Umayyad campaigns in India
Umayyad campaigns in India | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Early Muslim conquests and Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent | |||||||||
Sindh and neighbouring kingdoms in 700 AD | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Vilayet Al-Sindh | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Lalitaditya Muktapida Nagabhata I Bappa Rawal Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin |
Al Hakam ibn Awana † |
The Umayyad Dynasty came to rule the Caliphate in 661 CE, and during the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place in the
During the Rashidun Caliphate (632 – 661 CE), a few raids were launched in India, but no permanent conquest took place. The second wave of military expansion of the
Yazid II (720 to 724 CE) launched the third Umayyad expansion alongall the warring frontiers, including in India, which resulted in a series of battles between the Arabs and Silluka (725 – 750 CE) of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, Nagabhata I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, Siladitta IV (710-740 CE) of Maitraka dynasty, Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty, and other small Indian kingdoms between 724 and 750 CE. Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri (723 – 726 CE) recaptured Sindh, conquered Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan, however, Arab forces invading Malwa were defeated by Nagabhata I of the Pratihara Dynasty in 725 CE.[5]
The fourth Umayyad campaign was launched after Arabs lost control of Sindh and conquered territories of Rajasthan and Gujarat under Tamim ibn Zayd al-Utbi (726 – 731 CE). Al-Hakam ibn Awana, assisted by Amr, son of Muhammad ibn Qasim, pacified Sindh, established garrison cities of Al Mahfuza and
The Arab defeats led to an end of their eastward expansion in India, and later manifested in the overthrow of Arab rulers in Sindh itself and the establishment of indigenous
Background
The first incursion by Arabs in India occurred around 636/7 AD, during the Rashidun Caliphate, long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land.[9] Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi, the governor of Bahrain and Oman, had dispatched the naval expeditions against the ports and positions of the Sasanian Empire, and further east to the borders of India,[10] as confirmed by the contemporary Armenian historian Sebeos who confirms Arab naval raids against the Sasanian littoral.[10]
Uthman, on his own initiative, according to the history of al-Baladhuri, had also launched the first Arab naval raids against the ports of the Indian subcontinent, the first of these raids targeted Thane[11] (a small town near Mumbai), then two expeditions were sent against Bharuch (a city in Gujarat) and Debal (a town near Karachi).[11][12][13] The assault on Thane, the first Arab raid on India, was commanded by Uthman's brother al-Hakam, who later led the raid on Bharuch.[14] The raids on Thane and Bharuch may have been successful as the Arabs had lost no men during these raids,.[11][15] but al-Baladhuri does not specifically state these raids as successful,(al-Balādhurī 1924, p. 209), so some scholars are of the opinion that the Arabs raids may have been failures.[16]The port of Thana (Sthanaka) was attacked by the Arabs in 637, but Pulakeshin II succeeded in repulsing them, making first Arab expedition in India a failure.[17][18][19][20] The following raid on Debal was commanded by another brother, al-Mughira.[21] The raids were probably launched in c. 636 according to al-Baladhuri.[22] These expeditions were not sanctioned by Caliph Umar and Uthman escaped punishment only because there weren't any casualties.[23] The raid on Debal was also a success,[11][16] but it is unlikely to have taken place in 643 CE as Umar was still the Caliph and Uthman was unlikely to disobey his directive on sea raids, and the source reporting this is deemed unreliable.[24][11]
The motivation for these expeditions may have been to seek plunder or to attack pirates to safeguard Arabian trade in the Arabian Sea, not to start the conquest of India.[25] However scholars have also expressed the opinion all three raids were successfully repulsed.[26] Arabs led by Suhail b. Abdi and Hakam al Taghilbi later defeated a Sindhi army in the Battle of Rasil in 644 beside the Indian Ocean sea coast, then reached the Indus River.[27] Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab denied them permission to cross the river or operate in Makran and the Arabs returned home.[28]
Campaign by Muhammad bin Qasim (712–715)
Bin Qasim was recalled in 715 CE and died en route.
Campaign by Al Junayd (723–726)
During the caliphates of
After subduing Sindh, Junayd sent campaigns to various parts of India. The justification was that these parts had previously paid tribute to Bin Qasim but then stopped. The first target was al-Kiraj (possibly
Towards the North, Umayyads attempted to expand into Punjab but were defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir.[37] Another force was dispatched south. It subdued Qassa (
The kingdoms weakened or destroyed included the
In 726 CE, the Caliphate replaced Al-Junayd by
Governor Tamim is said to have fled Sindh and died en route. The Caliphate appointed al-Hakam ibn Awana al-Kalbi (Al-Hakam) in 731 who governed till 740.
Al-Hakam and Indian resistance (731–740)
Al-Hakam restored order to Sindh and Kutch and built secure fortifications at Al-Mahfuzah and Al-Mansur. He then proceeded to retake Indian kingdoms previously conquered by Al-Junayd. The Arab sources are silent on the details of the campaigns. However, several Indian sources record victories over the Arab forces.[40]
The
The kingdoms recorded in the Navsari grant are interpreted as follows: Kacchelas were the people of
Indications are that Al-Hakam was overstretched. An appeal for reinforcements from the Caliphate in 737 is recorded, with men being sent, a surprisingly small 3000 contingent. Even this force was absorbed in its passage through Iraq for quelling a local rebellion.[44] The defeat at the hands of Chalukyas is believed to have been a blow to the Arab forces with large costs in men and arms.[44]
The weakened Arab forces were driven out by the subsidiaries of the erstwhile kings. The
Even though many historians believe that Nagabhata repulsed Arab forces at Ujjain, there is no authentic information about where precisely he encountered them.Baij Nath Puri states that the Arab campaigns to the east of Indus proved ineffective. However, they had the unintended effect of integrating the Indian kingdoms in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Chalukyas extended their empire to the north after fighting off the Arabs successfully. Nagabhata I secured a firm position and laid the foundation for a new dynasty, which would rise to become the principal deterrent against Arab expansion.
Aftermath
The death of Al-Hakam effectively ended the Arab presence to the east of Sindh. In the following years, the Arabs were preoccupied with controlling Sindh. They made occasional raids to the seaports of Kathiawar to protect their trading routes but did not venture inland into Indian kingdoms.[53] Dantidurga, the Rashtrakuta chief of Berar turned against his Chalukya overlords in 753 and became independent. The Gurjara-Pratiharas immediately to his north became his foes and the Arabs became his allies, due to the geographic logic as well as the economic interests of sea trade. The Pratiharas extended their influence throughout Gujarat and Rajasthan almost to the edge of the Indus river, but their push to become the central power of north India was repeatedly thwarted by the Rashtrakutas. This uneasy balance of power between the three powers lasted till the end of the caliphate.[citation needed]
Later in 776 CE, a naval expedition by the Arabs was defeated by the Saindhava naval fleet under Agguka I.[54][55]
List of major battles
The table below lists some of the major military conflicts during the Arab expeditions in Gujarat and Rajasthan.[56]
Arab victory | Indian victory |
Year | Aggressor | Location | Commander | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
713 | Arab | Sindh and Multan | Muhammad ibn Qasim
|
Arab conquest of urban Sindh completed[56] |
715 | Indian | Alor | Hullishah, al-Muhallab | Indian army retakes major city from Arabs.[56] |
715 | Indian | Mehran | Hullishah, al-Muhallab | Arabs stall the Indian counter-offensive[56] |
718 | Indian | Brahmanabadh | Hullishah, al-Muhallab | Indian attacks resume[56] |
721 | Arab | Brahmanabadh | al-Muhallab, Hullishah | Hullishah becomes a Muslim, likely due to military reversals.[56] |
724–740 | Arab | Uzain, Mirmad, Dahnaj, others | Junayd of Sindh | Raiding India as part of Umayyad policy in India.[56] |
724-743 | Arab | Punjab | Junayd,Lalitaditya muktapida | Arab army destroyed[37] |
725 | Arab | Avanti
|
Junayd, Nagabhata I | Defeat of large Arab expedition against Avanti.[56][57] |
735-36 | Arab | Nandipuri, Bharuch
|
Junayd, Pushyadeva, Siladitya IV, Jayabhata IV | Maitraka capital sacked in Arab raid. Arabs defeated Kachchelas (of |
738-39 | India | Navsari | Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin
|
Arabs were defeated by Chalukya forces in the Battle of navsari. |
740 | Arab | Chittor
|
Maurya of Chittor
|
Indians repulse an Arab siege.[56][60] |
743? | Arab | al-Jurz
|
Junayd | Annexed by Arabs.[56][61] |
750 | Arab | Vallabhi | Maitraka capital sacked in Arab Raid |
See also
- Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
- List of early Hindu Muslim military conflicts in the Indian subcontinent
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-1-84884-612-8.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 29.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 30.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, pp. 19, 41.
- ^ Sandhu, Gurcharn Singh (2000). A Military History of Ancient India. Vision Books. p. 402.
- ^ Majumdar 1977, p. 279.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 19.
- ^ Siddiqui, Habibullah. "The Soomras of Sindh: their origin, main characteristics and rule – an overview (general survey) (1025 – 1351 AD)" (PDF). Literary Conference on Soomra Period in Sindh.
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 201
- ^ a b Hoyland 2015, p. 85.
- ^ a b c d e El Hareir & M'Baye 2011, pp. 594, 601–602
- ^ Baloch 1953, p. 243.
- ^ Friedmann 1970, p. 253.
- ^ Baloch 1946, p. 251.
- ^ Ishaq 1945, pp. 109, 112.
- ^ ISBN 9780415580618. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
A fleet sent by Caliph Umar in 637 to capture Thana, near Mumbai, failed.
- ^ Kamath, Suryanath (26 March 1980). A Concise History Of Karnataka ( From Pre Historic Times To The Present). p. 65.
- ^ Kamath, Suryanath. A Concise History Of Karnataka ( From Pre Historic Times To The Present). p. 65.
- ^ "Repulsion of the First Arab Invasion".
- ^ Goel, Sita Ram. Heroic Hindu Resistance To Muslim Invaders 636 AD 1206 AD Sita Ram Goel. p. 10.
- ^ Ishaq 1945, p. 109.
- ^ Ishaq 1945, p. 110.
- ^ al-Balādhurī 1924, p. 209: "'Uthmân ibn-abu-l-'Âși ath-Thaķafi ... sent his brother, al-Hakam, to al-Bahrain, and went himself to 'Umân, and sent an army across to Tânah. When the army returned, he wrote to 'Umar, informing him of this expedition and its result. 'Umar wrote to him in reply, ' ... By Allah, I swear that if they had been smitten, I would exact from thy tribe the equivalent.' Al-Hakam sent an expedition against Barwaș [Broach] also, and sent his brother, al-Mughîrah ibn-abu-l-'Âsi, to the gulf of ad-Daibul, where he met the enemy in battle and won a victory."
- ^ Khushalani 2006, p. 221
- ^ Sen 1999, p. 346
- ^ Indian Resistance To Early Muslim Invaders Upto 1206 AD, P 18 — Dr. Ram Gopal Mishra
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 129
- ^ Crawford 2014, p. 192
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 206: "And Al-Qasim wrote letters `to the kings of Hind (bi-mulūk-i-hind) calling upon them all to surrender and accept the faith of Islam (bi-muṭāwa`at-o-islām)'. A detachment of Ten thousand-strong cavalry were sent to Kannauj from Multan, with a decree of the caliph, inviting the people `to share in the blessings of Islam, to submit and do homage and pay tribute'."
- ^ Al-Baladhuri 1924, p. 223.
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 206.
- ^ Tripathi 1989, p. 218.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 132.
- ^ Wink 2002, p. 207.
- ISBN 9788120808249.
- ^ a b Bhandarkar 1929, pp. 29–30; Wink 2002, p. 208; Blankinship 1994, pp. 132–133
- ^ a b Hasan, Mohibbul (1959). Kashmir Under the Sultans. Delhi: Aakar Books. p. 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.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 133-134.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 187.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 187; Puri 1986, p. 44; Chattopadhyaya 1998, p. 32
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 186; Bhandarkar 1929, pp. 29–30; Majumdar 1977, pp. 266–267; Puri 1986, p. 45; Wink 2002, p. 208; Sailendra Nath Sen 1999, p. 348; Chattopadhyaya 1998, pp. 33–34
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 187; Puri 1986, pp. 45–46
- ^ a b Blankinship 1994, p. 188.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 188; Sailendra Nath Sen 1999, pp. 336–337
- ^ Sanjay Sharma 2006, p. 204.
- ^ Sanjay Sharma 2006, p. 187.
- ^ Bhandarkar 1929, p. 30.
- ^ Bhandarkar 1929, pp. 30–31; Rāya 1939, p. 125; Majumdar 1977, p. 267; Puri 1986, p. 46; Wink 2002, p. 208
- ^ Puri 1986, p. 46.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, pp. 189–190.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, p. 189.
- ^ Blankinship 1994, pp. 203–204.
- S2CID 108648910.
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.
- ^ Sailendra Nath Sen 1999, pp. 343–344
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Richards, J.F. (1974). "The Islamic frontier in the east: Expansion into South Asia". Journal of South Asian Studies. 4 (1): 91–109. .
- ^ Hem Chandra Ray 1931, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Hem Chandra Ray 1931, p. 10.
- ^ Virji 1955, p. 94–96.
- ^ Vaidya 1921, p. 73.
- ^ Hem Chandra Ray 1931, p. 9.
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Further reading
- Atherton, Cynthia Packert (1997). The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004107892.
- Bose, Mainak Kumar (1988). Late classical India. Calcutta: A. Mukherjee & Co. OL 1830998M.
- O'Brien, Anthony Gordon (1996). The Ancient Chronology of Thar: The Bhattika, Laulika and Sindh Eras. Oxford University Press India. ISBN 978-1582559308.