Battle of Balanjar (650s)
The Battle of Balanjar was a battle that took place during the First Khazar-Arab War between the armies of the Khazar Khaganate and the Caliphate, whose commanding general was Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah.
Ibn Rabiah, probably the brother of Salman ibn Rabiah, governor of Armenia, was charged with the task of conquering the Khazars and, to this purpose, invaded the northern Caucasus in the late 640s. In 652 Abd ar-Rahman and his army met a Khazar force outside Balanjar and were annihilated. According to Arab historians such as al-Tabari, both sides in the battle used catapults against the other.
