First Battle of Tarain | |||||||||
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Part of Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Ghurid Empire | |||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Muhammad of Ghor (WIA) Qutubuddin Aibak Bahauddin Tughril Qazi Zia ud-Din Tulaki | Prithviraj Chauhan Pajawan Kachhwaha Govind Rai (WIA) Skanda | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Unknown, outnumbered by Rajputs [1] | 100,000 Rajput cavalrymen [2] | ||||||||
Location of the First Battle of Tarain |
The First Battle of Tarain, also spelt as the First Battle of Taraori, was fought in 1191 between the invading Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor and the Rajput Confederacy led by Prithviraj Chauhan, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, India). The battle ended in decisive victory for the Rajputs; however, Muhammad of Ghor managed to escape and returned to Ghazni.
After the Ghurid armies were routed, they retreated to the Ghazni and left garrison of 2,000 soldiers under Zia ud-Din Tulaki to secure the fort of Tabarhind (present day Bhatinda) [3] to delay the Rajput army and was successful in keeping them at bay for thirteen months, while Muhammad of Ghor, during these months, raised a stronger army of 120,000 men, and invaded again, leading to the Second Battle of Tarain, which ended Chauhan's rule. [4]
The contemporary sources for the battle include Tajul-Ma'asir of Hasan Nizami (on the Ghurid side) and Jayanaka's Prithviraja Vijaya (on the Chahamana side). [5]
Later sources for the battle include the following Persian-language chronicles: [6]
These chroniclers call Prithviraj by various names including "Rae Kolah Pithorā" (Minhaj), "Pithor Rai" (Sirhindi), and "Pithow Ray" (Firishta). They call Prithviraj's commander-in-chief Govind Rai Tomar as "Gobind Rae" (Minhaj); "Gobind Rai" (Sirhindi); Khand, Khanda, or Khandi (Nizam al-Din and Bada'uni); and Chawund Ray (Firishta). [6]
The later sources written in Indic languages include Hammira Mahakavya and Prithviraj Raso . [7]
Mu'izz ad-Din captured Multan in 1175, and in 1178, unsuccessfully invaded the Chaulukya (Solanki) Kingdom in present-day Gujarat and northern Rajasthan. Subsequently, the Ghurids defeated the Ghaznavids, and conquered Lahore in 1186. [8]
Mu'izz ad-Din sent his envoy - the Chief Judge Qiwam-ul Mulk Ruknud Din Hamza - to the court of Prithviraj, to persuade him to come to a peaceful agreement. [9] Tajul-Ma'asir, a chronicle by the Muslim writer Hasan Nizami, describes the envoy as a "prominent dignitary", who conveyed Mu'izz ad-Din's message to Prithviraj "in a refined and graceful manner", using "elegant language". The Chahamana-sponsored text Prithviraja Vijaya , which describes Mu'izz ad-Din as an "evil" beef-eating "demon", portrays the envoy as an extremely ugly person whose "ghastly white" complexion made him appear to be suffering from a skin disease, and whose speech was like "the cry of wild birds". [10]
Prithviraj refused to agree to the Ghurid envoy's terms, which according to Hasan Nizami, included converting to Islam and accepting the Ghurid suzerainty. [10] Mu'izz ad-Din then decided to invade the Chahamana kingdom. [9]
The Ghurid campaign that led to the first battle of Tarain may have started in 1190, but the actual battle was most probably fought in the winter of 1191 CE. [11]
Sometime before 1191, Mu'izz ad-Din's army captured the Tabarhindh fort (probably present-day Bathinda), which was presumably under Chahamana control. [12] According to Sirhindi, sometime in 1191 (Hijri year 587), Prithviraj marched against the Ghurid army with infantry, cavalry, and an elephant force. [13] Mu'izz ad-Din was about to leave Tabarhindah, when he received the news of Prithviraj's approach; he then marched against Prithviraj, and the two armies met at Tarain. [6]
Prithviraj was accompanied by a number of feudatory rulers, whom Minhaj describes as "the whole of the Ranas of Hind". These rulers included Govind Rai, the ruler of Delhi. Sirhindi states that Govind Rai Tomar, seated on an elephant, was at the frontline, suggesting that he was the commander-in-chief of Prithviraj's army. [13] Sirhindi and later chroniclers, such as Nizam al-Din and Bada'uni, describe Govind Rai as a brother of Prithviraj. [13] Firishta also describes Prithviraj and Govind Rai as brothers, stating that the two men marched against the Ghurids in alliance with other Indian rulers. Firishta portrays Govind Rai as someone who was almost equally as powerful as Prithviraj, presumably because Govind Rai was the ruler of Delhi, which had become politically important by Firishta's time. [14]
The Ghurid cavalry initiated the battle by launching arrows at the enemy center. The Chahamana forces counter-attacked from three sides and dominated the battle, pressuring the Ghurid army into a withdrawal. [15]
According to Sirhindi, the Ghurid troops suffered reverses despite having fought bravely: when Mu'izz ad-Din saw this, he charged against Govind Rai. [13] Minhaj states that Mu'izz ad-Din, who was riding a horse, attacked Govind Rai with a lance, hitting his mouth and breaking two of his teeth. Govind Rai retaliated with a javelin, severely wounding Mu'izz ad-Din's upper arm. [16] According to Minhaj, Mu'izz ad-Din would have died or been captured, had a young soldier not led his horse to safety. After his departure from the battlefield, the Ghurid troops were disheartened and defeated. [12]
The Sultan turned his charger's head round and receded, and from the agony of the wound he was unable to continue on horseback any longer. Defeat befell the army of Islām so that it was irretrievably routed.
Minhaj in Tabaqat-i Nasiri [16]
Mu'izz ad-Din left for Ghazni, leaving behind a garrison at Tabarhindah. Prithviraj besieged the fort, and captured it sometime before the second battle of Tarain. [12] He did not pursue the Ghurid army, either not wanting to invade hostile territory or misjudging Mu'izz ad-Din's ambition. [17]
Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad ibn Sam, also known as Muhammad of Ghor or Muhammad Ghori, was a ruler from the Ghurid dynasty based in the Ghor region of what is today central Afghanistan who ruled from 1173 to 1206. Muhammad and his elder brother Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad ruled in a dyarchy until the latter's death in 1203. Ghiyath al-Din, the senior partner, governed the western Ghurid regions from his capital at Firozkoh whereas Muhammad extended Ghurid rule eastwards, laying the foundation of Islamic rule in South Asia, which lasted after him for nearly half a millennium under evolving Muslim dynasties.
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (Persian: شمس الدین ایلتتمش; was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus considered the effective founder of the Delhi Sultanate.
Qutb ud-Din Aibak was a general of the Ghurid emperor Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in 1206, he established the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526), and started the Mamluk dynasty, which would rule the Sultanate until 1290.
Prithviraja III, popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south, which he aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandelas.
The Ghurid dynasty was a Persianate dynasty of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215. The Ghurids were centered in the hills of the Ghor region in the present-day central Afghanistan, where they initially started out as local chiefs. They gradually converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of Ghor by the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud of Ghazni in 1011. The Ghurids eventually overran the Ghaznavids when Muhammad of Ghor seized Lahore and expelled the Ghaznavids from their last stronghold.
The Second Battle of Tarain was fought in 1192 between the Ghurid forces of Muhammad Ghuri and the Rajput Confederacy of Prithviraj Chauhan. It took place near Tarain, which is 110 kilometres (68 mi), north of Delhi. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the invading Ghurids and their successful penetration in north Indian plain.
Battle of Tarain may refer to any of the following battles fought at Tarain :
Jaya-chandra was a king from the Gahadavala dynasty of northern India. He is also known as Jayachchandra in inscriptions, and Jaichand in vernacular legends. He ruled the Antarvedi country in the Gangetic plains, including the important cities of Kannauj and Varanasi. His territory included much of the present-day eastern Uttar Pradesh and some parts of western Bihar. The last powerful king of his dynasty, he was defeated and killed in 1194 CE, in a battle near Yamuna against a Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor.
Lal Kot or Qila Rai Pithora is a fortified complex in present-day Delhi, which includes the Qutb Minar complex. It was constructed in the reign of Tomara king Anangpal Tomar between c. 1052 - c.1060 CE. It is termed as the "First city of Delhi". Remains of the fort walls are scattered across South Delhi, visible in present Saket, Mehrauli around Qutb complex, Sanjay Van, Kishangarh and Vasant Kunj areas.
The Prithviraj Raso is a Braj language epic poem about the life of Prithviraj Chauhan. It is attributed to Chand Bardai, who according to the text, was a court poet of the king.
The history of human settlement in the western Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 100,000 years ago. Around 5000 to 2000 BCE many regions of Rajasthan belonged as the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Kalibangan is the main Indus site of Rajasthan, here fire altars have been discovered, similar to those found at Lothal.
Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, also known as Ghiyath al-Din Ghori or Ghiyassuddin Ghori born, Muhammad, was the Sultan of the Ghurid dynasty. During the diarchy of Ghiyath and his younger brother Muhammad of Ghor, who governed the eastern realm of the Ghurid Empire, the Ghurids emerged as one of the greatest powers of the eastern Islamic world.
Bahram-Shah was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire from 25 February 1117 to 1152. Son of Mas'ud III and Gawhar Khatun, sister of Sanjar, sultan of the Great Seljuq Empire. During his entire reign, his empire was a tributary of the Great Seljuq Empire.
The Chahamanas of Shakambhari, colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th centuries. The territory ruled by them was known as Sapadalaksha. They were the most prominent ruling family of the Chahamana (Chauhan) Rajput clan.
The Battle of Kasahrada, also known as Battle of Kayadara or Battle of Gadararaghatta was fought in 1178 at modern Kasahrada in Sirohi district near Mount Abu in present-day Rajasthan. It was fought between the Rajput Confederacy led by Mularaja II and the invading Ghurid forces led by Muhammad of Ghor, during which the Ghurid forces were signally defeated.
Naiki Devi was the regent queen of Chaulukya dynasty during her son Mularaja II's infancy from 1175. She was a queen of the Chaulukya king Ajayapala.
The Battle of Andkhud, also spelt as Battle of Andkhui, alternatively known as the Catastrophe of Andkhud was fought in 1204 on the bank of river Oxus near Andkhoy in present-day Afghanistan. It was fought between the Ghurid forces of Muhammad of Ghor against the Qara Khitai forces led by Tayangu of Taraz. The battle ended in a complete rout of the Ghurids, although Muhammad of Ghor managed to escape the debacle after the intervention by Uthman of Qarakhanid.
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Never had Mohmmad's troops faced such a well-trained foe, and in 1191 (no particular date has been recorded) the Rajputs had the upper hand, no numbers have been recorded either, but all account states that the Rajputs outnumbered the Moslem army