Arab invasion of India: Battle of Raor

[Bhadra]

dIGITAL library OF iNDIA

Barcode : 99999990842148
Title - famous battles in indian history
Author - subrahmanyam, t.g.
Language - english
Pages - 116
Publication Year - 1969
Barcode EAN.UCC-13

ThE BATTLE OF RAOR OR The Arab Conquest: of Sind

The battle of Raor is important in Indian history ;as marking the Arab conquest of Sind and the
beginning of the Muhammadan invasion which, -eventually, resulted in the establishment of
Muhammadan rule in India. Ma'ny are the views regarding the identification of Raor referred to by the early Muhammadan
historians. Haig places Raor in "Lower Sind", 80 miles from Brahmanabad and about 70 miles to the
south-east of Haiderabad. Raverty locates Raor within ten miles of Brahmanabad. The identifications
referred to above do not agree with facts disclosed by the Muhammadan historians. Professor
R. C. Majumdar in his book "The Arab Invasion of Sind" conclusively identifies Raor, with the modern
town of Rohri on the western bank of Indus,. important even in the present day as commanding
the railway bridge. which connects the island of Bukkar in the midstream and Sukkur on the right
bank of the Indus. The battle of Raor took place between Muhammad-ibn-Kasim, representing the Muhammadan
Caliphate, and Dahir, ruler of Sind.

 

[Bhadra]

 

[Bhadra]

The chief sources of History


The chief sources for the reconstruction of an account of the Arab raids into Sind are
(a) Kitab Fatuh-ul-Bulden, written by AI Baladhuri and
(b) the Cachnama, a Persian , translation of an old Arabic history of the conquest of Sind by the Arabs,
translated about 1216 A.D.

The Cachnama gives a detailed account of the conquest of Sind by the Arabs.

 

[Bhadra]

Geography

"Like the nose of the alligator, Sind is the most vulnerable part of India, being exposed to foreign
attack. The back of the country is covered by the Himalayan chain and is therefore like the back of
an alligator, impossible to assail. The head of ,the country and its forehead too are protected, by the
Hindukush and the Sulaiman ranges and are therefore practically unassailable. It is lower down,.
where the river Indus falls into the sea that there is no natural obstacle in the path of a foreign invader_
The nose of India is doubtless approachable through a sandy desert country without much water,
but to those who are accustomed to traverse deserts on camels and mules, Sind is easily accessible and
hence, it is, that it has frequently fallen a prey to 'foreign invaders in the history of Ancient India."*
The two other States forming North-Western ,Frontier of India, higher up Sind were known as
Zabul and Kabul, more precisely Zabulistan and Kabulistan. The Arab armies tried in vain to expand
;into Kabulistan and Zabulistan and being unsuc' Cessful in that direction turned their armies against
Sind through the Makran coast.

***************
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sindh

In response of Caliph Umar's question about the Makran region, the messenger from Makran answered:

'O Commander of the faithful!It's a land where the plains are stony;
Where water is scanty;
Where the fruits are unsavory;
Where men are known for treachery;
Where plenty is unknown;
Where virtue is held of little account;
And where evil is dominant;
A large army is less for there;
And a less army is use-less there;
The land beyond it, is even worst. [referring to Sind]
Caliph Umar looked at the messenger and said: "Are you a messenger or a poet?" He replied, "Messenger"..

Such was the terrain.

 

[Bhadra]

 

[abhi_the _gr8_maratha]

I have heard that indian doesn't protested and told them that our god will curse you, he is powerful.
.
not confirm its incident of that battle or some other one

 

[Bhadra]

 

[Bhadra]

A Little background

The province of Sistan was the largest province of Persian Empire; its frontiers extended from Sindh in east to Balkh (Afghanistan) in northeast.[3] During the Rashidun Caliphate, the Islamic conquest of some parts of Sindh was extension of the campaigns to conquer the Persian Empire in 643 AD, by sending seven armies from seven different routs to different parts of empire. Islamic forces first entered Sindh during the reign of Caliph Umar, in 644 AD. It was not a full scale arrival in Sindh, but was merely as extension of the conquests of the largest province of Persia - Sistan and Makran region. In 644 AD, the columns of Hakam ibn Amr, Shahab ibn Makharaq and Abdullah ibn Utban concentrated near the west bank of Indus River and defeated the army of Raja Sahasi Rai II a Hindu king of Rai kingdom of Sind, in Battle of Rasil, his armies retreated to the eastern bank of river Indus.

After the death of Caliph Umar the areas—like other regions of Persian Empire—broke into revolt and Caliph Uthman sent forces to re-conquer them. Caliph Uthman also sent his agent Haheem ibn Jabla Abdi to investigate the matters of Hind. On his return, he told Caliph Uthma about the cities and, listening to the miserable conditions of the region, he avoided campaigning in Sindh and, like Caliph Umar, he ordered his armies not to cross Indus River.

Sindh was finally conquered by Syrian Arabs led by Muhammad bin Qasim; it became the easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate. The defeat of the Hindu ruler Dahir was made easier due to the tension between the Buddhist majority and the ruling Hindus' fragile base of control. The Arabs redefined the region and adopted the term budd to refer to the numerous Buddhist idols they encountered, a word that remains in use today. The city of Mansura was established as a regional capital and Arab rule lasted for nearly three centuries and a fusion of cultures produced much of what is today modern Sindhi society. Arab geographers, historians and travellers also sometimes called the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush as Sindh. The meaning of the word Sindhu being water (or ocean) appears to refer to the Indus River.

History of Sindh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Bhadra]

At the time of the Arab invasion Raja Dahir, son Of Cach, was the ruler of Sind. He had his capital at Alar. The modern town of Rohri stands close by the ruins of Alar, on the banks of Sikkim, which the native historians called Mihram.

Raja Dahir was in possession of Multan and all 'Sind with perhaps the adjoining plains of the Indus, far as the mountains of Kalabagh and also to those of Karman, on the west. The Rajput feudal system was then prevalent in Sind and the territorywas portioned among Dahir's relatives.

 

[Bhadra]

 

[Bhadra]

The immediate cause of the Arab attack on Sind (Disputed among Historians)

The immediate (alleged) cause of the Arab attack on Sind, which led to a permanent conquest later on, was the uncalled for attack on the Arab ship near the mouth of the Indus at Debal by the pirates. The ru ler of Ceylon had despatched eight vessels filled with presents and envoys to secure the goodwill of
Hajaj and the Caliph. These ships were plundered by the pirates at Deba!. Debal or Oiwal was a port on the Indus in the territory of Oahir. The identification of Debal had been a moot point with the historians. "It is strange that the site of a port, once so noted as Debal, should now be left to
vague conjecture", says the historian. Native authorities seem decidedly in favour of identifying Debal with Thattal while some historians
make Oebal lie between Thatta and Karachi. Elliot, however, definitely asserts: But there can be no question that Debal was on or dose to the sea
coast, with which the distant inland city of Thatta. is by no means correspondent. For my own part, I: entertain little doubt that Karachi itself represents
the site of Deba!". * Debal was a port on the Indus in the territory of Dahir. Hajaj nominally Governor of Iraq, but in fact, the ruler over all the country, de rna nded reparation from Dahirl ruler of Sind. Dahir declined compliance on the ground that he had no control over the pirates and declared his inability to restrain and repair the, excess. Thereupon Hajaj earnestly sought the permission of the Caliph to attack Debal and to· exact due vengeance from Dahir and his subjects., Hajaj promised to pay the Caliph double the cost of the expedition on a successful return and obtained: permission to attack Dahir. He then sent Muhammad. Kasim against Dahir.

 

[Bhadra]

 

[Bhadra]

Muhamad Bin and His Forces


Muhammad Kasim, known as Muhammad Bin Kasim Sakifi, then a youth of seventeen, was· entrusted with the work of chastising Dahir.

He' was equipped with :

an army of 6,000 armed camel riders,

6,000 picked cavalry of Syria and Iraq and

a baggage train of 3,000 Bactrian camels.

In Makran' he was joined by the Governor Muhammad Harun; with other reinforcements.

Moreover he had five, catapults together with the necessary ammunition ransported by sea to Debal.

Besides these Arab, troops, many Jats (todays Saraiakies may be) and Medes enlisted themselves, under Muhammad Bin Kasim's banner.

 

[Bhadra]

The Campaign

With this army, he successfully besieged Debal, and breaking the standard of the Hindus reduced
the City of Deba!. A son of Dahir who was in the city of Debal either as a master or as an ally retreated,
on the reduction of the city, to Brahmanabad. Kasim then advanced on Nerun (now Haiderabad
in Sind) and thence upon Saliwon and took the. fortress called Salim. Thus far Kasim's progress met
'with little opposition. Here he was confronted with a powerful army under the command of the Raja's
·eldest son. After several indecisive encounters, Muhammad Kasim advanced to the neighbourhood
-of the capital Alor itself.

The Cachnama referred to as Tarikhi~i·Sindt by Elphinstone, gives a vivid account of the battle and
,is here reproduced in part as translated by Elliot and Dowson. (The History of India as told by its
historians.)

 

[pmaitra]

@Bhadra, good thread.

If you can, take the Google map, and put some arrows, and number them, to give a good pictorial representation of the battle.

Like this: http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/military-history/51644-british-expedition-tibet.html

 

[Bhadra]

The Cachnama


Muhammad Kasim sends a Syrian ambassador and Maulana Islami to Dahir. When they came to Dahir, Maulana Islami of Debal did not bow his .head or make any signs of reverence.

Dahir recognised him and asked him why he failed in the usual .respectful salutation and enquired if anyone had thrown obstacles in his way,

The Maulana of DebaI replied, "When I was your subject it was right of me to observe the rule of obedience's: but now, that I am converted and subject to the king of Islam, it cannot be expected that I should bow my head to an infidel."

Dahir said, lf you were not an ambassador I would punish you with death."

The Maulana replied. lf you would kill me, it 'would be no great loss to the Arabs; but they will .avenge my death and exact the penalty from you."

(Note : There is a lot of speculation amongst the historians on the causes of the attack on Sindh and many amongst them claiming themselves left liberals like Romilla Thapar stress on the factor of the story of Pirates and punitive and retaliatory military action undertaken by the Arabas . But the conversation described in Chachnama above proves that a Jihadi Islamic zeal did exist among the attackers and the campaign was indeed looked upon as a campaign against Kafirs ).

 

[Bhadra]

@Bhadra, good thread.

If you can, take the Google map, and put some arrows, and number them, to give a good pictorial representation of the battle.

Like this: http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/military-history/51644-british-expedition-tibet.html

Thanks.

I shall try but it takes hell of a lot of efforts -

First find the basic material on web .. download it and then read it and then decide what will be good for DFI.

Go to Google --- take a photo- scratch your brain to identify places -- annotate it --save it -- upload to imagesack --- then put on web...

It means I should have those many software on my Computer... those many facilities and internet broadband...

being on DFI is not inexpensive... I would say it is rather expensive hobby !!

Then upload it and get banned !! Ha Ha Ha ...

 

[Bhadra]

http://imageshack.com/a/img845/3738/igdr.jpg

 

[Bhadra]

Muhammad bin Qasim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Bhadra]

Muhammad bin Qasim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia