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The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c25: 19. The North-Western Frontier Policy : Mongol Invasions

The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c25

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19. The North-Western Frontier Policy : Mongol Invasions

The problem : the scientific frontier of India

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[During the medieval period, when steam-ships were unknown our country was vulnerable in the north-western corner only, as the eastern Himalayas and the Assam hills—the only other part that could yield passage to a foreign invader—were too difficult in that age to be crossed by an army of invasion. It was through this passage that foreign invaders entered India during ancient and medieval times. The policy of our rulers through the ages, therefore, was to defend the north-western frontier. But this frontier, owing to the peculiar configuration of the mountain ranges in the area, could not be successfully defended and controlled without an effective military possession and control of the area extending from Kabul *via* Ghazni to Kandhar which commands routes to the fertile valleys of the Panjab. The Kabul-Ghazni-Kandhar line, flanked by the Hindukush, may, therefore, be correctly designated as the "scientific frontier of India.]' Side by side with acquiring and defending this line, it was equally essential to control the turbulent tribes that inhabited the region lying between Kashmir and the sea, as through this belt of land ran the main passages from the Panjab to the above line and *vice versa*. The enormity of the problem was heightened by the presence of war-like and independent tribes, like the Khokhars in the Salt Range region, situated in the northern half of the Sindh Sagar Doab. The Khokhars carried their depredations into the heart of the Panjab and added to the difficulties connected with the protection and defence of our north-western frontier during the medieval age.

The actual frontier, 1206—1217

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The problem did not present any special difficulty to the Ghaznavide rulers of the Panjab during the 11th and 12th centuries, as Kabul, Ghazni and Kandhar belonged to them. Nor was their successor, Muhammad of Ghur, called upon to meet an unprecedented emergency for the same reason. But, after Muhammad's death, the first Sultan of Delhi, Qutub-ud-din Aibak, made a feeble attempt to reach the scientific frontier of India by occupying Ghazni in 1208. He met with failure and had to abandon Ghazni. Soon after this, the Sultan was faced with a new problem. Ghazni had been annexed by the Khwarizm emperor, the eastern frontier of which now touched the Indus. As the infant Delhi Sultanate came into contact with a powerful neighbour, its north-western frontier was directly threatened. But, fortunately, the boundary between the Delhi Sultanate and the Khwarizm empire, which was the river Indus, remained undisturbed, as, owing to the rapid expansion of the Mongols, the Khwarizm empire itself was trembling for its safety. Within a decade the danger overtook the empire; the ferocious Mongols tore the Central Asian Muslim State to pieces and occupied its territories, including Afghanistan, Ghazni and Peshawar. The river Indus, thus, ceased to be the north-western boundary of the Sultanate and its frontier was pushed back into the interior of the Panjab. In view of these developments there was no question of the Sultan's trying to obtain control of the "scientific frontier of India." The problem before them, throughout the thirteenth century, was how to retain what they had possessed, namely, the country enclosed by a line stretching from Sialkot to Nandanah in the Salt Range, which Iltutmish had brought under his possession soon after 1217.

Iltutmish and the Mongols

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By 1220 the Mongol hordes under their great leader, Changiz Khan, had brought about the complete annihilation of the Khwarizm empire and driven its ruler, Ala-ud-din Muhammad, into the Caspian Sea to die there (1220). Ala-ud-din's heir, Jalal-ud-din Mangbarni, too, fled in terror from Khurasan to Ghazni. As Changiz pursued him from Talkan, he quitted Ghazni and fled to the frontier of our country. Being overtaken on the Indus, he was obliged to turn back and fight, but he was defeated. In sheer desperation he sent his family in a boat to be drowned in the Indus, and, flinging his own horse into the river, crossed over to the left bank and sneaked into the Sindh Sagar Doab. It was lucky that Changiz Khan, who stayed near the right bank of the Indus for three months, did not decide to pursue the fugitive prince across the river and thus violate the independence of the Sultanate of Delhi. Had he chosen to do so, the nascent Turkish kingdom in India would have succumbed to the Mongol onslaught, as the older and more powerful Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia had already done. But Iltutmish seems to have arrived at some kind of understanding with the Mongol leader, whereby he had, probably, agreed not to provide any shelter or protection to the fugitive Mangbarni. At any rate, he wisely followed the policy of keeping the Khwarizm prince at an arm’s length so as to avoid giving provocation to the Mongols. In view of the Sultan’s friendly attitude, Changiz’s reported decision to return to Karaqoram through India, for which he is said to have asked Iltutmish’s permission, was abandoned and the Sultanate was saved from a great catastrophe. Changiz Khan returned to his country through the Hindukush in the winter of 1222.

Effect of Mangbarni’s activity in Sindh

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Though Changiz scrupulously respected India’s sovereignty, his followers continued to harass Mangbarni and made a number of raids on the *cis*-Indus region. The Khwarizm prince, after entering the Salt Range, collected a small army, defeated the Hindu chief of the Salt Range and prepared to carve out a kingdom for himself. Changiz Khan, thereafter, sent an army from Ghazni to pursue the fugitive prince. Mangbarni, therefore, retreated towards Lahore and sent an envoy, Ain-ul-mulk, to Delhi to request for shelter. Iltutmish refused it on the plea that the climate of Delhi would not suit him. Mangbarni, therefore, made an alliance with the Khokhar chief who gave his daughter in marriage to him, besides supplying him with military assistance. The Mongol troops, who were sent to pursue the prince did not follow him into the Panjab, probably because they had been instructed by Changiz Khan not to do so. They only plundered the neighbourhood of the Salt Range.

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Assisted by a Khokhar army, Mangbarni invaded the territory of Nasir-ud-din Qubachah, who fled to Multan. He captured Sehwan, besides some other important places, and even sent an expedition to Anhilwara from where he obtained some booty. Another Mongol army now appeared in his pursuit. Mangbarni, therefore, left India, by way of Makran, for Iraq in 1224.

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The result of his three years’ stay in the western Panjab and Sindh was that the Mongols brought the *cis*-Indus tracts under their influence. The Mongol army under Turai captured Nandanah and proceeded to Multan. He besieged Qubachah in that city. Multan was about to fall when excessive heat compelled the Mongols to withdraw. While on the return journey, they plundered the districts of Lahore and Multan. Even after their return, the Panjab and Multan continued to remain in a state of turmoil. The tribes of the Salt Range became bolder than before and attempted to take advantage of the confusion. They occupied the whole of the northern part of the Sindh Sagar Doab and spread further east beyond the river Bias and plundered Lahore. Only Baniyan, west of the Indus, remained in the hands of Hasan Qarlugh, a lieutenant of Mangbarni. Another officer of Mangbarni, named Hasan Pai, held possession of the most of Qubachah's territory, including Multan. The Mongol movement crushed Qubachah's power and gave Iltutmish an opportunity to defeat him and annex his territory, including Multan and Uch. About the year 1228 the Delhi Sultanate, thus, came into direct contact with the Mongols, who had made Afghanistan their base of operations.

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In 1229 the Mongols had decided on permanent conquest and annexation of Khurasan and Afghanistan. This policy led to a series of Mongol operations in the territories lying just beyond the north-western frontier of the Delhi kingdom. In 1235 the Mongols captured Siestan in western Afghanistan. After that year they crossed into Derajat valley leading to upper Sindh. At the same time, they pushed into the upper Indus region. Owing to these hostile movements Hasan Qarlugh found his position untenable in Baniyan and decided to carve out a kingdom for himself in Sindh. He even wanted to form an anti-Mongol alliance with Delhi; but Raziah, who was the ruler of Delhi at this time, refused to entangle herself in the affair and thus court Mongol hostility. Her policy of friendly neutrality obliged the Mongols not to violate the territory of the Sultanate. Nevertheless, the inner frontier of the Sultante was pushed back to the Chinab.

Multan, Sindh and West Panjab in Mongol hands

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With the fall of Raziah in 1240 came to an end Delhi's understanding with the Mongols. In 1241 Bahadur Tair, at the head of a huge Mongol army, crossed the Indus and, for the first time, besieged Lahore. The governor fled to save his skin, but the people of the city put up a brave resistance. They had, however, to submit. The Mongols destroyed the town and its defences. After their return, only a part of the *iqta* of Lahore reverted to the possession of Delhi.

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The river Ravi now became the virtual boundary between the Sultanate and the Mongol sphere of influence.

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In 1245 Multan and Sindh were also lost to Delhi. The former was captured by Hasan Qarlugh, while the latter was in the possession of the descendants of the rebel Kabir Khan. These two provinces were recovered by Balban during the reign of Alauddin Masud Shah (1245).

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The next Mongol invasion was undertaken by Sali Bahadur who besieged Multan in 1247. He raised the siege on getting an idemnity of one lakh *dinars*. Next, he proceeded to Lahore whose governor was compelled to pay a large indemnity and become a vassal of the Mongols. Sometime after Nasir-ud-din's accession, Balban undertook an expedition into the heart of the Panjab; but he does not seem to have been successful in recovering the tract beyond the river Ravi which had, for some time, been under the Mongol sphere of influence. Similarly, Multan and Sindh remained in foreign hands till 1250 when they were recovered by a powerful military governor of the Sultanate, named Sher Khan. Nevertheless Delhi's hold on these provinces was precarious and they changed hands a number of times. The situation was complicated by the fact that some of the nobles and officers of Delhi were in treasonable negotiations with the Mongols and even went over to their side. Sher Khan was one such officer. He was won over by Balban after considerable difficulty.

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A number of Mongol invasions occurred during the period following Nasir-ud-din's accession, particularly in Multan and Sindh. Balban, who held the post of *naib*, made great military preparations to oppose the progress of the invaders, but he did not cross the north-western boundary of the Sultanate to invade the territory under the Mongol sphere of influence. He seems to have acquiesced in the transference of the whole of Sindh, Multan and West Panjab to the Mongols. The Sultan, also, seems to have avoided hostility with the vassals of the Mongols. Balban transferred Sher Khan from Bhatinda in 1258, as he was meditating recovery of Multan and Uch from the Mongol governor, Kashlu Khan. This was done in conformity with the policy of avoiding hostilities with the Mongols. In view of this tacit agreement, there was an exchange of envoys between Sultan Nasir-ud-din Mahmud and the Mongol chief, Hulagu. It is, thus, clear that the court of Delhi had reconciled itself to the loss of Multan, Sindh and a greater portion of the Panjab beyond the river Bias.

Balban's frontier policy

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The provinces of Multan and Sindh were, however, recovered by Delhi during the early days of Balban's reign; but the Mongols could not be dislodged from the north-western Panjab. Nevertheless, Lahore was wrested from enemy hands. It was incorporated in the frontier province of Multan and Dipalpur. During the early years of this Sultan's reign, Sher Khan was appointed governor of the frontier province of Bhatinda, Dipalpur and Lahore which was constituted into a military command. After Sher Khan's death, Multan, Sindh and Dipalpur were placed in the charge of Balban's eldest son, Prince Muhammad. The remaining parts of the frontier, which consisted of Samana and Sunam, were given to the second son of the Sultan, named Bughra Khan. Thus, Balban placed the entire north-western frontier in the custody and care of his sons. The governor of Samana and Sunam was to work under the orders of that of Multan and Sindh. He built a line of forts on his north-western frontier and garrisoned them with seasoned Pathan troops. A standing army, 17,000 to 18,000 strong, was set apart for the defence of the frontier and was posted in this region. The rest of the army was also kept in a state of preparedness for an emergency. These admirable arrangements so strengthened the frontier that, inspite of many vigorous invasions undertaken by the Mongols, they could make no headway throughout Balban's reign. About 1279 the Mongols renewed their attack and ravaged the country as far as Sunam; but the combined armies of Prince Muhammad from Multan, Bughra Khan from Samana and Malik Mubarak Bektar from Delhi completely defeated the enemy and drove him back to the West Panjab. The Mongol menace was warded off, but only for a temporary period. In 1285 the Mongols, under their leader, Timur Khan, again invaded Lahore and Dipalpur. Prince Muhammad proceeded against them. But he was killed, fighting in an ambush, in February, 1286. Inspite of this disaster, the defence arrangements of Balban proved so strong that the Mongols could not penetrate any further and had to beat a retreat. The Mongol menace, however, profoundly affected Balban's domestic and foreign policies. Not only had he to maintain a powerful force at an enormous cost, he was also obliged to give up all thought of aggressive conquest of the territories belonging to independent princes.

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Two Mongol invasions of Multan and lower Panjab took place in the time of Kaiqubad, in the course of the second of which the invaders over-ran the territory from Multan to Lahore; but both times they were driven back with heavy losses. Owing to the strength of Balban's frontier defence, or in view of the political truce subsisting between them and the Sultanate of Delhi, or owing to both these causes, the Mongols made no attempt to attack Delhi till the end of the so-called Slave dynasty. With the accession of the Khaljis, they changed their policy from one of concentrating their attention on raiding and, if possible, on conquering Multan, Sindh and the Panjab, to that of endeavouring to conquer Delhi itself. With their base in the Panjab, they now launched a series of aggressive campaigns against the capital of the Sultanate.

Mongol attacks on Delhi : defence arrangements of the Khaljis

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The first and the only Mongol invasion during the reign of Jalal-ud-din Khalji took place in 1292. A Mongol army, estimated between one lakh and one lakh and fifty thousand, under a grandson of Hulagu, penetrated into the frontier province of the Sultanate and reached as far as Sunam. The Sultan encountered the invaders who were defeated and compelled to retreat. Jalal-ud-din permitted some of the Mongols, including Ulghu, a descendant of Changiz Khan, to settle down in Delhi. They accepted Islam and took up service under the Sultan who gave his daughter in marriage to Ulghu. These Mongol settlers became known as ‘New Muslims’.

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The reign of Ala-ud-din was marked by numerous Mongol attempts to conquer Delhi. The earliest attempt was made within a few months of his accession. Zafar Khan, a friend and commander of the new Sultan, defeated the invaders with great slaughter near Jalandar. The next invasion took place in 1297. The Mongols this time took the fortress of Sibi in Multan, but Zafar Khan again defeated them and took 1,700 of the invaders, including their leader, their wives and daughters, prisoners and sent them to Delhi. In 1299 the Mongols under Qutlugh Khwaja made a serious attempt to conquer Delhi. They besieged the capital and cut off supplies to it. The danger was so great that *kotwal* Ala-ul-mulk advised the Sultan not to risk his all by attacking them; but Ala-ud-din brushed aside this advice and decided to attack the Mongols. Zafar Khan led the charge and defeated them; but he himself was surrounded and slain. Nevertheless, the impression made by Zafar Khan was so great that the enemy had to beat a hurried retreat. For over three [Figure: NORTH-WEST FRONTIER (In relation to Delhi)]

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years the invaders had no courage to renew hostilities. But, being informed of Ala-ud-din's reverses in Telingana and his engagement in Rajasthan, Targhi, a Mongol leader, with an army of 1,20,000 troops, invaded Hindustan in 1303 and invested Delhi. Ala-ud-din was obliged to retire into the fortress of Siri, which, too, was surrounded. The Mongols devastated the surrounding country and carried raids into the streets of Delhi. But, owing to their inexperience of regular sieges, they had to abandon the attempt. Another invasion occurred in 1304 and was followed by a series of desperate attempts in 1306, 1307-8 and the years following; but they were all beaten. The Mongol fury spent itself in a series of all-out efforts to capture Delhi. The capital city was saved, as Ala-ud-din successfully followed Balban's policy of the defence of the frontier. He repaired and regarrisoned the frontier forts and posted a formidable army for its defence. The veteran warrior, Ghazi Tughluq, was appointed warden of the marches in 1305. The latter fought many an engagement with the Mongol marauders and kept the frontier safe from their depredations.

The later phase

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After Ala-ud-din a few feeble attempts were made by the Mongols to plunder Hindustan. One such attempt was made during the reign of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq. But the leaders of the invading force were defeated and brought prisoners to Delhi. The most serious Mongol invasion occurred in 1328 or early in 1329 when the famous Mongol leader, Tarma Shirin, penetrated into the heart of the Sultanate and reached as far as Badaun. The invaders plundered and devastated the country on the way, but they were defeated by Muhammad bin Tughluq and pursued as far as Kalanaur in the modern Gurdaspur district in the Panjab. Firoz Tughluq's reign was singularly free from Mongol invasions. Their power in Central Asia was greatly weakened and they were losing their hold on the western Panjab also.

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During the second half of the 14th century the Sultanate of Delhi, though very much weakened, had hardly any fear from the Mongol hordes. The Mongols in Central Asia had embraced Islam, and the great Turkish warrior, Timur, established a powerful dominion with his capital at Samarqand. Towards the end of the century, it was this man who crossed our north-western frontier and invaded the Sultanate of Delhi. As has been related in the chapter on the Tughluq dynasty, he inflicted greater misery on the country than had been inflicted by any single invader in one single campaign before or after him.

Effects of the Mongol menace

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The Mongol menace produced an important result on the internal and external policy of the Sultanate of Delhi. So long as the danger from them was great, it was always the policy of the ruler of Delhi to increase his military establishment to the highest limit. From Iltutmish down to the end of the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq the successive rulers of Delhi had to pay the greatest attention to their armies, to spend whatever they could afford on them and to take steps to see that there was, as far as possible, no internal disaffection or disunity which might be exploited by the invaders from the north-west. In view of these factors, their administration became more despotic than it would have been if there had been no danger of a foreign invasion from the north-west. Iltutmish, Balban, Ala-ud-din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq had to follow the policy of militarism and to sacrifice their revenues at the altar of military preparedness. They could not afford to show any slackness or relax vigilance, as it would have brought ruin to the Sultanate like that which befell the older and more powerful Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia. Secondly, owing to the threat from the north-west, it became difficult for an average Sultan to pursue a policy of aggrandizement in the country and undertake aggressive campaigns for the conquest of independent Hindu kingdoms. Balban, for example, though animated by a strong desire for conquest, could not stir out of Delhi, and the only campaign that he undertook was that of the suppression of a rebellion in Bangal. Under these circumstances, only an extraordinarily gifted ruler, like Ala-ud-din Khalji, could play a double role, namely, defending the country from a foreign invasion and conquering independent kingdoms in the country. Muhammad Tughluq attempted to follow in his footsteps, but met with disastrous failure. The fear of Mongol invasions, thus, profoundly influenced the policy and fortunes of the Sultanate of Delhi. Had the Mongols succeeded, the history of our country would have taken a different course. The Sultanate, of course, would have come to an end; and the Mongols, being virtual Buddhists, would have gradually merged in the Hindu society like the Greeks, the Sakas and the Huns, and India would have been saved from the most baffling social and religious-cum-political problem of her history.