The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c7.s1.6

c7.s1.6

Inspired by such belligerent injunctions, Muhammad bin Qasim (and later on other invaders) started on the Indian expedition with a large force. On the way the governor of Makran, Muhammad Harun, supplied reinforcements and five catapults. His artillery which included a great ballista known as the Bride, and was worked by five hundred men, had been sent by sea to meet him at Debal.⁷ Situated on the sea-coast the city of Debal was so called because of its Deval or temple. It contained a citadel-temple with stone walls as high as forty yards and a dome of equal height. Qasim arrived at Debal in late 711 or early 712 C.E. with an army of at least twenty thousand horse and footmen.⁸ Add to this the Jat and Med mercenaries he enlisted under his banner in India.⁹