In the early and middle period of Tang Xuanzong's reign, the tang dynasty's national strength reached its peak, and its western territory penetrated deep into the hinterland of Central Asia, and its influence spread to West Asia and even Eastern Europe. As the Tang Empire grew in power in Central Asia, smaller neighboring states chose to cling to it, including the Shiguo (in the area of present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan) in the Syr Darya Valley of Central Asia.
However, shortly after the signing of the peace treaty between the two sides, Gao Xianzhi, the tang dynasty's four towns in Anxi, tore up the agreement without authorization, and led his troops to go on a crusade on the grounds that Shi Guo had "no courtesy". Shi Guo's national strength was already very weak, and he was caught off guard by the Tang army, so he did not persist for a few days before he perished.
Although the soldiers are not tired of deception, it is still too unethical to suddenly launch an attack on the other side after the two sides signed a peace treaty. What was even more excessive was that Gao Xianzhi plundered the shi state after occupying the shi state, and also ordered the Tang army to slaughter the city. After this battle, the tang dynasty's image of benevolence and morality in the minds of Central Asians suddenly disappeared.
When the Stone Kingdom fell, a prince escaped by chance. Faced with the Tang Empire, the fallen prince could not avenge himself on his own, so he traveled around Central Asia to accuse the Tang Dynasty of treachery and the atrocities of the Tang army's slaughter of the city. The tragedy of the demise of the Stone Kingdom also made the other small countries in Central Asia feel cold, and after deliberation, the countries decided to form an anti-Tang united front and asked the Arab Empire to help.
The Arab Empire (known as the "Great Eclipse" in the Tang Dynasty) was established at a time similar to the Tang Dynasty, and after more than a hundred years of development, it had become a powerful state spanning three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. As the saying goes, "one mountain does not allow two tigers", with the gradual approach of the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, a fierce competition between the two empires is bound to begin.
Gao Xianzhi learned that the Arab Empire and the Central Asian states had formed an anti-Tang alliance, so he planned to take the lead, as long as he defeated the Arab Empire, the leader of the alliance, the other small countries would naturally scatter.
In April of the tenth year of Tianbao (751), Gao Xianzhi led 20,000 elites from the four towns of Anxi, and recruited 40,000 soldiers from the Western Regions of The Khanate and the Gelulu Army, totaling 60,000 people. The army set out from Ansi, which lasted more than three months, and arrived in July of the same year near the ancient city of Tiros (present-day Jambul, southeastern Kazakhstan) in Central Asia.
Gao Xianzhi's use of troops was characterized by long-distance attacks and unprepared attacks. This trick has been tried and tested many times in previous battles. This time, however, when the Tang army arrived at Theros, it was found that the Governor of Khorasan of the Arab Empire, Abu Muslim, had already entered the Arab Empire with an army of 100,000.
The Tang army lost the opportunity, and its number was far lower than that of the other side, and "the time, the location, the people" did not occupy any of them. At this time, if you choose to retire, it should be a safe and wise decision. However, Gao Xianzhi still decided to fight the Arabs head-on.
I have to say that the combat effectiveness of the Tang Army is very strong. In the face of many unfavorable conditions, it was still difficult to win or lose with the Arabs at the beginning of the battle. However, when the battle was on the sixth day, an accident occurred - the Gelug clan rebelled!
Caught between the Arab army and the Gelug army, the Tang army collapsed on all fronts, and eventually only a few thousand people returned to Ansi.
The Battle of TheRos was one of the more famous battles between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, and the only battle that the Tang Dynasty lost. Overall, the Tang army's performance in this battle was not bad, and the main responsibility for the situation of almost total annihilation had to be attributed to the commander Gao Xianzhi.
First, Gao Xianzhi tore up the peace treaty and invaded the Shi kingdom, and after the other side surrendered, he slaughtered the city, which made all the Central Asian countries regard the Tang Dynasty as a great enemy, and a large part of the reason why the Gelulu tribe was about to defect; secondly, in the face of such a strong enemy as the Arab Empire, Gao Xianzhi still used the same tactics used in the past to deal with small countries, which obviously also made an empirical mistake; in addition, when going deep into the enemy territory and knowing that the situation was unfavorable, Gao Xianzhi still decided to execute according to the original strategy. However, the Tang army had neither reliable supply lines nor positions to hold. That is to say, as long as the Tang army could not win a quick victory, then even if the Gelulu army did not rebel, the Tang army would be consumed in a long-term confrontation.
Although the Battle of Qiluos ended in the defeat of the Tang Dynasty, neither side launched a follow-up strategic action, and the situation in Central Asia remained basically unchanged. It was not until the "Anshi Rebellion" that the Influence of the Tang Dynasty on the Western Regions declined sharply and eventually lost control.
References: Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian