Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign

Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign
Bakhtiyar Khalji led his army through harsh terrain into the cultivated valley of mainland Kamrup and Tibet, where he met fierce resistance and a guerrilla uprising
Date 1206 Location Chumbi Valley, Tibet Result Tibetan victory
Belligerents
Khaljis of Bengal Deshi Muslims	Tibetan tribes
Commanders and leaders
Bakhtiyar Khalji Ali Mech	Tibetan tribal leaders
Strength
10,000 (approx.) [1]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Several thousand; cavalry reduced to a few hundred	Unknown but less than Bakhtiyar.

Bakhtiyar Khalji, the general of Qutubuddin Aibak, launched a campaign to invade Tibet in the 13th century. ^{[2] [3]}

Tibet was a source for horses, the most prized possession of any army, and Khalji was keen to control the lucrative trade between Tibet and India. Khajli's army commenced plundering the country around the Tibet region of the Chumbi Valley. The people of that area and the parts adjacent advanced to repel the invaders. From daybreak to the time of evening prayer, a fierce battle ensued, and a great number of Khalji's army were killed or wounded. ^[4]

Background

Bakhtiyar Khalji, the general of Qutubuddin Aibak, conquered Bihar and Nadia, the capital of the Sena Kings of Bengal. ^[3] He subsequently became obsessed with ambitions of conquering Tibet. Historically, Bengal had trade relations with Tibet along the 'Tea-Horse Route', through Assam, Sikkim and Bhutan, to parts of China and Southeast Asia, which were home to gold and silver mines. ^[3] Tibet was also a source of horses. ^[5] The planned invasion also coincided with the Era of Fragmentation and the collapse of the Tibetan Empire.

The expedition was aided by Ali Mech, a tribal chief from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north of Bengal. ^[6] Mech was a recent convert to Islam, and he helped the expedition by acting as a guide. ^{[7] [8]}

Campaign

On his way north, Khalji invited the king of 'Kamrud' (Kamrupa) ^[9] to join him, but the latter refused. After marching for 16 days through the Teesta river area in North Bengal and Sikkim, ^[10] Khalji's army reached the Chumbi valley and started looting Tibetan villages. ^[10] The rugged Himalayan mountain passes of Tibet were an unfamiliar terrain to the invading army, who were more used to the sultry and humid plains of Bengal. The Tibetans lured Khalji and his Turkish army into a trap, inflicted heavy casualties and prompted Khalji to retreat. All along the escape route, the Tibetans continued relentless guerrilla-style attacks on the retreating army. Khalji's badly defeated soldiers ate their own horses to stay alive.

On their retreat to Bengal, Khalji's army passed through the plains of North Bengal. Upon reaching the sub-alpine Himalayan region, the army tried to cross an ancient stone bridge on the foothills near the Teesta river. ^[10] Khalji's soldiers found the arches in the bridge had been destroyed by Kamrup forces, making it difficult to cross the deep river. In their desperate attempt to reach the other side of the river at Devkot, Khalji's forces lost a number of men and horses. It is said that of the 10,000-strong army that had marched into Tibet, only around 100 men returned. ^{[10] [9]} After crossing the river, Ali Mech guided Bhaktiyar Khilji back to Devkot (present-day Dakshin Dinajpur district, West Bengal). ^[10]

Aftermath

There are two accounts of what happened to Bakhtiyar Khalji following the Tibet and Kamrup debacle. One account speaks of him dying from ill health and injury during this retreat to Bengal. ^{[11] [8]} Another account notes that he was assassinated by Ali Mardan Khalji after returning to Devkot in Bengal. ^[10]

See also

• British expedition to Tibet
• Raja Prithu

References

1. Debajyoti Burman (1947). Indo-Muslim Relations: A Study in Historical Background. Jugabani Sahitya Chakra. p. 67.
2. Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (21 October 2013). The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Kube Publishing Ltd. p. 19. ISBN   9781847740625. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
3. Farooqui Salma Ahmed (2011). A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. p. 53. ISBN   978-81-317-3202-1.
4. H G Raverty (1873). Tabakat I Nasiri. p. 572.
5. P. K. Mishra (1999). Studies in Hindu and Buddhist Art. Abhinav Publications. p. 101. ISBN   978-81-7017-368-7.
6. Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN   9781317587460. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
7. Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN   9781317587460. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
8. Nadwi, Abu Bakr Amir-uddin (2004). Tibet and Tibetan Muslims. Translated by Sharma, Parmananda. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. pp. 43–44. ISBN   9788186470350. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
9. William John Gill; Henry Yule (9 September 2010). The River of Golden Sand: The Narrative of a Journey Through China and Eastern Tibet to Burmah. Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-108-01953-8. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
10. Nitish K. Sengupta (1 January 2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. pp. 63–64. ISBN   978-0-14-341678-4.
11. Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Bakhtiyar Khalji". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN   984-32-0576-6. OCLC   52727562. OL   30677644M . Retrieved 20 November 2024.