History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.18

v1.c14.18

The Arabs, it is said in the Chacha-nāma, made several abortive attempts during the reign of several Khalifas to conquer Sind but when they had fully conquered Irān and had thus a nearer and a stonger base for their operations they made really earnest efforts to subjugate the country. A good pretext soon offered itself. Some ships conveying Mahomedan male and female pilgrims from Srendib or Ceylon (it is strange that the Arabs had already by this time taken their religion to Ceylon probably directly by sea from Arabia) with many valuable presents in jewels and pearls from the king of Ceylon to the Khalifa Walid who ruled in Baghdad, by way of the Persian gulf were compelled by adverse winds to go to Debal a seaport town of Sind situated on the western bank of the Indus. The Indus delta was then infested by robbers as even Hiuen Tsang has described. They were very bad men according to him though nominally Buddhists. These men attacked these ships, conveyed the treasure to Debal and imprisoned the Mahomedan men and women pilgrims. The authorities of the town ought not to have countenanced this act, but probably they had their due share in the spoils and so perhaps Dahar himself to whom a complaint was formally made on the subject by Hajjaj the governor of Irān. Dahar is said to have replied "That is the work of a band of robbers than whom none is more powerful. They do not even care for us." This was certainly not a fair reply for a powerful king to make and Hajjaj easily induced the Khālifa Walid to declare a holy war against Sind promising him in spoils twice the amount of money he would spend on an expedition for the conquest of Hind and Sind as the Arabs styled it.