Arab–Khazar wars

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The Arab–Khazar wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Khazar Khaganate and successive Arab caliphates in the Caucasus region from c. 642 to 799 CE. Smaller native principalities were also involved in the conflict as vassals of the two empires. Historians usually distinguish two major periods of conflict, the First Arab–Khazar War (c. 642 – c. 652) and Second Arab–Khazar War (c. 722 – c. 737); the wars also involved sporadic raids and isolated clashes from the mid-seventh century to the end of the eighth century. The wars were a result of attempts by the nascent Rashidun Caliphate to secure control of the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) and North Caucasus, where the Khazars were already established since the late 6th century. The first Arab invasion began in 642 with the capture of the strategically important city of Derbent that guarded the eastern passage of the Caucasus along the Caspian Sea, and continued with a series of minor raids, ending with the defeat of a large Arab...

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