The "Day of Thirst" (724)

In the 720s the local rulers of Transoxiana asked the Türgesh for help against the Arabs. In 724 the governor of Khorasan, Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi, set out to take the Fergana valley. While he was in Fergana, news came that the Türgesh khagan Suluk was approaching with a large army.

The Arab army began a hasty retreat towards the Syr Darya. For eleven days the Türgesh cavalry pursued and harried it. According to Arab sources the army suffered terribly from thirst and exhaustion. Finally, caught on the river bank between the Türgesh and the forces of the local princes, it crossed with heavy losses and reached Khujand.

After this defeat Arab rule collapsed over much of Transoxiana, and until about 740 the region remained contested ground between the Arabs and the Türgesh.