Arab Invasion In India

Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad in Mecca, Arabia. He moved to Medina in 622 AD, which marked the beginning of the Muslim calendar and the hijra era. He returned to Mecca with his disciples after 8 years and died in 632 AD. The Caliphate was established by Muhammad’s followers. The Umayyads and Abbasids were known as caliphs. They expanded their dominion through conquests and propagated Islam. The Persian classic ‘Chachnama’ contains details regarding the Arab conquest of Sindh.

Arab Conquest of Sindh

Muhammad Bin Qasim:

Muhammad bin Qasim, commander of the Umayyad dynasty, invaded Sindh and conquered Dahir, and expanded his conquest to Multan in 712 AD. He was the first Muslim conqueror of India. In 711 AD, he launched his first invasion. Due to the presence of the powerful Pratihara monarchy in Western India, Muslims were unable to establish their influence further in India.
                                                 Regardless, the rule of Sindh and Multan brought them closer to India, resulting in the spread of Indian culture. Many Arab explorers brought Indian medicine and astronomy to distant places. They brought Indian numerals to Europe in Arabic form. Jizya was initially imposed by Muhammad bin Qasim at Deval or Dabol. After that, he assaulted Neerun, Sehwan, and Sisam with success. After winning Sisam, he won Rawar. Aror (the capital of Dahir) was conquered which gives complete victory to Sindh. 

Mahmud of Ghazni:

By the end of the ninth century, the Abbasid caliphate had faded, and Turkish governors had taken over. The Caliph was reduced to a ceremonial figure. Alptigin, with his capital in Ghazni, was one of these Turkish rulers. Sabuktigin, his successor and son-in-law, planned to conquer India from the northwest, and he took Peshawar from Jayapala.

                                 Sabuktigin was succeeded by his son Mahmud, who led 17 incursions into India between 997 and 1030 AD. His first expeditions were against the Hindu Shahi kingdom, which was conquered in 1001 by its monarch Jayapala. In embarrassment, Jayapala set himself on fire, and his successor, Anandapala, was supported by the rulers of Kannauj and Rajasthan, and they attacked Mahmud but were defeated in the Battle of Waihind. Mahmud’s dominance over Punjab was extended with this victory. Mahmud’s subsequent assaults were targeted at robbing North India’s opulent temples and cities. He raided Punjab’s Nagarkot, Delhi’s Thanesar, Mathura, and Kannauj. Gujarat was the target of his next major raid. He marched against Rajputana in 1024, defeating Solanki King Bhimadeva I and sacking the Somanatha shrine. This was his final election campaign and later died in 1030 AD.

                                     Mahmud established a huge empire stretching from Punjab in the east to the Caspian Sea in the west, and from Samarkand in the north to Gujarat in the south. Persia, Transoxiana, Afghanistan, and Punjab were all part of the Ghaznavid empire. He valued art and literature. Ferdowsi was his court’s poet laureate and penned Shah Nama, while Alberuni stayed in Mahmud’s court and wrote the classic Kitab-ul-Hind (account of India). His conquests cleared the path for Turks and Afghans to expand their conquests into the Gangetic Valley. His constant raids depleted India’s resources, negatively impacting the country’s political destiny.

                                      Mahmud defeated the Hindu Shahi dynasty, which had been guarding India’s borders against foreign invaders, rendering India’s borders defenceless. Ghazni’s vassals, the Muhammad Ghori, became independent after Mahmud’s death. Ghazni was placed under their authority by Muizzuddin Muhammad, commonly known as Muhammad Ghori. He turned his attention to India, and, unlike Ghazni, he desired to conquer the country. Ghori took Multan in 1175 and occupied Sindh in the following expeditions. He attacked Punjab in 1186 and seized it from Khusrau Malik. Punjab’s annexation brought him closer to the Chauhan kingdoms.

Battle of Tarain (1191-1192):

North Indian Hindu princes created a confederacy under the authority of Prithviraj Chauhan. In the battle of Tarain near Delhi in 1191, Prithviraj defeated Ghori. Ghori collected a force of 1,20,000 warriors and marched to Lahore via Peshawar and Multan to revenge for the defeat. He dispatched a message to Prithviraj, requesting that he surrender and convert to Islam, but Prithviraj refused and prepared to face the invader. Prithviraj amassed a massive force consisting of 3,00,000 horses, 3000 elephants, and a large corps of footmen, but Ghori routed Prithviraj’s army in the 2nd Battle of Tarain in 1192, capturing and killing him. The triumph of Ghori was a watershed moment in Indian history, as it firmly established India’s first Muslim state at Ajmer.

The political standing of the Rajputs was also severely harmed as a result of this defeat. Following his triumph, Ghori went to Ghazni, leaving his general Qutb-ud-din Aibak to continue his conquests in India. By capturing Delhi and Meerut, Aibak solidified his position. In 1193, he laid the groundwork for another invasion by Ghori, who fought Gahadavala monarch Jayachandra and captured Kannauj in the Battle of Chandawar. As a result of the battles of Tarain and Chandawar, Turkish control in India is established.