The Georgian historiography insists its main purpose was to finally break the stiff Georgian resistance against Arab rule,[1] however, the western historians such as Cyril Toumanoff,[2] and Ronald Suny,[3] view it as a general campaign directed at both the Byzantine Empire, who exerted dominion over Western Georgia, and the Khazars, whose repeated raids affected not only Iberia (Eastern Georgia) and the whole Caucasus, but had in 730 reached Arab lands all the way to Mosul.

He first campaigned in Kartli, after which he led his armies to the west and besieged the fortress of Anakopia, where Archil of Kakheti and his brother Mihr, who were assisted by Leon I of Abkhazia, were stationed.

Marwan later invaded Samtskhe, encamped in Odzrkhe and led his forces against the princes of Argveti, Constantine and David, from whom, upon their capture, he demanded unconditional conversion to Islam, which both refused.

If Georgian historiography insists that Kartli was devastated by the invasion, Toumanoff, relying on local and Arab sources, claims that most of the damage in the Eastern part of the country was actually the result of the previous Khazar raids, and that the local Georgian prince, Guaram III of Iberia, actually sided with the Arabs in order to repeal them beyond the Caucasian range.

Because civil instability and foreign enemies were plaguing the caliphate, it was unable to launch another invasion and until 786 settled upon receiving irregular tributes from the Georgian local princes.