Between 1298 and 1299, the mighty Mongols invaded India three times. Each time, Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi was able to repel their attack. But after repeated defeats, the Mongols' desire to conquer India was not dispelled. As a result, the Indian subcontinent faced three more Mongol invasions.
Fourth Mongol Invasion (1303)
About three years after the failed invasion of 1299, the Chaghatai Khanat again attacked the Delhi Sultanate. In the winter of 1302–03, Sultan Alauddin sent a portion of his army to attack Barangal, the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty in southern India, and in January 1303 attacked Chittor with another force. The Mongols launched a second attack to capture Delhi after learning that the lion's share of Delhi's army was outside the capital. About 120,000 Mongol troops took part in the attack, led by Mongol commander Taraghai, who also took part in the battle of 1299.
Delhi troops
stationed at Multan, Dipalpur and Samana tried to resist the advance of the
Mongols, but failed. The Mongols marched through the Punjab towards Delhi.
Meanwhile, after a long siege of 6 months, Alauddin was able to capture Chittor
in August 1303 and establish his own rule there. In the meantime, he heard the
news of the Mongol invasion and quickly left Chittor for Delhi. Arriving in
Delhi, he was given a month to prepare for the Mongol invasion. But during the
siege of Chittor, his army lost a lot of military equipment and it was not
possible for him to compensate. Alauddin ordered all the provincial rulers of
Delhi to send aid and also to return the troops engaged in the attack on
Barangal. But before that the Mongols besieged Delhi and blocked all access to
and from Delhi.
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| The fort of Siri built by Alauddin Khilji; Source: Wikimedia Commons |
In this situation, Alauddin did not adopt an aggressive policy but adopted a defensive policy and deployed troops in the Siri plain near Delhi. To the east of Siri was the river Jamuna, to the south-west was the old fort of Delhi and to the south was the dense jungle; It was not possible for the Mongols to attack the Delhi troops stationed there from these three directions. Only the Mongols could attack from the north. At Alauddin's direction, trenches were dug around Siri and a defensive position was built.
The Mongols laid siege to Delhi for two months and had several skirmishes with the Delhi army, but neither side was able to take advantage of them. In the meantime, the Mongols were losing patience and running out of supplies. Moreover, his political rivals clashed with Khan Dua at Chaghatai Khanate and Dua needed troops. In this situation, the Mongols lifted the siege of Delhi and retreated to Chaghatai Khanate with the plundered goods. With this the second attempt of the Mongols to capture Delhi failed.
The Mongol invasion of 1303 was particularly dangerous for Alauddin, as the Mongols almost occupied Delhi in the invasion, and it is thought that if the siege continued for some more time, Delhi would fall to the Mongols. That is why after this attack Alauddin became alert. Alauddin himself had earlier led many of the expeditions sent to different states of India. But after the Mongol invasion of 1303, he realized the importance of his position in the capital and refrained from participating in subsequent expeditions.
Alauddin built many forts along the route of the Mongols' invasion of India, deployed large numbers of troops, weapons and supplies in these forts and deployed two large armies at Dipalpur and Samana. Moreover, he appointed his most skilled officers as administrators in the frontier regions and later introduced a number of economic reforms throughout the sultanate in order to raise the cost of successfully conducting the war.
Fifth Mongol Invasion (1305)
In 1305, Dua, the ruler of the Chaghatai Khanate, again sent an army to attack the Delhi Sultanate to avenge the previous defeats. The force consisted of about 50,000 cavalry and was led by Mongol generals Taraghai, Ali Beg and Tartak. Taraghai had earlier taken part in the India campaign, but was killed in a clash between the Mongols shortly after entering the frontier of the Delhi Sultanate. Ali Beg and Tartak's army continued to advance through the Punjab.
Malik Naik, Alauddin's general, was the commander-in-chief of the Delhi-based Delhi army at the time. He set up military bases at various places in the Punjab to repel possible Mongol invasions, but as in 1299, the Mongols bypassed these bases and advanced towards the interior of the Sultanate. Malik Naik had the idea that the Mongols were going to attack Delhi this time as before, so he reached Delhi with his army. But the Mongols knew that Delhi was very secure then. That is why they refrained from attacking Delhi this time. Instead, they plundered and destroyed the land at the foot of the Shibalik Hills, and then proceeded to the Gangetic plains along the foothills of the Himalayas to the southeast.
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| Amroha district (black marked part) on the map, where the Delhi army defeated the Mongols on 20 December 1305; Source: iJunoon |
Alauddin sent an army of 30,000 men led by Malik Naik to stop the Mongols. On 20 December 1305, the two armies met in Amroha district of present day Uttar Pradesh. The Mongols attacked the Delhi army, but were defeated miserably. About 20,000 Mongol soldiers were killed in the battle of Amroha, and about 6,000 to 9,000 more were captured, including two Mongol generals, Ali Beg and Tartak. In addition, about 20,000 horses of the Mongol forces were captured by the Delhi army. The captive soldiers were taken to Delhi, where they were trampled to death on the orders of Alauddin.
Sixth Mongol Invasion (1306)
In 1306, the Chaghatai Khanat again sent an army of 60,000 troops to attack the Delhi Sultanate. The Mongol generals Quebec, Iqbalmand and Taibu commanded this force. After entering India, a Mongol force led by Quebec advanced along the Irrawaddy / Ravi river in the Punjab and another Mongol force led by Iqbalmand and Taibur marched towards Nagaur in present day Rajasthan. The Mongols wreaked havoc in both regions.
To repel the attack, Alauddin sent an army led by his beloved general Malik Kafur. Alauddin promised his troops that if they could defeat the Mongols in this battle, they would be rewarded with one year's salary. The Delhi troops then advanced rapidly towards the affected area and confronted the invading Mongols on the banks of the Ravi River. At first both forces refrained from attacking each other. The Delhi army still could not overcome the fear of the Mongols, on the other hand the Mongols also realized that it was not easy to defeat the Delhi army.
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| In 1306, the Mongols were defeated by the Delhi army in a fierce battle on the banks of the Irrawaddy / Ravi river; Source: Firstpost |
Eventually the Mongols advanced and launched a fierce attack on the Delhi troops. As a result of this attack, the Delhi army was dispersed. But Malik Kafur reorganized them and counter-attacked the Mongols. In each of these attacks the Mongols suffered heavy losses and the Mongol general Kobek himself was taken prisoner. The remaining Mongol troops retreated to the south and joined forces led by Iqbalmand and Taibu. Quebec was sent captive to Delhi, where he was executed.
The Delhi army led by Malik Kafur also advanced towards Nagaur and launched a surprise attack on the Mongols stationed there. Unable to cope with this attack, the Mongols retreated. For the first time, the Delhi army chased the fleeing Mongols and was able to kill or capture a large number of Mongol troops. Of the Mongols who took part in the expedition, only 3,000 to 4,000 were able to return to Chaghatai Khana alive.
This was the last invasion of India by the Mongols during the reign of Alauddin. Alauddin ruled the Delhi Sultanate for another 10 years, but during this time the Mongols no longer invaded India. On the contrary, it was at this time that the Delhi army began to launch regular attacks on Mongol-occupied Afghanistan, which the Mongols could not resist. According to historians, after the defeat of the Mongols in 1308, a 'tower' was erected in front of the Badayun Gate in Delhi with the skulls of the slain Mongol soldiers on Alauddin's orders, to warn future invaders! Needless to say, the brutality that the Mongols displayed from Korea to Hungary throughout the thirteenth century, they suffered the same kind of treatment in Delhi.
Results
The defeat of the Mongols near the Delhi Sultanate under Alauddin Khilji is a memorable chapter in the history of India. The military history of the Mongols has been a history of almost uninterrupted conquests for a long time since the conquest of Genghis Khan began in the early thirteenth century. In 1221, the Mongols were defeated at the Battle of Parwan by Khorejam, and in 1229–1231 they were defeated in a few battles with the Jin dynasty of China, but these defeats did not prevent their conquest, and the Mongols destroyed Khorazm and the Jin Empire. In 1280, the Mongols were defeated by the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt at the Battle of Ain Goliath, but the Mongol forces participating in this battle numbered only 10,000 to 20,000.
On the other hand, between 1298 and 1306, the Mongols invaded India six times in a row, and each time their troops outnumbered the Mongol forces participating in the Battle of Goliath. But it was Alauddin Khilji's personal courage and fighting prowess, the bravery and military prowess of his generals, the efficiency of his army and the effectiveness of the economic reforms he introduced - that saved India from the Mongol invasion. At a time when countries like Russia, China and Iran were forced to recognize the domination of the Mongols, many historians have hailed India's victory as a great achievement.
If Alauddin had been defeated and the Mongols were able to capture the Delhi Sultanate, what would have happened?
First, the Delhi Sultanate was the most powerful state in India at that time. If the Delhi Sultanate fell to the Mongols, the gates of India would be open to them. Because India at that time was divided into a large number of small states and it was not possible for these states to resist the Mongol invasion.
Second, after the conquest of any territory, it was the custom of the Mongols to wreak havoc there. In that case, if the Mongols could occupy India, the major cities of the subcontinent would be reduced to rubble, and the people of India, regardless of religion or caste, would be the victims of a large-scale genocide.
Thirdly, some historians believe that if the Mongols could occupy India, the Hindu civilization in India would be extinct. But the complete destruction of any civilization or culture was not characteristic of the Mongol rule. It is true that the Mongols wreaked havoc in China, Russia, Iran, Central Asia, etc., but they did not notice the destruction of the local culture and the imposition of their own culture.
After all, if the Mongol invasion was successful, the Indian economy would suffer, at least for the short term. And long-term Mongol rule could also have a long-term negative impact on India's economy, as some Russian historians believe.
Needless to say, Alauddin Khilji's main objective in repelling the Mongol invasion was to protect his own empire and life. But by protecting India from the Mongol invasion he saved the inhabitants of the subcontinent from a major catastrophe, there is no way to deny it.
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