This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Siddiqui (talk | contribs) at 15:04, 12 October 2006 (Reverting back to October 1st, 2006 version). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:04, 12 October 2006 by Siddiqui (talk | contribs) (Reverting back to October 1st, 2006 version)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Muhammad bin Qasim (Arabic: محمد بن قاسم) (c. 695–715) was a Syrian Arab general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus river (now a part of Pakistan). The conquest of Sindh and Punjab began the Islamic era in South Asia.
Life and Career
Muhammad bin Qasim was born around 695. His father died when he was young, leaving Qasim's mother in charge of his education. Umayyad governor Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef was one of Qasim's close relatives, and was instrumental in teaching Qasim about warfare and governing. Qasim's is known for his expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate to the east by adding Sindh and parts of Punjab. The primary source of his historiography comes from the Chach Nama.
Under Hajjaj's patronage, Qasim was made governor of Persia, where he succeeded in putting down a rebellion. At the age of seventeen, he was sent by Caliph Al-Walid I to lead an army towards India into what is today the Sindh and Punjab area of Pakistan. The primary reason noted in the Chach Nama for the expedition against Raja Dahir was the raid by pirates off the coast of Debal, resulting in the capturing both gifts to the caliph from the King of Serendib as well as the female pilgrims on board who were captured. The reasons attributed to the rising Islamic Empires interest in gaining a foothold in the Makran, Balochistan and Sindh regions in addition to protecting maritime interests is the participation of armies from Sindh alongside Persians in various battles such at Nahawand, Salasal and Qādisiyyah and the granting of refuge to fleeing rebel chieftains.
Campaign
Qasim's expedition was the second, the first had failed and was reported to have been afflicted by both a stiffer than anticpated opposition as well as heat, exhaustion and scurvy.
Qasim was successful, rapidly taking all of Sindh and moving into southern Punjab up to Multan on a regiment of 6,000 Syrians soldiers.
Hajjaj had put more care and planning into the campaign launched under the aegis of Muhammad bin Qasim after the first under Badil bin Tuhfa landed at Nerun (Hyderabad (Pakistan)), and was supported by Abdulla bin Nahban. In 711 A.D Qasim first established his base at the Ummayyad controlled Arman Belah (Lasbela) in Makran and from there proceeded to assault Debal. Upon the express orders of Al-Hajjaj he exacted a bloody retribution on Debal in the process of freeing of both, the earlier kidnapped captives as well as prisoners from the earlier failed campaign. From Debal he then moved on to Nerun to resupply. Here the city's Buddhist governor had acknowledged itself as a tributary of the Caliphate after the first campaign and opened the gates to their forces. From here Qasim's armies then moved to capture Siwistan (Sehwan) and received the alliance of various tribal chiefs and secured the surrounding regions, with whom he captured the fort at Sisam and thereby secured the remaining regions to the west of the Mehran (Indus River). At this point the soldiers with Qasim expedition had to resort to using soaked cotton with vinegar to suck on as a prophylaxis against scurvy and send for a resupply of horses, due to those lost.
Dahir attempted to prevent Qasim from crossing the Indus river and so moved his forces to its eastern banks to attempt prevent Qasim from furthering his campaign. Eventually however, Qasim successfully completed the crossing and defeated an assault by Jaisiah, the son of Dahir, attempting to repel them about Jitor and then advanced onwards to give Dahir battle at Raor (Nawabshah) (712 A.D.) where Dahir died in battle.
He then marched upon Raor and took it, where it is noted in the Chach Nama that Dahir's wife Bai and some others committed Jauhar. He then made his way towards Brahmanabad where Jaisiah had invested himself and was gathering troops. Enroute he took the forts at Bahror, which took him two months and Dahlelah where he captured Jaisiah's wazir who then joined forces with Qasim. When Qasim arrived at Brahmanabad Jaisiah moved out, and Qasim besieged the city for six months. The town was taken when a faction in the town came over to Qasim and opened the gates. Here a report tells of the capture of Dahirs wife Ladi, who Qasim later married and of two daughters of Dahir from a third wife, who were sent to the Khalifa. At Brahmanabad Qasim began to orgranize the administration of the lands before marching onwards to the capital Alor (Aror) without seeing battle and consolidating his hold on the land and accepting pledges of allegiance. Aror was governed by one of Dahir's sons who fled to join his brothers and the city surrendered without much fighting. From here he advanced northwards towards Multan and after crossing the Beas River began to encounter resistance once again at the forts of Golkondah, Sikkah and finally Multan. Jaisiah is eventually reported as heading into exile into Kashmir, after failing to raise support in Rajasthan.
Qasim was preparing to march upon Kanauj when he got his summons from the Khalifa ending the campaign.
He succeeded partly because Dahir was an unpopular Hindu king that ruled over a Buddhist majority. The forces of Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir in alliance with the lower caste Jats and other Buddhist governors. His campaigns success is ascribed to the Buddhists and the lower caste Jats, Meds and Bhutto tribes, who hailed him as a rescuer from tyranny ,at the hands of Chach of Alor and his kin (regarded as usurpers of the Rai Dynasty), and formed the infantry to his primarily cavalry force that first arrived at Arman Belah. His army at Multan was reported in the Tarikh Masumi at 50,000 in comparison to the 6,000 who started the campaign. He responded positively to those who surrendered and incorporated them into his administration whoever accepted his authority. He avoided excessively violence, while making an example of those forces who opposed him. Examples of this can be seen in his execution the soldiers who did not surrender at Debal, Bahror and Brahmanabad and his pardons at Aror, Sehwan and Brahmanabad. .
He was even berated by Hajjaj for being too lenient.
It appears from your letter that all the rules made by you for the comfort and convenience of your men are strictly in accordance with religious law. But the way of granting pardon prescribed by the law is different from the one adopted by you, for you go on giving pardon to everybody, high or low, without any discretion or any distinction between a friend and a foe. The great God says in the Koran : "0 True believers, when you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads." The above command of the Great God is a great command and must be respected and followed. You should not be so fond of showing mercy, as to nullify the virtue of the act. Henceforth grant pardon to no one of the enemy and spare none of them, or else all will consider you a weak-minded man.
The Chach Nama reports:
Those of the prisoners, who belonged to the classes of artisans, traders and common folk, were let alone, as Muhammad Kásim had extended his pardon to those people. He next came to the place of execution and in his presence ordered all the men belonging to the military classes to be beheaded with swords. It is said that about 6,000 fighting men were massacred on this occasion; some say 16,000. The rest were pardoned.
After the conquest of Multan Qasim attempted to establish law and order in the newly-conquered territory by allowing a degree of religious tolerance.
As a whole, populations of conquered territories were treated as People of the Book and granted toleration of their Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions in return for payment of the poll tax (jizya). After the fall of Brahminabad, the Brahmin caste system was tolerated and the elite incorporated into the administration. Temples were declared inviolate and 3% of the government revenue was allocated towards the upkeep of Buddhist Stupas and monks.
Military Strategies Employed
The Chachnama records the following as strategy advised by Hajjaj to Qasim:
Give them large rewards and presents. Do not disappoint those who want estates and lands, but comply with their requests. Encourage them by giving them written promises of protection and safety. You must know that there are four ways of acquiring a kingdom—1stly, courtesy, conciliation, gentleness, and alliances; 2ndly, expenditure of money, and generous gifts; 3rdly, adoption of the most reasonable and expedient measures at the time of disagreement or opposition; and 4thly, the use of overawing force, power, strength and majesty in checking and expelling the enemy.
and
When you have conquered the country and strengthened the forts, endeavour to console the subjects and to soothe the residents, so that the agricultural classes and artisans and mercbants may, if God so wills, become comfortable and happy, and the country may become fertile and populous.
Reasons for Success
Reasons attributed to Qasim's success are:
- Superior Military equipment (siege engines and the Mongolian Bow)
- Troop discipline and leadership
- The concept of jihad as moral booster
- A large Buddhist population unhappy with their Hindu rulers
- Positive response by Qasim to overtures of surrender and an avoidance of excessive bloodshed and destruction.
- Ready support from the lower castes; the Jats and Meds formed the infantry to the predominantly cavalry army that came with Qasim.
Death
Qasim also began preparations for an attack on Rajasthan. In the interim, however, Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef died, as did Caliph Al-Walid I. Once Hajjaj, Muhammad Bin Qasim’s father-in-law and a notoriously brutal governor of Iraq died, the new governor took revenge against all who were close to Hajjaj. There are two accounts of the fate of Qasim, but both agree that he was recalled by the new caliph Suleiman. One account is the one which states that the Khalifa had been tricked by Raja Dahir's daughters into believing that Qasim had violated them before sending them over for the caliph's harem. They did this apparently to avenge their father's death. This report in the Chach Nama states that he died due to suffocation enroute to the Khalifa after he was wrapped in oxen hides and returned to Syria. Another account states that the khalifa was a political enemy of Hajjaj and recalled Qasim, and imprisoned him where Qasim died in jail, at the age of twenty.
Administration by Qasim
A historian Baladhuri records the local sentiments upon Qasim's recall,
“people of Hind wept for Qasim and preserved his likeness at Karaj”.
While the “Chach-Nama” notes the following as highlights of Qasim’s rule:
- He permitted all to practice their religion freely.
...Hajjáj informed Muhammad Kásim that, the subject population were not to be interfered with, in the exercise of their own religion, even if they worshipped stocks and stones.
- Hindus were included in the Ahl al Kitab
- the status of Dhimmis (protected people) was conferred upon Hindus and Buddhists
- Property destroyed during hostilities was compensated for.
- As a sign of respect to his Hindu populace an edict was issued banning cow slaughter in Sindh and Multan.
After his conquest, he established law and order in the territory through the imposition of Islamic Sharia laws on the people of the region. Populations of conquered territories under Qasim who were non-Muslims had taxes, known as jizya, imposed upon them.
During his administration Hindu's and Buddhists were inducted into the administration as trusted advisors and governors. A Hindu Kaksa was the second most important Hindu in his administration and it was said:
Kaksa took precedence in the army before all the nobles and commanders. He collected the revenue of the country and the treasury was placed under his seal. He assisted Muhammad ibn Qasim in all of his undertakings. . . .
Legacy
- Qasim's presence and rule was very brief. His conquest for the Umayyads brought Sindh into the gambit of the muslim world
- Dahir’s son Jaisimha who had converted to Islam for expediency recanted and the Umayyad territories in the region split into two weak states, Mansurah on the lower Indus and Multan on the upper Indus; which was soon captured by Ismailis who set up an independent Fatimid state and destroyed an old and historic temple in Multan that bin Qasim had protected and built a mosque in its place. These successor states did not achieve much and shrank in size. The Arab conquest remained checked in what is not the south of Pakistan for three centuries by powerful Hindu monarchs to the North and east until the arrival of Mahmud of Ghazni.
- Coastal trade and a Muslim colony in Sindh allowed for cultural exchanges and the arrival of Sufi missionaries to expand Muslim influence. From Debal, which remained an important port until the 12th century, commercial links with the Persian gulf and the Middle East intensified as Sind became the "hinge of the Indian Ocean Trade and overland passway."
- Qasim selected the Hanafi school as the guiding school of thought for shariah (Islamic law) in the region and placed a tradition that guided the development of Muslim thought in the region.
- Port Qasim, Pakistan's second major port is named in honor of Muhammad bin Qasim.
Footnotes
- Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. Commissioners Press 1900, Section 18: "It is related that the king of Sarandeb* sent some curiosities and presents from the island of pearls, in a small fleet of boats by sea, for Hajjáj. He also sent some beautiful pearls and valuable jewels, as well as some Abyssinian male and female slaves, some pretty presents, and unparalleled rarities to the capital of the Khalífah. A number of Mussalman women also went with them with the object of visiting the Kaabah, and seeing the capital city of the Khalífahs. When they arrived in the province of Kázrún, the boat was overtaken by a storm, and drifting from the right way, floated to the coast of Debal. Here a band of robbers, of the tribe of Nagámrah, who were residents of Debal, seized all the eight boats, took possession of the rich silken cloths they contained, captured the men and women, and carried away all the valuable property and jewels."
- The Indus River during this time used to flow to the east of Nerun. An earthquake at in the 10th century caused it to change couse to what it is currently.
- "The fall of Multan laid the Indus valley at the feet of the conqueror. The tribes came in, 'ringing bells and beating drums and dancing,' in token of welcome. The Hindu rulers had oppressed them heavily, and the Jats and Meds and other tribes were on the side of the invaders. The work of conquest, as often happened in India, was thus aided by the disunion of the inhabitants, and jealousies of race and creed conspired to help the Muslims. To such suppliants Mohammad Kasim gave the liberal terms that the Arabs usually offered to all but inveterate foes. He imposed the customary poll-tax, took hostages for good conduct, and spared the people's lands and lives. He even left their shrines undesecrated: 'The temples,' he proclaimed, 'shall be inviolate, like the churches of the Christians, the synagogues of the Jews, and the altars of the Magians.'" Stanley Lane-Poole, Medieval India under Mohammedan Rule, 712-1764, G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York, 1970. p. 9-10
- ^ * Nicholas F. Gier, FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES, Presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May, 2006 , Last accessed September 30 2006
- Trifkovic, Serge. "Islam's Other Victims: India". FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
-
Trifkovic, Serge (Sept. 11, 2002). The Sword of the Prophet: History, Theology, Impact on the World. Regina Orthodox Press.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - The Chach-Nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.Online Version last accessed 30 September 2006
- The Chach-Nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.Online Version last accessed 30 September 2006
- The Chach-Nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.Online Version last accessed 30 September 2006
- The Chach-Nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.Online Version last accessed 30 September 2006
- ^ Javeed, Akhter. "IDo Muslims Deserve The Hatred Of Hindus?". International Strategy and Policy Institute, U.S.A. Retrieved 2006-09-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - H. M. Elliot and John Dowson, The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians,(London, 1867-1877), vol. 1, p. 203.
- ^ Markovits, Claude The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750-1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama, Cambridge University Press, Jun 22, 2000, ISBN: 0-521-62285-9, pg. 34.
- Akbar, M.J, "The Shade of Swords", Routledge (UK), Dec 1, 2003, ISBN: 0-415-32814-4 pg.102.
- Federal Research Division. "Pakistan a Country Study", Kessinger Publishing, Jun 1, 2004, ISBN: 1-419-13994-0 pg.45.
- Cheesman, David Landlord Power and Rural Indebtedness in Colonial Sind, Routledge (UK), Feb 1, 1997, ISBN: 0-700-70470-1
References
- The Chach-Nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.
- M.Ramakrishnayya, Historical memories and nation building in India, Booklinks corporation. Hyderabad, 500 029 India
- Nicholas F. Gier, FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES, Presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May, 2006
- Stanley Lane-Poole, Medieval India under Mohammedan Rule, 712-1764, G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York, 1970