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Obv: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Devnagari Legends: Sri /hamirah'. Rev: Simple rendition of recumbent bull with long snout facing left, Devnagari Legends: ' Sri Mahamada Same ' in arc.
Muḥammad Shihābuddīn Ghorī (Persian: محمد شہاب الدین غوری), originally called Mu'izzuddīn Muḥammad Ibn Sām but famously known as Muḥammad of Ghor (1162-1206), was a governor and general under the Ghorid dynasty. He was the governor of Ghaznā and the surrounding area from 1173 to 1192.
The Ghorī Emipre
Ghor lay on the western boundary of the Ghaznavid Empire. Before 1160, the Ghaznavid Empire covered an area stretching from central Afghanistan to the Punjab, with capitals at Ghaznā and Lahore. In 1160, the Ghorids conquered Ghaznā from the Ghaznavids, and in 1173 Muhammad Shihābuddīin Ghorī became governor of the province while his brother Ghiyāsuddīn Muhammad of Ghor became the Sultan of the Ghorī Empire. In 1186-87 Muhammad Shihābuddīn Ghorī conquered Lahore, ending the Ghaznavid Empire and bringing the last part of the Ghaznavid territory under his control. As a result, He managed to push Muslim rule much further east than Mahmūd of Ghaznā did.
Indian Conquest
Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī attacked the north-western regions of the Indian Subcontinent twice. In 1191, he invaded the territory of Prithvīrāj Chauhān of Ajmer, who ruled much of present-day Rajasthan and Haryana, but was defeated at Tarain in present-day Haryana, by Govindarāj of Delhi, Prithvīrāj's vassal. The following year Ghorī assembled a large army and once again invaded the Kingdom of Ajmer. On the same field of Tarain, a second battle was fought in 1192. This time, Jayachandra, one of the enemies of Pritvīrāj Chauhān, assisted Muḥammed Ghorī and Prithvīrāj was defeated. Govinda-rāja was slain, Prithvīrāj captured, and Muḥammad Ghorī marched onwards unchallenged towards Ajmer. Rajput kingdoms like Saraswati, Samana, Kohram and Hansi were captured without any difficulty. Finally he advanced on Delhi, capturing it soon after. Within a year Muḥammad controlled northern Rajasthan and the northern part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doāb.
Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī spared the son of Prithvīrāj Chauhān, Golā, who in turn took the oath of loyalty to Ghorī. The Kingdom of Ajmer was then given over to Golā, on condition that he send regular tributes to the Ghorids.
According to the Prithvīrāj Rasau, Ghorī took Prithvīrāj back to his kingdom, where he was brought in chains before Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī, who ordered his eyes to be burnt with red hot iron rods as a punishment and threw him in jail for the rest of his life. Prithvīrāj could not bear the disgrace of defeat and the pain of punishment, hence defeated, blinded and humiliated he lost his will to survive and committed suicide in jail.
The Tārīkh-i Farishtah (finished in 1609 CE), however, relates that Prithvīrāj and part of his army managed to escape from the battlefield, but were overtaken by Ghorī's horsemen on the banks of the Sarsuti River, where the Sultan beheaded Prithvīrāj.
Aftermath
After defeating Prithvirāj Chauhān, Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī established an empire, appointing a regional governor at Delhi. He controlled much of northern and central India. Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī returned west to Ghaznā to deal with the threat to his western frontiers from the Turks and Mongols, but his armies, mostly under Turkish generals, continued to advance through northern India, raiding as far east as Bengal. A few years later a rebellion rose in Punjab. He returned to India and crushed the rebels, but was assassinated on his way back to Ghaznā.
The most profound effect of Ghorī's victory was the establishment of Muslim rule in India which would last for centuries and have great impact on life and culture of South Asia for centuries. Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī further expressed his intentions of promoting Islam to convert "The Land Of The Idols"; however, he died before he could extend his conquests further.
Personal life
Muḥammad Shihābuddīn Ghorī was a loyal brother; he refrained from declaring his independence in the Indian Subcontinent, knowing that it would result in civil war between the two brothers. Until the death of Ghiyāsuddīn in 1202, after every victory the Generals of Ghaurī would send the best of the looted items to his elder brother in Afghanistan. Ghiyāsuddīn reciprocated by never interfering in the affairs of his younger brother. Thus they were each able to concentrate on their own responsibilities.
Heirs Of Sultan
Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī had no heirs and thus he treated his slaves as his sons. It is said that he trained thousands of Turkish slaves in the art of warfare and administration. Most of his slaves were given excellent education. During his reign many hardworking and intelligent slaves rose to positions of excellence. Once a courtier lamented that the Sultan had no male heirs; Ghorī immediately replied:
Other monarchs may have one son, or two sons; I have thousands of sons, my Turkish slaves who will be the heirs of my dominions, and who, after me, will take care to preserve my name in the Khuṭbah(Friday sermon) throughout these territories.
Ghorī's prediction proved true when he was succeeded by a dynasty of Turkish Slaves. Upon his death, Quṭbuddīn Aybak, Muḥammad Ghorī's most capable general who had started of by sacking Ayodhya in 1193 CE, took control of Muḥammad's Indian conquests and declared himself the first Sultan of Delhi thus establishing the Sultanate of Delhi in 1206 CE.
Pakistan's Nuclear Missile
In response to India's development of its surface to surface missile, called the Prithvi, Pakistan launched its own missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads on April 6, 1998 called the Ghauri - I. It was symbolically named after Sultan Muḥammad Ghorī, who is highly revered in Pakistan for his Muslim conquest of the Indian Subcontinent. Pakistan has since developed the Ghauri - II and Ghauri - III as well.
See also
Notes
- http://books.google.com/books?id=tU1yDpYlu38C&pg=PA187&dq=%22First+Battle+of+Tarain%22
- http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main The History of the Rise of Muhammadan Power in India. Vol.I.
- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588379/Muhammad_of_Ghur.html
- The Geography of War and Peace: From Death Camps to Diplomats by Colin Robert Flint, Publ Oxford University Press US, 2005, p149
Further reading
- John Keay (2001). India: A history. Grove Press; 1 Grove Pr edition. ISBN 0-8021-3797-0.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Elliot, Sir H. M., Edited by Dowson, John. The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; published by London Trubner Company 1867–1877. (Online Copy: The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; by Sir H. M. Elliot; Edited by John Dowson; London Trubner Company 1867–1877 - This online Copy has been posted by: The Packard Humanities Institute; Persian Texts in Translation; Also find other historical books: Author List and Title List)