his way north along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, recovering Derbent and advancing onto the Khazar capital of Balanjar. The Khazars tried to defend the city by ringing the citadel with a laager of wagons, but the Arabs broke it apart and stormed the city on 21 August 722 (or 723). Most of Balanjar's inhabitants were killed or enslaved, but a few managed to flee north. The Arabs also took the town of Wabandar, and even approached Samandar (near modern Kizlyar). Despite these successes, the Arabs could not achieve a decisive result. The main Khazar army remained intact and a constant threat, since like all nomad forces it was not dependent on cities for supplies. Coupled with the fact that his rear was still insecure, al-Jarrah was forced to abandon any attempt at capturing Samandar as well, and to retreat to Warthan south of the Caucasus. From there he asked for reinforcements from Yazid, but although the Caliph promised to send more troops, he failed to do so. The sources are obscure on al-Jarrah's activity in 723, but he seems to have led another campaign north (which may indeed be the true date of the Balanjar campaign). In response, the Khazars raided south of the Caucasus, but in February 724, al-Jarrah inflicted a crushing defeat on them in a battle between the rivers Cyrus and Araxes that lasted for several days. Al-Jarrah followed up his success by capturing Tiflis, whose inhabitants were obliged to pay the kharaj but received a charter of rights in return. This campaign brought Caucasian Iberia and the lands of the Alans under Muslim suzerainty, and al-Jarrah became the first Muslim commander to march through the Darial Pass in the process. This expedition secured the Muslims' own flank against a possible Khazar attack through the Darial, while conversely it gave the Muslim army a second invasion route into Khazar territory. In 725, however, the new Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743) replaced al-Jarrah with his own brother Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik. Recall to the Caucasus and death In 729, after a mixed performance against the Khazars, Maslamah was replaced yet again as governor of Armenia and Adharbayjan by al-Jarrah. For all his energy, Maslamah's campaigning failed to produce the desired results: by the time of his dismissal, the Arabs had lost control of northeastern Transcaucasia and been thrust once more into the defensive,