Battle of the Barges of the Basran soldiers, together with a number of civilians that had accompanied them, were killed during the fighting. The battle was a major victory for the Zanj, and it forced the Abbasid government to take a more direct role in the campaign against the rebels. The Zanj Rebellion had begun in early September 869, in the region of southern Iraq. It was led by one 'Ali ibn Muhammad, who had previously led failed attempts against the government in al-Bahrayn and Basra. 'Ali was able to quickly gather a major following, especially among the black slaves who had been employed
Battle of the Defile the Turgesh army withdrew north towards Samarkand. The Muslim army followed, and scored a victory in a battle fought near the city. Junayd then retired with his troops to winter in Merv. During the winter, rebellions broke out south of the Oxus, in Tokharistan, which had hitherto been quiescent to Muslim rule. Junayd was forced to set out for Balkh and there dispersed 28,000 of his men to quell the revolt. This left him seriously weakened when, in early 731, the Turgesh laid siege to Samarkand and appeals for aid arrived from the city's governor, Sawra ibn al-Hurr al-Abani. Despite