Turkish Invasion in India Study Materials

2018-12-13

Turkish Invasion in India Study Materials

THE TURKISH INVASION (986-1206)

Subuktgin (986-997)

The ruler of Khurussan and Ghazni, Subuktgin, conquered India in AD 986-987. King Jai Pal got frightened on seeing his large army. He made peace with him and offered money, elephants and few forts. Later, he broke his promise and refused to hand him over what he had promised. Subuktgin defeated Jai Pal in Lamghan but soon died in 997. Mahmud of Ghazni became his successor.

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Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (997-4030)

Mahmud of Ghazni, launched 17 plundering campaigns between 1000 and 1027 into North India. He annexed Punjab as his eastern province. His 17 campaign, in India had two objectives: (i) to propagate Islam in India and Cut to loot wealth from India. According to some contemporurv Persian sources ins primary motive was to propagate Islam and that is why he was given the title of Ghazi. However the recent studies prove that he had highlighted his religious motive to impress the Caliphate at Baghdad. His real motive of conquering India was to loot the wealth hidden in the temples of India. He had an advantage over the Rajputs as his soldiers could effectively use the crossbow while galloping. His conquest of Punjab forecast ominous consequences for the rest of India. However, the Rajputs remained unprepared and did not try to change their military tactics. Their ways were rendered ineffective in the face of the swift and punitive cavalry of the Afghans and Turkis. In 1025, he plundered the most famous Hindu temple of Somnath. The temple was destroyed in 1026.

Slaves of Muhammad Ghori Later

Made Governors

Taj-ud-din Yalduz of Ghazni
Nasirud-din Qubachah at Uchh
Qutub-ud-din Aibak at Delhi
Bakhtiyar Khilji at Bengal

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Muhammad Ghori (1175-1206)

Muiz-ud-din Muhammad Ghori invaded India and laid the foundation of the Muslim dominion in India. He may be considered as the founder of Muslim rule in India. In 1179. he reached Peshawar and captured it. At the time of his invasion. Punjab was ruled by Khusrau Malik of the Ghazni dynasty. Khusrau was a powerful king and it was not easy for Muhammad to defeat him in war. So. he treacherously killed him in 1192 and captured Punjab. Then, he challenged the Rajput kingdoms, but a stubborn resistance from united Rajput kingdoms under the leadership of Prithviraj stopped his further expansion. He was defeated in 1191 in the First Battle of Tarain, a village near Thanesar in’the present-day Haryana, by Prithviraj. Ghori was humiliated and lie lied from India. But he returned with mightier army, constituting of Turkish and Afghan soldiers and challenged Prithviraj again in the same battlefield. The Second Battle of Tarain (1192) was fought arid Prithviraj was not supported adequately by other Rajput, rulers this time. It is believed that if Jayachandra had supported Prithviraj in this battle, the invaders “would have been easily defeated. Later on, Prithviraj was executed on charges of conspiracy. Muharnmad then made Gola. son of Prithviraj, a puppet king and deputed his trusted servant Qutab-ud-din Aibak id take care of the administration of the region. He went back to Central Asia, but returned to India in 1204. However, further conquests were halted by his untimely death in 1206. Aibak then went on to capture neighbouring Meerut, Aligarh and Delhi. Aibak then shifted his seat of power to Delhi.

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