were first Arabs returning. The latter proved right. Soon the Arab detachments began to arrive in hundreds - an easy prey for the Avar horse guard thousand, who massacred the tired unheedful victors outside the camp.
When the Arabs started to come in thousands, the Avars hid behind the camp walls, which were protected by still numerous Slavic infantry.
Yes, both Avar cavalry wings were destroyed. It was not an easy task though, even in pursuit. The Turks practiced the so-called Parthian shot - sending arrows back while retreating.
Avar Kanartikin (Crown Prince) tried a feigned retreat (a sham flight followed by unexpected turning around) - he suddenly turned around his fleeing cavalry and struck down upon the enemy. That stratagem might have succeeded as the Arabs did get into confusion, but Kanartikin being in the front line got hit by an Arab dart in the thigh, fell from his horse. There was a mortal close fight around the Avar Prince fighting on foot, then over his body, after an enemy’s sword broke his skull. At last the Avars withdrew leaving their murdered prince under a heap of fallen bodies. The Arabs were noble enough to honor the perished hero, they preserved his dead body untouched; and later in the evening they handed the son's body to his grieving father, Avar Qagan, into his camp.
The death toll of this Arab wing was very high; another Avar wing, headed by an ichigirboil (the Avar highest military title), did not put such tough resistance.
When main Arab forces returning from the chase gathered near the camp in big numbers, Yazid ibn Abu ordered to storm it. But either the Arabs were too tired or the Slavs got confidence in themselves, but the storm failed; the Arabs fell back leaving their dead behind.
Every hour more and more victorious Arabs were coming back from pursuit, but the declining sun was already taking on a reddish cast.
Yazid ibn Abu declared that the coming dark might help the trapped defenders, causing disorder among the attacking Arabs; the dark is an advantage of the weak and he wouldn’t give it to them. The exhausted Arabs returned to their camp, leaving the assault for the next morning.
Qagan Bayan let himself mourn his favorite son and heir only half an hour - he dropped near the dead body and silently writhed with pain on the luxurious carpets like a wolf shot through. Soon a Khazar messenger was reported to come into the camp; it had been previously staged by qagan - it was his Khazar, who had been sent from the camp to hide into the nearest mountains by Bayan, one of those official Khazar “hostages”, carefully concealed from his closest servants.
Bayan the Great saw that morale in the camp was dramatically low, and some desperate measures were needed to boost it; he feared that his shocked infantry would run clear of the camp. So qagan took this fake “Khazar messenger” and all night walked with him all over the camp, showing this “Khazar imposter envoy” to everybody assuring that the main allied Khazar forces would join them in the morning. Qagan was a good actor, he looked behind himself with joy.
He sent most of his Avar cavalry guards with the same joyful news in hope to bring back the remnants of his runaway cavalry wings; he left only a hundred of them, placed as archers on the walls of the camp. Their order was to shoot everybody, trying to leave the camp.
So a handful of Avars, surrounded by ten thousand Slavs, frightened, feeling trapped, sentenced to death by the approaching morning assault of the full Arab army.
Only an hour before the sunrise, after making the last round of the camp wall, qagan handed over the command of the camp to his son Kandik. The old man in his seventies walked up the highest wall tower, took a deep breath of the hot Anatolian air. It smelled mountain grass and blood.
Bayan fell on the wooden floor and dozed off, comfortable in his long caftan.
* 16 maps
BATTLE, AVARS AGAINST ARABS (part 2)
The Avar camp was fortified much better than the hill, actually it was a solid wooden fortress, the Slavic woodcutters had enough time for construction. When Bayan’s central troops neared it they found a few Arab marauders in there.They were quickly put to death by Avar guards’ arrows.
It seemed that either Arab discipline didn’t live up to its reputation, or the Avar cavalry wings were already destroyed, and these were first Arabs returning. The latter proved right. Soon the Arab detachments began to arrive in hundreds - an easy prey for the Avar horse guard thousand, who massacred the tired unheedful victors outside the camp.
When the Arabs started to come in thousands, the Avars hid behind the camp walls, which were protected by still numerous Slavic infantry.
Yes, both Avar cavalry wings were destroyed. It was not an easy task though, even in pursuit. The Turks practiced the so-called Parthian shot - sending arrows back while retreating.
Avar Kanartikin (Crown Prince) tried a feigned retreat (a sham flight followed by unexpected turning around) - he suddenly turned around his fleeing cavalry and struck down upon the enemy. That stratagem might have succeeded as the Arabs did get into confusion, but Kanartikin being in the front line got hit by an Arab dart in the thigh, fell from his horse. There was a mortal close fight around the Avar Prince fighting on foot, then over his body, after an enemy’s sword broke his skull. At last the Avars withdrew leaving their murdered prince under a heap of fallen bodies. The Arabs were noble enough to honor the perished hero, they preserved his dead body untouched; and later in the evening they handed the son's body to his grieving father, Avar Qagan, into his camp.
The death toll of this Arab wing was very high; another Avar wing, headed by an ichigirboil (the Avar highest military title), did not put such tough resistance.
When main Arab forces returning from the chase gathered near the camp in big numbers, Yazid ibn Abu ordered to storm it. But either the Arabs were too tired or the Slavs got confidence in themselves, but the storm failed; the Arabs fell back leaving their dead behind.
Every hour more and more victorious Arabs were coming back from pursuit, but the declining sun was already taking on a reddish cast.
Yazid ibn Abu declared that the coming dark might help the trapped defenders, causing disorder among the attacking Arabs; the dark is an advantage of the weak and he wouldn’t give it to them. The exhausted Arabs returned to their camp, leaving the assault for the next morning.
Qagan Bayan let himself mourn his favorite son and heir only half an hour - he dropped near the dead body and silently writhed with pain on the luxurious carpets like a wolf shot through. Soon a Khazar messenger was reported to come into the camp; it had been previously staged by qagan - it was his Khazar, who had been sent from the camp to hide into the nearest mountains by Bayan, one of those official Khazar “hostages”, carefully concealed from his closest servants.
Bayan the Great saw that morale in the camp was dramatically low, and some desperate measures were needed to boost it; he feared that his shocked infantry would run clear of the camp. So qagan took this fake “Khazar messenger” and all night walked with him all over the camp, showing this “Khazar imposter envoy” to everybody assuring that the main allied Khazar forces would join them in the morning. Qagan was a good actor, he looked behind himself with joy.
He sent most of his Avar cavalry guards with the same joyful news in hope to bring back the remnants of his runaway cavalry wings; he left only a hundred of them, placed as archers on the walls of the camp. Their order was to shoot everybody, trying to leave the camp.
So a handful of Avars, surrounded by ten thousand Slavs, frightened, feeling trapped, sentenced to death by the approaching morning assault of the full Arab army.
Only an hour before the sunrise, after making the last round of the camp wall, qagan handed over the command of the camp to his son Kandik. The old man in his seventies walked up the highest wall tower, took a deep breath of the hot Anatolian air. It smelled mountain grass and blood.
Bayan fell on the wooden floor and dozed off, comfortable in his long caftan.
* 16 maps
Last edited:
Good point, I changed the the color of the text.
I hope, it's a little bit better for your eye balls.
But, sorry, man, I cannot make the text black.
When I started/continued the TL good six years ago, a lot of people made the text of TL other color.
Old school...
Sure, thank you, I'll correct that.
Actually I meant " a sham flight followed by unexpected turning around".
CHAPTER 36
KHAZARS REACH FIELD OF BATTLE
Qagan Boyan winced when tegin (prince of the blood) Kandik touched his father’s shoulder. It seemed he just fell asleep a moment ago. But the sun was already over horizon.
This time it was real Khazars, who came - 300 light horse archers. The Khazar army was close, a few hours away. The bad news was that it was only a vangard, 5 000 cavalry with the Khazar qagan in command; he stopped waiting for the rest of his army to move up, unable to attack the Arabs till then.
Boyan sent the rest of Avar cavalry and all the Khazars (as a living proof) to bring them back to help the Khazars finish off the Arabs and share the spoils. He knew where they probably were concentrated - at his fleet supposed berth; but he was foreseeing enough and secretly had relocated his ships further, and they wouldn’t be able to escape this way.
Now everything depended on Yazid ibn Abu deciding who to attack first. If that were the Avar camp, he would massacre these second-rate troops in an hour or so; but he considered them a sitting duck, his prey anyway. He decided not to loose time and attack the vanguard of the Khazars; the fleeing Khazar vanguard would spread panic among the arriving Khazar detachments. That was Arab plan.
We don’t know if Yazid ibn Abu contenplated coming back from the field of battle, retreating to his Arab infantry which was a few hundred miles away.
When Bayan saw that all the Arabs moved in the direction of the Khazars, he heaved a sigh of relief - he would live another day. When his ichigirboil (commander of the military) brought 6 000 cavalry back, which he gathered out of the fled Avars/Bulgars, qagan took quick action.
First of all he brought the ichigirboil into the tent before the corpse of the kanartikin (the heir to the throne) and asked him in a hoarse whisper: “Why is the head of another army wing, my dear son, dead, and why are you, the head of my another army wing, still alive?”
Qagan gloomily watched the agony and convulsion of the general, while his guards slowly strangled the bulky man with a leather rope.
Straightway Bayan the Great gathered all the high-ranking Avars/Bulgars and officially declared his son Kandik kanartikin (the heir to the throne) and appointed Kandik’s uncle (by mother’s side) new ichigirboil (commander of the military).
The Avar army was ordered to pursue the Arabs, cavalry first, but immediately before the infantry, which seriously slowed down the movement. Bayan didn’t want to reach the Arabs before they got thoroughly engaged with the Khazars.
The Khazar qagan was wise enough to choose a position in a narrow pass between the mountains, where the Arab superiority in numbers didn’t give them advantage to outflank his vanguard. But the initial impact of the Arabs was frightening, they pushed the Khazars hard and started to force them into the open. At that moment the Avars showed up and their arrows hit the Arabs in their backs. When the Avar/Bulgar horse archers emptied their quivers, the Slavic infantry assaulted, the Bulgars followed.
The first Khazar reinforcements arrived at last.
That was when it got perfectly clear that the Arabs were doomed. Every hour fresh Khazar and Avar reinforcements joined the battle tightening the ring round the Arabs. Once an attempt of breakthrough was undertaken, but the Avars cut them down.
The losses were huge from both sides, the Arabs held out till the evening, and only when they lost two thirds of their warriors, the slaughter began. The body of Yazid ibn Abu was never found; they say he was cut to unrecognizable smallest pieces by the furious enemies.
* 16 maps
KHAZARS REACH FIELD OF BATTLE
Qagan Boyan winced when tegin (prince of the blood) Kandik touched his father’s shoulder. It seemed he just fell asleep a moment ago. But the sun was already over horizon.
This time it was real Khazars, who came - 300 light horse archers. The Khazar army was close, a few hours away. The bad news was that it was only a vangard, 5 000 cavalry with the Khazar qagan in command; he stopped waiting for the rest of his army to move up, unable to attack the Arabs till then.
Boyan sent the rest of Avar cavalry and all the Khazars (as a living proof) to bring them back to help the Khazars finish off the Arabs and share the spoils. He knew where they probably were concentrated - at his fleet supposed berth; but he was foreseeing enough and secretly had relocated his ships further, and they wouldn’t be able to escape this way.
Now everything depended on Yazid ibn Abu deciding who to attack first. If that were the Avar camp, he would massacre these second-rate troops in an hour or so; but he considered them a sitting duck, his prey anyway. He decided not to loose time and attack the vanguard of the Khazars; the fleeing Khazar vanguard would spread panic among the arriving Khazar detachments. That was Arab plan.
We don’t know if Yazid ibn Abu contenplated coming back from the field of battle, retreating to his Arab infantry which was a few hundred miles away.
When Bayan saw that all the Arabs moved in the direction of the Khazars, he heaved a sigh of relief - he would live another day. When his ichigirboil (commander of the military) brought 6 000 cavalry back, which he gathered out of the fled Avars/Bulgars, qagan took quick action.
First of all he brought the ichigirboil into the tent before the corpse of the kanartikin (the heir to the throne) and asked him in a hoarse whisper: “Why is the head of another army wing, my dear son, dead, and why are you, the head of my another army wing, still alive?”
Qagan gloomily watched the agony and convulsion of the general, while his guards slowly strangled the bulky man with a leather rope.
Straightway Bayan the Great gathered all the high-ranking Avars/Bulgars and officially declared his son Kandik kanartikin (the heir to the throne) and appointed Kandik’s uncle (by mother’s side) new ichigirboil (commander of the military).
The Avar army was ordered to pursue the Arabs, cavalry first, but immediately before the infantry, which seriously slowed down the movement. Bayan didn’t want to reach the Arabs before they got thoroughly engaged with the Khazars.
The Khazar qagan was wise enough to choose a position in a narrow pass between the mountains, where the Arab superiority in numbers didn’t give them advantage to outflank his vanguard. But the initial impact of the Arabs was frightening, they pushed the Khazars hard and started to force them into the open. At that moment the Avars showed up and their arrows hit the Arabs in their backs. When the Avar/Bulgar horse archers emptied their quivers, the Slavic infantry assaulted, the Bulgars followed.
The first Khazar reinforcements arrived at last.
That was when it got perfectly clear that the Arabs were doomed. Every hour fresh Khazar and Avar reinforcements joined the battle tightening the ring round the Arabs. Once an attempt of breakthrough was undertaken, but the Avars cut them down.
The losses were huge from both sides, the Arabs held out till the evening, and only when they lost two thirds of their warriors, the slaughter began. The body of Yazid ibn Abu was never found; they say he was cut to unrecognizable smallest pieces by the furious enemies.
* 16 maps
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It depends on ambitions of the victors, the Arab respond, the internal situations in the two khanates, in Caliphate, it's complicated.
And the Turkic allies have an Arab infantry army against them in Anatolia.
The martial qualities of the Arabs make this army a danger.
