Invasion, Conquest, and Resistance: The Battle for India Under Muhammad Ghori

Muhammad of Ghor or Shihabuddin Muhammad Ghori was a Sultan from the Ghurid dynasty who ruled from 1173 to 1206. He ruled a vast area comprising parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan. He was the nephew of the Ghurid destroyer of Ghazni, Alauddin, also known as Jahan Soz. He and his brother Ghiasuddin ruled respectively at Ghazni and Ghor or Firoz Koh.  Unlike the late dynasty of Ghazni, that of Ghor appears to have been Afghansi, though some believe they might have been Turki or Persian perhaps. The real founder of Muslim Power in India was Muhammad Ghori. He Ghori was the third Muslim invader of India. He came to conquer and annex whereas his two predecessors, Muhammad-bin Qasim and Mahmood Ghaznavi had come primarily to punish and to plunder.

 

 

Objectives of Indian campaigns of Muhammad Ghori:

•  Muhammad Ghori was an ambitious and imperialist Sultan. He wanted to expand the territory of his kingdom and India was the best suited empire for the fulfillment of his ambitions. 
• There had been a prolonged tug of war between Ghazni and Ghori. 
•  Muhammad Ghori wanted to uproot the Ghaznavids completely. It had, therefore, become essential for him to invade Punjab first.
• The Shia rulers of Sindh and Multan were against Muhammad Ghori, hence he decided to punish them on his way to Punjab.
• Muhammad Ghori considered the spread of Islam his pious duty. Thus we see that religious motives were also hidden behind his imperialist policy.
•  India was considered a golden bird. Hence greed for gold had also been a reason of foreign invasions. 
•  Ghori also needed money for his central Asian wars and it could be procured from the temples and kings of India, hence he decided to invade India.
•  Muhammad Ghor intended to enhance its power and prestige by his wonderful achievements. In this way he should have earned name and fame in th Islamic world.
• Unlike his former aggressors, He was not only motivated by the greed for gold and lust for power but intended to establish a permanent Turkish empire in India. 

 

Expeditions of Muhammad Ghori to india :

• Muhammad Ghori's first invasion was made against the Multan in 1175 AD. Muhammad Ghori defeated the Karmathian ruler of Multan and captured the city. The victory of Multan was useful for him because after capturing Multan, it would have become ea establish his control over Sindh and Punjab. Multan could be used for further victories in India. 
•  After establishing his control over Multan, he marched towards Uchh in Upper Sindh in 1176 AD, where Bhatti Rajput was ruling. There was a discord between the king and the queen of Uchh and Muhammad Ghori took advantage of it. After conquering Upper Sindh he directed his attention to Lower Sindh and forced the Sumra ruler to accept his supremacy.
•  In AD 1178, Muhammad Ghori launched an expedition against Gujarat where Bhim II or Moolraj was the ruler. Anhilwara was the capital of Baghela rulers. Muhammad Ghori was driven back with heavy losses when he attempted to take Anhilwara. By this loss Ghori realised that Multan and Sindh were not the proper route to enter India, hence he directed his attention towards Punjab.
• He wrenched Peshawar from the feeble hands of the Ghaznavid and appeared before Lahore itself in 1181 AD which he finally took in 1186 AD.
• First Battle of Tarain (1191 AD) : As Muhammad Ghori had established his control over Bhatinda, Prithviraj Chauhan, also known as Rai Pithora, who ruled over Delhi and Aimer, was alarmed. He was a very brave and courageous ruler. He at once marched towards Bhatinda in order to check the advancing steps of Muhammad Ghori along with a powerful army. A fierce battle was fought in the field of Tarain, about 23 kilometers away from Thaneshwar. Several Rajput rulers helped Prithviraj Chauhan financially during this battle but Gaharwal ruler Jaichand of Kannauj, was the only Rajput who did not help him on this occasion. Prithviraj recovered the fort of Bathinda and defeated the Muslims. 
• Second Battle of Tarain (1192 AD) : After the loss Ghori passed his days and the fire of revenge went on increasing in his heart. To retrieve his position he made very thorough and elaborate preparations and returned to the fray the very next year and encamped once again near Tarain. Once again Prithviraj Chauhan fought a pitched battle against the Muslims. In the beginning Hindus achieved success against the Muslims but ultimately they were defeated due to better warfare of Ghori. In fact, the war tactics of Ghori enabled him to succeed against the Rajputs. There is a sharp difference of opinion among the scholars regarding the death of Prithviraj Chauhan. 

o   Minhaj writes, "He was captured and Muhammad Ghori sent him to Hell." 
o   Hasan Nizami mentions, "He was imprisoned and sent to Ajmer where he was put to death after some time." 
o   Court bard and historian Chandra Bardai writes an interesting story about the death of his master. According to him, Prithviraj was blinded but he killed Muhammad Ghori in a show of archery, hence he was beheaded by the Muslims.

 

"The second battle of Tarain in AD 1192 may be regarded as the decisive contest which ensured the ultimate success of the Mohammedan attack on Hindustan.” - V. A. Smith "

 

Conquest of Kannauj (1194 AD) : After the success of the second battle of Tarain, Muhammad Ghori appointed his worthy general Qutbuddin Aibak, his Viceroy to look after his conquered territory.He again returned to India with a powerful army in AD 1194 and launched an attack over Kannauj. Aibak also joined him to crush Jaichandra. Jaichandra, also marched to face the foreign invader. A fierce battle was fought at Chandwar where Jaichandra was defeated by Muslims.The fall of Jaichandra at Chandwar made Muhammad the master of the political as well as the religious capitals of Hindustan, Kannauj and Banaras. 

Death of Muhammad Ghori : After the victory of Kannauj, Muhammad Ghori remained occupied in wars in Central Asia and he could not visit India for some years. Muhammad Ghori came to Punjab in AD 1205 and crushed the Khokhars with the support and cooperation of the army of Qutbuddin Aibak. After defeating the Khokhars, Muhammad Ghori immediately rushed back to Ghazni but he was not fated to reach his homeland alive. The Khokhars killed him on the way to Ghazni in AD 1206.  

 

Conquests of Aibak after the Departure of Ghori:

• When Muhammad Ghori returned to his homeland, Qutbuddin Aibak commanded the situation very brilliantly. He consolidated the position of the Turkish empire and established his control over Bulandshahar. He also established his sway over Meerut and Aligarh.
  
• He strengthened his power in Delhi and declared it the capital of the Turkish empire. In Ajmer, for instance, the idol temples were demolished to their very foundations and mosques and colleges were built, where "the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established." 
• He conquered Bayana in 1196 AD and appointed a Turkish noble to look after the administration. 
•  Qutbuddin Aibak also made an invasion of Anhilwara to avenge the defeat of his master. The Chalukyas of Anhilwara gave tought fight to Aibak but at last were compelled to surrender. The ruler of Anhilwara, anyhow, escaped from the battlefield. 
• Aibak also occupied Badaun (AD 1197-98) and appointed Iltutmish as its first Muslim governor. 
•  In AD 1198-99, he once again conquered Banaras. 
•  He kept quiet for some time and after consolidating his position invaded Bundelkhand in AD 1202-03. 
  

Ikhtiyaruddin Khalji, son of Bakhtiyar Khalji was also a terrible turki fighter. In AD 1197 he attacked Bihar.  and plundered Odantipur, the capital of Bihar. Ikhtiyaruddin sacked the Buddhist monasteries of Vikramshila and Nalanda. In AD 1199, Ikhtiyaruddin invaded Nadia, the capital of Bengal where Rai Lakshmana Sena of Bengal was the ruler.  Having become overconfident of his success, Ikhtiyaruddin Khalji made a scheme to conquer Tibet and China, but he could not achieve success in his motives and failed disastrously in AD 1205. 

 

Causes of the success of Muhammad Ghori against the rajputs :

It is really surprising that the Rajputs, who were brave fighters and competent warriors were defeated by a handful of Muslim foreign invaders. The causes of defeat of the Rajputs can be classified as under-

•  Political Reasons - The lack of political unity in the country was the main reason for the downfall of the Rajputs. Before the invasion of the Muslims, India was divided into several small principalities after the death of Harsha and various clans of Rajputs ruled over them. There was ;ack of national feeling and unity among them. 
• Military Reasons:  The Rajputs did not maintain a permanent army for the safety of their country. The king had to depend on the armies of the feudal lords. The Indian army was a crowd of infantry which lacked training and equipment. They did not stand before the cavalry of the Muslims. Except that The Rajputs were ignorant of war tactics. They did not maintain a reserve army. Also, The Rajputs did not have any experienced and capable leader who could unite them at the time of danger.
• Social Reasons: The social conditions of India were equally a contributing factor for the defeat of the Rajputs besides political and military reasons. The Hindu society was disintegrating and plagued by several vices. The caste system created artificial barriers which prevented the unification of the various groups even for purposes of common defense and safety. Whereas the Muslim society was free from all such vices, they did not have caste or class problems. 
• Religious Reasons:  Religious zeal of the Muslims helped them in getting victory against the Rajputs. Islam was a new religion and its followers were fired by enthusiasm. Expansion of Islam, destruction of 'infidels', their idols and temples was the motto of the Muslims. They declared their wars as 'Jihad' against the Hindus. 
•  Economic Reasons: The Rajput rulers loved luxuries. They used to spend a lot of money on their requirements and were also involved in mutual conflicts. Also, the gold of India was the chief reason for the foreign invasions. It was stored in temples and religious places and was blocked from circulation. The foreigners plundered this wealth and enhanced their resources.
• Other Reasons: Physical strength, lack of confidence and difference in military weapons were few other reasons behind the victory of Ghauri.

 

Effects of invasions of Muhammad Ghori: 

• The success of Muhammad Ghori discarded the chances of unity among these small states and for years to come there could be no central Hindu power in India and the rule of Turkish sultans was established in India. 
•  The Muslim invasion exposed the military weaknesses of the Indian kings, and they realized the defects in their military systems. 
•  As the foreign invaders plundered the wealth of India, it disturbed the economic structure of India.
• With the establishment of Muslim empire in India, the Muslim preachers got an extensive region for the spread of Islam and they persuaded the low-born Indians to accept Islam and promised them several concessions. As a result, several Hindus switched over to Islam in order to get posts and prosperity.
•  A cultural synthesis began between the two rival cultures and they influenced each other to a great extent.
• Different systems of arts flourished as a result of the union of two different arts and literatures. 
• As there was great difference between the religion and culture of the victors and the vanquished, the relations between the Hindus and Muslims began to spoil with the passage of time. Thus, the problem of communalism emerged in India and it ultimately resulted in the partition of the country.

An Estimate of Muhammad Ghori:

 

• Mohammad Ghori was a man of vision. Almost all the historians have praised him for his qualities of head and heart. Minhaj the contemporary historian has depicted him as a just ruler.  Muhammad Ghori was brave, courageous, firm and an industrious ruler. He never felt disappointment in failures and always made efforts for achieving success.  As a Successful Conqueror and Empire Builder. Muhammad Ghori was not as great a general as Mahmood Ghaznavi.  
•  As a Politician. Although Muhammad Ghori was no match to Mahmood Ghaznavi as regards military ability, he was a practical and worthy politician. 
•  As a Ruler. It would be wrong to describe Muhammad Ghori as a great ruler but it can be ascertained that he was a more successful administrator than his predecessors. 
•  As a Staunch Muslim. Muhammad Ghori was a staunch follower of Islam. He had firm faith in the principles of Quran but he was not fanatic like Mahmood Ghaznavi. Historians have praised the liberal religious policy of Muhammad Ghori. 

 

Dr. Ishwari Prasad has written about him, "He bore the character of a just monarch, God fearing and ever having the good of his subjects at his heart." while Lanepoole has pointed out his shortcomings, "He was no patron of scholars. No poets or historians vied with one another to praise his magnificence and power." 

 

 

In the final summing up of Muhammad Ghori, we can say that Ghori was neither a great ruler nor a competent general. He was only a lucky victor. He took the best advantage of the shortcomings and weaknesses of Indian rulers and established the Turkish empire in India.