Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign
Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign | |||||||
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Bakhtiyar Khalji led his army through harsh terrain into the cultivated valley of mainland Kamrup and Tibet, where he met fierce resistance and a guerrilla uprising | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Khaljis of Bengal Deshi Muslims | Tibetan tribes | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Tibetan tribal leaders | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10,000 (approx.)[1] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Several thousand; cavalry reduced to a few hundred | Unknown but less than Bakhtiyar. |
He was motivated by a desire to control the lucrative trade between Tibet and India. Tibet was a source of the most prized possession of any army horses and Khalji was keen to secure this route and control the trade by conquering Tibet. Musalman army commenced plundering the country around[citation needed]. The people of that fort and town and the parts adjacent advanced to repel the Muslim army, and they came to a battled From daybreak to the time of evening prayer a fierce encounter was carried on, and a great number of the Musalman army were killed and wounded.[4]
Background
The expedition was aided by Ali Mech, a tribal chief, in the foothills of the Himalayas in the north of Bengal.[6] He was a recent convert to Islam, and he helped the expedition by acting as a guide for them.[7][8]
Campaign
On his way north, he invited the Rai of Kamrud (Kamrup) had lured Khalji and his army into a trap and inflicted heavy casualties on the Turkish army and Khalji decided to retreat. But, all along the escape route, the Tibetans continued to carry out relentless guerrilla-style attacks on the retreating army. Khalji's men were so badly defeated that the starving soldiers were forced to eat their own horses to stay alive.
On their way back to Bengal, the army passed through the plains of
Aftermath
There are two accounts of what happened to Bakhtiyar Khalji following the
See also
References
- ^ Debajyoti Burman (1947). Indo-Muslim Relations: A Study in Historical Background. Jugabani Sahitya Chakra. p. 67.
- ISBN 9781847740625. Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-317-3202-1.
- ^ H G Raverty (1873). Tabakat I Nasiri. p. 572.
- ISBN 978-81-7017-368-7.
- ISBN 9781317587460. Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ISBN 9781317587460. Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9788186470350. Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-108-01953-8. Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
- OL 30677644M. Retrieved 20 April 2024.