Battle of Rajasthan

The Battle of Rajasthan is a battle (or series of battles) where the Hindu Rajput clans defeated the Muslim Arab invaders in 738 CE. It should be noted that while all sources (Hindu and Muslim) agree on the broad outline of the conflict and the result, there is no detailed information on the actual battle/s. There is also no indication of the exact places where these battles were fought——what is clear is that the final battle took place somewhere on the borders of modern Sindh-Rajasthan. Following their defeat the remnants of the Arab army fled to the other bank of the River Indus.

This is one reason to choose the title “Battle of Rajasthan” to describe that conflict. But a more important reason is the participation of the Rajput clans of Rajasthan: Pratiharas, Chauhans, and Guhilots, on the Hindu side. After their victory these clans established large states in North India, which marks the commencement of the Rajput period.

Background

With the break-up of the Gupta Empire (550 CE), northern India was covered with warring states, which attempted to wrest the imperial position left vacant by the Guptas. Among these were Yasodharman of Malwa, the Maitraks of Vallabhi, and Harshvardhan of Thanesar. But a stable empire in the north was only established by the Pratiharas of the Rajasthan-Gujarat-Malwa region by 750 CE, which lasted for over a century.

Before the onset of this age West Asia was conquered by the politico-religious ideology of Islam (7th Century). Under the Umayyad Caliphs the Muslim Arabs attempted to conquer the frontier kingdoms of India; Kabul, Zabul, and Sindh, but were repulsed. In the early 8th Century the Kingdom of Sindh was convulsed by internal strife——taking advantage of the conditions the Arabs renewed their assaults and finally occupied it under Muhammad bin Qasim, the nephew of Al-Hajjaj (governor of Iraq and Khurasan). Qasim and his successors attempted to expand from Sindh into Punjab and other regions but were defeated by Lalitaditya of Kashmir and Yasovarman of Kannauj. Even their position in Sindh was still not fully stabilized at this time.

Events leading up to the battle

Junaid, the successor of Qasim, finally subdued the Hindu resistance within Sindh. Taking advantage of the conditions in Western India, which at that time was covered with several small states, Junaid led a large army into the region in early 738 CE. Dividing this force into two he plundered several cities in southern Rajasthan, western Malwa, and Gujarat. The Arab chroniclers claim that he acquired immense wealth, slaughtered large numbers of infidels, and returned.

Indian inscriptions confirm this invasion but record the Arab success only against the smaller states in Gujarat. They also record the "defeat" of the Arabs at two places. The southern army moving south into Gujarat was repulsed at Navsari by the Solankis and Rashtrakutas. The army that went east, after sacking several places, reached Avanti whose ruler Nagabhatta Pratihara trounced the invaders and forced them to flee. After his victory Nagabhatta took advantage of the disturbed conditions to acquire control over the numerous small states up to the border of Sindh.

The Battle of Rajasthan

Junaid probably died from the wounds inflicted in the battle with the Pratihara Rajputs. His successor Tamin organized a fresh army and attempted to avenge Junaid’s defeat towards the close of the year 738 CE. But this time Nagabhatta Pratihara, with his Chauhan and Guhilot feudatories, met the Muslim army before it could leave the borders of Sindh. The battle resulted in the complete rout of the Arabs who fled broken into Sindh with the Rajput clans close behind them.

In the words of the Arab chronicler, “"a place of refuge to which the Muslims might flee was not to be found".” The Arabs crossed over to the other side of the River Indus, abandoning all their lands to the victorious Hindus. The local chieftains took advantage of these conditions to re-establish their independence. Subsequently the Arabs constructed the city of Mansura on the other side of the wide and deep Indus, which was safe from attack. This became their new capital in Sindh.

Thus began the reign of the Imperial Pratiharas and the Rajput Period of Indian History.

Equipment and resources

In the Gwalior inscription it is recorded that Nagabhatta “"crushed the large army of the powerful Mlechcha king".” This large army consisted of cavalry, infantry, siege artillery, and probably a force of camels. Since Tamin was a new governor he had a force of Syrian cavalry from Damascus, local Arab contingents, converted Hindus of Sindh, and foreign mercenaries like the Turks. All together the invading army may have had anywhere between 10-15,000 cavalry, 5000 infantry, and 2000 camels.

The Arab chronicler Sulaiman describes the army of the Imperial Pratiharas as it stood in 851 CE, “"This king maintains numerous forces and no other Indian prince has so fine a cavalry. He is unfriendly to the Arabs, still he acknowledges that the king of the Arabs is the greatest of kings. Among the princes of India there is no greater foe of the Islamic faith than he. He has got riches, and his camels and horses are numerous".”

But at the time of the Battle of Rajasthan the Pratihars had only just risen to power. In fact Nagabhatta was their first prominent ruler. But the composition of his army, which was predominantly cavalry, is clear from the description. There are other anecdotal references to the Indian kings and commanders riding elephants to have a clear view of the battlefield. The infantry stood behind the elephants and the cavalry formed the wings and advanced guard.

At the time of the battle the Pratihar Rajputs may have had up to 5000 cavalry, while their Guhilot and Chauhan feudatories may have had 2000 horsemen each, added to which we may include infantry, camels, and elephants. So all told the Hindu and Muslim armies were evenly matched with the better cavalry in the former.

Later events

Following their victory the Pratiharas spread their rule over North India. The Guhilot Rajputs under their leader Khommana (Bappa Rawal) captured Chittor from the Mori Rajputs (who had been weakened by the Arab raid) and the Chauhans established a kingdom in North Rajasthan. Along with their Parihar overlords these clans formed a recognized clan hierarchy (miscalled feudalism), and a hereditary ownership of lands and forts, both of which are hallmarks of the Rajput clan-system. While the word Rajput is derived from the Sanskrit Rajaputra in the Vedic texts, the history of the Rajputs really begins with the clan confederacy that defeated the Arab invaders.

The Arabs in Sindh took a long time to recover from their defeat. In the early 9th Century the governor Bashar attempted an invasion of India but was defeated by Nagabhatta II and his subordinates, Govindraja Chauhan and Khommana II Guhilot. Even a naval expedition sent by the Caliphs was defeated by the Saindhava Rajputs of Kathiawar. After this the Arab chroniclers admit that the Caliph Mahdi, “"gave up the project of conquering any part of India".”

The Arabs in Sindh lost all power and broke up into two warring states of Mansurah and Multan, both of which paid tribute to the Pratiharas. The local resistance in Sindh, which had not yet died out and was inspired by the victories of their Rajput neighbors manifested itself when the foreign rulers were overthrown and Sindh came under its own half-converted Hindu dynasties like the Sumras and Sammas.

References

Original Hindu sources

* Gwalior stone inscription of Bhoja Pratihara
* Jodhpur inscription of Bauka Pratihara
* "Bappabhattcharitam"
* "Harivamsapurana" by Jinasena
* "Kumarpalacharita" by Jaysimha
* "Vikramarjuna Vijaya" by Panpa
* "Khummana-Raso"

Original Muslim sources

* "Al-Madaini"
* "Futuhu-l Buldan" by Ahmad bin Yahya
* "Chach-nama" by Muhammad Ali Kufi
* "Kitab ul-Aqalim" by Istakhri
* "Ashkal ul-Bilad" by ibn Hauqal
* "Silsilat ut-Tawarikh" by Sulayman

Modern works

* "The Age of Imperial Kannauj" (The History and Culture of the Indian People - Volume IV)
* "Who were the Imperial Pratiharas" by RR Halder
* "The Glory that was Gurjaradesa" by KM Munshi