The wonder that was india

Historians do not attach much importance to Arab rule in Sind, but it was remarkable in many ways. It strengthened Arab trade on the west coast of India and encouraged more Arabs to make new settlements on the east coast and even in South-East Asia. The Arabs rapidly assimilated local customs and manners. They adjusted Arab tribal life to the Sindi tribal pattern. In 886 the Qur'an was translated into Sindi on the request of a Hindu chief. Arab historians who visited the region in the tenth century noted that the urban population spoke both Arabic and Sanskrit. The cultural interchange was most productive. The Kufa leather workers trained the Makran and Sind tanners in the art of tanning leather with dates. This improved the finish of indigenous leather products and made them softer. Sind shoes now fetched a high price and were regarded as a luxury item in the caliph's territories. Sind breeds of camel were also upgraded, and the demand for them rose in neighbouring countries. . On the other hand, Sanskrit works on astronomy, medicine, ethics, and administration were introduced by the Sindi intellectuals to the translation bureau at the 'Abbasid

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court. The contribution by Sindi scholars to the development of Islamic sciences such as kadis and fiqh is also impressive.

THE GHAZNAVIDS

Contemporaneous with the conquest of Sind were the Arab victories over the eastern Turks of Transoxiana by Hajjaj's equally enterprising general Qutayba bin Muslim. In the north Qutayba's armies reached Shash (Tashkend) and in the south-east they penetrated deep into Kashghar, at that time part of the Chinese empire. Arab governors were appointed to administer the conquered provinces. When the Umayyad Caliph Sulayman (715-17) assumed power, Qutayba (like Muhammad bin Qasim) was disgraced, but he rebelled against his recall. He was eventually killed by his own army in 715. Proselytization in Transoxiana was more successful than in Sind. The spearhead of the proselytization movement were the sufi mystics, while the dihqans, hereditary aristocratic landholders who lived in fortified castles, responded to the call of Islam enthusiastically. The revenues remitted to the caliphate from this region were enormous, but from the ninth century their most valued contribution was the supply of Turkic slaves. Armed Turkic slaves supplanted not only the Iranians but also the Arab contingents as bodyguards and crack troops. They were loyal to none but their masters and were transferred by them like any other chattel.

From the ninth century onwards, certain enterprising leaders, backed by the Turkic slaves, began to carve out independent ruling dynasties in the eastern regions of the caliphate, paying only nominal obedience to the 'Abbasid caliphs. In Khurasan (the eastern province of Iran) and Transoxiana, Saman-Khuda, a dihqan in the Balkh district who had been converted to Islam, founded the Samanid dynasty, which ruled from 819 to 1005. Under them, Alptigin, a Turkic slave, rose to the rank of commander-in-chief of the guard (hajibu'l-hujjab) and, in the reign of the Samanid 'Abdu'l-Malik I (954-61), became the governor of Khurasan. When he was dismissed by 'Abdu'l-Malik's successor, he withdrew to Balkh, where he defeated the Samanid army in 963. He then made a dash to Ghazni on the periphery of the Samanid kingdom and vanquished Abu 'All Lawik, or Anuk, said to be a brother-in-law of the Hindu Shahi ruler of the region, Kabul Shah.

Alptigin died in 963. Three short-lived rulers followed him. In 977, however, Alptigin's slave and son-in-law, Subuktigin, seized

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power. In the first two years of his reign he conquered the regions around Ghazni and then turned his attention to the Hindu Shahis. The latter ruled the territory from Lamghan to the river Chenab and from the hills of southern Kashmir to the frontier kingdom of Multan. Their capital was Waihind or Hund. In 986—7 their king, Jayapala, in retaliation for an earlier incursion by Subuktigin into his territory, marched upon Ghazni, but was defeated by Subukti-gin. Jayapala made peace, promising to pay a huge indemnity, but later he repudiated his word. Then, joined by a number of other Hindu rajas, he again marched on Ghazni, but was once more badly defeated between Lamghan and Peshawar. Subuktigln died in 997, nominating his younger son, Isma'il, as his successor. Subuktigin's elder son, Mahmud, refused to accept his father's decision and ascended the throne after defeating Isrh'il in battle. Two years later Mahmud crushed the Samanid army and seized the commercially rich and agriculturally fertile region of Khurasan. The 'Abbasid Caliph al-Qadir (991-1031), whose succession to the throne had been threatened by the Samanids, out of gratitude bestowed on Mahmud the title Yaminu'd-Dawla wa Aminu'1-Mulk (Right-hand of the Empire and Trustee of the Nation). Mahmud next conquered the dynasties which had been subject to the Samanids. His conquest of Khwarazm, Sistan, and Ghur made him the most formidable power in eastern Iran and Transoxiana. Mahmud is, however, more famous for his Indian conquests, which commenced in September 1000, when he captured some forts near Lamghan. His earlier invasions of the territory of the Hindu Shahis and their supporters, as well as that of the Isma'ilis of Multan, were designed to clear a way into the rich Gangetic plains. In 1001 he fought a fierce battle against Jayapala near Peshawar and defeated him. Returning to the Panjab, Jayapala died and was succeeded by his son, Anandapala. Towards the end of 1005 the Sultan seized Bhatinda, which guarded the passage from the north-west into the rich Ganges valley. Its raja was defeated, but the Sultan's army also suffered heavy losses on the return journey.11

A serious obstacle to the Sultan's entry into the Gangetic plain was Abu'l Fath bin Dawud, the Isma'ili ruler of Multan. He had entered into alliances with both Subuktigin and Mahmud, but his relations with Anandapala were also friendly. In 1006, in order to complete his mopping-up operations, Mahmud therefore marched on Multan via Peshawar. Adandapala tried to stop him but was swept away. Dawud fled from Multan; the Isma ilis were slaughtered, and their-mosques desecrated. Only the Sunnis were spared. Mahmud returned to Ghazni after installing Sukhapala, Jayapala's Islamicized grandson, on the Multan throne. The Sultan's pro-

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longed involvement in the Khurasan wars, however prompted Sukhapala to rebel. Mahmud therefore hastened back to Multan, captured Sukhapala, and executed him in January 1008.12 Meanwhile Anandapala had collected a vast army of neighbouring rajas. Mahmud then crossed the Indus and defeated Anandapala in the plain opposite Waihind in January 1009. The rajas fled to Nagarkot temple near Kangra, with Mahmud at their heels. Nagarkot surrendered, and the vast booty from the vaults of its temple fell into Mahmud's hands. Anandapala, however, escaped. After the Sultan's return to Ghazni, Anandapala re-established his kingdom on the northern spur of the Salt range, commanding the main route into the Gangetic doab, with Nandana as his capital. Shortly afterwards he died and was succeeded by his son Trilochanapala.13

Mahmud's repeated invasions over the Panjab as far as Kashmir and eastern Rajasthan destroyed Rajput resistance. Kashmir itself was saved by its difficult terrain.14 Nevertheless Mahmud's way into the Gangetic doab was now clear. In September 1018 he penetrated into the east of Delhi and conquered Baran (Buland-shahr), while Mahaban (Mathura) surrendered. The beauty of the Hindu architecture in Mathura impressed the Sultan, but his hatred of idols prevented him from sparing any temples.15 He collected a vast amount of booty. At the end of December 1018 the Sultan seized Kanauj. On his return he conquered various forts in quick succession. Besides a huge quantity of gold, the booty he acquired included 55,000 slaves and 350 elephants.

From 1019 to 1023 Kalinjar was Mahmud's target. Deeper raids into eastern India were of no use to his mission of plunder, and in October 1025 he set out at the head of 30,000 regular cavalry and a vast army of volunteers on his famous expedition to Somnath on the coast of Kathiawar (now again known by its ancient name, Saurashtra). Elaborate arrangements were made for the journey through the inhospital desert of Jaisalmir and Anhilwara. Bhudeva, the Chalukya raja of Anhilwara, offered no resistance.16 At Mundhir, near Anhilwara (modern Patan in the Ahmadabad district of Gujarat), some 20,000 Hindus made a strong stand but were finally routed. Early in January 1026 the Sultan was positioned before the Somnath fortress on the sea-shore. The garrison made desperate assaults on the invaders but were unable to withstand their deadly showers of arrows. About 50,000 devotees laid down their lives in vain to save their deity's honour. The idol was smashed, and the booty obtained amounted to 20,000,000 dinars, each of which contained 64.8 grains of gold.17 After staying there for a fortnight, Mahmud took a westerly route through Kacch and Sind in order to avoid a confrontation with the vengeful Hindu

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rajas from the neighbouring states. The Isma'ili ruler of Mansura fled, but the Hindu tribes harassed the returning army and inflicted heavy losses on them. In April 1026 the Sultan arrived in Ghazni. That same year Bhimapala, who had succeeded his father Tri-lochanapala in 1021-2, died and the Hindu Shahi dynasty came to an end. Mahmud's Somnath victory made him a legendary hero in Islamic history.18 He died on 30 April 1030.19

Mahmud's conquests extended from Iraq and the Caspian Sea to the river Ganges, from the Aral Sea and Transoxiana to Sind and the Rajasthan deserts. His actual rule in India, however, was confined to the Panjab and parts of Sind. His eastern empire comprised northern Baluchistan, Sistan, Khurasan, and Transoxiana. In 1023 his standing army consisted of 54,000 cavalry and 1,300 elephants but during wartime contingents from the vassal princes, volunteers, and local militia also joined his forces. The military backbone was the corps of Turkic slaves who were paid and maintained by the state. The booty from the rich Iranian provinces and the Indian campaigns, however, did not always cover the cost of Mahmud's military expeditions. The ruinous imposts he levied on Khurasan led to the desertion of agricultural areas; irrigation works fell into decay, and some even ceased to exist.21

Mahmud had assumed the role of defender of Sunni orthodoxy; he boasted of annihilating the Isma'ili sect and ruthlessly plundered Hindu temples. He did not, however, hesitate to employ the Hindus in his multiracial Muslim army. They served under their own commander, called the salar-i Hinduyan. The anonymous history of Sistan contains complaints of the ruthless massacre of Muslims and Christians by Mahmud's pagan Indian troops.22

Mahmud was passionately fond of erecting magnificent palaces, mosques, seminaries, and gardens. They were built largely on the proceeds of his Indian campaigns, but their maintenance often fell on the local people, who were hard put to bear the cost. The Sultan's love of ostentation and desire for historical immortality made him extremely generous to those poets who composed glowing panegyrics on him. Scientists, however, such as Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (d. after 1086), who was taken captive after the fall of Khwarazmshah in 1017, were given little encouragement. Even Firdawsi, who completed his great Persian epic, the Shdh-nama, in 1010, was not adequately rewarded. The philosopher Avicenna (Ibn Sina) wisely never came near Mahmud. Despite his faults, Mahmud's personal judgements, firm will, far-sightedness, and moral courage were striking. None of his contemporaries in Iran, Transoxiana, or India could match his talents.

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His successor's stars were not in the ascendant. The Seljuqs, a branch of the Oghuz Turkic people belonging to the steppes north of the Caspian and Aral seas,23 seized Khurasan and Khwarazm from Mahmud's son Mas'ud I (1031-41) after defeating him on the steppes of Dandanaqan in May 1040.24

During the latter part of the reign of the Ghaznavid Yamin-u'd-Dawla Bahram Shah, who ruled from 1118 to 1152, the rulers of the Ghur hill region between Hirat and Kabul became very powerful. The region had previously been conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni, and the population converted to Islam. After the rise of the Seljuqs, however, the Ghurs accepted Seljuq authority. 'Ala'u'd-Din Husayn (d. 1161), who came to power there in 1149, fought a battle against the Ghaznavid Bahram Shah, near Tiginabad (Qandahar). The Ghur infantry, with their walls of protective shields, defeated the Ghaznavid army, which relied mainly on elephants. Bahram lied to the Panjab. 'Ala'u'd-Din entered Ghazni and gave it over to a horrendous seven-day orgy of plundering and destruction which earned him the title of Jahan-Suz (Burner of the World). The corpses of all the Ghaznavid rulers, except for Mahmud, Mas'ud, and Ibrahim, were exhumed and burnt. The towns between Ghazni and Ghur were also destroyed with revolting barbarism. In 1152 Bahram was succeeded by Khusraw Shah, but the Ghurid reduced his rule to Lahore, where he died in 1160. His successor, Khusraw Malik (1160-86), was the last ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, which the Ghurid finally extinguished in 1186.

The Ghaznavid rule in the Panjab lasted much longer than in Khurasan and was not subject to the vicissitudes of Ghazni. It was free from external invasions for at least 150 years. The governors generally belonged to the Ghaznavid royal house. The sources do not discuss the administrative framework of Ghaznavid Panjab, but it probably did not differ greatly from that of the Samanid provinces or at least from the Ghaznavid administration in Khurasan, which is mentioned in passing in the contemporary sources. After the fall of Khurasan the most important source of Ghaznavid revenue was the Panjab. The urban economic life of the Hindu Shahi dynasty seems to have boosted the Ghaznavid financial system. Lahore became more prosperous as an entrepot for the goods and merchandise from Iran and the northern Indian plains. Muslim merchants settled in several Indian towns because of the Hindu desire to promote trade and commerce. The development of Lahore, which is reflected in both contemporary poetry and sufi works, could not have taken place without the import of argicultural products from the Panjab villages. There the counterparts of the Iranian dihqans (the hereditary aristocracy in the villages) were the

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India at the close of the ninth century

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Indian hereditary village chiefs or thakuras. Those thakuras who possessed strong fortresses were crushed by the Ghaznavids and forced to pay tribute, while the more docile chiefs seem to have acted as intermediaries between the state and the farmers. Following Arab and Iranian custom, the Ghaznavids changed neither the pattern of land ownership nor the rural economy, except in the villages near Lahore. The Hindu money-lending" class, known as the Sahs and the Multanls in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century literature, also carried on their business without any interference from their Muslim rulers. In fact the Multanls and Sahs were no different from the Jews in the time of the later 'Abbasids, on whom the commercial prosperity of the caliphate and its Iranian provinces depended.

Although Mahmud was a puritanically orthodox Sunni, the Hindus continued to enjoy zimmi (protected subject) status. Initially the Isma'ilis were defeated but they were not completely crushed, and the political instability in Ghazni allowed their rule to be revived. The Panjab became increasingly important, and sufis from the Ghazni region and other areas moved there. Abu'1-Fazl Muhammad bin al-Hasan Khattali, a disciple of Husri (d. 981-2) of the school of Junayd,25 ordered his disciple Shaykh Hasan Zinjanl to move to the Panjab. Khattali later asked his young disciple 'All bin 'Usman Hujwiri to follow Zinjani. Before Hujwiri's death, the sufi traditions, as we shall show in Chapter 6, were firmly rooted in India.

Among the Persian poets, Mas'ud ar-Runi (d. c. 1091) lived in Lahore. The opinion held by some scholars that Rum's rival Mas'ud Sa'd Salman compiled a collection of his own (Salman's) Hindawl (Hindi) verses is rightly contested by many, but on the basis of Salman's surviving Persian lyrics, he can undoubtedly be called the founder of the Indo-Persian style of poetry.

THE GHURIDS

'Ala'u'd-Din Jahan Suz's conquests made the Ghurid empire very extensive, but it reached its zenith under two brothers: Shamsu'd-Din (later Ghiyasu'd-DIn) Muhammad (1163-1203) and Shihabu'd-Din (later Mu'izzu'd-Din) Muhammad (1173-1206). Ghiyasu'd-Din concentrated on expanding westwards to prevent the Khwarazm-Shahs, or Khans of Khiva on the lower Oxus, from moving into Khurasan. Mu'izzu'd-Din, whose capital was in Ghanzi, followed Mahmud's tradition of invading India. His army

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consisted mainly of Turkic and Tajik (Persian-speaking Turks) slaves, although it included horsemen of other racial groups.

Finding the Isma'ilis a threat to his power in the east, Mu'izzu'd-Din seized Multan in 1175 and dispersed them. Then he conquered Uch. In 1178 he invaded Anhilvara or Patan, the capital of the Vaghela raja of Gujarat, Mularaja II. A battle was fought near Mount Abu, and the raja's army, which outnumbered the Turks, won the day. The invaders fled through the inhospitable deserts in a miserable condition and endured considerable hardship. Mu'izzu'd-Din thereupon decided to give up Mahmud's plans of invasion through Sind and Multan. The Panjab offered better prospects. In 1179 he seized Peshawar. Two years later he invaded Lahore. The Ghaznavid ruler there, Khusraw Malik, made peace. In 1182 Mu'izzu'd-Din conquered Debal and made the Sumra rulers of lower Sind his vassals. After a three-year lull Mu'izzu'd-Din invaded Lahore again and, after ravaging the surrounding countryside, occupied the strategic fort of Sialkot. The deposed Khusraw Malik made an alliance with the Khokkhars, a Hindu tribe from the Salt Range,26 but was unable to recapture Sialkot. Mu'izzu'd-Din invaded Lahore for the third time in 1186, captured Khusraw Malik by perfidy, and sent him to the Balarwan fort in Ghurjistan, where he was killed in 1192. With his death the Ghaznavid dynasty came to an end.

Multan, Lahore, and Sind now became part of the Ghurid empire. After consolidating his conquests, Mu'izzu'd-Din seized Tabarhinda (Bhatinda) in 1189. Prithvlraja Chahamana (Chauhana), who ruled the area from Ajmir to Delhi, Sirhind (in Patiala), and Hisar, in a bid to contain Mu'izzu'd-Din, marched out at the head of a large army. Other rajas also joined him. The battle took place at Tara'in, eighty miles from Delhi, in 1190. The Rajput thrust broke both Mu'izzu'd-Din's left and right wings. The Sultan himself was about to fall when a Khalji soldier sprang upon Mu'izzu'd-Din's horse and, holding him in his arms, rushed after the fleeing Ghurid army. Prithviraja recaptured Tabarhinda but did not pursue the invaders further.

Next year, after more elaborate preparations, Mu'izzu'd-Din marched towards Bhatinda, seized the fort, and again pitched his camp at Tara'in. About 150 chieftains joined Prithviraja's army, which was several times larger than Mu'izzu'd-Din's force. The Sultan divided his troops into five divisions. Four of these consisted of mounted archers, who were ordered to attack the flanks and if possible the rear of the enemy, avoiding hand-to-hand conflict. When the enemy pressed too closely they were to feign flight. From early morning to the afternoon this force attacked continuously,

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exhausting the cumbrous Rajput army. Then Mu'izzu'd-Din charged the enemy at the head of 12,000 fresh troopers with drawn swords and lances. The Rajputs were routed. About 100,000 Hindu soldiers died, including the brave Tomar prince of Delhi, Govindaraja. In his predicament Prithviraja alighted from his elephant, mounted a horse, and fled, but he was overtaken near the town of Sarsuti. Hasan Nizami's account states that Prithviraja was taken prisoner to Ajmir, where he ruled for some years as a Ghurid vassal;27 this is corroborated by numismatic evidence. Later he was executed for treason, but his son was appointed to succeed him. Another Tomar prince, Govindaraja's son, was appointed as the Ghurid's vassal in Delhi. The conquered local chiefs, called ra'is, submitted, agreeing to pay tribute and land tax (malguzari). A military station was established at Indraprastha. The Turks captured Hansi, Kuhram, and Sarsuti and placed them too under Turkic garrisons. Ajmir was also assaulted and taken. On his return from Ajmir, the Sultan besieged Delhi again, and Govindaraja's son agreed to resume paying tribute.

The victory of Tara'in was a watershed in Indian history. It marked the beginning of Turkic rule in India proper. Previously this had been confined to the Panjab and Sind. Mu'izzu'd-Din subsequently withdrew to Ghazni, leaving his trusted general Qutbu'd-Din Aybak to consolidate their gains and make further annexations. Aybak then seized Delhi, deposing Govindaraja's son, who had rebelled yet again. In 1193 Mu'izzu'd-Din summoned Aybak to Ghazni, possibly to draw up plans for future Indian conquests.28

After his return Aybak seized Kol fAligarh). While he was busy suppressing various Rajput uprisings, Mu'izzu'd-Din left Ghazni for Delhi, where Aybak later joined him. Although Jai Chand, the Gahadavala raja of Kanauj and Banaras, had not assisted his rival Prithviraja in attempting to overthrow the Turkic army, Mu'izzu'd-Din and Aybak marched against him. He was killed and his army was defeated in 1194 in the battle of Chandawar, between Kanauj and Etawa on the Jamuna. The victorious Ghurid army marched on to Banaras (VaranasI) and Asni. The Gahadaval's treasury was plundered. Four years later Kanauj was also captured. The Sultan then returned to Ghazni. Aybak crushed a rebellion at Kol and finally brought Ajmir under his control. Replacing Prithvlraja's son with a Turkic governor, he gave him Ranthambhor instead.29

In 1195-6 Mu'izzu'd-Din again marched from Ghazni and, defeating the Jadon Bhatti Rajputs, seized Bayana. The Sultan made Malik Baha'u'd-Din Tughril governor of the region.

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Baha'u'd-Din encouraged Indian and Khurasan merchants to settle there and also to improve agriculture. He founded a new fort-town named Sultan-kot, near Bay ana. Before leaving the region Mu'izzu'd-Din had made the raja of Gwalior a tributary, but Baha'u'd-Din, in obedience to the Sultan's orders, posted troops around Gwalior. Before his death around 1200, Gwalior's defences had been considerably weakened.30

Ajmir rebelled again in 1195-6. Aybak, who had hastened to crush the uprising, was defeated and forced to withdraw to Ajmir fort. The timely arrival of a Ghazni contingent, however, turned the tables on the Rajputs. Aybak next marched on Anhilwara, whose Chalukya ruler had made common cause with the dissident Ajmir raja. The battle took place on the Abu mountain, where Aybak's mobility and shock tactics crowned him with success. The victory yielded considerable booty, but Anhilwara itself was not annexed until 1240.31

Aybak seized Bada'un from a Rastrakuta Rajput in 1197-8. He also raided Malwa. In 1202-3 Aybak besieged Kalinjar, the capital of the Chandela king, in Bundelkhand. The siege was protracted, but when the invaders cut off the water supply the garrison surrendered. Kalinjar, Mahoba, and Khajuraho were also conquered.32

By 1200 Turkic military outposts had been set up and fort commandants appointed from Banaras to the Panjab and from Gwalior to Anhilwara. Neither Mu'izzu'd-Din nor Aybak had any plans to penetrate Bihar and Bengal. These areas were conquered by Ikhtiyaru'd-Din Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar, who belonged to the Khalji Turkic tribe of Ghur. Finding little encouragement from the muster master at Ghazni and later at Delhi because of his humble origins, Bakhtiyar proceeded to Bada'un. He showed promise there and at Avadh, and was awarded an iqta' near Chunar.33 His successful incursions into Bihar, east of the river Karmanasa, encouraged other Turkic soldiers to join him. He conquered regions as far as the Buddhist university of Odantapuri, Bihar, where he slaughtered the Buddhist monks and seized the town. He then visited Aybak in March 1203 at Bada'un and obtained permission to attempt further conquests.