Al-Harith ibn Surayj
Harith based his revolt on religious grounds and won over a large part of both the Arab settlers and the native population, but failed twice to capture the provincial capital of Marw.
Harith accompanied the Türgesh qaghan Suluk in his invasion deep into Arab-held territory, which was decisively beaten back in the Battle of Kharistan in 737.
[2][3] Harith is next mentioned in 733, when he led a protest in Lower Tokharistan against the commandeering of supplies from the province, already plagued by drought and famine, to feed the capital of Khurasan at Marw, by the governor Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri.
[2][6] Harith advocated various reforms, the most prominent being the full legal equality of the native non-Arab converts (mawali) with the Arab Muslims, echoing a long-standing demand of the former, in conformity with the precepts of Islam.
[2][7][8][9] Harith was seen as a champion of the rights of the ajam (non-Arabs, especially Iranians), many of whom flocked to his banner, but he also had a large following from the disaffected among the Arabs themselves, especially his fellow Tamim and the Azd.
[10] Disaffection was widespread among the Khurasani Arabs due to the heavy casualties suffered against the Türgesh at the Battle of the Defile in 731, as well as the dissemination of anti-Umayyad propaganda by proto-Shi'ite groups.
[4] This was exacerbated by the resentment felt at the introduction of 20,000 Iraqi troops into the province in the aftermath of the Defile, and the parallel order of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 723–743) to disperse the older Arab settlers from Marw to other settlements so as to improve their defence against the Türgesh.
Junayd's successor, Asim ibn Abdallah al-Hilali, who had just arrived at Marw, tried to placate the rebels and sent emissaries to them, but Harith simply imprisoned them.
As the revolt spread through the surrounding countryside, Harith, with a force of 4,000 men, marched on Balkh, the chief city of Tokharistan, held by Nasr ibn Sayyar with 10,000 troops.
The autonomous native Hephthalite princes of Guzgan, Faryab and Talaqan also seized the opportunity to join the revolt with their forces, hoping to re-establish their independence and perhaps reduce the Arab power in Khurasan to a dependent principality around Marw.
This forced Harith to accept a peace offer from Asim—who likewise could not count on the continued support of the Khurasani Arabs now that the danger from the natives had passed—and retired to Andkhuy.
Asad divided his forces, sending the Kufan and Syrian troops under Abd al-Rahman ibn Na'yum towards Marw Rudh, where Harith's main army was located, while he himself with the Basrans and remaining Khurasanis marched on the fortresses of Amul and Zamm.
Asad followed up this success by persuading the garrison of Zamm to surrender on promises of amnesty and double pay, and by an unsuccessful expedition to recover Samarqand, which had been lost in the aftermath of the Defile.
While the Arab troops were dispersed ravaging the countryside, the Türgesh qaghan, Suluk, responding to the pleas for help by the Khuttalan king, launched an attack that precipitated a headlong flight back by Asad's army across the Oxus.
The Türgesh detachments south of the Oxus were largely destroyed piecemeal by Juday al-Kirmani, ending the threat to Khurasan, and the loyalty of the native rulers of Tokharistan was cemented.
In 740 or 741, after having consolidated his authority in Khurasan and carried out tax reforms that eased the social unrest, Nasr ibn Sayyar advanced into the middle Jaxartes valley, making for Shash.
Consequently, Nasr felt it necessary to bring Harith and his adherents back, to both strengthen his own position—Harith and his followers had a long history of enmity towards al-Kirmani—and remove a potential source for another foreign invasion.
[2][41][42][43] When Harith arrived at Marw in early July 745, however, the situation had changed: Yazid was dead, a full-blown civil war had erupted in Syria, and Nasr ibn Sayyar, although still occupying the position of governor, lacked authority.
After attempts to negotiate an agreement proved fruitless, Nasr attacked Harith's forces in March 746, and scored a first victory over them, in which Jahm ibn Safwan fell.
[46][47][48] The conflict between Nasr and al-Kirmani continued, but was soon overtaken by events: exploiting the conditions of civil war, the Abbasids under Abu Muslim launched their own anti-Umayyad revolt in Khurasan.
Abu Muslim managed to exploit the situation to his advantage, and in early 748, his men entered Marw, the first step in a war that would lead to the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and its replacement with the Abbasids two years later.
