After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Marj Ardebil, the Khazars roamed freely across the lands of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Armenia.
Gathering a small army (including refugees from Ardabil who had to be paid ten gold dinars to be persuaded to fight), Sa'id managed to recover Akhlat on Lake Van.
Sa'id scored a crushing victory, killing most of the 10,000 Khazars, and rescuing the prisoners they had with them, reportedly 5,000 families.
The Arabs also captured the Khazar general's flag, which became the battle standard of his tribe, the Harish.
After this, the Khazar armies fled north, abandoning their conquests in Azerbaijan and Arran, with Sa'id in pursuit.