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Battle of Talas, 751: where Tang China met the Caliphate

Abbasid-Tang frontier wars · 751 · Abbasid Caliphate and Karluk allies vs Tang China · ~6 min read · Updated September 2026

By Echoes of Battle

Late Tang dynasty mural in Mogao Cave 156 at Dunhuang showing columns of armoured cavalry with lances and banners, an illustration of a Tang frontier army of the era

At a glance

Abbasid Caliphate and Karluk alliesZiyad ibn Salih
vs
Tang ChinaGao Xianzhi
Date
751
Location
Talas river valley, Central Asia (today near the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border)
Period
Abbasid-Tang frontier wars
Outcome
Abbasid victory
By the numbers
SideStrengthLosses
Abbasid Caliphate and KarluksTens of thousands (est.; disputed)Unknown
Tang China and alliesTens of thousands (est.; disputed)Heavy; most of the Tang army lost

Numbers for Talas are very poorly attested and vary widely between Chinese and Arabic sources, so no precise figures are given here.

Quick answer

The Abbasid Caliphate and its Karluk allies won the Battle of Talas in 7511, defeating a Tang Chinese army in Central Asia in the only time the two civilisations met in battle. The defeat ended Tang expansion westward, left the region open to Islam, and, by tradition, helped carry paper-making from China to the wider world.

In the summer of 751, on the Talas river in the heart of Central Asia, two great civilisations met in battle for the only time2. A Tang Chinese army that had pushed far to the west collided with an Abbasid Arab army advancing from the opposite direction. The battle ended Tang expansion into Central Asia3, left the region open to Islam, and, by a famous tradition, helped carry the secret of paper-making from China to the wider world.

Two empires reach the same frontier

In the eighth century the Tang dynasty was at its height, its power reaching deep into Central Asia through client states and garrisons. From the west, the young Abbasid Caliphate was expanding through Persia toward the same region. Between them lay a patchwork of Turkic and Central Asian peoples whose quarrels drew both great powers in, until their forces finally met on the Talas river.

Coloured historical atlas map of the Caliphate stretching from Spain to Central Asia around 750
The Caliphate around 750, the year the Abbasids came to power, its eastern frontier pushed through Persia into Transoxiana toward the Talas valley. Map from William R. Shepherd's Historical Atlas. Public domain

The armies at Talas

The Tang general Gao Xianzhi led an army that included Chinese troops and Central Asian allies, notably a contingent of Karluk Turks. Facing him was an Abbasid-led force under Ziyad ibn Salih with its own regional allies. The exact numbers are poorly recorded and disputed1, but both sides fielded substantial armies far from their heartlands.

China and the Caliphate met once, and the meeting redrew a continent.

The Karluk betrayal

For several days the battle was hard-fought and evenly balanced.1 The turning point came when the Karluk allies in the Tang army switched sides4 and attacked the Chinese from the rear. Caught between the Abbasid front and the Karluks behind, the Tang army broke. Gao Xianzhi escaped with only a fraction of his men, and most of the Chinese force was lost1.

The edge of two worlds

Talas marked the high-water mark of Tang expansion westward; soon afterward the great An Lushan rebellion forced China to pull back1 from Central Asia for good. The region gradually came into the orbit of Islam. Tradition also holds that Chinese prisoners taught paper-making to their captors, helping the craft spread through the Islamic world and eventually to Europe, though the details are debated.5

Black and white Chinese woodcut of a man lifting a screen from a brick vat in a workshop
A papermaker lifts a mould from the vat of pulp, one of the five steps of Chinese papermaking in a Ming dynasty woodcut. By tradition, Chinese prisoners taken at Talas brought this craft to Samarkand. Public domain

Frequently asked questions

When and where was the Battle of Talas?

It was fought in July 751 on the Talas river2 in Central Asia, near the modern border of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, between Tang China and an Abbasid-led army.

Who won the Battle of Talas?

The Abbasid-led army won, helped decisively when the Karluk Turkic allies of the Tang switched sides during the battle.

How large were the armies?

The numbers are poorly attested and vary enormously between Chinese and Arabic sources, so no reliable figure can be given. Both sides fielded substantial armies far from home.

Why was the Karluk role important?

The Karluks, fighting alongside the Tang, changed sides mid-battle and attacked the Chinese from the rear. Caught between two forces, the Tang army collapsed.

Why does Talas matter?

It marked the limit of Chinese expansion into Central Asia and left the region open to Islam. By tradition it also helped spread paper-making westward from China, though that link is debated.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

  1. Medievalists.net (Adam Ali), “The Battle of Talas” ↩ a b c d e
  2. Wikipedia, “Battle of Talas” ↩ a b
  3. King's College London, “The Battle of Talas” ↩
  4. Christopher I. Beckwith, The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages (Princeton University Press, 1987). ↩
  5. Jonathan M. Bloom, Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World (Yale University Press, 2001). ↩
  6. World History Encyclopedia, “the battle of talas river 751 ce”

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