Eventually the Saffarid army began to flee from the battle. Ya`qub and his bodyguards continued to fight, but were forced to leave the field as the army retreated, leaving them behind. The caliph had apparently flooded the lands behind the Saffarids before the battle, and this made a retreat difficult; many men drowned attempting to escape the Abbasid army. With the Saffarids making their hasty exit, al-Muwaffaq was able to capture Ya`qub's baggage. Several political prisoners that Ya`qub had brought with him, such as the Tahirid Muhammad bin Tahir, also fell into Abbasid hands and were freed.