Muhammad Ghori and his conquest of India
The real founder of the Islamic or Muslim kingdom in India was Muizuddin Muhammad Bin Sham, commonly known as Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori or Muhammad of the Gur dynasty. It is also true that Mohammed Bin Qasim was the first Muslim invader, but due to his early death, he could not lay the foundation of the Muslim empire in India. Mahmud of Ghazni (Mahmud Ghaznavi) had similarly failed to establish an empire in India because he was more of a plunderer than an empire builder. The credit of laying the strong foundation of the Muslim empire in India goes to Mohammad Ghori.
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| Tomb of Muhammad of Ghor in Sohawa Tehsil, Pakistan-PHOTO CREDIT-WIKIPEDIA |
Gur district is situated in the mountainous region between Ghazni and Herat.
Mohammad Ghori considered himself as an officer of the throne of Punjab because in his view Punjab was part of Ghazni Empire.
Being a Muslim, he wanted to spread the religion of Islam in the country by conquering the Hindus of India.
Multan and Sindh- Muhammad Ghori’s first attack was against Multan in 1175 AD, Mohammad Ghori easily took control of Multan and Sindh.
In 1182 AD, Mohammad Ghori invaded the lower part of Sindh and forced the ruler of Sumra dynasty to accept subjugation.
Which ruler of Gujarat defeated Muhammad Ghori?
Anhilwara – Anhilwara was the capital of Bhima II, the ruler of the Baghela dynasty of Gujarat. Bhima II badly defeated Muhammad Ghori due to which he had to return.
Punjab – In 1179 AD, Mohammad Ghori attacked Peshawar which was under the ruler of Punjab and took his authority over it.
In 1181 Muhammad Ghori proceeded with the aim of defeating Khusro Malik, Khusrau Malik surrendered at the site of the battle and presented him as a hostage to his son along with invaluable gifts.
In 1150, Muhammad Ghori attacked Punjab again and plundered the countryside of Punjab, he captured the fort of Sialkot.
In 1186 AD, Mohammad Ghori again attacked Punjab and this time laid siege to Lahore. The ruler of Jammu, Raja Chandradev, who was hostile to Khusro Malik, welcomed Mohammad Ghori.
In 1182 AD, Mohammad Ghori killed Khusro Malik by resorting to deceit.
When was the first battle of Tarain fought?
First Battle of Tarain (1191 AD) – Although Muhammad Ghori had conquered Punjab, Multan and Indus, he could not be called the lord of Hindustan.
Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, who was the ruler of Delhi and Ajmer, faced Mohammad Ghori.
According to the Farishta, Prithviraj Chauhan, leading his huge army, including 2 lakh cavalrymen and 3,000 elephants, reached the field against Mohammad Ghori.
His allies Rajput princes assisted him, but Jaichand, who belonged to the Rathor dynasty of Kanauj, stayed away from the battle because Prithviraj Chauhan had insulted him by kidnapping his daughter Sanyogita.
In 1191 AD, the armies of Mohammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan faced off in the plain of Tarain.
Mohammad Ghori took help from the right, left and middle movements and himself led the middle army.
The Rajputs attacked both the wings of the Muslim army which was scattered in all directions.
Mohammad Ghori took out the teeth of Prithviraj’s brother Govind Rai with one stroke of the sword.
Govind Rai also in turn inflicted a deep wound in the arm of Muhammad Ghori. Frightened by this, Muhammad Ghori had to retreat and blood started flowing from his wound. His strength slowed down and he was about to fall from the horse when a Khilji soldier helped him and took him out of the battle field. There was a stampede in the Muslim army. The Rajputs followed him for 40 miles. Mohammad Ghori returned to Ghazni.
When did the second battle of Tarain take place?
Second Battle of Tarain (1192 AD) – After the defeat in the First Battle of Tarain, Muhammad Ghori punished the officers and soldiers who had fled from the battlefield. The defeat of the first battle of Tarayan made Gauri restless.
In 1192 AD, Muhammad Ghori marched from Ghazni to India with a huge army of 1,20,000 soldiers.
Once again there was a fierce battle. 150 Rajput kings participated in the war on behalf of Prithviraj.
Prithviraj Chauhan’s army got an edge in the beginning, but before sunset the Muslim army launched a fierce attack. The attack was so fierce that there were dead bodies in the Hindu camps.
Disappointed, Prithviraj got down from his elephant and tried to escape. Unfortunately he was taken prisoner near a town called ‘Sirsuti’.
There are many speculations related to the death of Prithviraj Chauhan.
According to the statement of Minhaj-us-Siraj, after conquering Prithviraj, he was sent to hell.
Hasan Nizami is of the opinion that Prithviraj was taken to Ajmer and put to death.
According to Chandrabardai, Prithviraj was taken to Ghazni and was killed there due to the murder of Muhammad Ghori.
Muhammad Ghori returned to Ghazni after appointing Qutbuddin Aiwak as the representative of the Indian Empire.
Kannauj – In 1192 AD, Jaichand had celebrated the defeat of Prithviraj. But he did not know that his end was to be the same.
In 1194 (Battle of Chandwara), Muhammad Ghori attacked Kannauj and defeated Jaychand and was put to death.
In 1195-96 AD, Muhammad Ghori invaded India and defeated the Jats and Rajputs near Chunar.
Bundelkhand – In 1197-98 AD, Aibak conquered Badaun.
In 1202-03, Aivak attacked and conquered the Chandela ruler Pamardev.
The credit of conquering Bihar goes to Ikhtiyaruddin-Muhammad-bin-Bakhtiar Khilji, the general of Aibak.
The specialty of Bakhtiyar Khilji was that when he stood upright, his arms touched the calves of his legs.
In 1197 AD, he (Ikhtiyar) plundered the capital of Bihar, Oudantapuri, destroyed the Buddhist Bihars in Bihar. Thousands of Buddhist monks were put to death.
Victory of Bengal – Enthused by the victory of Bihar, Ikhtiyaruddin now turned to Bengal.
In 1204-05, Ikhtiyaruddin advanced with 18 horsemen and the rest of the army remained behind. When Ikhtiyaruddin reached the palace and massacred, Lakshman Sen escaped through the back door. The Muslims got a lot of money and elephants in the loot.
Hearing the rumor of the death of Muhammad Ghori, the Khokhars revolted under the leadership of their leader Raisal and plundered the Punjab by defeating the Lieutenant Governor of Multan.
At the end of 1205 AD, the combined army of Muhammad Ghori and Aibak defeated the Khokhars and killed innumerable Khokhars.
On 15 March 1206, on the way to Ghazni from Lahore, some Shia rebels and Hindu Khokhars killed Muhammad Ghori.
The body of Muhammad Ghori was buried in Ghazni.