After the death of Mahmud of Ghazni, his successor failed to manage the Empire made by him. So, from his death to the 2nd half of the 12th Century CE, there were continuous plundering raids in India. Actually, Mahmud of Ghazni has shown the wealth of India to the world. And this led to the coming of Muhammad Ghori as an invader in India.
Coming of Muhammad Ghori
Ghurid Dynasty
It was established at the place Ghur (Afghanistan). The founder of the Ghurid Dynasty was Allauddin Jahansoz. Actually, Ghurid were vassals of Ghaznavids. During the time of the successors of Mahmud of Ghazni, a member of Ghurid family humiliated and killed in the court of Ghaznavids.
So, as retaliation Allauddin Jahansoz, the prominent member of the Ghurid family attacked Ghazni and established the Ghurid Dynasty. So, from here the story of the Ghurid dynasty started. The most important person of this dynasty who came to India as invader was Muhammad Ghori.
Muhammad Ghori and India of 12th Century CE
Muhammad Ghori defeated Ghaznavids from the Punjab region of India. From here, he started his expedition to India. Ghori decided to occupy the Northern part of India via Bolan Pass. But his army got entrapped in the Marshy land of Rann of Kutch. Here, he was badly defeated by the Gujarat Ruler Bhima-II.
So, he returned back and then turned his attention towards Punjab. He found it the real gateway to India. In 1190, he encircled Lahore. He deceived Khushrau Malik (last descendant of Mahmud Ghazni) and killed him. After this incident, he became the sole authority of Punjab. This all proved to be a change in the dimension of Indian History.
When Ghori occupied Punjab region, that time the Tomara and Chauhans were ruling at the Delhi and Ajmer region respectively. So, from here the struggle between Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan started. The two battles were fought at the plain of Tarain.
Battle of Tarain
Battle of Tarain 1191
After 1190, Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan were in front of each other. This was because Muhammad Ghori was sitting in Punjab. But Prithviraj Chauhan got Delhi from his maternal Grandfather Anandpal Tomara. This started the rivalry between Prithviraj Chauhan and Jaichand Gahadval.
Jaichand was one of the contenders for the Delhi throne. So, when Prithviraj Chauhan became the authority of Delhi, Jaichand became his enemy. On the other side, Muhammad Ghori made a claim on Tabarhind (Bathinda), which led to the First Battle of Tarain in 1191. In this battle, Muhammad Ghori was badly defeated by the Prithviraj Chauhan. But, by the fortune, he escaped safely from the Battlefield.
Battle of Tarain 1192
Muhammad Ghori returned in 1192. This time another battle was fought on the plain of Tarain. It was the second Battle of Tarain, 1192. In this battle, Muhammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan, with the help of Jaichanda. So, till 1192, Muhammad Ghori captured Delhi and Ajmer.
In 1194, Ghori returned back. However, Jaichand was the one who deceived Prithviraj Chauhan and supported Ghori. But, as soon as Ghori returned back in 1194, in the Battle of Chandavar, Ghori eliminated Jaichand.
Later on, the army of Ghori under the leadership of Bakhtiyar Khalji entered into Bihar. Here, he destroyed Nalanda University and also destroyed Bodhi Tree. After all these evil acts, he occupied Bengal and committed the mistake of entering in North-Eastern region. His 3/4th army was destroyed in North East.
So, till the end of 12th Century CE, the territory of Muhammad Ghori was from Ghazni to Bengal. This story of Turkish expansion saw a change because of 2 incidents at the beginning of the 13th Century. It was the Battle of Andhkhod in central Asia (Battle between Ghurids and Mongols) and Muhammad Ghori died in 1206.
After Muhammad Ghori’s death, his slave, Qutubuddin Aibak established the Delhi Sultanate. In the upcoming post, we will read about the Slave Dynasty of Delhi Sultanate.
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