How Muslims Conquered India | History Documentary
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the history of Islam's introduction to India through the Ghaznavids and Ghurids dynasties, originating from Afghanistan. Key figures like Mahmud of Ghazni and Muizz-ud-din Muhammad led numerous invasions into Northern India, initially for plunder rather than religious conversion. The Ghaznavids' raids set the stage for the Delhi Sultanate, which significantly influenced Muslim rule in India over the next three centuries.
Takeaways
- 🌍 India, known for its Hindu faith, is also home to the world's third-largest Muslim population.
- ⚔️ The political rise of Islam in India began with the Ghaznavids and Ghurids, originating from modern-day Afghanistan.
- 🏰 Mahmud of Ghazni, a key figure of the Ghaznavids, led 17 campaigns into India, primarily motivated by wealth rather than religious zeal.
- 💰 Mahmud's invasion of India was driven by the acquisition of wealth, such as his raid on the Somnath temple, from which he brought back large sums of booty.
- 🏴 The Ghaznavids maintained control over northern India, focusing on raiding rather than religious conversion, allowing Hindus to retain their faith.
- 🤔 Historians debate whether Mahmud’s invasions were driven by religious duty or material gain, with evidence suggesting the latter.
- 🏯 The Ghaznavids eventually declined after Mahmud's death, as the Seljuk Turks overtook much of their western territories.
- 🔱 The Ghurids, particularly under the leadership of Mu'izz al-Din, succeeded the Ghaznavids in northern India and played a key role in establishing Muslim rule.
- 🕌 Mu'izz al-Din's victory at the second Battle of Tarain (1192) paved the way for lasting Muslim rule in India, leading to the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.
- 🛡️ The Delhi Sultanate, founded after the Ghurids' decline, continued to expand Muslim authority in India for the next three centuries.
Q & A
What is the significance of India's Muslim population in the context of global Muslim demographics?
-India is home to the third largest Muslim population in the world, which highlights the country's religious diversity and the significant presence of Islam within it.
Which two Muslim dynasties from modern-day Afghanistan played a crucial role in introducing Islam as a political force in the Indian subcontinent?
-The Ghaznavids and the Ghurids were the two Muslim dynasties that significantly contributed to the introduction of Islam in the Indian subcontinent.
Who were the greatest rulers of the Ghaznavids and Ghurids, and how did they impact northern India?
-Mahmoud of Ghazni and Muizz-ud-din Muhammad, known as Muhizul Deen, were the greatest rulers of their respective dynasties. They impacted northern India through constant raids and the eventual establishment of Muslim states.
How did the early Muslim invasions of India fare against the native Indian dynasties?
-The early Muslim invasions, led by the Umayyads and Abbasids, were largely unsuccessful in expanding beyond the Indus River due to the resistance from native Indian dynasties.
What changes in the Islamic world during the mid-10th century facilitated a more successful Muslim push into the Indian heartland?
-The fragmentation of the Khilafah into smaller states and the introduction of Turkic slave soldiers through the ghilman system allowed for a more focused and intense push into India.
How did the Raznavids, under Sebuktigin and his successors, establish themselves as a power in the region?
-The Raznavids established themselves by expanding their authority eastward, raiding into India, and proclaiming independence from the Samanids.
What was the primary motivation behind Mahmoud of Ghazni's campaigns into India?
-The primary motivation was financial gain, as evidenced by the substantial loot and wealth he acquired from his campaigns, rather than religious zeal.
What was the significance of the Somnath raid led by Mahmoud of Ghazni?
-The Somnath raid was significant as it resulted in a large amount of wealth being plundered, and it highlighted the financial motivations behind the Ghaznavid invasions.
How did the Ghurids eventually surpass the Ghaznavids in influence and power?
-The Ghurids, under Muizz-ud-din Muhammad, managed to conquer the Ghaznavid capital of Lahore and expand their control over the Indian subcontinent, leading to the decline of the Ghaznavids.
What was the impact of the Second Battle of Tarain on the establishment of Muslim states in India?
-The Second Battle of Tarain was pivotal as it opened the Gangetic plane of northern India to Muslim invasions, leading to the establishment of Muslim states rather than just annual raids or invasions.
How did the Delhi Sultanate emerge from the Ghurid empire, and what was its role in establishing Muslim authority in India?
-The Delhi Sultanate emerged after the death of Muizz-ud-din Muhammad when his slave commander, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, established it. It played a crucial role in establishing Muslim authority across India over the next three centuries through its five different dynastic iterations.
Outlines
🌍 India's Historical Muslim Dynasties and Their Origins
India, often perceived as predominantly Hindu, hosts one of the world's largest Muslim populations. The political presence of Islam in India was initiated by two Afghan-based Muslim dynasties: the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids. Their rulers, Mahmoud of Ghazni and Muhammad of Ghor, paved the way for Muslim influence through raids and the establishment of Muslim states. This video is part of a broader historical exploration of India, which spans beyond its modern borders to include regions like Pakistan and Bangladesh. It traces the roots of Muslim conquests beginning in the 8th century with Muhammad bin Qasim's capture of Sindh and Multan.
⚔️ Ghaznavid Dynasty's Raids into Northern India
In the 10th century, changes in the Islamic world, such as the fragmentation of the caliphate and the rise of smaller independent Muslim states, facilitated the Ghaznavid dynasty's military campaigns in India. The Ghaznavids, led by Sabuktigin and later his son Mahmoud, began raids into India, targeting northern regions like Punjab. Despite early resistance from Indian dynasties, Mahmoud's campaigns continued for decades, weakening northern Indian kingdoms and allowing the Ghaznavids to plunder wealth, notably from the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. These campaigns, while framed as religious, were largely driven by material gain.
💰 Mahmoud of Ghazni: Conqueror for Wealth or Religion?
Mahmoud of Ghazni's conquests into India, which resulted in immense wealth for his empire, raise the question of whether his motivations were religious or financial. While many view Mahmoud as a champion of Islam, evidence suggests that his main goal was to plunder India's riches rather than spread the faith. His successors struggled to maintain his empire, particularly after facing defeats by the Seljuk Turks. Despite these setbacks, the Ghaznavids held onto the Punjab, with Lahore becoming a significant city in the empire.
🔥 The Rise of the Ghurids and the Fall of the Ghaznavids
The Ghurids, originating from Afghanistan, began to challenge the Ghaznavids in the mid-12th century. Under Alauddin Husain, they destroyed the Ghaznavid capital Ghazni and forced the remnants of the Ghaznavid dynasty to retreat to Punjab. The Ghurids, led by rulers like Mu'izz al-Din, launched campaigns into India, capturing Lahore and moving deeper into the subcontinent. The Ghurid invasions eventually led to the establishment of Muslim dominance in northern India.
🏰 The Delhi Sultanate: Legacy of the Ghurid Invasions
The Ghurid invasions laid the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate, established by Qutbuddin Aibak after the death of his master, Mu'izz al-Din, in 1206. Over the next three centuries, the Delhi Sultanate, through its various dynasties, would play a crucial role in spreading Muslim rule across India. These invasions and subsequent Muslim states marked a shift from mere raids to the creation of a permanent Muslim presence in the Indian subcontinent.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Islam
💡Ghaznavids
💡Ghurids
💡India
💡Muslim State
💡Raids
💡Delhi Sultanate
💡Hindu Shahi
💡Punjab
💡Tarain
💡Muslim Dynasties
Highlights
India is home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world despite being seen as a bastion of the Hindu faith.
Islam was introduced as a political force in India through two dynasties centered in modern-day Afghanistan: the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids.
Mahmoud of Ghazni and Mu'izz al-Din were key figures in establishing Muslim political dominance in Northern India.
The Muslim invasion of India began much earlier, with Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of Sindh and Multan in 715 AD.
The Ghaznavids emerged from the Turkic slave system, with Sebuktegin being the progenitor of the dynasty, later expanded by his son Mahmoud.
Mahmoud of Ghazni's 17 campaigns into India were driven primarily by financial motivations, rather than religious zeal.
Mahmoud's most famous raid was the sacking of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat in 1025, which yielded 20 million dinars in loot.
Despite being portrayed as a Muslim hero, Mahmoud's invasions of India were largely for plunder, and not for the spread of Islam.
After Mahmoud's death, the Ghaznavids were weakened by the rise of the Seljuk Turks, losing their western empire in 1040 at the Battle of Dandanaqan.
The Ghurid dynasty rose to power after the decline of the Ghaznavids, with Alauddin Husayn burning Ghazni to the ground in the 1150s.
Mu'izz al-Din Ghurid launched successful invasions into Northern India, culminating in the conquest of Lahore and ending the Ghaznavid dynasty in 1186.
The Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 opened Northern India to Muslim rule, marking a turning point in the establishment of Muslim states in the region.
Mu'izz al-Din’s slave commander, Qutb al-Din Aibak, expanded Ghurid territory in India and laid the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate.
The Ghurid Empire’s rule in Central Asia collapsed after Mu'izz al-Din's assassination in 1206, but its legacy continued in India.
Qutb al-Din Aibak established the Delhi Sultanate, which would play a pivotal role in Muslim authority in India for the next three centuries.
Transcripts
india seen as the bastion of the hindu
faith
it is actually home to the third largest
muslim population
in the world the introduction of islam
as a political power force in the
subcontinent
came through the efforts of two muslim
dynasties
centered in modern-day afghanistan the
raznavids
and the hurids through the actions of
their two respective greatest rulers
mahmoud of ghazni and muhizul deen
northern india was constantly exposed to
raids
and in time the establishment of a
muslim state
this video is a part of the discovery of
india a huge collaboration between a
bunch of history youtubers
who are all trying to track the prolific
history of the indian subcontinent
[Music]
before we get into it it's important to
underline
that historically the term india does
not perfectly correlate with the modern
day nation state
of india in the past india came to
represent
most of modern-day pakistan and
bangladesh as well
with that being said the muslim invasion
of india
did not begin in the 11th century
in the early stages of islam when the
umayyads were expanding in every
direction
a muslim force was sent to bring parts
of northwestern india
under the khilafah's control by 715 a.d
the young general muhammad bin qasim
had managed to subdue the regions of
sindh and
multan despite repeated attempts by the
umayyads and then the abbasids
over the course of the next 100 years or
so
to expand their territory and influence
beyond the indus river
the native indian dynasties were able to
hold them off
if we fast forward to the mid 10th
century
we see that key developments had taken
place in the islamic world
which would facilitate a much more
successful muslim
push into the indian heartland
firstly by now the khilafah had lost its
status as the only source of central
authority
in political islam as a result
de facto and even dijuri independent
states
emerged throughout the islamic world
in the eastern provinces of horison and
trans-oxyana
the samanid dynasty established itself
the formation of smaller states within
the monolith that was the khilafah
allowed these smaller states to pursue
their own specific goals
with more focus and intensity than could
be afforded if they had to constantly
report back
to the khalif in damascus or baghdad
another key development was the
introduction of turkic slave soldiers
through the gilman system in time some
of these
turks would even establish de facto
independent states
like ahmad ibn tulun did in egypt
the raznavid dynasty which is so
important to our story
was born out of this system the
progenitor of the raznavids
sebuktigin was apparently born in modern
day kyrgyzstan
he was bought by the samantha commander
alpt again
who would go on to rule the city of
razna now known as razni
in afghanistan independently in all the
name
in 977 a.d subukhtagan became in charge
of the city
and quickly sought to expand his
authority
to his east subukran raided the
territory of the hindu shahi
which ruled over an area that stretched
from the kabul valley in eastern
afghanistan
down to kashmir in northern india
this would begin the vaznavid tradition
of raiding into india
but the emergence of the raznavids as a
true power
would have to be left the sabuktagan sun
mahmoud
mahmoud began his reign in 998 a.d
and quickly proclaimed his independence
from the samanids
under mahmoud the raznavids would become
one of the preeminent powers in the
islamic world
a key reason for this was the loot and
wealth he gained from his 17
campaigns into india but before he could
penetrate beyond the indus river
mahmoud had to deal with the same hindu
shahi rulers
who preoccupied his father in 1001
mahmoud inflicted a heavy defeat upon
them
at the battle of peshawar although the
hindu shahi would prove to be an
obstacle until the 1020s
mahmoud now had his eyes set on the
punjab
and beyond an important point to get
across
is that northern india was ruled by
several kingdoms
which at times would compete with one
another
in fact this was a feature of the
northern indian political scene
for almost the entirety of the period we
are discussing
from roughly 1 000 to 1200 a.d
and so the lack of a strong central
power would allow the ghaznavids
and later the roreds to pick off the
indian kingdoms one by one
and that's exactly what mahmoud did
over the course of almost three decades
he repeatedly targeted the duab region
in north india the area between the
yamuna and ganges rivers
on occasion he even went as far as the
central indian city
of gwalior in 1025
mahmoud marched his army across the tar
desert
in northwestern india so that he could
reach the gujarat
in western india there lay the great
hindu temple of samnath
said to be home to untold wealth
the raznavid forces were not
disappointed
there are estimates that mahmoud brought
back up to 20 million
dinars worth of booty back to his
imperial capital
atrazni the somnath raid
brings a key issue to light did mahmoud
carry out his military campaigns in the
subcontinent to reaffirm his status as a
champion of islam
or were machiavellian motivations the
main impetus behind his antagonistic
approach
throughout history mahmoud has enjoyed
the portrayal of arghazi sultan
someone who fought to bring islam to new
territories
especially in india for many pakistani
bangladeshi
and indian muslims mahmoud is seen as
one of the founding fathers of islam in
the indian subcontinent
in 1926 when the indian historian
muhammad habib
expressed that the ghaznavid sultan was
motivated mainly by material wealth
rather than religious zeal it led to
large-scale
criticism from his readers showing that
muslims still
strongly viewed mahmoud as a muslim hero
even 900 years later but having said all
of this
it seems quite clear that the main goal
of mahmoud and his
successors in invading india was
financial rather than religious
there seems to be little attempt to
convert hindus in india
since a permanent annexation of the
territory
would have required a large army to
occupy it
the raznavids needed a lot of money to
run and maintain a complex state and
army
and looting india was a perfect solution
for that
there wasn't even a requirement for
indian slave troops
wanting to enter the raznavid army to
convert to islam beforehand
so whilst the prestige of being seen as
a muslim hero
and having closer relations to the
abbasids would undoubtedly have played a
role
the raznavid invasions of india were
rooted in a desire for plunder
and wealth
[Music]
after mahmoud's death in 1030
his successors were never able to
continue his rich legacy
with the same vigor this was largely due
to the seljuk turks
who were migrating southward from their
central asian homelands
in 1040 mahmoud's son masood
lost the western portion of the raznavid
empire
when they lost at the battle of
dandanakan
nevertheless the raznavid still retained
their eastern
provinces including the punjab which had
been annexed by mahmoud
in fact lahore in the punjab
became the second city of the empire
behind
ghazni despite not being able to hit the
lofty standards
set by mahmoud the raznavids still
maintained the level of imperial glory
that was the envy of many of their
neighbors
through the help of the italian
archaeological mission in afghanistan
in the 1950s and 60s we know about the
extensive palaces
and gardens constructed during the reign
of masood iii
at the beginning of the 12th century
these were in
all likelihood financed by spoils from
raids on india his son
bahram shah was obliged to pay a large
tribute to his uncle the
again this was in all likelihood paid
for by the razna of its favorite cash
cow
india it's actually in the reign of
bahram shah
that we get properly introduced to the
other dynasty which would in some ways
actually have an even greater impact on
implanting
islam in india the horiz
originating from the mountainous region
of war in modern day afghanistan
historians have never really been able
to conclusively ascertain
their ethnic origins we do know that
islam was properly introduced into the
region
in the reign of mahmoud and his son
masood of ghazni
in any case the ruler in the 1150s
alauw deen hussein marched to razni
and burned it to the ground earning the
nickname
jahan suz or burner of the world
within a decade the raznavids had to
abandon razni
and afghanistan and settle in the punjab
at this time the hurids were led by this
man
reayathuldeen who would oversee the
zenith of the rorid
empire while riathldeen was focused on
contending with the huarezmian shahs in
the north
and west his younger brother muay zuldin
shifted his attention eastward and used
razni as his base to launch invasions of
the subcontinent
in the same way the razanavids had done
in 1186 the younger horrid brother
finally brought an end to the raznavid
dynasty
when he captured their capital lahore
with much of the indus region under his
control
or serenity by the mid-1180s
muhizul deen was ready to strike into
the indian heartland
in 1178 he had seen his invasion of the
gujarat
definitively repulsed thus he decided to
change direction
and focus his expansionist thrust into
india
eastward in order to push into
and beyond the rich duab region the
hurids had to overcome pritviraj
chohan of the chohan dynasty of northern
india
in the winter of 1191 muslin
marched his troops all the way to
terrain
north of delhi there he was conclusively
defeated
and even wounded in battle at the hands
of a hindu confederacy
led by prithviraj chohan
only a year later the roared ruler would
return to the exact same site
and at the second battle of terrain in
1192
avenged his prior defeat the gangetic
plane of northern india was now open for
the taking
in the course of indian history it's
tough to understate the importance
of the second battle of terrain as more
so than any other battle
it left india open to the establishment
of muslim states
rather than mere annual raids or
invasions
and that's exactly what happened muzul
deen
largely delegated his indian holdings to
his slave commander
kudbuddin a buck whilst he had to deal
with other imperial matters
a buck would expand the warded
territories in india
in this endeavor he was aided by
ichthyar uldin khalji
another commander of muhizuldin who
would expand warded authority
all the way to the bengal in eastern
india
in the process ushering in islamic rule
in the region
even launched an ill-fated campaign into
the mountainous region of tibet
in 1203 kriyatuldeen died
and was succeeded as supreme ruler by
his younger brother moazuldeen
but he himself was assassinated in 1206
and the hooded empire was remarkably
dismantled
within a decade all the warded
possessions in central asia
were subsumed by the juarezmians
whilst their indian territories were
divided amongst various hoarded
commanders
chief amongst them was the
aforementioned kudbuddin ibak
immediately after the death of muhizu
deen
he would go on to establish the delhi
sultanate
which through its five different
dynastic iterations
would go on to have a pivotal role in
establishing muslim authority
across india over the course of the next
three centuries
so as we can see the hoarded invasions
clearly set up the foundations for the
delhi sultanate
after 1206
[Music]
i want to say a big thank you to my
patrons who generously support hikmah
history
if you guys want to support the channel
there's a link to my patreon in the
description to this video
i also want you guys to check out the
entire discovery of india playlist
which i'll link in the bio and the
comments section
i'm sure you'll be able to find other
really cool videos about indian history
that will interest you
i'd especially recommend odd compass
video on the southern indian rashtrakuta
dynasty
as well as almo kadima's on the mugu
empire
until next time peace
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