Lecture 9: 751 Talas & 1192 Tarain—Islam into Asia
x According to Chinese sources, the turning point in the battle
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the side of the Chinese, switched sides during the battle and attacked
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together, but most were slaughtered or captured, and supposedly
only 2,000 returned to China.6LJQL¿FDQFH
x The Battle of the Talas River set the high-water mark of Tang
expansion to the west, effectively marking the end of Chinese
DWWHPSWVWRSURMHFWLQÀXHQFHEH\RQGWKH7DULPEDVLQx At the time of the battle, the people of central Asia followed a
variety of religions, but over the next few centuries, they became
almost exclusively Muslim. Some historians have argued that
the battle was decisive not only because it stopped the spread of
Chinese power westward, but because it determined the permanent
religious orientation of the entire area.Rajput versus Turk
x Conversion to Islam after the Battle of the Talas River was a
process that took several hundred years. Among the groups that
converted were the warlike Turkish tribes of the steppe, who were
outstanding horsemen and archers, and in the 11th century, several
energetic Turkish leaders used these martial skills to carve out
substantial empires.x The most famous of these was Mahmud of Ghazni, who built an
empire based in what today is Afghanistan and extending into Iran
and Pakistan. Mahmud led 16 raids into northern India, where
his zeal for destroying Hindu temples and statues earned him the
nickname “Idol Breaker.”x Mahmud’s empire was supplanted by a pair of brothers from
Ghor. One established himself on the throne of Ghazni, while the
other, Mohamad of Ghor, looked southward to India to carve out
his own kingdom.