A History of Agriculture in India v2.c55.s4: Bakhtiyar
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c55.s4
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Bakhtiyar
v2.c55.s4.1
In A.D. 1199 Bihar was ravaged by Muhammad ibn Bakhtiyar, an intrepid Turk. The University of Nalanda was destroyed, its library burnt, and all the Buddhist monks, or shaven Brahmans, as the Moslems called them, slaughtered. As Minhaju-s Siraj states, ‘Muhammad Bakhtiyar with great vigour and audacity rushed in at the gate of the fort and gained possession of the place. Great plunder fell into the hands of the victors. Most of the inhabitants of the place were Brahmans with shaven heads. They were put to death. Large numbers of books were found there, and when the Muhammadans saw them, they called for some persons to explain their contents, but all the men had been killed. It was discovered that the whole fort and city was a place of study (madrasa). In the Hindi language the word Behar (vihar) means a college.’³
v2.c55.s4.2
³ Minhaju-s Siraj, *Tabakat-i-Nasiri*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. II, p. 306
v2.c55.s4.3
After the conquest of Bihar, Bakhtiyar turned his attention to Bengal, which was ruled by Lakshmansena. Leaving his army behind, with only eighteen horsemen, Bakhtiyar surprised Lakshmansena at his dinner. Lakshmansena fled in panic, and his wives, maidservants and treasure fell into the hands of the invader. Bakhtiyar destroyed Nuddea, the capital of Bengal, and established the seat of his government at Lakhnawti.
v2.c55.s4.4
Bloated by success, Bakhtiyar invaded Assam and marched towards the mountains of Tibet. The tribesmen followed the scorched-earth policy and not a sir of food nor a blade of grass or fodder was to be found. The Moslem invaders were compelled to kill and eat their horses. The Rai of Kamrup collected his men and surrounded the Moslem army. The Moslem army tried to cross the Tista. Bakhtiyar crossed the river with about a hundred horsemen, and all the rest were drowned.
v2.c55.s4.5
Soon after A.D. 1200, the whole of northern India except Rajasthan, Malwa and part of Gujarat, were conquered by the Moslem armies.
Cites (1)
- Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī — Minhāj al-Dīn Jūzjānī