Islamic Conquest and Consolidation
Table of Contents
The period of 600-1200 AD is known as "early medieval India".
1 Mohammad-bin-Qasim
In 712 AD, the first Islamic invasion into India was carried out in Sindh by Mohammad-bin-Qasim, acting on the orders of Al Hajaj, the Governor of Iraq. The Governor of Iraq wanted to punish Dahir, the ruler of Sindh who refused to check piracy. Mohammad-bin-Qasim's untimely death resulted in the conquest not being consolidated as an empire in the subcontinent.
2 Mahmud of Ghazni
The Ghaznavid Empire, with capital in Ghazni, established control over Afghanistan. Mahmud succeeded Alaptagin and Subuktugin in 998.
- Northwest India was a fractured mishmash of warring kingdoms and presented an easy target for foreign invaders.
- Mahmud of Ghazni was a plunderer not a conqueror who ruled over those he fought. He plundered palaces, temples and was not interested in expanding his empire to India
- He later annexed Punjab to have an easy access to the rest of India.
2.1 Expeditions
| First expedition | 1000 AD | against the frontier towns |
| Second expedition | defeated Jaipal, the Hindushahi ruler of Punjab in the first battle of Waihind | |
| Jaipal committed suicide out of humiliation | ||
| Sixth expedition | Anandpala, the successor of Jaipal was defeated in the second battle of Waihind | |
| Anandpala was leading a confederacy of Ujjain, Gwalior, Kalinjar, Kannauj, Delhi and Ajmer | ||
| various expeditions | plundered numerous towns like Nagarkot, Thaneshwar, Kannauj, Mathura, Somnath | |
| Sixteenth expedition | 1025 AD | plundered Somnath (Shiva) temple on the Kathiawar coast |
| Jats attacked his army on his way back | ||
| Seventeenth expedition | 1027 AD | to punish the Jats, he returned to defeat them |
2.2 Intelligentsia
| Firdausi | poet also known as Homer of the East | wrote Shahnama |
| Al Biruni | Central Asian scholar | wrote Tahqiq-i-Hind, an account of India of that age |
| Utbi | court historian | wrote Kitab-ud-Yamini |
3 Ghur
Ghur came into prominence in 2nd half of the 12th century. Muiz-ud-din Muhammad Ghori overthrew the Ghaznavid Empire.
Alaudin Hussain burnt Ghazni to ashes and earned the sobriquet Jahan Soz (burner of world).
Ghiyas-ud-din and Muiz-ud-din Ghori (aka Shahab-ud-din Ghori) were two brothers who took the charge of expanding the empire westward and eastward respectively.
Muhammad Ghori was the first Islamic conqueror who was determined to carve out an empire in India.
| First invasion | 1175 AD | Against Qabacha in Multan |
| successfully captured | ||
| 1186 AD | Sindh captured | |
| 1186 | Punjab captured | |
| 1191 | First Battle of Tarain | |
| Ghori defeated by a confederacy of Rajputs led by Prithviraj Chauhan, the ruler of Delhi | ||
| 1192 | Second Battle of Tarain | |
| Prithviraj Chauhan defeated | ||
| Delhi and Ajmer captured | ||
| Chand Bagdai, a court poet wrote Prithviraj Raso wrote a fake account of Ghori being killed by Prithviraj | ||
| 1194 | Battle of Chhandwar | |
| defeated Jaichandra (Gahadvala Rajput of Kannauj) | ||
Ikhtyar-ud-din Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, one of his commander's led a successful campaign to annex Bihar and Bengal. Under his command, the Nalanda and Vikramshila Universities were destroyed.
Ghori died in 1206, leaving Qutb-ud-din Aibak in charge, who became the first Sultan of Delhi.