Arslan-Liao War

The Arslan-Liao War also known as the Arslan-Bajanid Tribute War was a conflict between the Liao Dynasty and their tributary the Bajanid Sultanate against the Arslan Khaganate over who had the right to claim tribute from the Bajanids. The war was motivated by Çaka Arslan known commonly as Çaka the Giant's desire for tribute in order to grow his peoples territory on the steppe. The war ended in a victory for the Arslan Khaganate, following a two year campaign that resulted in the total destruction of the Chinese garrison in the Bajanid Sultante, the decimation of their military and the end of the Chinese Era of Expansion, which triggered a golden age within China.

Origins
The Liao Dynasty, following it's conquest of China after the collapse of the Tang Dynasty began a series of external conquests via the Western Protectorate. The objective of the conquests was to increase the Dynasty's prestige and wealth. This was successful as the Liao had vassals extending as far as Persia in the form of the Taid Sultanate at their peak. The use of tributaries as a means of increasing the emperors prestige was seen as a sensible policy as it distracted the court of the emperor from the administrative difficulties in controlling both the Khitan and the Chinese contingent of the empire.

The Arslan Khaganate occupied the territory commonly known as Oghuz. Many other Turkic and nomadic peoples had occupied the territory throughout history and they had all come into conflict with their settled neighbours. Traditionally the act of paying tribute to a steppe nomadic horde was seen as a formality, with a token amount given to the largest clan that bordered the territory of the settled peoples. Çaka the Giant, however sought to expand his peoples wealth, having seen the amount of gold being sent to the Liao, he chose to declare war following the loss of the Liao's Taid vassal to the Abbasids.

Conflict
The conflict itself was a short affair, with the Chinese garrison escaping the steppe outposts of the Bajanids, regrouping in Samarkand where they waited for their vassal to join them. This time was spent by the Turks, pillaging the outposts and occupying them, before they began to march on Chach. However, upon hearing that the 6000 strong army was on the move, Çaka and his commanders decided to wait at the province of Turgay for the approaching troops.

The ensuing battle appeared to favour the Liao-Bajanid forces, who outnumbered the Turkic forces by a significant margin. The Chinese commander, convinced by the superiority of the Chinese troops chose to attack the Turkic nomads on the plains rather than besieging the cities and fortresses in the area. The heavy infantry of the Liao combined with the poorly disciplined levy forces of the Bajanids were hopelessly over matched by the well trained and armed Arslan forces. The Bajanid forces broke almost instantly, leaving the Chinese troops exposed on their flanks, which resulted in their encirclement and near total destruction.

This disastrous defeat left the Bajanids no choice but to accept all of Çaka's demands. Which resulted in them paying 121 tonnes of gold per year to the Khagan.

Legacy and Consequences
While the conflict itself was a minor affair on the typical scale of Chinese warfare, its effects were long lasting and long reaching in the Liao Dynasty. It prompted a decisive end to the Chinese Era of Expansionism. This meant that the resources that were being used for warfare and expansion were now invested domestically. The ensuing golden age brought a previously unheard of level of wealth to China. The defeat also shook notions of Chinese inherent superiority in relation to all foreigners, especially steppe nomads.

The defeat at the hands of the Arslan would ultimately lead to the doom of the steppe Bedouin culture that had begun to form in the outposts of the Bajanids. A form of syncretic Tengriism and Islam had begun to take hold in the region, but this would ultimately be swept away by Turgut Arslan in the year 886, with the last settlement destroyed in 896. It also resulted in the significant weakness of the Bajanids that led to the Karluk Nestorian Kapadvanjids settling the territory. An event that would cause chaos in the region until the Bajanid restoration.

The Arslan took the wealth of the Bajanids and brought about a rapid expansion of their economy in the form of substantial investments. The superiority of the Nomadic cavalry caused a newfound confidence to spread through many of the clans in the Khaganate. Çaka had secured himself a routine source of gold, which would allow him to pursue limited expansion westwards with the assistance of mercenaries to defeat the Bashkirs. It also led to an explosion of art in Ak-Dzulpas, which had been the capital for long enough that it had become a somewhat permanent encampment.