Iskur was a Bulgar soldier in the service of the Khan Telerikh in AD 769. As he could speak very basic Greek and Arabic, he was assigned to the escort of Jalal ad-Din, a Caliphate emissary who had come to speak with the Khan. He and his partner Omurtag drank wine freely during the mission, which caused Jalal's companion Da'ud ibn Zubayr to view them as uncouth, until Jalal reminded him that the Arabs were notorious wine-bibbers until Muhammad came along.[1]