The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.98

v3.c20.98

In 1178 Muhammad sustained his first reverse on Indian soil. He rashly led an army by way of Multān, Uch, and the waterless Indian desert against Anhilvāra, or Pātan, the capital of Bhīm the Vāghela, the young raja of Gujarāt. His army arrived before Anhilvāra exhausted by its desert march and utterly unfit to encounter the fresh and numerous army of Bhīm. His troops fought with the valour which religious zeal inspires but were defeated, and compelled to retrace their steps across the inhospitable desert. The sufferings of the retreat far exceeded those of the advance and it was but a miserable remnant of the army that reached Ghaznī.