After Pala and Pratihara there was not a good administrative unit in north India. So, India being a land of wealth and prosperity became the victim of foreign invasion. It is very clear that whenever India became weak, it became a victim of its deprived neighbors.
In 1000 CE, Northern India was lacking a powerful centralized authority. So, this opportunity was grabbed by the Ummayad Caliphate. He sent his general Muhammad-Bin-Qasim for the Indian expedition. India’s wealth attracted Arabs.
Cause of Arabs Invasion
King Dahir was a ruler of the Chach dynasty. During his reign, Pirates of Debol plundered the Arab Ships. To avenge this episode, the Hajjaj, governor of Iraq sent an army under the commander Muhammad-Bin-Qasim. The army defeated Dahir and conquered lower Punjab, Sindh, and ruled for two years.
After this India became the victim of the Shansbani Dynasty of Afghanistan. In the 10th Century CE, Punjab was under the reign of Shahi Rulers. During the same ages, Ghazni state became an independent state of Afghanistan. Subuktgin was the founder of the Ghazni Dynasty. His son was Mahmud.
Mahmud (997-1030 CE) of Ghazni came on the throne at the age of 30years. He was very tempted after knowing the wealth of Hindu Temples and the wealth of the Indian Subcontinent. He invaded India 17 times during 1000-1026 CE.
Shahi Rulers v/s Mahmud of Ghazni
In the 1001 CE, Mahmud attacked the Hindu Shahi Kingdom. During this period Jayapala was the ruler of Shahi Kingdom. But Mahmud defeated the Jayapala. Anandapala, son of Jayapala, succeeded the throne. In 1008 CE, Mahmud again attacked the Hindu Shahi Kingdom. It was the battle of Waihind.
When Mahmud Ghazni defeated Jayapala and Anandapala, so his enthusiasm increased. So, in the same year 1008 CE he attacked and plundered Nagarkot Temple.
Note:
One should understand one basic thing here, Mahmud of Ghazni was a plunderer. In the 1000 CE, Northern India saw the magnificent temples. The temples of that time were the center of economic, social, and political activities. So, it was the reason for the prosperity and wealth of temples. However, after plundering the Nagarkot temple, Mahmud got the practical taste of the wealth of the temples. So, onwards temples became the easy target to fetch money from India.
So, in 1012 CE, he attacked Thaneshwar temple and In the 1018 CE plundered the holy city of Mathura. In 1025 CE, he plundered and destroyed many ancient artefacts of the splendid Somnath Temple of Gujarat coast.
Though Mahmud of Ghazni was nothing more than a plunderer. But he accidentally contributed to the history of Indian Subcontinent in the following ways,
- Connected Silk Route to Northern Path.
- The entry of Islam in India.
- Foundation of 3rd Urbanisation.
- Filled the political void.
Arabs Invasion and Mahmud’s Reign
The biggest contribution of Mahmud Ghazni was to reconnect the Northern Path with Silk Route. He laid the foundation of 3rd Urbanization. (Though he was a Devastator. But accidentally he connected the trade link between the ancient world and this led to the rejuvenation of Urbanization.)
The continuous raid of Mahmud of Ghazni created a political vacuum in Northern India preparing the ground for the emergence of big Rajput States like,
- Chauhans of Ajmer.
- Gahadwals of Kannauj.
- Tomaras of Delhi.
Alberuni arrived in India along with Mahmud of Ghazni and his famous book is Kitab-ul-Hind. This book gives an account of India. Firdausi, author of Shahnama was also a poet laureate of the court of Mahmud.
After the Mahmud of Ghazni, the next invader of Indian Subcontinent was Muhammad Ghori. The successor of Ghori laid the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in India. In the next post, we shall read about this.
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