The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c13.19

c13.19

The exact spot where, in 1221, this first wave of Mongol eruption touched Indian soil is still a matter of speculation². It is certain, however, that it lay not very far from the Salt Range through which, according to most of the early writers, Mangbarni made his way into the Sind Sagar Doab. Fortunately for Delhi, Changiz did not think it necessary to persue him across the river, but engaged himself in reducing the Ighraki tribesmen who inhabited the northern reaches of the Kabul river and who had furnished contingents to the Khwarizmi forces³; his sons, Tuli and Chagatai, were sent to reduce Khurasan, Kerman and Ghazni⁴. Changiz lingered near the Indus for three months and is said to have contemplated returning to Qaraqoram through India, by way of "Lakhnauti and Kamrud and through the Qarachal mountains"⁵. He is even reported to have sent envoys to Delhi, soliciting the necessary permission from Iltutmish. Whether the Delhi Sultan could effectively stop the Mongol if he decided to march through inspite of his reported refusal, is highly doubtful. That Changiz yet respected Delhi’s sovereignty and in the winter of 1222, marched back through the Hindukush, speaks well of his moderation and his scrupulous observance of international practice¹.