After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Marj Ardebil, the Khazars roamed freely across the lands of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Armenia. With little forces immediately available, Caliph Hisham appointed Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi to take command against the Khazars, and assemble whatever forces he could at Raqqa. Gathering a small army (including refugees from Ardabil who had to be paid ten gold dinars to be persuaded to fight), Sa'id managed to recover Akhlat on Lake Van.