Sign-In
Cart
The Last Tarkhan: Nezak and the Final Hephthalite Resistance Against the Umayyad Caliphate
Paperback
Central Asian HistoryIran History
Publisher: Silverback Books
Published: Sep 1 2026
Pages: 370
Weight: 0.94
Height: 0.82 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
In the autumn of 709 CE, a ruler known as Nezak Tarkhan crossed the Oxus River and declared war on the most powerful empire in the world. He was the last dynastic heir of the Hephthalite tradition that had governed the mountain principalities of Tokharistan - ancient Bactria, the land between the Hindu Kush and the Oxus - for two centuries. His opponent was Qutayba ibn Muslim, the most capable Arab commander of his generation, operating under the mandate of the Umayyad Caliphate to transform the unstable eastern frontier into a permanent imperial province. What followed was one of the most consequential military campaigns in the history of Central Asia.
The Last Tarkhan tells the full story of Nezak Tarkhan's revolt and its suppression - from the deep history of the Hephthalite Empire and the Buddhist civilization of Bactria through the mechanics of the 710 CE campaign, the mountain standoff at Shab-e-Khum, the betrayal that ended it, and the execution that closed two centuries of Hephthalite political independence. Drawing on Arabic chronicles, Tang dynastic annals, Bactrian documentary evidence, and the numismatic record of the Nēzak Sāh coinage, this book recovers a forgotten world at the intersection of empire - and the extraordinary man who made one last, brilliant, ultimately unsuccessful attempt to preserve it.
Also in
Central Asian History
The Steppe and Its Empires: The Russian Empire and Its Eurasian Counterparts
Khodarkovsky, Michael
Hardcover
The Stateless Central Asian Merchant: The Life of Haim Aghajan Abraham Based on his Journal 1897-1986
Abraham-Klein, Dahlia
Paperback
Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization
Harl, Kenneth W.
Paperback
Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan
Fatland, Erika
Paperback
The Khan and the Unicorn: Mongol Empire and Qing Knowledge in the Making of World History
Mosca, Matthew W.
Hardcover
Beyond the Outpost: An Army Cavalry Officer's War Diary on the Frontlines of Afghanistan, 2003 - 2007
Berkoff, Ross A.
Hardcover
Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
Starr, S. Frederick
Paperback
Rock Art and Its Legacy in Myth and Art: Petroglyphs from Eurasia, Arabia and Northern Africa
Weber, Therese
Baumer, Christoph
Hardcover
Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
Beckwith, Christopher I.
Paperback
The First Social Democracy: The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918-1921
Jones, Stephen F.
Hardcover
The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide (Pulitzer Prize Finalist)
Bass, Gary J.
Paperback
High Lands, Pure Earth: Place Making, History, and Urban Transitions on the Tibetan Plateau
Washul, Eveline
Paperback
Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan: From the Earliest Times to the Mongol Conquest
Ball, Warwick
Hardcover
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History
Crile, George
Paperback
Slow Cooker Cookbook for Two - 500 Crock Pot Recipes: Nutritious Recipe Book for Beginners and Pros
Summers, Sophie
Paperback
The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China
Kaplan, Robert D.
Paperback
The Wisdom Codex: Stoic, Eastern, And Historical Wisdom To Think Better And Live Deeper
Jozef, Harry
Paperback
Sickle and Veil: Communist Gender and Policies Towards Muslim Minorities in Eastern Europe
Simic, Ivan
Hardcover
Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present, Expanded and Updated Edition
Lee, Jonathan L.
Paperback
Image and Imagination in Mongolian Buddhism: Art, Texts, and Rituals
Wallace, Vesna
Tsultemin, Uranchimeg
Paperback
The Anunnaki Book: An Illustrated Guide to Ancient Sumerian Alien Gods Inspired by Billy Carson and Top Researchers
Arcana, Tempus
Paperback
International Cooperation in the Post-Soviet Space: Former Soviet Republics and Theories of International Politics
Huseynov, Farhad
Hardcover
Genghis Khan: An Enthralling Guide to the Conquests, Empire, and Enduring Legacy of the Mongol Horde
Wellman, Billy
Paperback
Rooks in Afghanistan: Volume 1: Sukhoi Su-25 in the Afghanistan War, 1981-1985
Korotkov, Andrey
Paperback
The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
Beckwith, Christopher I.
Hardcover
Image and Imagination in Mongolian Buddhism: Mongolian Buddhist Texts and Rituals
Wallace, Vesna
Tsultemin, Uranchimeg
Hardcover
The Bloody White Baron: The Extraordinary Story of the Russian Nobleman Who Became the Last Khan of Mongolia
Palmer, James
Paperback
Shamrocks Among the Poppies: Musa Qal'eh 2006 - A Bloody Siege and the Failures Behind It
Plews, Derek A., VR
Hardcover
Archaologisches Erbe Und Soziale PRAXIS: Reflexionen Aus Archaologie, Bauforschung Und Ethnologie
Arzhantseva, Irina
Beck, Tina
Buhrig, Claudia
Paperback
Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
Rashid, Ahmed
Paperback
Operation Enduring Freedom Volume 1: Prelude to the Invasion of Afghanistan, 2001
Fredholm Von Essen, Michael
Paperback
High Lands, Pure Earth: Place Making, History, and Urban Transitions on the Tibetan Plateau
Washul, Eveline
Hardcover
Humans, Dogs and Other Beings: Myths, Stories, and History in the Land of Genghis Khan
Terbish, Baasanjav
Paperback
Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6
Clavijo, Ruy González de
Paperback
Central Asia and the Silk Road: Economic Rise and Decline Over Several Millennia
Barisitz, Stephan
Paperback
Charles Masson of Afghanistan: Explorer, Archaeologist, Numismatist and Intelligence Agent
Whitteridge, Gordon
Paperback
The Herbedestan and Nerangestan, Vol. IV: Nerangestan, Fragard 3
Kreyenbroek, Pg
Kotwal, Dfm
Paperback
485 Days of Combat: Task Force Catamount in the Longest Deployment of the Afghan War
Toner, Chris, (Ret ).
Hardcover
Genghis Khan: The Ruthless Legacy, Great Mongol Empire, And The Making Of The Modern World
White, Cameron
Paperback
To Lift a Mirror for What You've Lost - My Life in Afghanistan and the United States
Ghafarshad, Nangy
Hardcover
A Season in Samarkand: Recollections of Work and Life in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan
Salehi-Esfahani, Haideh
Paperback
Wavell and the Dying Days of the Raj: Britains Penultimate Viceroy in India
Chawla, Muhammad Iqbal
Hardcover
The Gardener of Lashkar Gah: The Afghans Who Risked Everything to Fight the Taliban
Brown, Larisa
Paperback
Die Kategorie Des Räumlichen in Erkenntnistheorie Und Ästhetik Im China Des 17. Jahrhunderts
Lukicheva, Polina
Hardcover
Centralasien und die englisch-russische Grenzfrage: Gesammelte politische Schriften von Hermann Vambery
Vámbéry, Ármin
Paperback
America's Favorite Warlord: The Life and Death of General Raziq of Kandahar
Hagstrom, Jacob
Hardcover
A Journey in Southern Siberia: The Mongols; Their Religion and Their Myths
Curtin, Jeremiah
Hardcover
Hard Broke: Asymmetric Warfare, Great Power Competition, and Institutional Paralysis
Matter, M. D., US Army (Ret ).
Hardcover
Polygynous Marriages Among the Kyrgyz: Institutional Change and Endurance
Commercio, Michele E.
Hardcover
The Time Sphere: The Voyage of the Turks in Time Tunnel and the Adjacent Formations
Yarci, Ismet
Paperback
Mongolian Memories: Modern Mongolia and Its Twentieth Century History
Van Hoeflaken, Maaike
Paperback
To Lhasa in Disguise: A Secret Expedition Through Mysterious Tibet
McGovern, William Montgomery
Paperback
Afghanistan: A Study of Political Developments in Central and Southern Asia
Fraser-Tytler, William Kerr
Hardcover
Government and Society in Afghanistan: The Reign of Amir 'Abd al-Rahman Khan
Kakar, Hasan Kawun
Paperback
Mongolian Empire: History for kids: A captivating guide to a remarkable Genghis Khan & the Mongol Empire
Publishing, Dinobibi
Paperback
Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, to the Court of Timour at Samarcand, 1403-06
De Clavijo, Ruy Gonzalez
Clavijo, Ruy Gonzalez De
Paperback
Rooks in Afghanistan Volume 2: Sukhoi Su-25s in the Afghanistan War 1985-1989
Korotov, Andrey
Paperback
The Call of Nepal: My Life In the Himalayan Homeland of Britain's Gurkha Soldiers
Cross, J. P.
Paperback
At the Court of Kublai Khan: Writings of the Tibetan Monk Chogyal Phagpa
Wilkinson, Christopher
Paperback
Turkic Mythology: The Sacred Balance of Tengri, Umai, and Erklik in the Ancient Sky-Faith of the Steppes
Torbert, Sidney K.
Paperback
The New Secularism in the Muslim World: Religion and the State in Central Asia and Azerbaijan
Cornell, Svante E.
Paperback
Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6
Clavijo, Ruy González de
Hardcover
An Insider's Critique of the Kazakh Nation: Reflections on the Writings of Abai Kunanbai-uhli
Yesim, Garifolla
Hardcover
The Silent War: A Private Military Contractor's Memoir from Edinburgh to Baghdad
White, Scott
Hardcover
The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling under Communism
Kamp, Marianne
Hardcover