Expeditions of Muhammad Ghori to India

Muhammad Ghori

Conquest of Multan and Sindh (A.D. 1175-76)

Muhammad Ghori’s first invasion was made against the Shia ruler of Multan in A.D. 1175. The victory of Multan was useful from several points of view as there was a direct and straight route between India and Ghazni through Multan. So for Muhammad Ghori, who intended to establish Turkish Empire in India, it was essential to gain victory against Multan. Secondly, after capturing Multan, it would have become easy to establish his control over Sindh and Punjab. Multan could be used as base for further victories in India and the army of Ghazni could stay there for reinforcements. Keeping in vie all these considerations Muhammad Ghori defeated the Karmathian ruler of Multan and captured the city.

After establishing his control over Multan, he marched towards Uchh in Upper Sindh, where Bhatti Rajput was ruling. There was a discord between the king and the queen of Uchh and Muhammad Ghori took advantage of it. He assured the queen that in case, she murdered the king, he would marry her and make his chief queen. She was entrapped in the false promise of Muhammad Ghori and she murdered her husband. Hence, he could enter the city without any difficulty in A.D. 1176.

Expedition against Anhilwara (A.D. 1178)

In A.D. 1178 Muhammad Ghori launched an expedition against Gujarat where Bhim II or Moolraj was the ruler. Anhilwara was the capital of Beghela rulers. Muhammad Ghori was driven back with heavy losses when he attempted to take Anilwara. Habibulla writes that he was lucky that he could escape alive from this expedition. The defeat of Anhiwara discouraged Muhammad Ghori so much that he did not attack Gujarat again for twenty years.

The Conquest of Punjab

Very soon Muhammad Ghori realized that Multan and Sindh were not the proper route to enter India, Hence he directed his attention towards Punjab where Khusrav Malik, the last of the Ghaznavids was ruling. He wrenched Peshawar from the feeble hands of the Ghaznavid and appeared before Lahore itself in A.D. 1181 which he finally took in A.D. 1186. Here too Muhammad Ghori took recourse to measures which must stand condemned for ever in the land of the noble chivalry of Rajasthan. Khusrav Malik attempted to take recourse to this measure when his adversary turned his back. So in A.D. 1186 Muhammad once more came to Lahore. When Khusrav sued for peace he pretended to release Khusrav’s son who had been taken as a hostage on the previous occasion. The credulous Khusrav, being assured of his safety, came out to receive his son. Then treacherously Muhammad seized him and sent both him and his son to their doom in Firoz Koh (Ghor).

First Battle of Tarain (A.D.1191)

The first Battle of Tarain was fought between Sultan Mohammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan in the year 1191 at Tarain in Haryana. The army of Mohammad Ghori was defeated by the Rajput army of Chauhan.

Prithviraj Chauhan was the ruler of Delhi and Aimer. He was a very brave and courageous ruler. He also knew as Rai Pithora. At that time Mohammad Ghori had established his control over Bhatinda. Hearing the news Prithviraj Chauhan marched towards Bhatinda in order to check the advancing steps of Muhammad Ghori along with powerful army. After that a fierce battle was fought in the field of Tarain about 23 Kilometers away from Thaneshwar. Several Rajput rulers helped Prithviraj Chauhan during this battle but Gaharwal ruler, Jaichand of Kannauj, was the only Rajput who did not help him on this occasion. During the course of war, Goving Chandra, a brother of Prithviraj Chauhan lost his two teeth but in return he made a several blow on Ghori and wounded him. Owing to excessive bleeding Muhammad Ghori was on the verge of falling down from the horse when a Khalji soldier came to his rescue and carried him safe out of the battle field. As soon as the sultan was removed from the battle field the Muslim army was discouraged and fled. Prithviraj Chauhan recovered the fort of Bhatinda and defeated the Muslim.

Second Battle of Tarain (A.D. 1192)

The Second Battle of Tarain was fought between Sultan Mohammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan in the year 1192 at Tarain in Haryana. Muhammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and killed.

Muhammad Ghori was made of another metal. Neither was he disheartened nor did he burn himself on kindled pray. The fire of revenge kindled in his heart more vigorously and he began to make preparations to avenge his defeat. He again attacked India just after a year.

Muhammad Ghori having reached Ghazni safely punished his officers and soldiers who fled the battlefield. He was badly perturbed by the defeat of the first battle of Tarain. He 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 (A.D. 1192) 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. As a result of the battle Prithviraj Chauhan was captured and killed.

Conquest of Aibak after the Departure of Ghori

When Muhammad Ghori returned to his homeland, Qutbuddin Aibak commanded the situation very brilliantly. After his retreat the Chauhans of Ajmer tried to recover their independence and to cast away the yoke of Turkish slavery but Aibak proved a great hurdle in their way. He consolidated the position of 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 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.”

Conquest of Kannauj (A.D. 1194)

The fate of Prithviraj soon overtook Jaichandra, the ruler of Kannauj who had held aloof and laughed up his sleeves over the destruction of his son-in-law for the crime of eloping with his not unwilling daughter. After the success of the second battle of Tarain, Muhammad Ghori again returned to India with a powerful army in A.D. 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. The Rajputs sustained by their numbers and Muslims by their courage, “but unfortunately an arrow struck the eye of Jaichandra and he was killed dropping down from the elephant”. From Kannauj the Muslim army rushed to Banaras and captured the royal treasury of Jaichandra.

The fall of Jaichandra at Chadwar made Muhammad the master of the political as well as the religious capital of Hindustan, Kannauj and Banaras. After the victory of kannauj and Banaras the victorious Muhammad Ghori once again went back to Ghazni. He reinforced the Indian garrisons before his departure so that Aibak might add to his territorial possessions.

More Conquests of Qutbuddin Aibak

In the absence of Muhammad Ghori Qutbuddin Aibak occupied Badaun (A.D. 1197-98) and appointed Iltutmish as its first Muslim Governor. In A.D. 1198-99 he once again conquered Banaras.

Conquest of Bihar and Bengal by Ikhtiyaruddin Khalji

When Aibak was busy in the busy in the heart of Hindustan, another soldier of fortune, also a Turki slave, was engaged in reducing the eastern provinces of Bihar and Bengal for Muhammad Ghori. This was Ikhtiyaruddin Khalji, son of Bakhtiyar Khalji. He was a terrible fighter and his arms were so long that they reached the calves of his legs while standing erect. In A.D. 1197, this efficient commander attacked Bihar. With the help of only 200 soldiers he plundered Odantipur, the capital of Bihar. King Rudruman of Bihar was a weak ruler. He ran away leaving his capital unsafe without fighting against the enemy. Ikhtiyaruddin sacked the Buddhist monasteries of Vikramshila and Nalanda. Thus owing to the cowardice of the ruler of Bihar, it fell into the hands of the Musllims in A.D. 1202-03. He killed several Bhikshus and compelled many of them to flee to Tibet and Nepal.

Unsuccessful Invasion of Tibet

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 A.D. 1205. Most of his army was destroyed but anyhow he escaped and reached Lakhnauti with about hundred horsemen.

He was badly shaken by the grief of the loss of his companions and soldiers. He fell ill and died just after a year in A.D. 1206.

Battle against Khokhars (A.D. 1205)

After the victory of Kannauj, Muhammad Ghori remained occupied in wars in Central Asia and he could not visit India for some years. As a result, a rumor spread in India that Muhammad Ghori was routed by the Turks at Andhkur, so the Khokhars revolted and tried to cast away the yoke of Turkish slavery. Aibak made his best efforts to suppress the revolt of the Khokhars but to no use. Hence Muhammad Ghori came to Punjab in A.D. 1205 and crushed the Khokhars with the support and cooperation of the army of Qutbuddin Aibak.

Death of Muhammad Ghori

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 A.D. 1206.

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Expeditions of Muhammad Ghori to India