Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah

Abu ʿUqba al-Jarrah ibn ʿAbdallah al-Hakami (أبو عقبة الجراح بن عبد الله الحكمي) was an Arab nobleman and general of the Hakami tribe. During the course of the early 8th century, he was at various times governor of Basra, Seistan and Khurasan, Armenia, and Arran.

He was celebrated for his exploits with the sobriquets "hero of Islam" (Baṭal al-Islām) and "Cavalier of the Syrians" (Fāris Ahl al-Shām), and is best known for his campaigns against the Khazars on the Caucasus front, culminating in his death in the Battle of Marj Ardabil in 730.

Early career
Al-Jarrah, whose name means "the surgeon," was born in the latter part of the 7th century. His father was Abdallah al-Hakami, a member of a highly regarded tribe within the Umayyad Caliphate.

Under Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715), al-Jarrah served as governor of Basra in Iraq. In 717, Umar II (r. 717–720) appointed him as governor of Khorasan and Seistan, but was dismissed after a 17 months in office because of his harsh treatment of the native converts (mawali). While in Khorasan he fought a series of campaigns against the remnants of the Göktürk Khaganate over Transoxiana, imposing the jizya on the conquered population.

In the Caucasus
In spring 722, following the defeat of the Arab governor of Armenia at the hands of the Khazars, Yazid II (r. 720–724) named al-Jarrah in his stead, placing him in command of the Umayyad offensive against the Khazars and their allies. In summer 722 and 723, Al-Jarrah led an army of 25,000 Syrians across the Caucasus and fought his way north along the coast of the Caspian Sea, sacking the Khazar capital Balanjar, although he failed to destroy the Khazar army itself. The Khazars retaliated by invading the Muslim-controlled southern Caucasus in the winter of 723/724, but in February 724 al-Jarrah inflicted a crushing defeat on them in a battle between the rivers Cyrus and Araxes that lasted for days. In the same year, al-Jarrah captured Tiflis and brought Caucasian Iberia, as well as the Alans under Muslim suzerainty, in the process becoming the first Muslim commander to campaign through the Darial Pass. This secured the Muslim's own flank against a possible Khazar attack through the Darial, while conversely it gave the Muslim army a second invasion route into Khazar territory. In 725, however, Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743) replaced al-Jarrah with his own brother Maslamah.

Recall and death
In 729, the Umayyad army suffered a series of defeats in the Caucasus at the hands of the Khazar commander Barjik. Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 727–743) recalled al-Djarrah and restored him to the governorship of Armenia, which was in the process of being overrun by the Khazars. In 730, a Khazar army led by Barjik invaded northeastern Persia, including the provinces of Arran and Djibal. At the Battle of Marj Ardabil in 730 al-Jarrah was defeated and killed by the Khazars, who thereafter captured the city of Ardabil. Al-Jarrah's head was mounted on Barjik's throne.

Aftermath
Al-Jarrah was replaced first by his brother Hajjaj ibn Abdallah and subsequently by Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik and Marwan ibn Muhammad.