CC-5:HISTORY OF INDIA(CE 750-1206)

II. POLITICAL STRUCTURES:

(D). CAUSES AND CONSEQUESNCES OF EARLY TURKISH

INVASIONS: MAHMUD OF GHAZNA; SHAHAB-UD-
DIN OF GHUR
The period from 1000 to 1200 saw rapid changes both in West and Central
Asia, and in north India. It were these developments which led to the incursion
of the Turks into northern India leading to their rule towards the end of the
period. By the end of the ninth century, the Abbasid caliphate was in decline. Its
place was taken by a series of states ruled by Islamized Turks. The Turks had
entered the Abbasid empire during the ninth century as palace-guards and
mercenary soldiers. Soon they emerged as the king-makers. As the power of the
central government declined, provincial governors started assuming
independent status, though for sometime the fiction of unity was kept up by the
caliph formally granting the title of amir-ul-umra (Commander of Commanders)
on generals who were able to carve out a separate spheres of authority. These
new rulers assumed the title of 'amir' at first, and of 'sultan' later on.

Towards the end of the ninth century, Trans-Oxiana, Khurasan and parts of Iran
were being ruled by the Samanids who were Iranians by descent. The Samanids
had to battle continually with the non- Muslim Turkish tribesmen on their
northern and eastern frontiers. It was during this struggle that a new type of
soldier, the ghazi, was born. The battle against the Turks, most of whom
worshipped the forces of nature and were heathens in the eyes of the Muslims,
was a struggle for religion as well as for the safety of the state. Hence, the ghazi
was as much a missionary as a fighter. He acted as a loose auxiliary of the
regular armies, and made up for his pay by plunders. The ghazis took over the
Turks in tough battles. In the course of time, many Turks became Muslims
themselves and these Islamised Turkish tribes emerged as the greatest defenders
and crusaders of Islam. But the love of plunder went side by side with defence
of Islam.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, most of Afghanistan was under the control of the
Samanids. Among the Samanid governors was a Turkish slave, Alp-tigin, who
started as the Governor of Balkh and in course of time, established an
independent Turkish kingdom with its capital at Ghazni, Afghanistan. He was
succeeded by his slave and son-in-law, Subuktagin who established his own rule
in Ghazni in 977 CE. The Samanid kingdom soon ended, and the Ghaznavids
took over the task of defending the Islamic lands from the Central Asian
tribesmen. It was in this context that Mahmud (son of Sabuktagin) ascended the
throne (998- 1030) at Ghazni. He was the first ruler to get the Title of “Sultan”
Mahmud is considered a hero of Islam by medieval Muslim historians because
of his stout defence against the Central Asian Turkish tribal invaders.

Mahmud was closely associated with the renaissance of the Iranian spirit which
grew rapidly during this period. The Samanid state had also encouraged the
Persian language and literature. A high watermark in the Iranian renaissance
was reached with Firdausi's Shah Namah. Firdausi was the poet laureate at the
court of Mahmud. The Persian language and culture became the language and
culture of the Ghaznavid empire, so much so that Mahmud himself claimed
descent from the legendary Iranian king, Afrasiyab. Thus, the Turks became not
only Islamized but Persianized. It was this culture that they were to bring with
them to India two centuries later. While Mahmud played an important role in
the defence of the Islamic states against the Turkish tribes and in the Iranian
cultural renaissance, in India his memory is only that of a plunderer and a
destroyer of temples.

Mahmud is said to have made seventeen raids into India between 1000-1027
CE. He started his invasion in India during the period when the Rajput power
had declined. The main reasons behind conquest of India by Mahmud Ghazni
were, firstly, to accumulates vast amount of wealth that existed in India. With
the help of that wealth he wanted to increase the power and prestige of his
Capital city, Ghazni. Also the plundered wealth from India helped him to
continue his struggle against his enemies in Central Asia. Secondly, to spread
Islam and destroy the temples of the Hindus in India. Infact he is also known as
the shikan or destroyer of images. He also did not wanted the Indian rulers to
regroup against him. Mahmud of Ghazni always attacked India during the hot
summer season and returned back to Ghazni before the arrival of monsoon
probably to avoid the flooding rivers of Punjab so that his forces would not get
trapped there.

The initial raids were directed against the Hindushahi rulers who at the time
held Peshawar and the Punjab. Their capital was at Udbhanda or Waihind
(Peshawar). The Hindushahi rulers had been quick to see the danger to them of
the rise of an aggressive, expansionist state on their southwestern border. The
Hindushahi ruler, Jayapala had, in alliance with the displaced Samanid governor
of Ghazni, the Bhatti ruler of the area around Multan, and the amir of Multan,
invaded Ghazni. But he had to suffer a defeat and the coalition built by him
collapsed. In retaliation, the Ghaznavid rulers of the time laid waste areas upto
Kabul and Jalalabad. In about 990-91, under Sabuk-tigin, the Shahis suffered a
serious defeat. Followinfg this Kabul and Jalalabad were annexed to Ghazni. As
a Prince Mahmud has taken part in these battles. After his accession to the
throne he resumed the offensive against the Shahis.

In a furious battle near Peshawar in 1001(Battle of Waihind), Jayapala was

again defeated. Mahmud advanced to the Shahi capital, and thoroughly ravaged
it. Peace was made by ceding the territory west of the Indus to Mahmud. Soon
after, Jayapala died and was succeeded by his son, Anandpala. According to
some later accounts, Jayapala had entered a funeral pyre following his defeat
because he felt he had disgraced himself.

Despite these setbacks, the Shahis were still strong enough to offer serious
resistance to Mahmud's efforts to penetrate into the Punjab. Mahmud also had to
counter the attacks of non-Muslim Turks from Central Asia. However, in a
decisive battle near the Indus in 1009(Second Battle of Waihind), Anandpala
was defeated and Mahmud devastated his new capital, Nandana, in the Salt
Ranges, and overran his fort called Nagarkot . Anandpal was allowed for some
time to rule from Lahore as a feudatory. But in 1015, Mahmud advanced upto
Lahore, plundered it, and ousted Anandpal. Soon, Ghazanvid territories
extended upto the river Jhelum. Earlier, the Muslim kingdom of Multan had
also been overrun. In this struggle, the Shahis werc supported only by the
Muslim ruler of Multan. Mahmud’s fast moving cavalry was a major reason
behind his success and strategically he annexed Punjab to have easy access to
India.

Thus, the struggle against the Shahis was a prolonged one, an the Shahis put up
stout resistance. By 1015, Mahmud was poised for an attack on the Indo-
Gangetic valley. During the next halfa dozen years, Mahmud launched a series
of expeditions into the Indo-Gangetic plains. These raids were aimed at
plundering the rich temples and the towns which had amassed wealth over
generations. From the Punjab, Mahmud raided Thanesar the old capital of
Harsha. His most daring raids, however, were against Kanauj in 1018, and
against Somnath in Gujarat in 1025. In the campaign against Kanauj, he sacked
and plundered both Mathura and Kanauj. The following year, he invaded
Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, and returned loaded with fabulous riches. He was able
to do all this with impunity due to the fact that no strong state existed in north
India at that time. No attempt was made by Mahmud to annex any of these
states.

Between 1020, and 1025, Mahmud was engaged in Central Asian affairs. In
1025, he made a plan for raiding Somnath which had a fabulously rich temple
and attracted lakhs of pilgrims. It was also a rich port. The objective was also to
create a sense of awe and shock among the Rajputs because he marched via
Multan and Jaisalmer with a regular cavalry of 30,000. Meeting light opposition
on the way, he reached Somnath. The commander of the city fled at his
approach, but the citizens put up a stout resistance. Mahmud broke the
Sivalingam, and ordered pats of it brought back with him to Ghazni. Evading
the attempt of some Rajput rulers to block him on his way back, he had to
counter the marauding bands of Jats in Sind. He returned to Ghazni loaded with
immense wealth. Mahmud returned the following year to punish the Jats who
had harried him on return to Ghazni. He died at Ghazni in 1030 CE.

It is not correct to dismiss Mahmud as just a raider and plunderer. The

Ghaznavid conquest of the Punjab and Multan completely changed the political
situation in north India. The Turks had crossed the chain of mountains
defending India in the northwest and could make a deeper incursion into the
Gangetic heartland at any time. Following the death of Mahmud, a powerful
empire, the Seljuk empire, came into being. The Seljuk empire included Syria,
Iran and Trans-Oxiana, and contended with the Ghaznavids for the control of
Khurasan. In a famous battle, Masud, the son of Mahmud, was completely
defeated and had to flee to Lahore for refuge. The Ghaznavid empire now
shrank to Ghazni and the Punjab. Although the Ghaznavids continued to make
plundering raids into the Gangetic valley and Rajputana, they were no longer in
a position to pose a serious military danger to India. Simultaneously, a number
of new states arose in north India which could counter the Ghaznavid raids.
Though the 17 invasions of India undertaken by Ghazni did not show any
systematic effort to conquer the sub-continent, yet it exposed the military
weakness of the Indian rulers,also the repeated invasions weakened the
frontiers which created opportunities for other Afghan and Turkish rulers to
Invade India. One such ruler was Mohammad Ghori.
Towards the middle of the twelfth century, another group of Turkish tribesmen,
who were partly Buddhist and partly pagan, shattered the power of the Seljuk
Turks. In the vacuum, two new powers rose to prominence, the Khwarizmi
empire based in Iran, and the Ghurid empire based in Ghur in northwest
Afghanistan. The Ghurids had started as vassals of Ghazni, but had soon thrown
off their yoke. The power of the Ghurids increased under Sultan Alauddin who
earned the title of 'the world burner' (jahan-soz) because during the middle of
the twelfth century he ravaged Ghazni and burnt it to the ground in revenge for
the treatment that had been meted out to his brothers at Ghazni. The rising
power of the Khwarizmi empire severely limited the Central Asian ambition
ofthe Ghurids. Khurasan, which was the bone of contention between the two,
was soon conquered by Khwarizm Shah. This left no option for the Ghurids but
to look for expansion towards India.

In 1173, Shahabuddin, Muhammad (1173-1206) (also known as Muizzuddin

Muhammad bin Sam) ascended the throne at Ghazni, while his elder brother
was ruling at Ghur. Ghori being a very ambitious ruler, was not satisfied with
only Ghazni and wanted to expand his empire to gain more power and control.
He knew the prevailing political,social,religious,military situations of India and
he also knew about the enormous wealth that India had.H e also had the desire
to spread Isam in India. Thus for all these reasons he carried out a number of
invasions to establish his rule over India.It is important to note here that
Mohammad Ghori unlike Mahmud of Ghazni was very much interested in
establishing a permanent empire in India and not merely looting its wealth.His
campaignes were well organised and whenever he conquered any territory, he
left a general behind to govern it in his absence.His invasion resulted in the
permanent establishment Turkish Sultanate in the region lying north Vindhyan
Mountains.

Mohammad Ghori proceeding by way of the Gomal pass, Muizzuddin

Muhammad conquered Multan and Uchch.In1175 CE he led his first expedition
against Multan, which was largely successful. In the same campaign, he
captured Uchch (in Upper Sindh) from the Bhatti Rajputs and established a fort
there. In 1178, he attempted to penetrate into Gujarat by marching across the
Rajputana desert. But the Gujarat ruler Solanki Bhima II of the Chalukya
Dynasty defeated him at the battle of Kayadara near Mount Abu and
completely routed him. Muizzuddin Muhammad was lucky in escaping alive.
He now realised the necessity of creating suitable base in the Punjab before
venturing upon the conquest o India. Accordingly, he launched a campaign
against the Ghaznavi possessions in the Punjab. By 1190, Muizzuddin
Muhammad had conquered Peshawar, Lahore and Siallkot, and was poised for a
thrust towards Delhi and the Gangetic doab.

First Battle of Tarain(1191 CE)

Mohammad Ghori’s possession of Punjab and his attempt to advance into the
Gangetic Doab brought him in direct conflict eith the Rajpuy ruler Prithviraj
Chauhan who had already overrun many small states in Rajputana, captured
Delhi and wanted to extend his control over Punjab and the Gangetic Doab.The
immediate cause of this battle was the conflict over capturing Tabahinda.In the
First Battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Mohammad Ghori and
captured Tabarhinda or Bhattinda but he did not made efforts to garrison it
effectively.

The Second Battle of Tarain(1192 CE)

This Battle proved to be turning point in Indian History as Mohammad Ghori

defeated Prithviraj Chauhan.Though Prithviraj Chauhan tried to escape he was
capture near Saraswati. He was allowed to rule over Ajmer for sometimes but
soon was executed on charges of conspiracy. Thus Delhi and Ajmer came
under complete Turkish control.

The two Battles of Tarain was followed by the Battle of Chandwar .In this
battle Mohammad Ghori defeated Jaichandra, the ruler of Kanauj. This event
laid the foundation of Turkish rule in Northen India. After this conquest Ghori
returned to Ghazni to look into the matters of the Western frontiers. The affairs
of India was left in the hands of his trusted slave and newly appointed Viceroy,
Qutub-ud-din-Aibak.

Qutub-ud-din-Aibak went on to conquer Gujrat for which he had to defeat

Bhima II, followed by Bundelkhand where he defeated the Chandellas.
Simultaneously, Mohammad Baktiyar Khilji who was another general of
Mohammad Ghori captured Bihar in 1197 CE nnd Bengal in 1202CE. He also
destroyed the Universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila. Khilji went on to
become the viceroy of Bengal and Bihar. Ghori had to once again return to
India to suppress the revolt of the Khokhars in 1205 CE. Ghori was killed on his
way back to Ghazni from India. The reign of India passed on to Aibak who laid
the foundation of the Slave Dynasty.

REFERNCE

Chandra , S , History of Medieval India (800-1700)