Sack of Bhatner fort (1398)
| Siege of Bhatner fort | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Timurid conquests and invasions and Campaigns of Timur | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Timurid Empire |
 Delhi Sultanate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Timur Pir Muhammad |
Dul Chand † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Almost 10,000[4] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 10,000 during the battle[5] | ||||||
The Sack of Bhatner Fort (1398) was an siege led by Timurid Empire in (1398) during the Invasion of Dehli. Timur laid siege on Bhatner Fort with an army of 10,000 troops against the Muslims and Rajputs of Rajasthan. It took place on 23 November 1398 in Rajasthan and ended with a Timurid victory.[4]
Background[edit]
Timur eyed Delhi, knowing about the wealth of India. Timur had begun preparations and mobilization for his next campaign. While Timur had no intention of ruling over India or interest in an Indian Empire, he coveted its wealth. He launched an invasion of Dehli against the ruling Tughlaq Empire In India.[6]
Invasion of India[edit]
Timur entered India in 1398 with the intention of ousting the Hindu monarchs and authorities. He also thought that Delhi's Muslim sultans were being highly supportive of their Hindu subjects. From Samarkand he embarked on his journey. He crossed the river Sindh and headed toward Punjab. That day was September 24, 1398. Numerous towns and villages were demolished. There were mass killings. Timur and his army advanced forward unchecked. Timur's grandson Pir Muhammad had begun his journey to India before this invasion. He had taken control over the cities of Multan and Uch and most of its citizens as prisoner. Timur was then joined by Pir Muhammad.[1]
In 1398, Timur gathered an army of over 90,000 to invade India. On 30 September 1398 Timur crossed the Indus River and reached Tulamba where he sacked the city and massacred its inhabitants. In October he reached Multan and captured the city. Most of his invasions faced almost no resistance, as they were already weakened and had not mobilized properly. During campaign Amir Timur killed 1,000,000 Indians.[6][7]
Prelude[edit]
In March 1398 Timur Marched from south-east instead of directly approaching the capital Delhi which was just 600 Miles far away. Timur there aided his grandson Pir Muhammad who was having a hard time in capturing Multan. Timur advanced with his army from the quickest route and on his way many local chief gave him presents in order to secure peace. Civilians there were given two opitions either to embrace islam or face death.[8]
Timur was informed of the rebellion by the governer of uchch Shihab Ud-Din Mubarak Shah Tamimi when reached the banks of river jhelum, who at first had surrenderd to Pir Muhammad and had started to oppose them and did not pay tribute to Timur. When Timur arrived Tamimi the governer escaped to uchch with Timur also followed him subsequently and Burned the citadel and killed Tamimi and his family.[5] Timur then marched along the river jhelum, defeated many small local chief's of the area along the way and sacked many cities in Punjab. The city of Multan surrendered to the armies of both Timur and Pir Muhammad, unable to provide further resistance. Then Timur and his Army marched towards Delhi.[8]
Siege[edit]
Timur's invasion was initially unopposed as most of the Indian nobles conceded without a fight. However, he did stumble across resistance from the united army of Rajputs and Muslims at Bhatnir under the command of Rajput King Dul chand. Dul Chand, a Hindu ruler of Bhatner, offered refuge to nobles from Dipalpur and Pak Pattan who had rebelled against Timur. This angered Timur, who intended to punish the rebels severely. The Bhatner Fort, under Dul Chand's control and primarily defended by Rajput soldiers, resisted Timur's siege. Despite initial opposition, Dul Chand eventually surrendered after a period of fierce fighting. The rebels were enslaved, and according to some accounts, Timur's forces showed no mercy, even towards women and children.[9]
The Citizens of Pak Pattan were flogged and beaten to death, on the other hand 500 citizens of Dipalpur were massacared by Timur as an act to avenge the garrison of Pir Muhammad who were killed at Dipalpur. Then tax collecter's of Timurs army were to collect tax from the people of Bhatnir, the people there gave resistance when the tax collecter's demanded tax, this act further infuriated Timur and therefore ordered to massacare all the citizens in Bhatnir. Due to this act of barbarism, Dul Chand’s son and brother then decided to fight till their last breath. Dul chand was locked outside the fort's walls by his brother, while others suggest he was present during the siege. In any case, he was ultimately killed by Timur's forces..[10][11]
Aftermath[edit]
According to sources it is described that, the hindu population of bhatnir suffered upto 10,000 deaths, sources do not mention the casualties sources do not mention the casualties sustained by the muslims.
After defeating the governor of Bhatner Fort, Timur's forces captured the fort and razed both the fort and the city to the ground. They then continued their eastward march, crossing the Indus River on their way to Delhi. Notably, the Sultan of Delhi did not take any significant action to impede Timur's advance until his army crossed the Yamuna River. While on his march towards Delhi, Timur was opposed by the Jat peasantry, who looted caravans and then disappeared into the forests, Timur had 2,000 Jats killed and took many prisoners.[12][13][14][5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Timur invades India". mapsofindia. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Timur's Invasion of India | History Unravelled". historyunravelled.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
Timur's invasion was unopposed as most of the Indian nobility surrendered without a fight.
- ^ Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
- ^ a b Saunders, J. J. (2023-07-07), "The Turkish rehearsal for the Mongol conquests", The History of the Mongol Conquests, London: Routledge, pp. 16–29, ISBN 978-1-003-40809-3, retrieved 2023-11-16
- ^ a b c Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
- ^ a b "Timur's Invasion of India | History Unravelled". historyunravelled.com. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
After the battle, it is believed that there were about 1,00,000 prisoners in the camp of Timur. Later he ordered to execute every single one of them. He proclaimed that every noble who had a Hindu prisoner should be put to death by any means.
- ^ a b Kainikara, Dr Sanu (2018-06-11). From Indus to Independence - A Trek Through Indian History: (Vol V The Delhi Sultanate). Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-86457-73-8.
- ^ Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
- ^ "Timur invades India". mapsofindia. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ Saunders, J. J. (2023-07-07), "The Turkish rehearsal for the Mongol conquests", The History of the Mongol Conquests, London: Routledge, pp. 16–29, ISBN 978-1-003-40809-3, retrieved 2023-11-16
- ^ "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
From here Tamerlane marched towards the throne of Delhi via Panipat. Before reaching Delhi Timur also massacred around 2000 Jats and enslaved their families too.
- ^ "CHAPTER EIGHT REFERENCES". Xenophon. 13 January 2024.