Emperor Xuanzong has four palace walls in…

The Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, in the hope of reversing the situation, had in early 730 appointed a new governor in Khurasan, the experienced Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri, who had been recently engaged in the pacification of Sindh.

The difficult security situation at the time is illustrated by the fact that Junayd needed an escort of seven thousand cavalry after crossing the Oxus, and that he was attacked by the Turgesh khagan while riding to link up with the army of his predecessor, Ashras al-Sulami, who was besieging Bukhara.

Junayd had been able to repel the attack and assume command of al-Sulami's forces.

Bukhara and most of Sogdiana are recovered soon after, as the Turgesh army withdraws north towards Samarkand.

The Muslim army follows, and scores a victory in a battle fought near the city.

Junayd then retires with his troops to winter in Merv.

Leo’s initial move against the cult of images has been followed by other measures instituted over the past four years to suppress the veneration of images.

In reaction to the new policy, many theologians of the Eastern Roman Empire, including John Damascene, have developed an elaborate theory and defense of holy images and their place in worship.

John, basing his argument on the doctrine of the incarnation of Christ and on Neoplatonic philosophical ideas, maintains that the holy icon through divine grace partakes of the spiritual essence of the figure it portrays, and, as the product of the emanation of its holiness, embodies the essential point of direct contact between the human and divine realms.

Proclaiming Iconoclasm the official policy of the empire in 730, Leo orders the removal and destruction of sacred pictures in churches.

When Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople refuses his demand for approval of these policies, Leo removes him and appoints a patriarch of his own choice, Anastasius, who willingly sides with the Emperor on the question of icons.

Where necessary, Leo employs harsh penalties, such as beatings and imprisonment, against recalcitrant ecclesiastics.

His policies meet particularly strong opposition from monastic circles.

Pope Gregory II also strongly rejects his efforts to impose Iconoclasm upon areas of Italy under imperial control.

Maslama’s attention had been diverted by Khazar attacks In 727–728 that reached deep into Azerbaijan.

Although Maslama had been able to drive them back and recover control of the Darial Pass, his 728 campaign across the Caucasus was difficult, bloody and indecisive.

Maslama's troops were reportedly engaged in up to thirty or forty days of constant fighting in miserable weather, and although he claimed victory in a battle over the Khazar khagan himself, the expedition had not achieved any results, and had come close to being defeated.

Certainly it had done little to stop Khazar attacks south of the Caucasus, which had resumed in 729.

Maslama was removed from office in the same year, and replaced by al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah.

He is then recorded by the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor as having been responsible for the sack of the fortress of Charsianon in late 730, but Arab sources credit Mu'awiya ibn Hisham for this act.

The situation in the Caucasus quickly deteriorated after Maslama's departure.

A Khazar expedition into northern Iran (and later into Kurdistan and northern Mesopotamia) led by Barjik, the son of the Khazar khagan, in 730, may be an attempt to establish Khazar rule south of the Caucasus Mountains.

While al-Jarrah campaigns north of the Caucasus, the Khazars swing behind him and attack his main base, Ardabil.

Hastening to relieve the city, an outnumbered force led by al-Jarrah al-Hakami engages the Khazars for three days on the plains surrounding the city of Ardabil in northwestern Iran.

Ultimately, abandoned by many of their mawali auxiliaries, the Caliph's forces are overwhelmed and defeated on December 9, 730.

During the course of the battle, al-Jarrah is killed.

The victorious Barjik mounts his head on top of the throne from which he will command the battles of his Middle Eastern campaign.

According to the historian Agapius, the Arabs suffered twenty thousand dead and twice that number captured, a figure which probably includes the population of Ardabil and the surrounding territories.

Following their victory, the Khazars occupy Ardabil.

The fortress of Charsianon in Cappadocia is first mentioned in 638, during the first wave of the Muslim conquests, and was allegedly named after a general of Justinian I named Charsios.

The Arabs first seize it in 730, and it will remain a hotly contested stronghold during the next century of Byzantine–Arab warfare.

Liutprand contracts an alliance with Eutychius in 730, whereby Liutprand will attack the Pope if the Greeks aid him in subjugating the contumacious and independent southern Lombard duchies, the Duchy of Spoleto and the Duchy of Benevento.

Gregory seeks the support of the Lombard dukes of Benevento and …

…Spoleto.

Liutprand's forces, aided by imperial troops, invade the southern Lombard duchies.

The dukes, Thrasimund II and Godescalc, surrender—though control of the duchies from Pavia is not to endure for long—and the new exarch marches on Rome.

Liutprand camps at Rome on the far bank of the Tiber in the "Field of Nero".

Gregory leaves the city for a personal confrontation with Liutprand, a pious Catholic, who is forced by his conscience to yield.

With Liutprand's help, Gregory effects a reconciliation with Eutychius.

Liutprand returns to the exarch the city of Ravenna alone among the imperial territories and prevails on the pope to restore his allegiance to the emperor.

When one Tiberius Petasius proclaims himself emperor in Tuscia and Eutychius finds himself critically short of manpower, Gregory orders the Roman army to help him put down the rebellion, and Petasius is killed.

Gregory condemns Leo's actions, however, launching the Iconoclastic Controversy and causing Leo to plot against his life.

The Subjugation of Alamannia: Charles Martel Reasserts Frankish Rule

The Alamanni, first defeated by King Clovis I in 496, had been brought under Frankish rule, governed by dukesdependent on the Merovingian kings. Over time, however, they increasingly asserted their independence, resisting Frankish control.

By the 7th century, the Alamanni had been converted to Christianity, leading to the foundation of bishoprics at Augsburg and Konstanz. The 8th century saw the rise of monastic centers, such as the Abbey of Reichenau (on Reichenau Island) and the Abbey of Saint Gall, both of which would become key spiritual and intellectual hubs in the region.

Charles Martel’s Campaign Against Alamannia

By the early 8th century, the Alamanni had largely thrown off Frankish rule, leading to renewed conflict. In 730, Duke Lantfrid of Alamannia openly defies Frankish suzerainty, prompting Charles Martel to march against him. In battle, Lantfrid is killed, and the Alamanni are forced to capitulate once more.

Unlike previous rulers, Charles does not appoint a new duke, signaling his intent to curtail Alamannic autonomy. However, Lantfrid’s brother, Theudebald, assumes control as sole ruler of the duchy, maintaining resistance to Frankish authority.

Final Submission of Alamannia

Theudebald’s rule proves short-lived. In 732, Charles launches another campaign, chasing Theudebald out of Alamannia, fully restoring Frankish dominance over southern Germany, just as he had done in northern Germany in the early years of his reign. With Alamannia back under Frankish control, the entire region is reintegrated into the Frankish kingdom, ensuring Charles Martel’s undisputed supremacy over the lands east of the Rhine.

The Caliph, faced with crisis in the north and northeast, appoints Maslama as the new governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan but, in the meantime, the veteran general Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi manages to recover the situation and defeats the Khazar army.

The Caliph, close to panic, had brought Sa'id to his residence at Rusafa and appointed him to lead an army against the Khazars, but he had few troops at hand.

Instead, he had given Sa'id a lance said to have been used in the Battle of Badr to be his standard, as well as one hundred thousand silver dirhams to recruit men as he goes north.

Although the forces he can muster immediately (including survivors from Ardabil who had to be paid ten gold dinars to be persuaded to fight) are small, Sa'id manages to recover Akhlat on Lake Van.

From here, he moves north to …