| Battle of Sutlej | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Kashmir Sultanate | Delhi Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Shihabu'd-Din Shah | Firuz Shah Tughluq | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 50,000 cavalry | unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Sutlej was fought on the banks of River Sutlej in 1373. It was fought between the invading forces of Kashmiri Sultan Shihabu'd-Din Shah Mir of the Shah Mir dynasty and Delhi Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq of Tughlaq dynasty. The Battle was Indecisive and ended up in a peace treaty. [1] [2]
Kashmiri Sultanate under the Shah Mir Dynasty was founded by Shamsu'd-Din Shah Mir in 1339 and then ruled by Shihabu'd-Din Shah in the 2nd half of the 14th C.E until 1373 as its 5th sultan, and some say his rule lasted until 1380 including Muhammad Din Fauq. A great and capable commander, Shihabu'd-Din Shah conquered Pakhlī, Swāt, Multān, Nuēmān, Kābul, Ghaznī, Qandahār, Badakhshān, Gilgit, Dārdu, Baltistān, Ladākh, Kishtwār, Jammu, and Nagarkot (Kāngra) and was now eying Delhi. [1]
Firuz Shah Tughlaq, also known as Firuz III, ruled Delhi from 1351 to 1388. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq after his death at Thatta in Sindh. The son of Sipahsalar Malik Rajab, brother of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, and a princess from Abohar, Punjab, Firuz Shah became known as a great builder and administrator. He founded the cities of Firozpur, Hisar, and Fatehabad, and introduced major irrigation projects that strengthened agriculture. Early in his reign, he successfully repelled a Mongol attack, and later expanded his authority over Bengal, Sindh, and Kangra, consolidating his rule across northern India. [3]
The battle was indecisive, and peace was brokered after the intervention of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, a leading spiritual figure of the time. [1]
Muhammad Din Fauq recounts the Battle as:
when he [ Shihabu'd-Din Shah] got the news that due to the mismanagement of Delhi kings, Punjab had become a disturbed area. Taking advantage of the situation he conquered Multan first and invaded Lahore and plundered the whole of Punjab and marched towards Delhi. When he reached the banks of the Sutlej the army of Firuz Shah Tughluq confronted him and they began fighting. Since the rue of Tughluq dynasty had decayed, the king could not stand before Shuhab-ud-din. He was still undecided when Amir Kabir Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who was a great spiritual personality of his times, interfered in the matter and ordered Sultan Shihabu'd-Din Shah to make peace and the Sultan obeyed him. The author of Waqya Kashmir believes that Amir Kabir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (RA) had come to this region during the last invasion of Sultan Shihabu'd-Din Shah. Qutub-ud-din the brother of Sultan was in Kashmir those days. He served him as was desired. He stayed here for four months and went to India. When he reached Firozpur, the Sultan came to meet him. His intervention made truce between the warring sides. [1]
According to Mohibbul Hasan in his work Kashmir under The Sultans, he says:
Since the battle between the rulers of Delhi and Srinagar was indecisive, peace was concluded. It was agreed that all the territory from Sirhind to Kashmir was to belong to Shihabu'd-Din Shah, while the rest lying to the east was to go to Firuz Shah Tughlaq. A marriage alliance was also contracted by which Firuz Shah's two daughters were married to Shihabu'd-Din and his brother Qutbu'd-Din, while Shihabu'd-Din Shah's daughter was married to Firuz Shah. [2]
This battle saw the Kashmir Sultanate at its peak expansion, a feat that it did not reach again in its history. [1]