The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c10: Chapter VI

The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c10

Language: English

Chapter VI

c10.1

The dominant feature in the period following Iltutmish's death was the recovery of Hindu military energy. His work was nearly nullified when military stagnation, consequent upon the disorders described in the preceding pages, afforded an opportunity to the native powers, not only to recover their lost territories but even to make an attempt to expel the conquerors. They failed in the latter objective but succeeded in definitely putting a stop to further expansion.

c10.2

Reference has been made to the beginning of hostilities with the kings of Orissa. Narasinha 1, (1238-1264), "the second great king of the eastern Ganga dynasty,"¹ sensing the paralysing dissension that had seized the Turkish State, launched a vigorous drive against Lakhnauti and nearly succeeded in taking the city. Frequent raids across the Lakhanor frontier in the past appeared to have produced no retaliatory measure in Orissa, but Narasinha correctly assessed the Turkish strength. Taking advantage of Tughan Khan's failure in his Awadh expedition, the Orissan forces promptly attacked his frontier post in 641/1243². The action signalised the beginning of concentrated attack by the Hindu power not only in Bengal but on all fronts. Tughan Khan repulsed the attack and invaded Jajnagar in turn. He advanced as far as a place, named by the chronicler as "Katasin," probably located in the northeastern part of Narasinha's dominion¹. There, after a temporary success, Tughan's troops were routed. Retreating pell mell to his capital and with Narasinha's forces in close pursuit, Tughan sent an urgent appeal to Delhi for succour. This however, required time to arrive during which the Orissan army, under the command of one Samanta Rai, crossed the frontier and captured Lakhanor. As the invaders advanced towards Lakhnauti Tughan could only entrench himself within the city and helplessly watch the Hindus marching unopposed to his capital. In his desperation he offered battle but was easily defeated and compelled to withdraw into the city, which was now closely besieged. A timely news of the approach of the Delhi reinforcements under Tamur Khan, however, saved the situation, for Samanta Rai lost courage, raised the siege and withdrew; but on the way he thoroughly plundered the countryside².

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¹ Banerji: History of Orissa, I, p. 263.

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² Minhaj, p. 243. The author refers to the "Rai of Jajnagar", which scholars generally agree, must mean Orissa. The Muslims called the country by the name of its capital, probably identical with Jajpur, on the Vaitarani, which, till the 18th century, was called Jajnagar; JASB,

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¹ 1875, p. 285. Banerji thought Jajnagar referred to modern Jajallanagar in the Chattisgarh division of the Central provinces; *History of Orissa*, I, p, 249. On the Mahanadi, however, was a town called Jajatinagar, which might have been persianised into Jajnagar; see *EI*, III, p. 365. It is also mentioned in the *Pavanadutam* of Dhoyi, as the last stage before the wind-messenger reaches the *Suhma* country (south-central Bengal); *JASB*, 1905, p. 44.

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¹ Minhaj, p. 244. Raverty's identification of Katasin with Katasingh, on the Mahanadi, would place the eastern frontier of Orissa about 200 miles southwest of Bengal's present frontiers, whereas Orissa is known to have held considerable tracts of southwest Bengal; Banerji: *History of Orissa*, I, p. 264. N. Vasu's identification with the present Raibaniagarh in the Midnapur district seems more plausible; *Vangiya Sahitya Parishat Patrika*, XVI, p. 132, note 1.

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² Minhaj, p. 244-45.

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For the first time since Aibak’s days a native army invested a Muslim city and returned unmolested. It produced no tangible military result, except, possibly, the loss of the Lakhanor frontier station, but it thoroughly demonstrated the Sultanate’s weakness. The moral effect was almost magical and within a few years the whole of Hindu India awakened to aggressive military action.

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The subsequent course of the war with Orissa has not been chronicled; Tamur Khan and Masud Jani’s rule is not known in detail. It seems unreasonable to believe that Orissa assumed a pacific attitude after such a triumph. The frontier town of Lakhanor is not mentioned again; an extension of Narasinha’s dominions in Bengal can well be presumed. Some such development, in any event, led to the renewal of hostilities soon after Yuzbak’s appointment in 1253-54. After two victories on Orissan soil he suffered a defeat. In magnitude it must have been similar to that of Tughan, for like him he appealed to Delhi for assistance. On the arrival of reinforcements he invaded Orissa for the fourth time and pushed as far as Umardan or Amardan—for different variants are found in the texts—“the capital of the Rai” and is even stated to have captured his treasure and family¹. It is extremely doubtful if this ‘victory’ proved decisive or resulted in any territorial advantage, for Narasinha also claimed not only to have defeated the “Javanas” but also to have reached the Ganges victoriously after despatching “the Javanas of Rarh and Varendri”². Besides, Umardan, the place reported to have been

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¹ Minhaj, p. 262-63.

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² JASB, LXV, p. 229-37. In a Sanskrit work named Ekavali, Narasinha is called “the master of the Javana Kingdom”; see Banerji: History of Orissa, p. 267; Banglar Itihasa, II, p. 75.

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Yuzbak’s campaign.

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captured, can hardly refer to any place in the interior of Orissa, much less to Narasinha’s capital; a very plausible suggestion is to look for it in the Arambagh subdivision of the Hooghly district¹. Yuzbak’s victory, at best, must have been gained over some local feudatory on the frontier; a probable recovery of a part of the lost territories on this region cannot be ruled out. It was obviously to commemorate some such local gain, either in territory, or in tribute, that he issued a silver coin in 653/1255, allegedly struck “from the *Kharaj* of Arazbadan (Umardan)”².

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¹ M. Chakravarti, in *JASB*, V, (N.S.), p. 216-17, suggests that it may refer to Mandar or Mandaran, on the borders of Midnapur, a place of considerable antiquity. Throughout the medieval period the fort at Mandaran held great strategic importance and commanded the highway from Burdwan to Orissa. See also Raverty’s note, *Trans. Tab. Nas.* p. 763.

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² *CCIM*, II, p. 146, No. 61.

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After Yuzbak’s death no further conflict with Orissa is recorded by the Muslim historians, although the continuance of a state of belligerancy should perhaps be presumed. It may be mentioned here that a grant of Narasinha II, dated in 1296 A. D. states that it was issued while the king was encamped on the Ganges in the course of a “conquering expedition”³. Apparently the Orissa kings retained their possessions in south west Bengal; with Balban’s abandonment of the policy of expansion, Lakhnauti barely managed to exist.

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³ *JASB*, LXV, p. 229; also Vasu, N.N., *Viswakosa*, article on *Gangeya*; cf. Banerjee: *History of Orissa*, I, p. 273.

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The inclusion of the name of “Nodia” by Yuzbak in the commemorative coin mentioned above, is the only definite evidence of territorial extension after Bakhtiyar’s occupation of the Lakhanor-Lakhnauti-Devkot area. Whether after Lakshmanasena’s death the Senas permanently retired from southwest Bengal is a moot point; there is certainly no evidence of Muslim occupation of the Bhagirathi region after Bakhtiyar’s return from Nadia. Petty princes, independent after Lakshmana’s death, ruled in Southern Bengal and an extension of their dominion over Nadia and its neighbourhood, cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, the Ganga kings of Orissa held the greater portion of the *Rarh* country and were as yet in full possession of their power. Their past hostility with the Senas, the contiguity of their possessions with Nadia and the frequent references to their ‘reaching the Ganges’,—meaning undoubtedly the Bhagirathi—all point to the probability that they took advantage of the Sena weakness and occupied the Suhma country. The mention of “Nodia” along with “Arzbadan”—if the latter is really to be identified with Umardan of the chronicle—also seems to suggest that both the places were captured from the same enemy and probably in course of the same war. The mention of revenue (*kharaj*) being collected from Nadia, as also from Arzbadan, should perhaps indicate direct annexation.

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Recorded operations in east Bengal (Bang and Kamrud) were confined to occasional raids with little territorial advantage. Lakshmana’s successors, Kesava and Viswarupa, frequently claim to have defeated and repulsed the “*Javanas*”.¹ After Saifuddin Aibak we do not hear of any expeditions to ‘Bang’ till the time of Yuzbaki, who, as noticed above, was dispossessed of Lakhnauti while campaigning in the East.

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¹ *JASB*, 1896, pp. 9-15; X, (N.S.), pp. 99-104.

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The neighbouring kingdom of Kamrup also proved a strong military power and the elephant-hunting expeditions by the Lakhnauti governors proved more hazardous than before. Kamrup was an extensive kingdom comprising the country from the Karatoya and north-eastern Mymensingh to Gauhati, where the capital seems to have been located. Since Bakhtiyar's ill-fated expedition no large-scale attempt had been made to penetrate the Brahmaputra valley. Kamrup thus gathered sufficient strength to deal a crushing blow to any one emulating Bakhtiyar's example. The ambitious Yuzbak fell into this trap. Considering Lakhnauti too small for his ambitions, shortly after 1255, he collected a large force and crossed the Karatoya into Kamrup. He met no resistance, for the king, adopting his traditional strategy, withdrew to the hills and allowed the invader to march unopposed to the capital. Yuzbak there proclaimed himself king of 'Lakhnauti and Kamrup' and instituted the Friday religious services; "the signs of Islam thus became manifest in Kamrup." The Hindu king then sent to offer his submission and requested to be restored as a tributary vassal promising to continue the "coin and the khutba in Yuzbak's name." The latter refused the offer and evidently meant to stay there. Relying on the country's flourishing crops and with a criminal lack of foresight he, foolishly however, sold all his grain stock to the agents of the Kamrup king who in pursuance of his plan, meant to starve the invaders. A terrible situation therefore confronted Yuzbak when he found the entire harvest destroyed by the flood caused by deliberate cutting of the embankments by the Hindu forces. Faced with the prospect of utter starvation he thereupon resolved to withdraw. The route through the plains having been rendered impassable by the floods, he

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Invasion of Kamrup.

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had to move along the foot of the Garo and Khasi hills towards Mymensingh. As the army proceeded through the narrow defiles, the Kamrup forces came up in the rear and, assisted by the hill people, literally annihilated the entire army. Yuzbak himself was wounded and taken prisoner and later died of his wounds¹. It was a reverse similar in magnitude to that of Bakhtiyar and further emboldened the north Indian princes to become increasingly aggressive.

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¹ Minhaj, pp. 263-65. On his way to Kamrup Yuzbak is reported to have crossed the Bagmati; this must refer either to the Karatoya or the Brahmaputra. See note 3, supra p. 77. Raverty asserts that the Kamrup capital was at Kamtapur, on the Darlah river, far to the west of Gauhati; Trans. Tab. Nas., p. 764, note. But the capital was not transferred from Gauhati till towards the end of the 13th century. See Barua: History of Kamrup, p. 199. Two coins of Yuzbak dated 653 were discovered at Gauhati; JASB, 1910, p. 261.

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Muslim hold on Magadha (South Bihar) was never extensive; only a narrow strip along the Ganges containing the original possession of Uddandapur Vihar, carried the route from Benares through the Shahabad, Patna, Monghyr and Bhagalpur districts. To the south, independent princes surviving the Sena-Gahdvala dominion, held sway. Tibetan records extend the rule of the line of princes calling themselves Pithipatis, whose inscriptions have been discovered round Bodhgaya, far into the 13th century and describe them as vassals of the Turks². In Bodhgaya itself are records inscribed by the ruling chiefs of Kama (Kumaon) and Sapadalaksha, whose dates suggest a continuous occupation of the district by the Hindus, upto, at least, the reign of Balban³. It is uncertain if the Mahanayakas of Rhotasgarh, one of whose feudatories is found donating lands near Sasaram in 1197¹, survived in the 13th century, but extension of Muslim power towards the south, in the first half of the century, is certainly not indicated by the chronicles; nor does it seem probable. On the contrary, even the town of Bihar appears to have suffered from Hindu aggression; for early in the reign of Mahmud, the governor, Kuret Khan, is said to have lost his life in repelling what was evidently a siege². By what process Muslim power was re-established in the region is not known; it should in any case, be supposed to have preceded Balban's accession, for in 1265 Bihar was certainly in Muslim control. Recognition of Balban's suzerainty is implied by the inclusion of his name (written Birubana) in a Sanskrit inscription of a resident of Gaya, named Vanaraja, dated in V.S. 1325/1268 A.D.³. If credence is to be placed in the bardic annals recounting Rajput attempts in the 13th century to free Gaya and other holy places from the Turks⁴, direct annexation of the district must be presumed, which seems highly improbable. Balban's declared policy of defensive consolidation would accord, at best, only with an acknowledgment of his paramountcy, most probably, as the Tibetan account asserts, from the Pithipatis.

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² Ray: Dynastic History, I, p. 939; IA, 1875, p. 366; 1919, p. 47; DHBI, pp. 259-61. The last date on their inscriptions so far discovered however, corresponds to 1202-3; IA, 1890, pp. 1-3.

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³ Asokacalla, the king of Kama, his brother and his priest figure in these inscriptions which are dated in the years La. Sam. 51/1170-71, 74/1193-94, and the year 1813 of the Nirvana era which, according to Fleet, should correspond to 1270, A.D. EI, XII, p. 27; JASB, V, p. 658;

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¹ EI, XXII, p. 222.

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² Minhaj, p. 259.

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³ Cunningham: Reports, III, p. 27; also Kielhorn's list: EI, V, No. 23.

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⁴ Gaya Gazetteer, p. 28.

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As a continuous process, Hindu aggression was most in evidence along the Sultanate's southern frontier.

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IA, X, p. 346; JASB, 1913, p. 72-73. For Fleet's calculation see JASB, 1909, p. 48-49. Bhandarkar, however, holds that the year 1813 of the Nirvana era should correspond to 1175; EI, XX, Appendix, p. 199, see also Kielhorn's list: EI, V. p. 79, inscr. No, 575. Bhagvanlal Indraji's calculation made it correspond to 1182; IA, 1887, p. 341. See also JASB, XVII, (N.S.), p. 13.

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Iltutmish's recovery plan, as it appears, had only a temporary success, for after him, his dominions were subjected to even greater encroachments. Two grants found at Rewah, issued by the Maharanaka of Kakkaredi, and dated in 1240 and 1241 respectively, acknowledge Trailokyavarma of Kalinjar as the overlord, thus proving an extension of Chandella power to the east¹. An extension towards the west also is indicated by the discovery, at Jhansi, of a Chandella inscription dated in 1263 A.D.² The Dahi copper plate of Viravarma dated in V. S. 1337/1280, records the donation of some villages to a man who had conquered "the Turushkas, the rajas of Nalpur, (Narwar) Gopal Madhuban (Mathurah) and Gopagiri (Gwalior)"³. Viravarma, in another of his grants dated in 1254, and his successor Hammiravarma, in that of 1289, call themselves "Lords of Kalinjar"⁴. From the traditions current around Mahoba and Hamirpur, in the northwest of Bundelkhand, this part appears to have been recovered by the Bhar Rajputs who ruled from about 1252 to at least 1280⁵. Just south of the Jumna, within less than hundred miles from the 'iqta' of Karra, a new dynasty rose in what is now Bundelkhand. According to the chronicles of the Baghelas of Rewah, Vyaghra, the founder of the dynasty, made himself master of most of the countries between Kalpi and Chunar, while his son, Karna Deva, subsequently added the valley of the Tons river¹. Most of the countries south of the Jumna thus passed to the Rajputs.

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¹ IA, 1888, p. 230; Cunningham: Reports XXI, p. 246-7; see also Ray; Dynastic History, II, p. 728.

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² EI, V, p. 33, No. 227; IA, XIX, p. 179, No. 128.

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³ Cunningham: Reports, XXI, p. 75. The grant is now lost.

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⁴ EI, XX, p. 132 and 135.

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⁵ JASB, 1881, pp. 32-37. Cf. JASB, 1902 page 99, where, on the authority of a 17th century history of the Bundelas, their rise to power under Bir Bundela is placed in the first half of the 13th century. Bundela rule is stated to have extended from Kalpi to Kalinjar and also over Awadh and the Doab.

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¹ Cunningham: *Reports*, XXI, p. 104; see also *MASI*, No. 21, p. 12.

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Expeditions undertaken against the Hindu princes in this region had a limited success; they merely underlined the military problem. Tamur Khan, the governor of Awadh, is described as having led several expeditions to plunder the territory of "Bhatighor," an old name of the Tons valley², evidently against the rising Baghela power³. Malik Kikluk, the governor of Budaun, is also said to have been preparing to lead his forces into Kalinjar and Mahoba when he died of poison⁴. In 645/1247 Balban himself led a strong force against a Hindu chief whom Minhaj calls 'Dalaki-wa-Malaki'. He was reported to have established himself in the country between Kalinjar and Karra and was described as "independent of the *Rais* of Kalinjar and Malwah and immensely powerful"⁵. But Balban succeeded only in plundering a portion of his territory and capturing his stronghold; the chief after a severe resistance, was able to withdraw with all his forces⁶.

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² Cunningham: *op. cit.* XXI, p. 154.

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³ Minhaj, p. 247.

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⁴ *Ibid*, p. 257.

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⁵ *Ibid*, p. 291; Cunningham, *op. cit.* XXI, p. 106, identified this person with Dalakeswar and Malakeswar of the Baghela chronicles. Smith tried to read in this the name of the Bhar chieftain, supposed to have been ruling in Etah, Cawnpur, Fatehpur, etc., called Tiloki and Biloki; *JASB*, 1881, p. 34. Ray, thinks that he may be identical with Trailokyavarma of the Chandella dynasty; *Dynastic History*, II, p. 720-30.

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⁶ Minhaj, p. 211 and 292.

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In the neighbourhood of Gwalior, south of the Jumna, an equally strong power established itself in the person of Chaharadeva, who supplanted the Pariharas of Narwar sometime after 1247 and founded the Jajapella dynasty. We have had occasion to refer to his rising power in connection with Malik Tayasai's campaigns

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The Jajapellas of Narwar.

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towards the end of Iltutmish's reign. The earliest date on his coins found in Gwalior, Jhansi and Narwar, cannot be anterior to 1233¹. His power must have grown rapidly for, soon after his establishment at Narwar, the Muslim chronicler refers to him as "the greatest of all the *Rais* of Hindusthan and in command of a great army"². From Narwar he commenced operation against the Muslim garrison of Gwalior. It was obviously to reinforce the fortress that Raziah early in her reign, sent an expedition under Tamur Khan³, towards "Gwalior and Malwah". The position, however, soon became untenable and not long afterwards she sent another force to withdraw the military and civil personnel and escort it back to Delhi. Gwalior had thus to be abandoned to Chaharadeva who therein found a securer base for aggressions against the Muslim dominions. In 649/1251 Balban found it necessary to lead a full-scale expedition against the "Rana Chahir Ajari". The extent of his dominions is probably indicated by the mention of "Gwalior, Chanderi, Narwar and Malwah" towards which Balban marched his forces on this occasion⁴. Though he gained some success and even managed to capture Narwar and also Gwalior, Chaharadeva's discomfiture proved temporary⁵. For, from the evidence of coins, he certainly ruled in independence upto at least 1259⁶. Records of his successors have also been found in Gwalior and Narwar. The last date on the coins of his successor Asalladeva is probably 1283; the last two princes of the dynasty, named Gopala and Ganapati, are known from coins and inscriptions whose dates range from V.S. 1337 to 1355/1280 to 1298¹.

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¹ Cunningham: *Coins of Medieval India*, p. 93; Thomas: *Chronicles* p. 70.

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² Minhaj, p. 215-16.

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³ Ibid, p. 247.

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⁴ Ibid, p. 215. *Cf.* Cunningham: *Coins of Medieval India*, p. 91 and *EI*, VII, p. 223-24, where this Chaharadeva is mixed up with Naharadeva (Nahardeo) who according to Minhaj, ruled in Ranthambhor.

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⁵ Minhaj, pp. 216, 278, and 297.

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⁶ Cunningham: *Coins of Medieval India*, p. 93.

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¹ *IA*, 1918, p. 241.

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The hold on Rajputana was also seriously jeopardised. After Iltutmish's death a concentrated attack was opened on Ranthambhor by the dispossessed Chauhanas under the leadership of Bhagavata. Early in the reign of Raziah Chauhana pressure compelled her to send reinforcements to relieve the garrison. Like Gwalior the fortress was however, found difficult to hold; its fortifications were therefore dismantled and the garrison withdrawn². The *Hammira-Maha-Kavya*, while referring to this liberation of Ranthambhor and the foundation therein of the later Chauhana dynasty, adds that Bhagavata entered into an alliance with the "Kharaparas" who are stated to have long been in hostility with the Muslims³. The extent of the Chauhana dominion at this time is difficult to determine; the territory called Mewat by the Muslim writers, which is always coupled with Ranthambhor by Minhaj, probably acknowledged Chauhana rule. It is also likely that they exercised suzerainty over the collateral dynasty of Bundi which, according to Tod, was founded a few years earlier⁴. In an inscription found in the Kotah state, Jaitra Sinha, the son and successor of Bhagavata, is mentioned as having repeatedly defeated the Paramaras of Malwah and at the end imprisoned the king at Ranthambhor¹. The revival of Chauhana power and the extension of its paramountcy was thus a factor which worked against the continuance of Muslim rule in Rajputana. The Guhelots of Mewar were also rising in power at this time; in his inscriptions which range in date from 1213 to 1252, Jaitrasinha claims to have defeated the rulers of Malwah, Gujrat, Marwar, and also the Turushkas². Suggestive of the diminishing hold of the Muslims in Rajputana is the fact that we no longer hear of the iqtas of Lawah, Kasili and Sambhar which figured not infrequently in the account of Iltutmish's reign.

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² Minhaj, p. 187.

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³ *IA*, 1879, p. 63. Raziah is referred to under the name of Jalaluddin, the official name which she used in some of her coins and inscriptions; see CCIM, II, p. 2, and No. 93; also the Sanskrit inscription at Palam, dated in 1280-81: *EIM*, 1913, p. 43. Cf. Ray: op. cit, II, p. 1095. The Kharaparas seem to be identical with the 'Kharaparas' mentioned as a Hindu army commanded by the governor of the 'Chedi country, under Mahmud, the ruler of Joginipura', in an inscription, dated in 1328, and found near Damoh in the Central privinces; *EI*, XIII, p. 44. For their suggested identification with the Khekaras (Khokars) see *IA*, 1879, P. 64.

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⁴ *Annals*, II, p. 459; Erskine: *Rajputana Gazetteer*, p. 236-37.

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¹ Quoted in Ojha : Rajputana, I, p. 203.

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² Vienna Oriental Journal, XXI; "The Chirwa Inscription". IA, 1928, p. 32; see also Bhavnagar Inscriptions, p. 93.

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To curb the growing power of the Chauhanas Balban led an expedition in 646/1248 towards Ranthambhor and Mewat³. The chronicle records the destruction of a great number of towns, but Balban was evidently repulsed in his attack on the fortress in course of which one of his leading generals was killed⁴. That he could make little headway against Ranthambhor on this occasion is proved by the fact that during his banishment from the court to his iqta of Nagaur, he is reported to have successfully raided the territories of "Ranthambor, Bundi and Chitrur (Chitor)"⁵. Although the Rai, whom Minhaj calls Nahardeo, opposed him with a large force, Balban is yet credited with returning with immense booty and spoils⁵. Such expeditions were continued until his accession; in 657/1258 we are told of a similar expedition against the "infidels of Ranthambhor", who however, do not appear to have suffered any appreciable loss¹.

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³ Minhaj, p. 213.

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⁴ Ibid, p. 293-94.

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⁵ Ibid, p. 299; see IA, 1928, p. 32 for a reference to this event in an inscription of Jaitra Sinha of Chitor.

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¹ Minhaj, p. 266.

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Reference has been made in a previous section to the establishment of a branch of the Jadon Bhatti Rajputs of Bayana, in what the chronicle describes as the ‘koh-payah of Mewat’, in northern Alwar. These Rajputs, it is generally admitted, were the projenitors of the Mews and the Khanzadahs, who came into prominence early in the 16th century, and who, according to Cunningham, were not converted to Islam until the reign of Firoz Tughluq² Throughout the 13th century, therefore, the whole of Mewat was held by the Hindu Jadon Bhattis who almost isolated the Muslim stronghold of Bayana. Allying themselves with the Chauhanas and other dynasties in eastern Rajputana they commenced what should be termed a guerilla war against the Muslims. Early in the reign of Bahram, Balban was obliged to send punitive columns from his iqta of Riwari (in the Gurgaon district, near Mewat) against the ‘Hindu rebels of Kohpayah’³. The frequent mention of Ranthambhor in connection with operations in Mewat⁴ connects the Mewati ‘rebellion’ with the Chauhanas and makes it exceedingly probable that the alleged Mewati trouble was but an organised offensive against Delhi. The Rajputs even carried the offensive into the Delhi territory itself. In 655/1256 when Mahmud’s government was pre-occupied with Qutlugh Khan’s rebellion and the Mongol advance, the Mewatis under a man named Malka, made a daring raid on Hansi and carried away cattle which they distributed among the Rajputs living as far as Ranthambhor¹. They also raided the districts of ‘Harianah (Delhi province), Siwalikh and Bayana.’ Towards the end of Mahmud’s reign they grew bolder and committed robbery and loot in the capital itself in broad daylight. In 658/1258 Balban led two apparently ineffective expeditions. All he achieved was to plunder a few Mewati villagers, slaying a number of them including Malka². The opening remarks in Barani’s history sufficiently prove the continued intensity of this Rajput aggression. The power of Ranthambhor grew rapidly under Jaitrasinha and his more famous son, the valorous Hammira. In the latter’s inscription, Jaitrasinha is credited with having vanquished the kings of Malwa, Ambar and also of ‘Kerkalagiri’³. Hammira asserted his supremacy over Malwah, Chitor, Mewar, Abu, Ajmer, Sambhar and the whole of northern Rajputana⁴. Even the Rawal Samarasinha of Mewar is described as having “lifted the deeply sunk Gurjara land high out of the Turushka sea”⁵.

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² Cunningham: Reports, XX, p. 11. Minhaj always refers to the Mewatis as infidels. See also Ojha: Rajputana, I, p. 238.

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³ Minhaj, p. 285.

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⁴ See for instance, pp. 213 and 292.

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¹ Minhaj, p. 313.

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² Ibid, pp. 314-316.

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³ EI, XIX, p. 45-47.

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⁴ IA, 1879, p. 64-65.

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⁵ IA, 1887, p. 347.

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In the southwest, the Chauhanas of Jalor also repudiated the vassalage imposed by Iltutmish on Udaisinha. His successor, Chachigadeva, not only asserted his independence but, as appears from inscriptions, assumed a conquering role and wrested Mandor from the Paramaras⁶; his successors finally annexed their capital at Chandravati, towards the end of the century⁷. On the extreme west of Rajputana, the Bhattis of Jaisalmer effectually blocked the Muslims from getting a foothold in that region¹.

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⁶ EI, XI, pp. 55-73. Even Udaisinha seems to have reasserted his independence soon after his defeat by Iltutmish; see Bombay Gazetteer, I, part I, pp. 474-76.

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⁷ EI, IX, p. 87; Ojha: Rajputana, I, p. 180.

c10.80

¹ Cf. Tod: *Annals*, I, p. 247, who asserts that a certain Muzaffar Khan, governor of Nagaur, was defeated by Kurramdeo (1251-71). See also *CHI*, III, p. 531.

c10.81

The authority of Delhi was thus being negatived almost everywhere. Even in Awadh and the Doab, the heart of the kingdom, Hindus found means to assume an aggressive attitude. In 642/1244 the tribes of "Jarali and Datoli" in the Doab, were reported to have infested the highways and forests of Hindusthan². It took Balban two sanguinary expeditions in 1244 and 1249 to obtain a temporary control over the area³. A Hindu chief captured the fort of Talsandah in the district of Kanouj and a strong force had to be despatched to recover it in 645/1247⁴. In the trans-Gangetic area, the Katehriyas, from their stronghold at Ahicchatra, frequently raided the districts of Budaun and Sambhal. An expedition led by the governor of Budaun in 1242, in which a number of the 'Katehriya infidels were overthrown,' was apparently ineffective, for in 1254 another attempt had to be made on a larger scale⁵. Led by Balban himself, the Delhi forces on this occasion, crossed the Ganges and advanced upto Bijnour and Bardar as far as the Ramganga. The Katehriyas offered sustained resistance and killed one of Balban's officers⁶. Although the chronicle states that they were punished in an exemplary manner on this occasion, in reality they were far from being effectively reduced. They appeared with even greater strength early in the reign of Balban. The success of Kashlu Khan, the governor of Meerut, who is reported to have reduced a portion of Rohilkhand across the Ganges near Bijnour and to have "overthrown *Ranahs* and other independent Hindu tribes inhabiting places as far as Rurki and Miapur"¹ could be hardly permanent. The only tangible result of his operations seemed to be the establishment of a military outpost in Amroha, for the first time mentioned as an iqta early in the reign of Balban².

Linked texts (22)

Hammīramahākāvya — Nayacandrasūri, Sanskrit
Epigraphia Indica
Indian Antiquary
Ahicchatra
Ambari
Mandor
Bilsar
Chanderi
Bayâna
Alwar
Gurgaon
Narwar
Jālor
Sambhal
Bijnor
Kannauj
Panjor
Sambhar
Marwari
Riwar
Ekāvalī — Vidyādhara, Sanskrit
Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī — Minhāj al-Dīn Jūzjānī