Day of Thirst

The "Day of Thirst" (Arabic: ﻳﻮﻢ ﺍلعطش, romanized: Yawm al-aṭash) is the name traditionally given in Arabic historiography to a battle fought in 724 between the Turkic Türgesh Khaganate and the Umayyad Caliphate on the banks of the Syr Darya river, in Transoxiana (in modern Tajikistan, Central Asia). The Umayyad army, under Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi, was campaigning in the Ferghana Valley when it learned of the Türgesh advance. Immediately, the Arabs began a hasty retreat to the Syr Darya, pursued and harassed by the Türgesh cavalry. Finally, after 11 days, the Umayyad army reached the river, where it was caught between the Türgesh and the forces of the native Transoxianian principalities. Nevertheless, the Arabs managed to break through and cross the river to Khujand. The Umayyad defeat led to the collapse of Muslim rule over much of the region, which until c. 740 remained disputed territory, with both the Arabs and the Türgesh fighting for control over it.