Battle of Bukhara (709)

Battle of Bukhara
	Part of Muslim conquest of Transoxiana
Date	709 CE
Location	Bukhara, Transoxiana (modern-day Uzbekistan)
Result	Umayyad victory
Territorial; changes	Umayyad control over Bukhara established
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate	Principality of Bukhara; Sogdian allies; Turkic auxiliaries
Commanders and leaders
Qutayba ibn Muslim	Bukhar Khudat (unnamed ruler); Ghurak of Samarkand (ally)
Strength
20,000–30,000 (Arab sources); possibly up to 50,000 including auxiliaries	Claimed 100,000–200,000 (likely exaggerated); modern estimates 20,000–40,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy

The Battle of Bukhara was fought in c. 709 CE between the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, commanded by Qutayba ibn Muslim, and a coalition of Sogdian and Turkic forces defending the city of Bukhara in Transoxiana. The battle marked a critical turning point in the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana, resulting in the permanent incorporation of Bukhara into the Umayyad sphere of control and the beginning of Islamic influence in the region.

Historical background

In the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate under al-Walid I pursued a policy of aggressive expansion into Central Asia, beyond the Oxus River (Amu Darya). This region—historically known as Sogdiana—was home to wealthy and independent city-states such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Khwarazm. These cities were ruled by local Iranian and Turkic elites and had previously resisted or only nominally accepted Arab suzerainty.

Qutayba ibn Muslim, the Umayyad governor of Khurasan, was appointed by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf with a mandate to stabilize the region and push the frontier of Islamic authority. By 706–708, Qutayba had subdued Khwarazm and other local polities. Bukhara, a religious and economic hub with Zoroastrian and Buddhist traditions, had previously submitted under tribute but remained rebellious. In 709, the city rose again with support from Sogdian and Turkic allies, prompting a full-scale campaign by Qutayba.

Prelude to battle

The city of Bukhara was ruled by a local king titled the Bukhar Khudat, whose actual name remains unknown in Arabic sources. Alarmed by Qutayba’s previous victories, the Bukharan leadership sought military support from other Sogdian rulers, especially Ghurak of Samarkand, and Turkic tribes to the northeast—possibly remnants of the Western Turkic Khaganate or Hephthalite-affiliated groups.

Qutayba mustered a large army from Arab settlers in Khurasan, including troops from Merv and Nishapur, along with Persian Muslim auxiliaries (mawālī) and defected or allied Turkic horsemen. His campaign combined military pressure with strategic use of diplomacy and promises of tax relief or conversion incentives to split local coalitions.

The battle

Qutayba began his assault with a siege of Bukhara, encountering strong resistance from the city’s garrison. Arab sources like al-Ṭabarī report that a large relief force—possibly numbering tens of thousands—was organized by Sogdian allies and Turkish mercenaries to break the siege. In a decisive field engagement near the city walls, Qutayba routed this coalition through superior battlefield coordination and mobile cavalry tactics.

After defeating the relief army, Qutayba renewed his siege and eventually stormed the city. Some accounts suggest that internal dissent or negotiated terms may have contributed to the final fall of the city. The city’s fortifications were breached, and the Umayyads imposed direct control over the citadel.

According to the 10th-century historian Narshakhī in his Tārīkh Bukhārā, Qutayba established a garrison and constructed a mosque within the former citadel, symbolizing the beginning of Islamic religious presence. The local ruler was allowed to remain as a nominal vassal under tribute.

Strength and numbers

Arab sources, such as al-Ṭabarī, report that the Muslim force numbered between 20,000 and 50,000. This included Arab soldiers, Persian converts, and Turkic auxiliaries. The defenders and allied reinforcements were claimed to number up to 200,000, though this figure is widely considered an exaggeration typical of early Islamic historiography.

Modern historians like Hugh Kennedy and Richard N. Frye suggest more conservative estimates, placing the Umayyad forces at around 20,000–30,000 and the defenders at 20,000–40,000.

Aftermath

The conquest of Bukhara gave the Umayyads a permanent military and administrative foothold in Transoxiana. Qutayba initiated policies to encourage conversion, including the distribution of tax incentives and land grants to newly converted locals. The mosque he established in Bukhara became a nucleus for the Islamic community in the region.

Though Islam did not immediately displace the dominant local religions, the victory at Bukhara set the stage for further conquests, including Samarkand (captured in 712) and engagements deeper into Central Asia. Qutayba's campaigns culminated in the Umayyad reach to the Jaxartes River (Syr Darya), though his death in 715 halted further expansion.

Resistance to Umayyad rule persisted, and the subsequent decades saw rebellions and the rise of Turkic counteroffensives, especially during the Turgesh invasions and the Battle of the Defile (731). However, the long-term cultural and religious transformation of Bukhara had begun.

Significance

The Battle of Bukhara represents one of the most successful examples of Arab military and political penetration into Central Asia. Qutayba's victory demonstrated the effectiveness of hybrid forces and pragmatic diplomacy. It marked the beginning of Bukhara's transformation into a major center of Islamic learning and culture, a status it would maintain for centuries under the Samanid dynasty and later rulers.

Primary sources

Al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk (History of Prophets and Kings), 9th century.
Narshakhī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar. Tārīkh-i Bukhārā (10th century), translated by Richard N. Frye (Harvard University Press, 1954).
Chinese dynastic histories such as the Old Book of Tang reference Arab movements in Central Asia during this period.

References

^ Kennedy, Hugh (2007). The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306814285.
^ Frye, Richard N. (1954). The History of Bukhara: Translated from a Persian Abridgment of the Arabic Original by Narshakhī. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674401159.