Battle for Rajasthan

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Battle for Rajasthan
Arab expansion in India
Arab expansion in India
date 724 to 743
place Rajasthan , India
output Indian victory
consequences Rule of the caliphs on Sindh limited
Parties to the conflict

Chalukya and Pratihara dynasties

Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties

Commander

Nagabhata I, Vikramaditya II, Bappa Rawal

Al-Hakam ibn Awana,
Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi,
Muḥammad b. al-Qasim


The Battle of Rajasthan is a collective term for a series of battles that were fought between the caliphs of the Islamic Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties and the Indian rulers east of the Indus during the Islamic expansion in northwest India on the territory of what is now Pakistan and India . The most important historical sources can be found in the works of the Islamic historians al-Balādhurī and at-Tabarī .

overview

After the Arab conquest of Sindh in 712, the Islamic armies continued their attacks eastward across the Indus . Between 724 and 810, a series of battles took place between the Arabs and the north Indian ruler Nagabhata I from the Pratihara dynasty , the Chalukya Vikramaditya II, who ruled further south , and smaller kingdoms. To the north, Nagabhata I repulsed a major Arab invasion of the Malwa region. From the south the general Vikramadityas II, Pulakesi, defeated the Arabs in Gujarat . In 776 an Arab fleet was repulsed by the Saindhava fleet.

With the defeats of the Arabs, the early Islamic expansion to the east came to a temporary end; in later times the Rajputs subjugated the Sindh and established their own rule there.

background

Muhammad bin Qasim's campaign to Sindh, 711

In the 8th century, after the reign of Harshavardhanas ended , northern India was divided into several empires. The northwest was ruled by the Karkota dynasty in Kashmir and the Hindu Shahi in Kabulistan , what is now Afghanistan and the Panjab . Kannauj , the most important city in northern India, was under Yashovarman, in northeast India the Pala dynasty ruled , and in southern India the powerful Chalukya . West India was under the Rai Dynasty of Sindh , and several small Gurjar empires in Bhinmal, Mandore, Rajpipla - Bharuch (Nandipuri-Bharuch) and Ujjain . The latter, who called themselves Pratihara , gained hegemony in the region. The regions of southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat were collectively called Gurjaratra (land of the Gurjara), later in the Middle Ages "Rajputana". The Kathiawar peninsula was ruled by several minor empires, the most important of which was that of the Maitraka in Vallabhi.

The third wave of Islamic expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate lasted from 692 to 718. During the reign of al-Walid I (705–715), North Africa, Spain, Transoxania and the Sindh were subjugated and colonized. As reported by Shahnameh , Sindh was ruled by Raja Dahir from the Rai dynasty. It was conquered by the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim . Sindh, which was now a subordinate province ( iqlim ) of the caliphate with the capital Al-Mansura, would have been a suitable starting point for further conquests into India, but was recaptured by the Indian rulers shortly after bin Qasim had left the country again.

Campaign of Muhammad bin Qasim (712-715)

Extension of the Umayyad rule under Muhammad bin Qasim in India, today's state borders marked in red

Muhammad bin Qasim , an Umayyad general and nephew of the governor of Iraq, Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf , conquered the Sindh in 712. His troops marched on along the Indus and conquered the area up to Multan . After bringing Sindh under his control, he sent messages to "the kings of al-Hind" asking them to surrender and embrace the Islamic faith. He sent an expeditionary force to "al-Baylaman" (Bhinmal), which is reported to have offered to surrender. The “Mid” peoples of “Surast” (Maitraka of Vallabhi) also made peace. Bin Qasim sent cavalry to Kanauj with a letter from the caliph. He himself went to the front in Kashmir with an army ( "panj-māhīyāt" in western Punjab ). Nothing more is known of the expedition to Kanauj. The border with Kashmir could coincide with the al-Kiraj of the tradition (the Kira empire in the Kangra valley in the western Himalayas, in today's Indian state Himachal Pradesh ), which had apparently been subjugated.

Bin Qasim was ordered back to the caliph's court in 715 and died on the way back. Al-Baladhuri writes that after his departure, the rulers of al-Hind took possession of their land again. In 723 Junayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Murri was appointed governor of Sindh.

Campaign under Al Junayd (723-726)

After the reconquest of Sindh, al-Junayd carried out several campaigns in India. The reason for this was that the respective areas had stopped the tribute payments they had made to bin Qasim. First he moved to "al-Kiraj" (possibly the Kangra Valley) and put an end to the dynasty there. A major campaign was directed against Rajasthan and the local areas "Mermad" (Maru-Mala, in Jaisalmer and northern Jodhpur ), "al-Baylaman" (Bhillamala or Bhinmal) and "Jurz" (Gurjara country in southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat) . Another army was dispatched to "Uzayn" ( Ujjain ) and invaded the region around Avanti, which was devastated, including an unidentified city "Baharimad" . Ujjain itself was probably not entirely conquered. Another army moved to "al-Malibah" ( Malwa ) east of Ujjain, nothing is known about the result of this move.

In the north the Umayyads attempted to advance into the Punjab, but were repulsed by Lalitaditya of Kashmir . Another army subdued “Qassa” ( Kutch ), “al-Mandal” (perhaps Okha), “Dahnaj” (not identified), “Surast” (Saurashtra) and “Barus” or “Barwas” ( Bharuch ). The empires thus weakened or defeated included those of the Bhattis of Jaisalmer, the Gurjaras of Bhinmal, the Mauryas of Chittor , the Sisodia of Mewar , Kacchelas of Kutch, Maitraka of Saurashtra, and the Gurjar of Rajpipla . Overall, al-Junayd likely subjugated all of Gujarat, much of Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh.

In 726, the caliph replaced al-Junayd with Tamim ibn Zayd ibn Hamal al-Qayni (Tamim) as governor of Sindh. Within a few years all conquests of al-Junayd were lost again. The Arab sources give no reason for this, other than that caliphate troops recruited from countries such as Syria or Yemen deserted from their positions and refused to return. Tarim is known to have fled from Sind and died on the way home. The caliph appointed al-Hakam ibn Awana al-Kalbi (al-Hakam) in 731, who held the office of governor until 740.

Al-Hakam and the Indian Resistance (731-740)

Al-Hakam restored order in Sindh and Kutch and set up secure fortifications in Al-Mahfuzah and Al-Mansur. He then turned to recapturing the Indian kingdoms conquered by Al-Junayd. The Arab sources are silent on the details of the campaigns. However, several Indian sources report victories over the Arab forces.

The Gurjar king of Rajpipla , Jayabhata IV, recorded in an inscription dated 736 that he had rushed to the aid of the king of Vallabhi and inflicted a devastating defeat on the army of the "Tājika" (Arabs). The Arabs then overran Jayabhata's own empire and moved on to Navsari in southern Gujarat. It was probably the intention of the Arabs to fight their way into southern India. But south of the Mai River was the mighty Chalukya Empire . However, the Chalukya viceroy in Navsari, Avanijanashraya Pulakesi, fought back the invaders, as a foundation document from Navsari from 739 tells us. The defeated Tājika army, according to this document, was the one who attacked kings of "Kacchella, Saindhava, Saurashtra, Cavotaka, Maurya and Gurjara". Pulakesi then received the title of "Strong Pillar of the Deccan " ( Dakshināpatha-sādhāra ) and "Conqueror of the Unconquerable " ( Anivartaka-nivartayitr ). The Rashtrakuta lord Dantidurga, a vassal of the Chalukya at the time, also played a crucial role in this battle.

The peoples mentioned in the Navsari Charter were likely to be as follows: The Kacchela were the people of Kutch. The Saindhavas were emigrants from Sindh, who probably emigrated to Kathiawar in 712 after the Arab occupation . They settled in the north of Kathiawar, their ruler was Pushyadeva. The Cavotakas (also called Capotaka or Capa ) were also allied with Kathiawar, their capital was Anhilvara . Sauraschtra is southern Kathiawar. The Mauryas and Gurjaras are classified differently. Blankinship says they are the Mauryas of Chittor and Gurjaras of Bhinmal, while the Indian historian Baij Nath Puri considers them to be a branch line of the Mauryas in Vallabhi, and the Gurjaras from Broach under Jayabhata IV. According to Puri's understanding, this Arab invasion was limited to the southern regions of modern Gujarat with several smaller dominions, and ended on the border with the Chalukya Empire.

There is evidence that Al-Hakam had overstretched its forces. A letter from 737 is mentioned in which he asks the caliphate for reinforcements. This sent another 600 men, a surprisingly small contingent. But even this small force failed to reach its destination, as it was needed on the march through Iraq to suppress a local rebellion. Blankinship believes that the Chalukyas defeat was a severe blow to the Arab army, resulting in great human and material losses.

The weakened Arabs were driven out of the country by auxiliaries from the Chalukya rulers. The Gahlot prince Bappa Rawal (ruled 734-753) drove out the Arabs who had defeated the Maurya dynasty in Chittor. A Jain Prabhanda mentions a king Nahada as the first ruler of his dynasty in Jalor , near Bhinmal , and who defeated a Muslim ruler. Nahada is equated with Nagabhata I (ruled 730-760), the founder of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty, which probably came from the area of ​​Jalor-Bhinmal and was able to expand its territory to Avanti in Ujjain . The Gwalior inscription King Mihira Bhoja I describes that Nagabhata defeated a powerful army of Valacha Mlecchas (“foreigners, called Baluch ”) around 725 . The exact location of the battle is unknown.

Baij Nath Puri writes that the Arab campaign east of the Indus has come to a standstill. Yet it had the unexpected effect that the Indian empires in Rajasthan and Gujarat came to an agreement. After defeating the Arabs, the Chalukyas expanded their empire northwards. Nagabhata I was able to consolidate his position and found a new dynasty that defended the Arabs in the period that followed. Blankinship also writes that al-Hakam's campaigns ultimately resulted in the establishment of strong Indian kingdoms, which counteracted the interests of the caliphate. Al-Hakam fell on the battlefield in 740 against the Meds of Northern Aurashtras (Maitrakas, perhaps under the rule of the Chalukyas at that time).

Follow-up time

With the death of Al-Hakam, the Arab presence east of the Indus ended. In the years that followed, the Arabs focused on controlling the Sindh. They occasionally carried out raids against the sea ports of Kathiawar to protect their trade routes, but did not penetrate further inland into the Indian kingdoms. In 753, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta prince from Berar turned against his Chalukya rulers and declared his independence. The Gurjara Pratiharas immediately to the north became his enemies, the Arabs his allies, both because of their geographic location and because of their common economic interests in sea trade. The Pratihara extended their sphere of influence to Gujarat and Rajasthan, almost to the banks of the Indus, but their striving for hegemony in northern India met the resistance of the Rashtrakuta. The compromised balance between the three powers lasted until the end of the caliphate.

See also

swell

  • Al-Baladhuri; Francis Clark Murgotts (ex.): Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan (The Origins of Islamic State) . tape 2 . Columbia University, 1924.

literature

  • DR Bhandarkar: Indian Studies No. I: Slow Progress of Islam Power in Ancient India . In: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute . 10, No. 1/2, 1929, pp. 25-44.
  • Khalid Yahya Blankinship: The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads . SUNY Press, New York 1994, ISBN 978-0-7914-1827-7 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  • BD Chattopadhyaya: Representing the Other? Sanskrit Sources and the Muslims . Manohar, New Delhi 1998, ISBN 81-7304-252-7 .
  • Henry Miers Elliot: History of India, as told by its own historians . London 1869 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • RC Majumdar (Ed.): The history and culture of the Indian People . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 1955. The History and Culture of the Indian People in the English Wikipedia
  • RC Majumdar: Ancient India . Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1977, ISBN 81-208-0436-8 .
  • Baij Nath Puri: The History of the Gurjara-Pratiharas . Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi 1986.
  • Hem Chandra Ray: The Dynastic History of Northern India, I. Early Medieval Period (first published 1931) . Munshiram Manoharlal, 1973.
  • Panchānana Rāya: A historical review of Hindu India: 300 BC to 1200 AD IMH Press, 1939.
  • Sailendra Nath Sen: Ancient Indian History and Civilization . New Age International Publishers, New Delhi 1999, ISBN 81-224-1198-3 .
  • Sanjay Sharma: Negotiating Identity and Status Legitimation and Patronage under the Gurjara-Pratīhāras of Kanauj . In: Studies in History . 22, No. 22, 2006, pp. 181-220. doi : 10.1177 / 025764300602200202 .
  • Rama Shankar Tripathi: History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest . Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989, ISBN 978-81-208-0404-3 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  • CV Vaidya: History of Medieval Hindu India (first published in 1921) . HardPress Publishing, 2013, ISBN 1-313-36329-4 .
  • André Wink: Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World . Brill, Leiden 2002, ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8 ( limited preview in Google book search).

Web links

Portal: Islam  - Overview of Wikipedia content on Islam

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kapur Kamlesh: History Of Ancient India (Portraits of a Nation) . Sterling Publishers, New Delhi 2010, ISBN 978-81-207-5212-2 , pp. 362 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ^ Peter Crawford: The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam . Pen & Sword Books, Barnsley, UK 2013, ISBN 978-1-84884-612-8 , pp. 216 .
  3. ↑ Abul Abbas Ahmad ibn-Jabir al-Baladhuri: Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan - The Origins of Islamic State . tape 2 . Columbia University, New York 1924.
  4. ↑ Fuat Sezgin : History of Arabic literature, Volume I: Qur'ānwissenschaften, ḥadīt, history, Fiqh, dogmatics, mysticism. Up to approximately 430 H . Brill, Leiden 1997, ISBN 978-90-04-02007-8 .
  5. ↑ Sandhu Gurcharn Singh: A Military History of Ancient India . Vision Books, 2000, ISBN 81-7094-375-2 , pp. 402 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ↑ Majumdar (1977), p. 279
  7. ↑ Amit Kumar: Maritime History of India: An Overview . In: Taylor & Francis (Eds.): Maritime Affairs: Journal of the National Maritime Foundation of India . 8, No. 1, 2012, pp. 93-115. doi : 10.1080 / 09733159.2012.690562 . "In 776 AD, Arabs tried to invade Sind again but were defeated by the Saindhava naval fleet. A Saindhava inscription provides information about these naval actions. "
  8. ↑ Loung V. Umedani, Phuloo Meghwar: Migratory Aspects of Indus Valley Civilization Inhabitants of - A Historical Perspective . In: Asianet – Pakistan (Ed.): International Research Journal of Art & Humanities . 41, No. 41, 2013. “The two main Rajput tribes of Sindh are: the Samma, descendants of the Samma dynasty who ruled Sindh during 1351-1521 AD; and the Soomra, descendants of the Soomra dynasty who ruled Sindh during 750-1350 AD "
  9. ^ John Allan, T. Wolseley Haig, Henry Herbert Dodwell (Eds.): The Cambridge shorter history of India . The Literary Licensing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-258-79724-9 , pp. 96 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  10. ↑ Blankinship (1994), pp. 110-111; Sailendra Nath Sen (1999), p. 266
  11. ↑ Blankinship, 1994, p. 29
  12. ↑ Blankinship, 1994, p. 30
  13. ↑ Blankinship (1994), p. 19; 41
  14. ↑ a b Wink (2002), p. 206
  15. ↑ Al-Baladhuri (1924), p. 223
  16. ↑ Tripathi (1989), p. 218
  17. ↑ Blankinship (1994), p. 132
  18. ↑ Kailash Chand Jain: Malwa through the Ages, from the Earliest Times to 1305 AD . Motilal Banarsidas, 1972, ISBN 978-81-208-0824-9 , pp. 10 .
  19. ↑ a b c Bhandarkar (1929), pp. 29-30.
  20. ↑ Wink (2002), p. 208.
  21. ↑ Blankinship (1994), pp. 132-133
  22. ↑ Mohibbul Hasan: Kashmir Under the Sultans . Aakar Books, Delhi 1959, pp. 30 : “In the reign of Caliph Hisham (724-43) the Arabs of Sindh under their energetic and ambitious governor Junaid again threatened Kashmir. But Lalitaditya (724-60), who was the ruler of Kashmir at this time, defeated him and overran his kingdom. His victory was, however, not decisive for the Arab aggression did not cease. That is why the Kashmiri ruler, pressed by them from the south and by the Turkish tribes and the Tibetans from the north, had to invoke the help of the Chinese emperor and to place himself under his protection. But, although he did not receive any aid, he was able to stem the tide of Arab advance by his own efforts "
  23. ↑ a b Blankinship (1994), p. 187
  24. ↑ Puri (1986), p. 44.
  25. ↑ Chattopadhyaya (1998), p. 32
  26. ↑ Blankinship (1994), p. 86.
  27. ↑ Majumdar (1977), pp. 266-267.
  28. ↑ Puri (1986), p. 45.
  29. ↑ a b Wink (2002), p. 208.
  30. ↑ Sailendra Nath Sen (1999), p. 348.
  31. ↑ Chattopadhyaya (1998), pp. 33-34
  32. ↑ Blankinship (1994), p. 187.
  33. ↑ Puri (1986), pp. 45-46
  34. ↑ a b c Blankinship (1994), p. 188
  35. ↑ Sailendra Nath Sen (1999), pp. 336-337
  36. ↑ Sanjay Sharma (2006), p. 204
  37. ^ Sanjay Sharma (2006), p. 187
  38. ^ DR Bhandarkar: Indian Studies No. I: Slow Progress of Islam Power in Ancient India . In: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute . 10, No. 1/2, 1929, pp. 30-31.
  39. ↑ Bhandarkar (1929), pp. 30-31.
  40. ↑ Raya (1939), S. 125th
  41. ↑ Majumdar (1977), p. 267.
  42. ↑ a b Puri (1986), p. 46.
  43. ↑ Blankinship (1994), pp. 189-190
  44. ↑ Blankinship (1994), p. 189