Second Battle of Tarain
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The Battles of Tarain, also known as the Battles of Taraori, were fought in 1191 and 1192 at the town of Tarain (Taraori), near Thanesar in present-day Haryana, approximately 150 kilometres north of Delhi, India.[1]
Background
Muḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī decided to extend the boundary of his kingdom. To realize his ambition, he made his first incursion into India in 1175 CE. After subduing the Isma'īlī Muslim heretics of Multan, he made an unsuccessful advance into Gujarat in 1178 CE. Nevertheless, he was successful in seizing Peshawar and building a fort at Sialkot in 1181 CE. With the help of the ruler of Jammu, Jāydēv, he put an end to the rule of the Ghaznavids in Panjab and captured Lahore in 1186 CE. With this the way was opened for him to push his conquests further into India.
Muḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī’s conquests had brought his kingdom right to Prithvīrāj's border, and in 1191 Muḥammad Ghorī captured a fortress, either Sirhind or Bathinda in in the present-day Indian State of Panjab, on Prithvīrāj's northwestern frontier. Prithvirāj's army, led by his vassal Govindā-Rāj of Delhi, rushed to the defense of the frontier, and the two armies met at Tarain.
The First Battle
The First Battle of Tarain, was fought in 1191 at the town of Tarain (Taraori), near Thanesar in present-day Haryana, approximately 150 kilometers north of Delhi. The battle pitted the armies of Muḥammad Shihābuddīn Ghorī, conqueror of the Ghaznavid Kingdom and northwestern India, against the armies of Prithvirāj III, a Rajput of the Chauhān clan who ruled the most powerful kingdom in northern India. Prithvirāj's army, led by his vassal Govindā-Rāj of Delhi, and assisted by Jaychandra, King of Kannauj and Banaras (now Varanasi), rushed to the defense of the frontier, and the two armies met at Tarain.
The armies clashed first with the charge of the Rajput cavalry. The two wings of the Turkic army were turned and fled while Muḥammad Ghorī held out in the centre with the body of the soldiers; here he met Govindā-Rāj in personal combat, and he lost his front teeth to Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī's lance. As the battle continued the Ghori army was exhausted, short of water, and unfamiliar with the scale of its opponent it retreated in apparent disarray towards the Afghan highlands. There also Mahumud Ghori was captured but he begged from prithiviraj for his life. Prithiviraj was very Generous king as well so he spared the life of Ghori and treated him as a king and ghori returned to Afghanistan with 500 Elephants which were given to him by Prithiviraj. But Prithiviraj didnt knew that only his this Generosity would prove fatal for him and Ghori would return next year with greater army strength. Prithiviraj was backstabbed from Ghori.
The Second Battle
The following year Sultan Muḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī returned to India with a large force numbering 120,000. When he reached Lahore, he sent his envoy to Prithvirāj Chauhān to demand his submission, but he refused to comply. Prithvirāj Chauhān then issued a fervent appeal to his fellow Rajput chiefs to come to his aid against the Muslim invader. About 150 Rajput chiefs responded to his call, though this time he lacked the support of Jaychāndra.
Prithvirāj too came up with a large army, a huge portion of which consisted of Indian war elephants, and proceeded with it to meet Sultan Muhammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī in Tarain where a year before he had inflicted a crushing defeat on his adversary, confident of defeating Ghori again. Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī delivered an ultimatum to Prithvirāj that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Prithvirāj countered with an offer that Muḥammad consider a truce, be allowed to retreat with his army. Sultan Muḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī decided to attack.
Ghori divided his troops into 5 parts and attacked the Rajput armies in the early morning hours sending waves of mounted archers to attack the Rajput forces, but retreated as the Rajput elephant phalanx advanced. Ghorī deployed four parts to attack the Rajputs on four sides keeping a fifth part of his army in reserve. Khānde Rāo (the General of Prithvirāj), was killed. The enthusiasm of Prithvirāj also dampened against these reverses. At dusk, Ghori led a force of heavily-armored horsemen to the center of the Rajput line which collapsed into confusion, Prithviraj deserted the battlefield and attempted to escape,[2][3] but was captured and killed by Ghori. The Rajput Army also broke ranks and fled, giving victory to Sultan Muhammad Shahab-ud-din Ghori.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
The Aftermath
After defeating Prithvirāj Chauhān, Muḥammad Ghorī marched onwards unchallenged towards Ajmer. Rajput kingdoms like Saraswati, Samana, Hansi and Kohram were captured without any difficulty. Finally his forces advanced on Delhi, capturing it soon after. Within a year Muḥammad Ghorī controlled northern Rajasthan and the northern part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab.
Muḥammad Ghorī spared the son of Prithvīrāj Chauhān, Golā, who in turn took the oath of loyalty to Ghori. Muḥammad Ghorī established an empire, with its capital at Delhi. He controlled much of Northern and central India. The Kingdom of Ajmer was then given over to Golā, on condition that he send regular tributes to the Ghorids.
Muslim Rule
Muhammad Ghori had no heirs and thus he treated his slaves as his sons. It is said that he trained thousands of Turkish slaves in the art of warfare and administration. Most of his slaves were given excellent education. During his reign many hardworking and intelligent slaves rose to positions of excellence. Once a courtier lamented; that Sultan has heirs. Ghori immediately replied;
Other monarchs may have one son, or two sons; I have thousands of sons, my Turkish slaves who will be the heirs of my dominions, and who, after me, will take care to preserve my name in the Khutbah throughout these territories.
Ghori's prediction proved true when he was succeeded by a dynasty of Turkish Slaves. Upon his death, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, Muhammad Ghori's most capable general, who had begun by sacking Ayodhya in 1193 A.D., took control of Muhammad's Indian conquests and declared himself the first Sultan of Delhi thus establishing Sultanate of Delhi in 1206 CE. Hence the most profound effect of Ghori's victory was the establishment of Muslim rule in India which would last for centuries and have great impact on life and culture of South Asia for centuries. As Paul K. Davis writes: [11]
Although Islam had been introduced into India several centuries previously, after this battle a Moslem ruled India, especially northern India, until the fall of the Moghul dynasty in 1857 .
See also
References
- ^ http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a790406179~db=all
- ^ Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (1206-1526) - I By Satish Chandra
- ^ History of the Rise of Mahommedan Power in India Translated by John Briggs
- ^ A History of India By August Friedrich Rudolf Hoernle, Herbert Alick Stark
- ^ The history of India from the earliest ages By James Talboys Wheeler
- ^ History of India By N. Jayapalan
- ^ Pakistan resolution revisited By K. F. Yusuf, Muhammad Saleem Akhtar, Syed Razi Wasti
- ^ Studies in medieval Indian history By Sri Ram Sharma
- ^ Outline of Indian history By Sri Ram Sharma
- ^ City of Djinns By William Dalrymple
- ^ Paul K. Davis, 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The World’s Major Battles and How They Shaped History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 132.
Bibliography
- Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. New Delhi: S. Chand
- Rottermund, H. K. (1998). A History of India. London: Routledge.