This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bejnar (talk | contribs) at 03:13, 13 April 2009 (no Mongols until 1220; use English language term where it exists, this is the English Misplaced Pages; "did" → "had" (grammar), other minor). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:13, 13 April 2009 by Bejnar (talk | contribs) (no Mongols until 1220; use English language term where it exists, this is the English Misplaced Pages; "did" → "had" (grammar), other minor)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
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 Muhammad of Ghor and Muhammad Ghori, (1162 – 15 March 1206), was a governor and general and ultimately sultan in the Ghorid dynasty. He was the governor of Ghazni and the surrounding area from 1173 to 1192. He was sultan from 1202 until his death in 1206.
The Ghori Empire
Ghor lay on the western boundary of the Ghaznavid Empire, which in the early 1100s covered an area stretching from central Afghanistan to the Punjab, with capitals at Ghazni and Lahore. Beginning in the mid 1100s, Ghor expressed its independence from the Ghaznavid Empire. In 1149 the Ghaznavid sultan captured and killed Saif al-Din Suri of Ghor. In retaliation, the Ghor army under his brother, Ala al-Din Hossain, sacked Ghazni in 1150. The Ghaznavids retook the city with Seljuk help, but lost it to Oghuz Turk freebooters. The Ghorids reconquered Ghazni from the Oghuz Turks, and in 1173 Muhammad Ghori became governor of the province while his brother, Ghiyas al-Din Muhammad of Ghor, became the Sultan of the Ghori Empire. In 1186 Muhammad Ghori conquered Lahore, ending the Ghaznavid Empire and bringing the last part of the Ghaznavid territory under Ghorid control. As a result, he managed to push Muslim rule much further east than Mahmud of Ghazna had. Muhammad Ghori became sultan upon the death of his brother, Ghiyas al-Din, in 1202.
Indian Conquest
General Muhammad Ghori attacked the north-western regions of the Indian Subcontinent twice. In 1191, he invaded the territory of Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer, who ruled much of present-day Rajasthan and Haryana, but was defeated at Tarain, in present-day Haryana, by Prithviraj's vassal, Govindarāj of Delhi. The following year Ghorī assembled a large army and once again invaded the Kingdom of Ajmer. On the same field at Tarain, a second battle was fought in 1192. This time, Jai Chand of Kannauj and Banaras (Jayachandra), one of the former allies of Prithviraj Chauhan, failed to aid Prithviraj, and Prithviraj was defeated. Govindarāj was slain, Prithviraj captured, and Muhammad Ghori marched onwards unchallenged towards Ajmer. Rajput kingdoms like Saraswati, Samana, Kohram and Hansi were captured without any difficulty. Finally his forces advanced on Delhi, capturing it soon after. Within a year Muhammad Ghori controlled northern Rajasthan and the northern part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab.
Muhammad Ghori spared the son of Prithviraj Chauhan, Golā, who in turn took the oath of loyalty to Ghiyas al-Din. The Kingdom of Ajmer was then given over to Golā, on condition that he send regular tributes to the Ghorids.
According to the Prithviraj Raso, Muhammad Ghori took Prithviraj back to his kingdom, where he was brought in chains before the sultan, 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. Prithviraj 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 Prithviraj and part of his army managed to escape from the battlefield, but were overtaken by Muhammad Ghori's horsemen on the banks of the Sarsuti River, where the General beheaded Prithviraj .
Consolidation
After defeating Prithviraj Chauhan, Muhammad Ghori quickly established Ghorid control in northern and central India. Muhammad Ghori returned west to Ghazni to deal with the threat to his western frontiers from the unrest in Iran, but he appointed Qutb-ud-din Aybak as his regional governor for northern India. His armies, mostly under Turkish generals, continued to advance through northern India, raiding as far east as Bengal. Qutb-ud-din Aybak sacked Ayodhya in 1193, followed by his conquest of Delhi. In 1204, after becoming sultan, Muhammad Ghori defeated the advance of Muhammad II of Khwarezm. In 1206, a rebellion rose in Punjab. Muhammad Ghori returned to India and crushed the rebels, but was assassinated on his way back to Ghazni.
The most profound effect of Ghori'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. Muhammad Ghori 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
Muhammad Ghori 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 Ghiyas al-Din in 1202, after every victory the General would send the best of the looted items to his elder brother in Afghanistan. Ghiyas al-Din 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 Muhammad Ghori 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; Ghori 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 Khutba (Friday sermon) throughout these territories."
Ghori's prediction proved true when he was succeeded by a dynasty of Turkish slaves. Upon his death, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, a capable general who had become Muhammad Ghori's closest advisor, kept control of the 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 Muhammad Ghori, 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
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica, Ghaznavids, Edmund Bosworth, Online Edition 2007, (LINK)
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1977) The Later Ghaznavids: Splendour and Decay: The Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India, 1040-1186 Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 120-31, ISBN 0-231-04428-3; see also the original source, Ibn Bābā's chapter on the Graznavids, pp. 132-144.
- 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, p. 149
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)