Battle of Varnakert

In the Battle of Varnakert (702) Smbat Bagratuni defeated the 8,000-strong Umayyad army from the garrison in Nakhichevan. Smbat, with the aid of Byzantine Empire, managed to re-conquer the majority of Armenia and drive the Arabs out of the country.[1] Despite this success, the Umayyad generals Muhammad ibn Marwan and Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik soon restored Armenia to subject status, and secured Muslim control by organizing a large-scale massacre of the princely families (nakharar) within the cathedral of Nakhchivan in 705.[2]

Battle of Varnakert
Date702 A.D
Location
Varnakert, North to the mountain Ararat, near the riverbanks of Araxes, Armenia
Result Armenian Victory
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate Armenia
Commanders and leaders
Ostikan of Arminiya Smbat Bagratuni
Strength
8,000 (including 5000 cavalry) 2,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
7,700 killed
300 prisoners		 ~300 dead

References
  1. Ghevond, Histoire des Guerres et Conquêtes des Arabes en Arménie, translated by Chamazarian, Paris, 1856, p. 23
  2. Marc Ferro, The Use and Abuse of History: or How the Past is Taught to Children, (Routledge, 2003), 217.

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