The sources are obscure on al-Jarrah's activity in 723, but he seems to have led another campaign north beyond Balanjar (which may be an echo, or possibly the actual date, of the Balanjar campaign of 722). In response, the Khazars raided south of the Caucasus, but in February 724, al-Jarrah inflicted a crushing defeat on them in a battle between the rivers Cyrus and Araxes that lasted for several days. The new caliph, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (), promised to send reinforcements, but eventually failed to do so. Nevertheless, in 724 al-Jarrah captured Tiflis and brought Caucasian Iberia and the lands of the Alans under Muslim suzerainty, becoming the first Muslim commander to campaign through the Darial Pass in the process. This secured the Muslims' own flank against a possible Khazar attack through the Darial, and gave them a second invasion route into Khazar territory.