676, Sa'id ibn 'Uthman, the Umayyad Arab governor of Khurasan, managed to make the principality of Khuttal acknowledge Muslim authority.[4] Because of this, in 737 Asad, once more governor of Khurasan, carried out another invasion of Khuttal, which made Ibn al-Sa'iji, like his predecessor, call upon the Turgesh for aid.The khagan Suluk, at the head of an army numbering 50,000 men, attacked Asad, and inflicted a heavy defeat on him (30 September 737).[3][5] However, later in the same year, Asad managed to inflict a heavy defeat on Suluk, who barely escaped capture and was forced to retire north to his lands.When Abu Dawud invaded Khuttal, its ruler, known in Arabic sources as Hanash ibn al-Subul (also called Hubaysh ibn al-Shibl) did not resist the invasion, but the dehqans of Khuttal forcibly detained him and carried him to a fortress in order to fight Abu Dawud.