Battle of Vardanakert

The Battle of Vardanakert was fought between an Arab garrison and Armenians in January 703. The Armenian prince Smbat VI Bagratuni defeated the 5,000-strong Umayyad army from the garrison in Nakhichevan. Struck by a surprise attack, the remaining Arabs fled to the river Araxes and either drowned or froze to death. Smbat, chosen to rule by Byzantine commission, managed to re-conquer the majority of Armenia and drive the Arabs out of the country.

Aftermath

Despite this success, the Umayyad generals Muhammad ibn Marwan and Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik soon restored Armenia to subject status. Muslim control was secured by organizing a large-scale massacre of the princely families within the cathedral of Nakhchivan, which was burned, in 704.