The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c8.s15.1

c8.s15.1

The provinces of Sindh and Multan remained parts of the Khalifa's wide empire a little over 150 years, after which they severed their connections with the Caliphate. Even during that period the Arab rule witnessed a gradual decline. Governor was appointed to succeed governor. The inefficiency and weakness of the administration continued as before. Under an energetic governor there was a temporary activity and sometimes an expedition was undertaken against the neighbouring Hindu kingdoms, but this was followed by relapse into sloth and lethargy. Under Umar II, who became Khalifa in 717 A.D., an intense religious propaganda was launched. Many Hindu chiefs, notably Jai Singh, son of Dahir and ruler of Brahmanabad, were compelled to renounce their ancestral faith and become converts to Islam. The energetic governor named Junaid carried the Arab arms into the heart of Kutch, but the expedition was a mere raid and not a war of conquest. Eventually the Arabs found their influence languishing and were obliged to build two strongholds for their protection. They were *al-Mahfuzah*, ‘the guarded’, and *Mansura*, a few miles to the north-east of Brahmanabad. In 750 A.D. there was a revolution in Damascus as a result of which the Umayyaids were overthrown and a new Caliphate was established at Baghdad under Abbasid Khalifa. The quarrel between these two houses affected Sindh badly. The Abbasid Caliphs sent their own officers to Sindh with orders to expel the Umayyaid governor and officers. The result was a long and bitter quarrel which undermined the already waning prestige of the Arabs in that province. After this date the governors and chiefs of Sindh became more or less semi-independent rulers. In 871 A.D. Sindh cut off its relations with the Caliph and declared its independence in fact, though not in name. Two local Arab chiefs established themselves at Multan and Mansura which became, for all practical purposes, independent kingdoms. The kingdom of Multan comprised the upper valley of the Indus as far as Aror, while that of Mansura embraced Sindh proper. The rulers of these dynasties associated the natives with the administration and granted toleration to the Hindus and the Buddhists.