Bactria - Onset of Islam

Onset of Islam

Thirty years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Arabs defeated the Persian Sassanids and founded the Umayyad Caliphate in 661. It ruled over Iran and much of the Middle East.

Advancing further the Arabs faced off with the Turk Shahis ruling in Bactria and defeated them.

In 663, they attacked Bactria, which the Turki Shahis had taken from the Western Turks by this time. The Umayyad forces captured the area around Balkh, including Nava Vihara Monastery, causing the Turki Shahis to retreat to the Kabul Valley.

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