Second Battle of Tarain

The Second Battle of Tarain, also known as the Second Battle of Taraori, was fought in 1192 at Tarain (Taraori), the site of the First Battle of Tarain a year earlier. Tarain is near Thanesar in present-day Haryana, approximately 150 kilometres north of Delhi. [cite web
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Casus Belli

Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori decided to extend the boundary of his kingdom and also gain wealth, through conquests. To realize his ambition, he made his first incursion into India in 1175 CE. After subduing the Ismaili Muslim heretics of Multan, he made an unsuccessful advance into Gujarat in 1178 CE.Nevertheless he became successful in seizing Peshawar and building a fort at Sialkot in 1181 CE. With the help of the ruler of Jammu, Jaidev he put an end to the rule of Ghaznavids in Punjab and captured Lahore in 1186 CE. With this the way was opened for him to push his conquests further into India.

The First Battle of Tarain, was fought in 1191 at the town of Tarain (Taraori), near Thanesar in present-day Haryana, approximately 150 kilometers north of Delhi. The battle pitted the armies of Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori, conqueror of the Ghaznevid Kingdom and northwestern India, against the armies of Prithviraj III, a Rajput of the Chauhan clan who ruled the most powerful kingdom in northern India. Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori’s conquests had brought his kingdom right to the border of Prithviraj's, and in 1191 Muhammad captured a fortress, either Sirhind or Bathinda in present-day Indian Punjab state, on Prithviraj's northwestern frontier. Prithviraj's army, led by his vassal Govinda-raja of Delhi, rushed to the defense of the frontier, and the two armies met at Tarain. The armies clashed first with the charge of the Rajput cavalry. The two wings of the Muslim army were routed and fled while Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori held out in the center with the rest of the Turk soldiers; but the already shaken army by the rout of their two wings broke down in retreat. Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori was captured where he pleaded for mercy, and Pritiviraj Chauhan granted him freedom. He retreated to his capital at Ghazni, to prepare for a second invasion and the following year led an army to challenge Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain.

The Battle 1192 CE

Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori proceeded towards India with a large force numbering 120,000. When he reached Lahore, he sent his envoy to Prithviraj Chauhan to demand his submission, but Prithviraj Chauhan refused to comply. Prithviraj Chauhan he issued a fervent appeal to his fellow Rajput chiefs to come to his aid against the Muslim invader. About 150 Rajput chiefs responded to his call. Jaichand helped Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori by leaking out Chauhan's secrets and war strategy.

Prithviraj too came up with a large army ,a huge portion of which consisted of Indian war elephants, and proceeded with it to meet Muhammad Shahab ud-Din Ghori in Tarain where a year before he had inflicted a crushing defeat on his adversary, confident of defeating Ghori again. Muhammad delivered an ultimatum to Pritviraj that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Pritiviraj countered with an offer that Muhammad consider a truce, be allowed to retreat with his army. Muhammad rejected that offer. Ghori divided his troops into 5 parts. Muhammad's armies attacked the Rajput armies in the early morning hours. The Rajput army rallied, and Muhammad fell back, sending waves of mounted archers to attack the Rajput forces, but retreating as the Rajput elephant phalanx advanced. At dusk, Muhammad led a force of heavily-armored horsemen at the center of the Rajput line, and the line collapsed into confusion, giving victory to Muhammad. While he deployed four parts to attack the Rajputs on all four sides, the fifth part was kept as reserve. Khande Rao, the able general of Prithviraj, was killed. The enthusiasm of Prithviraj also dampened against these reverses. He abandoned his elephant and rode out of the battlefield in order to prepare his defenses for another round of attack.

Aftermath

After defeating Prithviraj in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 CE, Rajput kingdoms like Saraswati, Samana, Kohram and Hansi were captured without any difficulty. Then Ghori proceeded to Ajmer. After reaching Ajmer, he handed over the kingdom to Prithviraj’s son, Kola, who took the oath of loyalty. 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 Sultan has 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 Khutbah 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, Muhammad Ghori's most capable general who had started of by sacking Ayodhya in 1193 A.D., took control of Muhammad's Indian conquests and declared himself the first Sultan of Delhi thus establishing Sultanate of Delhi in 1206 CE.The most profound effect of Ghori's victory was the establishment of Muslim rule in India which would last and have great impact on life and culture of South Asia for centuries.

ee also

* First Battle of Tarain
* Prithviraj Raso

References