Political Map of the Land of Five Rivers
In 712 Mohammed-Ibn-Qasim occupied Sind but the land of Punjab (five rivers) and Sapat Sindhu (seven rivers, Sind to Yamuna) remained free from his interference.1 It remained unaffected by Muslim attacks up to 985 C.E. The first attack on this zone was launched in 986 by Subkatgin and since then, till 1526, several invaders attacked the Punjab, plundered it and returned to their homelands.
Since the times of Ashoka (death 273 O.E.) up to 1014, i.e. the rule of the Pal Rajas (Isht Pal, Jai Pal, Anad Pal, Tarlochan Pal), the present day Afghanistan was a part of these Pal rulers’ Empire. This country had its borders between river Satluj and Laghman, Kashmir to Multan and the whole of the West and East Punjab including Shivalik hills.2
In the years 900, Sind and the territory on the west of the rivers Sarasvati and Satluj (including Bhatner/Hanumangarh, Bathinda, Sirsa, Peshawar, and Lahore etc) was being ruled by Chach dynasty. This clan was not Brahmanic (or what later came to be known as Hindu). Its rulers worshipped ‘Sun’ god and other gods of nature. Chach was one of its prominent rulers; followed by Banrat (died 990) and Thanrat (died in 999). In 999 Shahi clan captured it. Shahi clan too was not Hindu though some writes have wrongly mentioned it as Hindu-Shahi which might be a linguistic variation of Sindhu-Shahi. What to talk of Sind, till that time, there was no Hindu religion even in the present Hindustan (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar). Shahi dynasty had two capitals: Bathinda and Nandana (it is believed that present Taxila was Nandana). By 999, Raja Jai Pal had occupied even Lahore which was, at that time, a very small town on the bank of river Raavi.3 This dynasty had to fight at least two battles against the invaders in the fields of Laghman (which was, then, a part of their territory).
Subkutgin became the ruler of Ghazni
The first attack on the land of five/seven rivers was launched by the successors of Alptigin.4
Alptigin had become the ruler of Ghazni in 962; later, his son Abu Ishaq Ibrahim (died 970) lost Ghazni to Abu Ali Laiq but soon he was able to re-capture it; Abu Ali Laiq was succeeded by Piritgin. Piritgin was a cruel ruler; as a result people invited Abu Ali Laiq to occupy Ghazni; Shahi (Sind Desh) ruler Kabal Shah helped him with his army; both armies made a joint attack on Kabul but Amir Nasiruddin Subuktigin (a general of Piritgin) defeated them in the field of Charkh; the sons of Kabal Shah and Abu Ali Laiq were killed in this battle. Though technically (de jure) the battle was won in the name of the ruler Piritgin, but the real winner (de facto) was his general Subuktigin. Now people
decided to replace Piritgin with Subuktigin. On the 20th of April 977, Subuktigin became the ruler of Ghazni.
Subuktigin’s attack on the Punjab
After his coronation, Subuktigin decided to capture the lands eastward. In 986, he left Ghazni for the land of five rivers. The first battle between Subuktigin and Jai Pal’s army took place at Gurak (in between Ghazni and Laghman) on the southern side of Kabul river. Both the armies fought bravely but a tornado turned the battle into defeat of Jai Pal. After his defeat, Jai Pal agreed to pay one million (1000 bags of 1000 dirhams each) dirhams and 50 elephants as a penalty, and surrender some of his hilly forts; but, later, he refused to fulfil the term of treaty. At this, Subuktigin attacked again and this time he captured Laghman and its surrounding areas. Now Peshawar became the boundary of the Shahi rulers and Kabul, Kandhar and Laghman became a part of the Ghazni state.
Mehmood becomes the ruler of Ghazni
In 997 Subuktigin died at the age of 55. His sons Ismail (born from the daughter of Alpitgin) and Mehmood (born from Subkatgin’s other wife from Zabilistan) fought a fierce battle for the throne of Ghazni; at first Ismail became victorious, but seven months later he was defeated by Mehmood. When Mehmood Ghaznavi became ruler of Ghazni he was just 27 years old.
Mehmood Ghaznavi’s invasion of the Punjab
Mehmood was a fanatic Muslim. But, he was a fine army general too. He had already fought a battle against Jai Pal’s army, in 986-87. Now, after settling himself on his throne, he attacked Herat, Balkh and Khurasan; and, captured all these territories. At that time Ailak Khan was the ruler of Kashgar (Khurasan and Balkh). He too was a powerful ruler. Mehmood offered hand of friendship to him and made a treaty with him; and both accepted Jehun River as their borders. The same year the Muslim Khalifa, who was in Baghdad at that time, accepted Mehmood as the Muslim king of Afghanistan and issued his edict in this regard.
Now Mehmood turned his attention towards the land of five/seven rivers. In the year 1000 he launched the first attack but returned home after capturing a few forts. In September 1001, he again left Ghazni for Peshawar with ten thousand horsemen; on the other hand Raja Jai Pal had twenty thousand horsemen and three hundred elephants. A battle was fought between Mehmood and Jai Pal on the 29th of November 1001. In this battle Jai Pal was defeated and even captured. He secured his release after paying a huge sum of money. Jai Pal took this defeat as an insult and he committed self-immolation. He was succeeded by his son Anand Pal. In 1006, another battle was fought between the armies of Mehmood and Anand Pal near the city of Peshawar. This battle too
was won by Mehmood. As a result of this defeat, Anand Pal lost about 200 forts including Peshawar fort and the city.
After this battle Sukh Pal, the son of Anand Pal embraced Islam and was given a new name Niwasa Shah. Mehmood appointed Niwasa Shah as the Governor of Bhera. Now Mehmood returned to Ghazni and attacked Khurasan and Balkh. On the other hand, Ailak Khan, having accepted treaty of friendship with Mehmood, had stopped defending the borders on the river Jehun. When Mehmood made a surprise attack on Ailak Khan’s territory, he could not face it and lost. As a result, Mehmood became master of these two states too.
On the other hand, when Sukh Pal (Niwasa Shah after embracing Islam) learnt that Mehmood had gone back to his country, he rebelled and also renounced Islam. When Mehmood came to know about it, he attacked again and captured Bhera. Sukh Pal was arrested and he spent the rest of his life in prison. When Mehmood attacked Bhera, Anand Pal did not help his son Sukh Pal (because he had not like his conversion to Islam). But, later, Anand Pal decided to form a united front of Delhi, Kol (now Ajmer), Gwalior, Ujjain and Kanauj rulers in case of an attack by Mehmood.
During this period another hero (he had never paid homage either to the Ghaznavites or Jai Pal) displayed his chivalry; in autumn 1006, Raja Biji Rai, ruler of Bhera, on the bank of Jehlum river, gave a tough fighting; when he saw that he won’t be able to resist long, he tried to flee his fort at midnight but could not escape; when taken captive he plunged a dagger into his breast to escape an inglorious captivity.5
On December 31, 1008, Mehmood again left Ghazni to attack the land of five/seven rivers. Both the armies fought a fierce battle near the fort of Udbhand. In this battle about 30 thousand youth of Gakhar tribe too sided with Anand Pal. In a very short time, they killed five thousand soldiers of Mehmood. At one stage it seemed that Mehmood will flee from the battle field. But, somehow the elephant, which Anand Pal was riding was wounded and it (elephant) began running back. Seeing this, Anand Pal’s army misunderstood that Anand Pal was running after defeat. As a result, Mehmood won the battle he had actually lost. After his defeat, Anand Pal fled towards his second capital Nandana. Now, Mehmood’s army chased Anand Pal’s army and killed 20 thousand soldiers and civilians. From here Mehmood’s army moved towards Kangra. After just three days’ siege the ruler of Kangra surrendered. The victorious Mehmood attacked the temples at Kangra and plundered gold, diamonds and other valuable things of the temple which were worth billions of rupees. Mehmood attacked the ruler of Tthattha also. Raja Bijai Raj was easily defeated. Mehmood plundered the Raja’s palace and the temples there. From here too, he took away heaps of gold as well as 280 elephants. After three major victories and booty of billions of rupees and other valuables and elephants etc he returned to Ghazni in June 1009.
In October 1009, Mehmood launched his third attack. This time, he chose Multan-Bhatner (now Hanumangarh) route. After plundering these two cities, he attacked Narayangarh whose ruler gave him a tough fight. But, finally, Mehmood turned victorious. After his victory, he charged heavy ransom from the ruler of Narayangarh. Laden with booty, Mehmood returned to Ghazni.
In 1010 (402 hegira/hijri), Mehmood attacked for the fifth time. First he fell upon Multan and arrested its chief Daud; from here he turned towards the territory of Anand Pal.
Mehmood easily captured the fort of Bhim Nagar. Anand Pal, having realised that he won’t be able to face Mehmood’s army, agreed to pay tribute. Now, Mehmood marched towards Thanesar (Kurukshetra). Its ruler could not face the army of Mehmood and lost his fort and the city to him. Like Nagarkot (Kangra), here too, Mehmood plundered temples of Thanesar and relieved them of diamonds, gold, silver and other valuables. While breaking the diamond-studded golden statues, Mehmood said, ‘those idols, which can’t even whisk away a flea, how they can be fit for worship?’ Having been loaded with rich booty, Mehmood returned to Ghazni.6
In 1012, Anand Pal died. He was succeeded by his son Trilochan Pal. In 1013, Mehmood attacked Nandana, the second capital of Trilochan Pal. This was Mehmood’s sixth attack on the land of five/seven rivers. Tirlochan Pal’s son Bhim Pal was the in charge of Nandana fort. Bhim Pal gave a very tough fight to Mehmood but, finally, lost the battle and fled towards Kashmir and later towards Sahrind (now Sarhind).
In October 1018, Mehmood launched his seventh attack. After plundering several cities up to Satluj River, he attacked Baran city and defeated Raja Hari Dutt. Hari Dutt tried to flee but was arrested. In order to save his life, he agreed to embrace Islam. From here, Mehmood moved towards Mathura and defeated its ruler Raja Chand Rai. Victorious Mehmood plundered all the temples and later destroyed them. According to the writer of Khulastut Twarikh, the weight of the biggest statue was about 9 mounds and 24 seers (i.e. about 325 kilos).
After plundering Mathura, Mehmood attacked Kanauj, another major city known for temples full of golden and diamond-studded statues. Laden with very rich booty, Mehmood began his return journey. According to an estimate, the booty from this attack was worth more than 5 lakhs and 20 thousand dirhams. Besides, he also took away 350 elephants and 53 thousand slaves.7
The next year, in 1020, Mehmood attacked again. Learning this, Trilochan Pal, who was in Sarhind at that time, fled to Kanauj. Mehmood chased him and compelled him to flee from Kanauj too. (The next year, this Trilochan Pal was killed by his own companions. Now his son Bhim Pal became the ruler of the remains of Shahi ’empire’. He too died in 1026 bringing an end to the rule of the Shahi dynasty).
In 1021, Mehmood invaded the Punjab for the seventh time. This time he did not intent at plunder only. He annexed this land and declared it as a part of
Ghazni Empire. In his ninth invasion, he occupied Kalinjar; and, in tenth invasion, he occupied Kashmir and Gwalior also.
In 1026, he came for the eleventh time and attacked the land of brave Gurjar nation. During this invasion, he attacked the famous Somnath temple at Parbhas Pattan. This temple was known for very precious stones and statues of gold studded with diamonds and pearls. Mehmood broke the statues and took away all the gold, diamonds and other precious and valuable things. At that time, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of priests in this temple, who had been fooling the people by boasting that they could work miracles with their ‘mantras‘ which would annihilate the enemy. But, when Mehmood attacked, they were exposed as so-called ‘mantras’ failed even to stop a flea from entering the temple. Mehmood killed all these priests mercilessly8 and proved that there was no so-called occult power on this earth.
Mehmood’s last attack took place in 1027. On the 30th of April 1030, he died at the age of 63. Mehmood Ghaznavi’s death stopped the alien attacks on the land of five rivers for some time because there was a long fight for succession at Ghazni. His sons and grandson fought to capture his throne. For, the next 20 years Ghazni was a ground for battles, rebellions and conspiracies. In 1030, Muhammed occupied the throne for some months, followed by Masood (1030-1042), Maudood (1042-24.12.1049), Masood II (1049, for a few months) and Ali (1049-1051).
The successors of Mehmood did not attack the land of five/seven rivers for about 10 years. In 1040, Mehmood’s grandson became the Governor of Peshawar and Multan. During this time, Nagarkot (Kangra) had again become independent. Hansi and Thanesar too refused to accept Ghazni rulers as their over-lords. As the war for succession kept the Ghaznavites busy, they could not take any action.
In 1051, Abdur Rashid Ghazni became the chief of Ghazni. He decided to send army to recapture Nagarkot. But, Abdur Rashid died the next year; now Farookh succeeded him. He ruled for seven years but he did not of attacking the Punjab.
In 1059, Ibrahim ascended to the throne of Ghazni (he ruled for 40 years). In 1079, he attacked Punjab and occupied Ajodhan (now Pak Pattan), Sarhind, Buria and Jalandhar etc. Soon, he occupied Dera Ismail Khan and other Deras as well as Multan. He defeated Raja Jai Pal of Agra, Rashtrakutas of Kanauj and Chandel Rajputs of Kalingar, but lost to Lakhshman Dev Parmar of Ujjain. After his defeat at Ujjain, he returned back. In 1099, Ibrahim died.
Mohammed Ghauri’s attack
Between 1099 and 1173, for more than seven decades, Ghazni again witnessed war for succession; hence battles, conspiracies and rebellions were a routine for its people. The first to occupy the throne was Masood (1099-114). He was succeeded by Shirar (1114-1115), Arslan (1115-1118), Behram Shah
(1118-1152), Khusro Shah (1152-1160) and Khusro Malik (1160-1173). None of them turned his face towards the land of five rivers because all of them were afraid that moving out of Ghazni could mean someone occupying the city, hence the throne. However, these rulers still continued sending small units to attack and plunder the Punjab.
In 1173, Shamas-ud-Din, the Mohammed of Ghaur, occupied the throne of Ghazni. He installed his brother Muazz-ud-Din as the chief of Ghazni and set out for new adventures. His first march was towards Gujrat via Multan and Uchch. But, during this invasion Mohammed could not achieve much success.
The next year, he attacked Puruspur (Peshawar) and captured it in 1179. But, the map of the land of five rivers went under major change when Mohammed attacked Lahore in 1181 and plundered it; in 1185, he plundered Lahore again; this time he occupied the fortress of Sialkot; he renovated it and appointed Hussain Karmil as its Governor and himself returned to Ghazni. Before his return, he had to face an attack Khusro Malik, the chief of the brave Khokhar tribe. But, Khusro Malik was defeated and he fled towards Lahore. In 1186, Mohammed came again and attacked Lahore. This time too, Khusro Malik fought a long battle but finally surrendered. Mohammed Ghauri treacherously arrested Khusro Malik and his son and took them to Ghazni where both were killed in 1192.9
After the killing of Khusro Malik, Mohammed Ghauri had no rival. Now, he was the sole master of the entire land between Ghazni and Multan one one hand, and, Peshawar, Sialkot and Lahore on the other hand. Kangra was the next to come under Ghauri’s attack. But, Sarhind, Thanesar, Delhi and the hilly States were still sovereign lands.
At that time, the Rajputs had strong forts at Chittaur, Ranthambhor, Kalinjer, Kumbhalgarh, Merta, Rarhktang, Devgiri, Partapgarh, Raichur, Kol (Aligarh) etc.
During this period, three powerful dynasties ruled the area from Delhi to Gujrat: Chalukya dynasty of Anhilwara was at its zenith during the reign of Jayninha Siddharaja (1094-1143) who had captured considerable portion of the Parmar kingdom of Malwa and also Chittaur. After the defeat of Jasovarma (1133-43) Parmars became feudatories of Chalukyas; but after the death of Kumarpala (1143-1173), Chalukya power declined; the Parmars of Malwa asserted their independence and they attacked even Gujarat.
Prithivi Raj Chauhan
During this period, the Chauhans of Ajmer too rose to prominence; Visalraja Chauhan of Ajmer had captured Delhi (founded in 736) from Tomars by 1160; he captured even Asi/Ashika (now Hansi) from Ghazanavites. He was succeeded by his son Aparangeya, followed by his cousin Prithviraj I, in turn by his younger brother Someswara (ruled 1170 to 117) and finally by Prithviraj II (also known as Rai Pithaura) in 1178. Prithviraj Chauhan captured Bundelkhand
in 1182; and then Mahoba from Chandelas of Kalinjar, Mount Abu from Parmars, Gujrat from Chalukyas, and Kanauj from Gahdavalas. Now, Chauhans were sovereign on both sides of river Yamuna. Thanesar and Sarhind too were in their possession.
By this time, Shahab-ud-Din (Mohammed Ghauri) was busy in occupying the land between Kabul and Beas River. By 1186, he had occupied the entire territory up to Lahore. In 1191, he captured Tabarhinda (Bathinda) from Chauhans.10
After this, Ghauri decided to occupy Sarhind, Thanesar and Delhi too. In 1192, he attacked Sarhind. At that time it was not a big city; but Samana, Chhat-Banur, Jalandhar etc were much bigger cities and had strong forts. So, Mohammed Ghauri captured Sarhind without much resistance (Sarhind has also been written as Tabrind, Sahrind as well; now it is known as Sarhind).
Having captured Sarhind, Mohammed Ghauri decided to take over Delhi and Ajmer too. On the other hand, when Prithvi Raj Chauhan came to know about the loss of Sarhind, he collected his army and began his march towards Karnal. Both the armies fought a fierce battle at Tarain/Travari (about ten km from Karnal and about 100 km from Delhi). In this battle, both the armies fought bravely. Thousands of the soldiers on both sides died. Even Mohammed Ghauri himself was seriously wounded but his elephant made a fast retreat and saved his (Ghauri’s) life. In spite of defeating Ghauri, Chauhan’s army did not chase them. Mohammed Ghauri reached Sarhind safe but he did not stay there and soon left for Ghazni.11
Though Chauhan did not chase Mohammed Ghauri, but he marched towards Sarhind and put siege to it. Ghauri’s Governor of Sarhind, Zia-ud-Din, shut himself in the fort. This siege continued for several weeks. When provisions in the fort were consumed and there remained nothing to eat, Zia-ud-Din secretly fled from the fort on one night and ran towards Ghazani.
In 1193, Mehmood Ghaznavi came again. This time he had a big army of about one lac seventy-thousand soldiers with him. On the other hand, Chauhan had received help from other kings and princes also, and this joint army had three hundred thousand horsemen and three thousand elephants.12 This time too both armies chose Tarain as the battle field. Both the armies took positions there, but none tried to move forward. For a very long time, Mehmood kept Prithivi Raj Chauhan busy in negotiations, but, in fact, he had been planning for launching a sudden attack. One night, when Rajput army was enjoying a sound sleep, Ghauri’s army made a sudden attacked. Though the Rajputs did not have much time to get ready, yet they fought bravely. By noon, none of them was a winner. But, suddenly Prithivi Raj’s chariot was struck in mud. As a result he could not move, nor fight, nor encourage and guide his soldiers and lost the battle. He was arrested and taken to Ghazni where he was blinded and finally killed. According to another tradition, Chauhan was arrested and imprisoned in Chhatt fort, where he was beheaded.13
After the victory at Tarain, Ghauri occupied Delhi, Hansi14, Sarasvati, Thanesar, Ghuram and Samana too; hence all the major forts between Lahore and Delhi were in the possession of Ghauri. Now Ghauri decided to return to Ghazni. Before leaving for his homeland, he appointed his General Kutub-ud-Din Aibak as the Governor of the land of five rivers. Kutub-ud-Din Aibak chose Ghuram15 as his capital and remained there for about 3 years.
During his stay at Ghuram, Kutub-ud-Din Aibak had to face attacks by armies of Jas Rai of Delhi and Jatwal of Hansi; Aibak was able to defeat both of them. The next year, he attacked Kanauj and defeated Raja Jai Chand Rathore. Jai Chand fled to Rajasthan and founded the town of Jodhpur. [Later, Raja Bhika (sixth in direct line from Jai Chand) founded Bhikaner (now Bikaner)].
Towards the end of 1194, Kutub-ud-Din Aibak occupied Kol (now Ajmer) too. In 1197, he occupied Anhalwara (the then capital of Gurjars) also. In 1197, Kutub Din Aibak moved his capital from Ghuram to Delhi.
Though, now, the land between Ghazni and Delhi was Ghaznavi Empire but the Gakkhars and a few other tribes never accepted their supremacy and continued their attacks against the Ghauris. In 1205, the Gakkhars made a massive attack on the Ghauris but they could not defeat them. Later, on the 8th of March 1206, another battle was fought between the Ghauris and Gakkhars at village Damian/Damyak, near Jehlum River. In this battle Mohammed Ghauri was killed.16
Beginning of the rule of Muslims
After the death of Ghauri, the Muslims did not flee. They chose Kutub-ud-Din Aibak as their leader and decided to strengthen their rule in the land between Ghazni and Delhi. Kutub-ud-Din Aibak became king on March 17, 1206. Now Aibak moved to Lahore. He spent the next four years at Lahore. In November 1210 he died when he fell from his horse while playing chaugan (golf). He was succeeded by Aaram Shah but a group of umraa (plural of amir) chose Iltutmish of Badaun as the new successor to Aibak. This led to a battle between Aaram Shah and Iltutmish, in which Aaram Shah was killed and Iltutmish occupied the Delhi throne.
On the other hand, Nasir-ud-Din Kabacha, who was the Governor of Sind and Multan, too had begun consolidating his power. He occupied the forts at Bathinda, Ghuram and Surasati. Kabacha went another step further; he appointed one of his loyal friends as the Governor of Lahore.
During this period Taj-ud-Din Yalduz, the ruler of Ghazni, came from Ghazni and occupied Lahore; from here he began his march to occupy Delhi. When Iltutmish received this news, he too led an army towards Lahore; both the armies came face to face at Tarain (Taravari); a fierce battle was fought on the 25th of January 1216 in which Iltutmish came out as victorious; Yalduz was arrested, taken to Delhi, paraded in the streets of Delhi and then sent to Badaun where he was killed the same year.17 In September 1216, Iltutmish attacked
Kabacha too. When Kabacha came to know about the strength of Iltutmish’s army, he fled from his town without even facing a battle. However, both the armies came face-to-face at the village of Mansoor, which resulted into victory of Iltutmish. Though Iltutmish had won all the battles but Kabacha was still alive, so Iltutmish remained alert; in 1227 Kabacha too died and Iltutmish heaved a sigh of relief.
In 1231, Iltutmish attacked Gwalior too. The local ruler gave him a tough fight but after a siege of 11 months, Gwalior too fell to him.18 In 1223, he occupied Ujjain also; he plundered the temple of Markal Deo and later destroyed it. Here too, no mantras could stop Iltutmish’s attacks on temples; he brought all the idols of this temple to Delhi and placed them in the stairs of Jama Masjid so that people may trample them with their feet. Iltutmish ruled for 26 years.
After his death (on the 29th of April 1236), his son Firoz (Rukan-ud-Din) was crowned as emperor. Firoz was a debauch and he spent his life in pleasures of sex and alcohol; hence the courtiers decided to dethrone him. They chose Razia (daughter of Iltutmish) as their new Sultan (Queen-ruler); this again led to fighting; in a major battle, Turkan (mother of Firoz Shah) lost the day; she was arrested and later killed. Razia’s brother Firoz too was arrested and imprisoned in the fort of Ghuram.19
Though Razia had occupied the Delhi throne, but Saif-ud-Din (Governor of Hansi) and Ala-ud-Din Khan (Governor of Lahore) refused to accept her as their emperor. They led an army to dethrone Razia but were killed in a battle. Even after this, Razia’s was not in a comfortable position; in 1239, Ikhtiar-ud-Din Altoonia, the chief of fort of Bathinda, rebelled against her. Razia attacked Bathinda but she was defeated and imprisoned; now, a helpless prisoner, Razia married Altoonia.
In Delhi, Behram, the second son of Iltutmish, declared himself as the ruler of Delhi on the 21st of April 1240. Hearing this, Razia and Altoonia led an army to expel him from Delhi. Both armies fought a major battle at Kaithal, on the 24th of October 1240; Razia lost the battle but she and her husband Altoonia fled the field. On their return journey, they had not gone very far when some dacoits attacked them; Razia and her husband Altoonia were arrested and later killed after depriving of all their weapons and valuables. This happened on the 13th of December 1240.20
The next year, the Mangols (Mughals) attacked the Punjab. The author of Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi considers Mangols as Kafir, i.e. non-believers21. On the 22nd of December 1241, they occupied Lahore and killed a very large number of Muslims.22
On the other hand, Razia’s brother Behram too could not rule very long. He was killed in 1241 and Masud Shah was crowned as Sultan. Masud remained in power for four years; in June 1246, he was replaced by Nasir-ud-Din Mohammed.
Reign of Balban
Though Nasir-ud-Din had been crowned, but the real power was with his general Balban. Nasir-ud-Din was just formal Sultan (emperor). Within a short time, Balban usurped the formal Sultan-ship too. Balban was such a conspirator and ambitious man that he also got his brother Sher Kan poisoned to death and appointed his son Sultan as the chief of Bhatner, Lahore, Multan, Dipalpur, Samana and Jalandhar etc.
During the reign of Balban, Tamar Khan Mangol attacked the Punjab. Though he could not succeed but during one of the battles Balban’s son Sultan was seriously wounded and later died. In 1286, Balban too died; he was replaced by his grandson Kaikhusro, but, the Turk umraa replaced him with Kaikubad. Kaikubad was a weak ruler. During his reign Tamar Khan Mangol made another attack and captured a large part of his territory.
Reign of Khaljis23
Finding Kakubad a weak and careless ruler, Malik Firoz Khalji (Jalal-ud-Din) took reigns of the State in his own hands. Soon after he got Kaikubad killed in 1288, and, in 1290, he declared himself as the new emperor and began ruling as Jalal-ud-Din Khalji.
In 1292, the Mangols again attacked the Punjab; the Mangol army was led by Abdullah, a grandson of the ferocious terror Halaku; but Jalal-ud-Din Khalji, with only 30 thousand soldiers, gave him a crushing defeat.
Jalal-ud-Din Khalji ruled for about 6 years; on the 19th of July 1296, Jalal-ud-Din Khalji was killed by his nephew Ala-ud-Din Khalji. At that time the country of the Punjab was divided into five provinces: Lahore, Dipalpur, Multan, Samana and Hansi.
Towards the end of 1296, the Mangols attacked again; they plundered and destroyed Kasur and Lahore but soon they were defeated by the Khalji forces, and more than 20 thousand Mangol soldiers were killed. The Mangols came again in the early months of 1299 but lost again; in the end of the year 1299, they came once more, with a still bigger and stronger force of two lac soldiers.24 This time they captured territory up to Sarhind; from here they marched towards Delhi but were routed out in a fierce battle.
In 1303, the Mangols attacked again with an army of 125,000 men; they spread their army from Dipalpur to Samana thus creating several fronts; but this time too they lost; in 1305, they came again to suffer another defeat. In 1306 Cubek too attacked Punjab; he was defeated and captured by the Khaljis. Thus Khaljis won several battles and defeated all the invaders. Ala-ud-Din was succeeded by Mubarak Shah Khalji.
The Reign of the Tughlaks
Under Mubarak Shah Khalji, Samana was being ruled by Yaklakhi, Multan was under Amir Mughlati, Sawistan was being ruled by Mohammed Shah and Dipalpur was under Ghazi Khan respectively. Among these Ghazi Khan was very strong; he had fought 29 battles against the Tatars; and due to this, he was addressed as Malik-ul-Ghazi. He had established his supremacy by attacking Kabul, Kandhar and Ghazni too.
In the early days of 1320, general Khizar Khan killed the emperor Mubarak Shah Khalji; and with this came an end to the reign of Khalji clan. On the 15th of April 1320, Khusro Khan occupied Delhi; this angered Ghazi Khan; he decided to expel Khusro Khan. Ghazi Khan sought help from Amir Mughlati (chief of Multan), Mohammed Shah (chief of Savistan) and Yaklakhi (chief of Samana). They refused to help him because a victory against Khusro Khan would have meant accepting Ghazi Khan as Sultan emperor; and they would not accept a ‘junior’ as Sultan. But, on the other hand, some army generals of Multan felt that Ghazi Khan was right. These generals rebelled and killed Amir Mughlati. On the other hand, Yaklakhi (the chief of Samana) joined hands with Khusro Khan. Now, Yaklakhi attacked Dipalpur to put Ghazi Khan on the defensive, but he (Khusro Khan) lost the battle and was killed.
After this victory, Ghazi Khan led a big force to capture Delhi; by August 1320, he had captured Sarsuti, Hansi and Rohtak; Delhi was next to fall. On the 6th of September 1320, he entered Delhi as a victor and established the rule of the Tughlaks. Ghazi Khan assumed a new name Ghias-ud-Din Tughlak.
Ghias-ud-Din Tughlak re-organised his empire and appointed capable and efficient officials for all the offices. He divided his empire into 23 provinces. The land of the Punjab was divided into seven provinces: Lahore, Dipalpur, Multan, Samana, Ghuram, Sarsuti and Hansi. Further, he divided the provinces into siks (districts) and the siks into parganas (blocks); thus, the whole of the empire was properly organised, politically and economically.
In 1325, Ghias-ud-Din died and his son Fakhar-ud-Din Mohammed Zona Khan (Mohammed Tughlak) became the Sultan. In 1327, he decided to move his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad; this was a disastrous step, causing great economic losses and human casualties. With the exception of this mistake (in fact, a blunder), he was a very capable administrator. His rule lasted for 26 years.
Mohammed Tughlak too had to face several attacks and rebellions. In 1326, the umraa of Uchch, Sind and Multan rebelled; he succeeded in quelling all these rebellions. In 1327, he had to face an attack by the Mangols too.
In 1327, he occupied the fort of Kangra thus establishing his supremacy in the Shivalik hills too. In 1350, he marched to Gujrat to quell the rebellion by Taghi. During this expedition he died, and, Firoz Shah Tughlak25 became the Sultan.
During this period, Hassan Gangu, one of the chiefs of the Makh Afghans, occupied Sind and established Bahmani clan’s rule (Bahmani is different from Hindu-Brahmans as the former are a Muslim tribe).
Firoz Shah Tughlak too was a capable ruler. He took special interest in the Malwa and Puadh zone of the Punjab (i.e. between Yamuna and Satluj rivers); he founded several new towns including Fatehabad (between Sarsuti and Hansi), Hissar-Firoza, Firozpur-Jhirka, Firozpur-Murli Khera (near Sirsa) and Firozpur (on the bank of River Satluj); in 1360, he got dug Sarhind canal from Satluj River to feed the land around Morinda, Sarhind and Samana etc. In 1362, he separated Sarhind from Samana and granted it (Sarhind) the status of a province; he repaired its fort at Sarhind and made it very strong (hence it was known as Firozgarh too). In 1387, he re-occupied the fort of Kangra and compelled the other hill States to pay him tribune. Having achieved all this, he died in 1388.
After his death, five more Tughlaks became Sultans but they proved to be very weak and incapable. On the 23rd of March 1394, Mehmood (Mohammed Shah) became Sultan. He appointed Sarang Khan as the Governor of Dipalpur. Now, the Khokhars raised banner of rebellion, but they were defeated in the battle of Samuthala. It was followed by rebellion of Nasir-ud-Din (Nusrat Shah), who had in his possession Panipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Firozabad etc.
In 1395, Sarang Khan (Dipalpur) and Khijar Khan (Multan) developed differences and began conspiring against each other. Sarang Khan, with the help of his brother Mallu Iqbal Khan occupied Multan. By this time Khokhars had again raised banner of rebellion. They approached Timur, the chief of the Mangols and instigated him to attack the Punjab. They assured them complete support.
Timur’s Attack
Timur despatched his 16 years old grandson Pir Mohammed, with an army of ten to fifteen thousand soldiers, to attack Punjab. Pir Mohammed crossed the Sind River in November 1397 and reached Uchch; he put siege to the fort of Uchch but could not capture it; after a month’s siege he left Uchch for Multan. On his way to Multan, he turned towards Dipalpur and occupied it; he appointed Musafir Kabal as its Governor and himself marched to Multan; when Sarang Khan came to know of the attack, he shut himself in the fort of Multan. Pir Mohammed made several attempts to enter the fort but failed. At this, he sent a message to his grandfather Timur.
In March 1398, Timur decided to lead a force of one hundred thousand soldiers to Multan; he sent an advance force under the command of Nur-ud-Din to assist Pir Mohammed. Now, the combined forces of the Mongols put siege to Multan and fighting began, which ended in no one’s victory. The Mongols succeeded in occuping the town but the fort was still with Sarang Khan.
In October 1398, the Mongols occupied Tulamba also; Tulamba was a very prosperous and the most important town between Multan and Sayyadpur (now Eimanabad). They collected a big sum from the local residents as ransom, but, in spite of this, they butchered thousands of people to death; Timur had issued orders that excepting teachers, Maulavis and Sayyads, houses of each and every person should be plundered and all males should be killed. The ruthless Mongols did not discriminate between Muslims, Buddhists or idol worshippers.
Now, the Mongols moved again towards Multan. On way to Multan, they had to fight a battle against the Gakkhars too. In this battle Gakkhars had to suffer a lot. In November 1397, Pir Mohammed again put a siege to the fort of Multan; this siege continued for 6 months; finally, on the 5th of June 1398, the caretaker of the fort surrendered.
From Multan, the Mongols began their march towards Bhatner (now Hanumangarh); on their way to Bhatner, they attacked Pakpattan also. Fearing the wrath of the Mongols, a very large number of umraa and other rich and affluent people had taken refuge in this city, known as city of Muslim saints; Timur plundered the city and later set it on fire; thousands of people were burnt to death; most of these were Muslims (for a Muslim, burning his body, is the greatest sin). Like Tulamba, now Multan too was badly destroyed.
Now, Timur began his march to Delhi. At that time there were two groups among the courtiers of Delhi darbar; both of them were trying to install their own men as Sultan. Mallu Iqbal Khan wanted Mehmood Khan as Sultan; he attacked Nusrat Khan (the Sultan in power) and occupied Firozabad; soon he was successful in occupying Delhi too. Having lost power, Nusrat Shah fled from Delhi; approached Tatar Khan and requested him to attack Delhi. When Iqbal Khan got this news, he, instead of fighting at Delhi, decided to open another front; he led his army to Panipat and occupied it; this compelled Tatar Khan to end the siege of Delhi.
In July 1398, Mallu Iqbal Khan was in full control of the territory between Delhi and Sarhind; Lahore, Dipalpur and Multan were under the control of Pir Mohammed (grandson of Timur). Now Timur Khan began his march towards Delhi. In the first week of December 1398, Timur reached Panipat and occupied it. On the 7th of December, he was just 30 km from Delhi. Iqbal Khan led a small unit of army and blocked the march of Timur; but soon Timur broke the blockade and restarted his march. He crossed River Yamuna on the 14th of December; on the 16th of December, a fierce battle was fought between the armies of Iqbal Khan and Timur. Both the armies were one lac strong each; though Iqbal Khan’s soldiers fought bravely but Timur had an upper hand. In the evening Iqbal Khan and Sultan Mehmood beat a retreat and shut themselves behind the walls of the city and soon fled the city too. Now Timur occupied the city and plundered it; he spent 15 days in Delhi and left for Lahore on the 31st of December 1398.
When Timur was gone, Nusrat Khan and Iqbal Khan both moved towards Delhi. Nusrat Khan was first to reach and occupy the city. When Iqbal Khan reached there, a battle was fought between his army and Nusrat’s army led by General Shahbaz Khan. In this battle Shahbaz Khan was killed and Mallu Iqbal Khan re-occupied the city.
Iqbal Khan ruled Delhi for seven years. For some time he remained confined within the walls of the city of Delhi, but, later, he decided to move towards the Punjab. Then, Dipalpur was under the reign of Khizar Khan and Samana was being ruled by Behram Khan. Iqbal Khan first marched to Samana; Behram Khan, the chief of Samana, instead of fighting, entered a compromise with Iqbal Khan. When Khizar Khan came to know about it, he led his army towards Samana; on the 12th of November 1405 a fierce battle was fought at Samana in which Iqbal Khan was killed. Now Khizar Khan made a treaty with Samana chief Behram Khan.
When the news of death of Iqbal Khan reached Delhi, Sultan Mehmood was at Kanauj. The umraa of Delhi invited him to return and occupy the throne. When he took reigns, there was no Governor at Sarhind, Hissar and Panipat. Sultan Mehmood wanted to take over Samana, Dipalpur and Multan too. So, he decided to attack Samana first. In the last days of 1406, Sultan Mehmood despatched Daulat Khan Lodhi-I to attack Samana; Behram Khan gave a tough fight but lost the battle. Now Samana was under the control of Daulat Khan Lodhi-I.
On the other hand, Khizar Khan appointed Behram Khan as his Governor of Sarhind. But soon both developed differences and Behram Khan made contacts with Daulat Khan; when Khizar Khan came to know about it, he attacked Sarhind and arrested Behram Khan. Behram Khan thought it wise to apologise and Khizar Khan too showed generosity and again appointed Behram Khan as the chief of Sarhind. In 1410, Idris Khan, the Governor of Rohtak rebelled. Now, Khizar Khan, expecting that Delhi army would be busy in quelling the rebellion at Rohtak, moved towards Delhi to occupy it but when he came to know that the Sultan and Daulat Khan were still in Delhi, he returned to Sarhind.
The rule of the Sayyads
In February 1413, Sultan Mehmood died; after two weeks the umraa of Delhi installed Daulat Khan-II on the throne of Delhi. In May 1414, Khizar Khan attacked Delhi; and in this battle Daulat Khan-II lost and was arrested (and he died in prison); on the 4th of June 1414, Sayyad Khizar Khan became the ruler of Delhi.
Sayyad Khizar Khan ruled Delhi for 7 years. After his death (on the 20th of May 1421), Mubark Shah ascended to the throne. During his reign, Jasrat Khokhar (son of Sheikha Khokhar)26 raised flag of rebellion; Khokhar captured Jalandhar and Mirhota (now Ludhiana) and marched towards Sarhind; he put
siege to Sarhind but when he came to know that Mubarak Shah was coming with a very strong force, he lifted the siege and began retreating. Mubarak Shah chased him up to Rupar, Jalandhar and Talwara but Khokhar27 fled into high hills.28
Now, Mubarak Shah paid special attention to Lahore; he gave it a new face; he built a wall around it and named it Mubarakabad. In 1422 Jasrat Khokhar attacked again but lost the battle. Up to 1432, Jasrat made several attempts to occupy Lahore but could not succeed. Finally, he gave up and restricted himself within Doaba.
In 1429, Faulad Shah, the Governor of Bathinda too tried to increase his power. In 1431, Sheikh Ali too tired to establish his supremacy, but after being unsuccessful, he too left the Punjab after two years.
On the 19th of February 1434, Mubarak Shah was killed. Now Mohammed Shah ascended to the throne. He ruled Delhi for the next nine years. After his death in 1443, Aalim Shah became the Sultan but he was a ruler merely by name. The chiefs of Hissar, Sarhind, Samana, Panipat, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bajwara, Lahore, Dipalpur, Bathinda, Kalanaur, Tulamba and Sayyadpur etc never bothered for his orders or messages. Kangra, Jammu and the other hill states were almost sovereign. This position continued for three years; in 1448, Aalam Shah left Delhi and moved to Badaun. Now, minor rulers managed the affairs of the State; finally, in 1451, Behlol Lodhi occupied Delhi and declared himself Sultan.
Lodhi Dynasty
Behlol Lodhi remained Sultan for 38 years (1451 to 1489); his rule was an almost peaceful period. In 1489, after his death, his son Sikandar Lodhi became the Sultan. Sikandar died in 1517 and was succeeded by Daulat Khan Lodhi. He remained in power for nine years till he was defeated by Zahir-ud-Din Babar on the 21st of April 1526 in the battle of Panipat.
During all this period, Malwa and Rajputana remained free from the Muslim rule. None of these Sultans ever tried to disturb them. Though, in 1440, Mehmood, a descendant of Mohammed Ghauri, tried his luck by attacking Kumbha Rao Mewari, the chief of Chittaur, but was badly defeated; to commemorate this victory, Kumbha Rao erected a tall tower Kirati Satambh (which still exists). It was only in 1535 that Chittaur was captured by Jalal-ud-Din Akbar.29 Similarly, some other countries (e.g. Dravid nations, some area of Rajputana and some part of Malwa) too remained free from Muslim rule.
The rule of the Mughals
The Mughals ruled the South Asia for 181 years (1526-1707) very successfully and from 1707 to 1739 in turbulence, after which it began crumbling, though their formal rule in Delhi city continued up to 1857.
Although Babar had attacked the Punjab first in 1519 but he did not stay here. He plundered the treasury, and the rich and affluent, and went back to Kabul. In 1526, Babar came again and, this time, he established the Mughal rule in this zone; Babar could rule this land only for four years; he was succeded by his son Nasir-ud-Din Mohammed (Hamayun).
Sher Shah Sur30and his successors (1530-1555)
In 1530 Hamayun was expelled by Sher Shah Sur. He created a great infra structure in his empire; the present G.T. Road owes its existence to him. He died in 1540 and was succeeded by his son Islam Shah who ruled up to 1553; Islam Shah’s son succeeded him, but, he was killed within a few days. Now Adil Shah took the reins of the State; he appointed Hemu (a Rajput trader) as his minister; soon, Hemu became de facto ruler. At that time, Ibrahim Shah was the Governor of Delhi and Agra and Sikander Shah was the chief of the Punjab. Sikander Shah declared himself as the Sultan and led a big army to capture Delhi and Agra.
On the other hand Hamayun too got this news; he had already got assurance for full help from the ruler of Iran. Hamayun left for the Kabul with a big army and captured the city without much effort; and then moved towards Lahore which too fell to him easily; in July 1555, Hamayun captured Delhi also and re-established the Mughal rule at Delhi.
Hamayun died within one years of re-capture of Delhi; he was succeeded by his son Jalal-ud-Din (Akbar); Akbar was crowned at Kalanaur (then, the second biggest city of the Punjab). Akbar was a popular ruler; he remained in power for 42 years; he used all diplomatic strategies in order to preserve peace in his kingdom. He established good relations with the Sikh Gurus too.
Akbar divided his empire into 15 provinces: Kabul, Multan, Lahore, Agra, Ajmer, Malwa, Khan Desh, Berar, Gujrat, Ahmedabad, Awadh, Allahabad, Bihar, Bengal and Delhi (then Sarhind, Samana, Hansi, Hissar, Panipat states were a part of Delhi state). Akbar divided all the provinces into sarkars, sarkars into dasturs and dasturs into parganas. He consolidated the whole land under his reign and organised tax system; for this purpose he took the services of Todar Mall and Abu Fazal. With all this, he established a very successful administration.
After the death of Akbar in 1605, Nur-ud-Din (Jahangir) ascended to his throne. Within a few days of crowning, he had to face a rebellion of his son Khusrau, which he was able to quell very soon; after arresting Khusrau he summoned/arrested all those who had been helpful to him. Following a wrong complaint and provocation by fanatic Muslim clergy as well as some Hindu feudal, Jahangir summoned Guru Arjan Sahib and ordered his execution. Jahangir, later, confessed in his autobiography that he had martyred Guru Arjan (in 1606) because several Muslims had joined his (Guru Arjan’s) faith. Later, in 1613, Jahangir arrested Guru Hargobind too and ordered imprisoning him for 12
years in the Gwalior fort. However, on the intervention of Wazir Khan Chiniot and Mian Mir, he released Guru Sahib after six years.
Jahangir died in 1627. He was succeeded by Shahab-ud-Din (Shah Jahan); Shah Jahan had an almost peaceful reign; he built several forts and other buildings. In 1657, he fell ill and announced that his eldest son Dara Shikoh will be his successor; but, before Dara Shikoh could wear the crown, his brother Muhi-ud-Din (Aurangzeb) rebelled and led a big force (a very large number of them were Hindu-Rajputs) to capture the capital. A battle between the royal forces and those of Aurangzeb resulted in victory of the latter. He imprisoned his father, killed his brothers and became ruler.
Aurangzeb was a fanatic ruler. He was very cruel to the non-Muslims; he destroyed hundreds of temples and forcibly converted a large number of Hindus into Islam. In 1675, he martyred Guru Tegh Bahadur also. Aurangzeb’s rule was not an easy one; he spent a major part of his life fighting against rebels; he had to face several revolts; so much so that he spent about twenty-five years of his life to supress rebellions in the south. After a reign of 49 years, he died on the 20th of February 1707.
After the death of Aurangzeb, there was a long war for succession; after killing his brothers, Muazzam Shah Aalam (Bahadur Shah) occupied the throne in 1708. Bahadur Shah had to launch a war against the Sikhs who, under the command of Banda Singh Bahadur, had freed a large part of their homeland during 1709-10; he achieved early successes but could not suppress the Sikh nation; this made him insane and he died in February 1712. He was succeeded by his son Jahandar Shah who ascended to throne after killing his three brothers and a nephew; after 10 months he too was killed by his nephew Farukhsiyar. Farukhsiyar was almost a nominal ruler and two Sayyad brothers were the de facto rulers; when he tried to disobey them, they blinded him on the 18th of February 1719, and, then killed him on the 27th of April 1719. Three more kings ruled the Mughal Empire for a few months, before Nasir-ud-Din (Mohammed Shah, also known as Rangila) was installed as Emperor. Mohammed Shah Rangila was just a formal ruler till the Sayyad brothers were alive, but after their killings, he heaved a sigh of relief. During his reign Nadir Shah attacked Delhi, in 1739; he dare not fight against him; Nadir plundered Delhi and other cities and returned with a rich booty. Now, onwards, the Mughal emperor was to become a secondary ruler.
Mohammed Shah died on the 15th of April 1748 and Ahmed Shah (a namesake of Durrani) succeeded him. In 1754, he was deposed and Mohammed Aziz-ud-Din (Aalamgir-II) was installed as emperor. He died in 1759 and Jalal-ud-Din Ali Gauhar (Shah Aalam-II) succeeded him.
Durranis: In 1748, Ahmed Shah Durrani (also known as Abdali) attacked the Punjab and Delhi; for the next 20 years, Ahmed Shah led several expeditions and plundered most of the wealth of the Mughal rulers and the aristocrats as well as the civilians.
During this period, the Mughal rulers were at the mercy of this Afghan invader. No one except the Sikhs and Marhattas (Marathas) challenged them (the Afghans). The Marhatta power was badly crushed by the Afghans after the battle of Panipat on the 14th of Janaury 1761. The Sikhs too suffered heavy losses in his attack of the 5th of February 1762; but, within eight months they (Sikhs) defeated Ahmad Shah Durrani at Amritsar and made him realize that he was no more the greatest force. Though he made some more attempts but now he was no match to the Sikhs and always fought defensive battles against them.
After the death of Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1772, the Marhattas, the Rohilas and the Sikhs challenged the crumbling power of the Mughals and gradually destroyed it. By 1765, the Sikhs had already become de facto power between Yamuna and Jhanan (Chenab) rivers. During the reign of Shah Aalam II, the Sikhs attacked Delhi several times. In March 1783, the Sikhs raised the blue Sikh flag at the Red Fort and compelled the king to pay them (the Sikhs) tribute and taxes.
Nominal Mughal rule comes to an end: Shah Aalam II died in 1806; he was succeeded by Mohi-ud-Din (Akbar Shah-II) who ruled up to 1835 (by this time the English had established their supremacy around Delhi too).
Akbar Shah-II was succeeded by Mohammed Al Zafar Saraj-ud-Din (Bahadur Shah Zafar) who was deposed, arrested and exiled to Rangoon (Burma, now Myanamar) in 1858. With this ended even the nominal Mughal rule too. Bahadur Shah Zafar died in prison, in 1862.
The Governors of Lahore provinces: After the death of Aurangzeb, the Lahore province of the Punjab had been governed by Khan Khana (1708), Dilawar Khan (1710), Abdus Samad Khan (1713-26), Zakaria Khan (1726-45), Yahya Khan (1745), Shah Niwaz (1746) and Mir Mannu (1746-53). All of them perpetrated unspeakable atrocities on the Sikhs. After Mir Mannu, his minor son, wife and seven more Governors ruled Lahore but they were almost ineffective and rather it was the Sikhs who were supreme in this zone. Sarhind had been defeated and its power had almost been destroyed by Banda Singh Bahadur in 1710. After 1765, almost the whole of the Greater Punjab was under the rule of the Sikhs, who remained its masters up to the 29th of March 1849 on the north-west side of river Satluj; but the cis-Satluj States remained partly sovereign (at the mercy of the English) up to 1947. Even their formal rule ended in 1948.
Geographical Scenario of the Punjab
The Greater Punjab is the ‘Homeland of the Sikhs’. This zone has undergone several political and geographical changes in the past 1100 years. Today, in 2011, there are two Punjabs: east and west. This is so since 1947. In
1966, some parts of the eastern Punjab were transferred to Haryana and Himanchal. Bangar Desh (Jind, Dhamtan etc.), Ambala, Sadhaura, Kala Amb, Kapalmochan, Yamunanagar, Pehowa, Guhla, Cheeka, Sirsa, Dabwali, in fact belong to Punjab. Similarly, Kalka, Pinjaur, Una, Amb etc too are also part of Punjab.
Around the year 1000, Bhatner (now Hanumangarh) and the rivers Ghaggar/Sarasvati were inside the borders of the Punjab; earlier even the land up to the River Kabul (in present Afghanistan) was under the rule of the Punjabis, though, then, it was not known as Punjab.
Punjab literally means: land of five rivers: Jhanan (Chenab), Jehlum (Jhelum), Raavi, Beas, Satluj (Sutlej); another term Panch-nad (literally: five rivers) too has also been used for this zone. The Greeks called it Pentapotamia (Penta=five and Potamia=river); in Grecian works these five rivers have been mentioned as: Hydespis (Jehlum), Assassines (Jhanan), Hydrotus (Raavi), Hyphasis (Beas) and Hasudras (Satluj). Greeks writings mention Sarasvati as Kumbha. In Sanskrit the five rivers have been mentioned as: Vitsata (Jehlum/Jhelum), Assikani (Jhanan), Parushani (Raavi), Vipasa (Beas) and Satudhari (Satluj).
This zone is known as Sapat Sindhu too. It means seven (Sapat) rivers which flow downwards the Sind river [five of these (Jehlum, Jhanan, Raavi, Beas and Satluj) fall into river Sind even now]. Besides these six, Sarasvati was included as the seventh river. Now Sarasvati does not exist anymore (its dry bed can be seen at some places); present Ghaggar River is the tributary of the Sarasvati River. River Yamuna is the boundary of this zone.
Besides, this zone is also known as land of five/six/seven Doabs: 1. Sind-Jehlum, 2. Jehlum-Jhanan 3. Jhanan-Ravi 4. Ravi-Beas 5. Beas-Satluj 6. Satluj-Sarasvati, 7. Sarasvati-Yamuna.
Langauge of the Greater Punjab: All the sources differ while describing the number of Doabs or the rivers of this zone; but one thing is certain that the culture of the people of the land between Sind and Yamuna (seven Doabs and eight rivers) has several common features. With minor variations, their language is Punjabi (with its several dialects); from Dera Ismail Khan to Panipat, people speak one or another dialect of Punjabi or have taste of ‘salt’ of Punjabi in it.
The language of Rajasthan is Rajasthani (it is neither Punjabi nor Hindi); the real Haryana (Rohtak, Gurgaon, Mohindergarh districts, as well as some parts of Hissar etc) does not speak Punjabi nor is it Hindi; it is Haryanavi. However, Bangru can be reckoned as a dialect of Punjabi or a blending of Punjabi and Haryanavi; similarly, language of the Himanchal hills also has the ‘salt’ of Punjabi in it and Dogri of Jammu tastes Punjabi spices.
Culture of the Greater Punjab: Further, the food habits of the people of these seven Doabs have many similarities; their dress too is not much different from each other. Their psyche too has common features e.g. aggressiveness; use
of physical force as compared to dialogue; sentimental approach; over-emotional nature; good host-hood; honest at heart as well as foolish and over-reacting! All these are common to the natives of the land between Sind and Yamuna.
In 712, when Mohammed-Ibn-Qasim attacked Sind and occupied it, Bhatner (now Hanumangarh), Bathinda, Jalandhar, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Kabul, Ghazni, Kandhar etc were a part of the territory of the Shahi rulers (who were Punjabis). When Mehmood Ghaznavi attacked this land, there was no Muslim resident at these places; the people were either Buddhist or worshipper of mythological deities representing natural calamities; Hinduism was not born as yet; and, here was no Ram or Krishan (no Ramayana or Mahabharta; Geeta too has appeared only recently); there was no Shiv or Vishnu even. Shiv and Vishnu became popular in the 11th century and Ram and Krishan after the 13th century.31
The rulers of this zone: Before 998, when Mehmood Ghaznavi invaded this zone (Greater Punjab), it had already faced several rulers. By 250 O.E. the Buddhist king Ashoka ruled it and then came the Rajputs (Vardhans, Chauhans, Katochs and Chandels etc), the Shahis and Pal clans and the Gakharhs and the Khokhars (who might have been Khatris turned Rajputs turned Jats). In the 13th century, the land of five (seven) rivers was occupied by the Muslims; by 1765, the Sikhs had emerged as the supreme power; in 1849, the English captured it and ruled it up to August 1947.
Although the Ghazanivites had occupied the Greater Punjab, it was not a part of their nation. When Khalji’s became the rulers of this land in 1290, the direct rule of Ghazni came to an end; but for the next 420 years it remained under the command of one or another Muslim ruler: Khaljis, Tughlaks, Sayyads, Lodhis and Mughals. For a long time Afghanistan too was a part of this kingdom; later on it became separate and a segregated land. Darras (mountain-passages) became its borders.
Similarly, the Greater Punjab was divided into several provinces. Multan, Dipalpur, Lahore, Samana (later, Sarhind was carved out of this province), Hansi were independent provinces and even Patti, Jalandhar/Sultanpur, Malerkotla, Hissar etc had the status of sub-provinces. Lahore and Sarhind were very powerful provinces. The hill states too were almost independent. Provinces had further been divided into shaks (like a commissionaire, at the time of Khaljis) and sirkars (at the time of Akbar); Jindbari, Machhiwara, Raikot, Banur, Rupar, Bajwara enjoyed such a status. Shaks were further divided into parganas which comprised of several villages (like the present-day block). Some parganas were very big and comprised of up to 84 villages (in the present district of Hoshiarpur, the headquarters of one such shak is still known as Sham Churasi. Several such ‘Churasi’ (84-villages) units still exist in Rajasthan. It is possible that this division might have been from the times of the Rajputs.
The revenue collectors of a province were known as Aamil and Karori; Diwan Todar Mall of Sarhind had such a status; he had authority to collect revenue from the area which yielded one Karor (ten million) dams (equivalent to a quarter of million rupees). The terms Subedar, Faujdar, Diwan etc have been explained in the first pages of this book.
Five/Seven rivers of the Greater Punjab
Common man believes that the Punjab is a land of five rivers: Jhanan. Jehlum, Ravi, Bears, Satluj. Punjab literally means five rivers, and Sapat Sindhu means seven rivers (Sind and Sarasvati the additional two). The seven rivers are:
Jehlum: It has its origin in the glaciers of Kashmir hills. It runs about 720 km and passes through Srinagar, Jehlum, Pind Dadan Khan, Bhera, Shahpur and other towns and finally joins with river Jhanan near Maghiana town. Out of its 720 km journey, about 400 km is in Kashmir and three hundred km is through the plains of the Punjab. It is spelled as Jhelum also.
Jhanan: This river has its origin in Lahaul (Himalayas). It begins as two different flows (as Chander and Bhaga; hence known as Chanderbhaga also) for about 185 kms and then both these join to form one river near Tandi (in Kashmir); from here it flows through Akhnoor, Kishtwar, Sialkot, Wazirabad, and Ramnagar; and joins Jehlum river near Maghiana (which further falls into Sind River near Mithankot). This river is considered as the ‘river of love’ because the stories of some major love-romance epics (e.g. Heer Ranjha and Sohni Mahinwal) are associated with the area around it. This river has a length of 1135 kms; River Raavi too falls into this river. It is spelled as Chenab also.
Raavi: This river has its origin in the northern slopes of Rohtang Pass. It passes through Chamba, Madhopur, Kartarpur, Dera Baba Nanak, Lahore, Sahiwal (Montgomery), Multan and finally joins Jhanan river at a distance of about 80 kms from Multan city; this river has a length of about 725 kms. Raavi river forms the border between some area of the present day east and west Punjab (districts of Sialkot, Lahore, Amritsar and Gurdaspur). It is spelled as Ravi also.
Beas: This river begins from Beas Kund, in the southern slopes of Rohtang Pass, in the Dhauldhar hills. After passing through Kangra, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts it joins river Satluj at Harike village. Manali, Kullu, Bhuntar, Mandi, Nadaun, Talwara, Goindwal etc prominent towns are situated on the banks of this river. During the seventeenth century it used to pass near Bakala (now Baba Bakala) too; later, it changed its course. The towns of Mandi, Nadaun and Goindwal are associated with the Sikh history too; Goindwal was on the old G.T. Road (up to 1860), and it was the main port for crossing ferry at river Beas; hence most of the travellers, invaders, traders and
armies used to pass through it; Babar, Akbar, Jahangir, Ahmed Shah Durrani etc crossed it several times. This river has a length of about 470 kms.
Satluj: This river has its origin in Mansarovar Lake (Tibet). It passes through Kullu, Bilaspur, Nangal, Keeratpur, Rupar, Phillaur and Firozpur; and finally joins river Sind near Muzzafargarh (in Sind); at Harike village river Beas falls in it. It has a length of about 1050 kms. During the seventeenth century it used to flow near Anandpur Sahib, Keeratpur, Machhiwara, Mirhota/Ludhiana and Tihara; in 1750s it changed its course and began flowing about 10 km down in the west. Satluj is spelled as Sutlej too; it is known as Satuldhar and Shatdrav also.
Sind: River Sind has its origin in Tibet. It has a length of about 2800 kms. All the five rivers of the Punjab fall into it, and it further falls into the ocean near Karachi (Pakistan).
Ghaggar: This river has its origin in the Shivalik hills, in between the starting points of the rivers Satluj and Yamuna. Earlier, after passing through Pehowa, Bhatner (now Hanumangarh) etc, it used to join the mainstream of river Sarasvati (now disappeared), which further flowed to join river Sind near Bahawalpur. Patiala Ki/Di Choa too falls in Ghaggar.
Sarasvati: This river does not exist now. It used to flow between Ghaggar and Yamuna rivers and about 50 km down of Pehowa; after passing from Hissar etc it used to cover about 400 kms to join Ghaggar River in Rajasthan.
DOABs of the Greater Punjab
As mentioned earlier, the Greater Punjab is the land between Sind and Yamuna rivers. The land between any two rivers is known as ‘Doab’ (do=two and Ab/Aab=water/river); the names of the Doabs are blending of the first letters of each one of them, e.g. in Bist Doab, BIST is a combination of BI (for Beas) and ST representing Satluj). The Doabs between Sind river and Yamuna river are:
Sind Doab: Area between Jehlum/Jhelum and Sind rivers is known as Sind-Doab. It is also known as Jis Doab (Ji for Jehlum and S for Sind). It includes ancient town of Taxila and Islamabad (the present capital of Pakistan) as well as Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Bhera and Multan districts. When Alexander attacked the Punjab, Raja Ambi was the ruler of this territory. Nandana (probably Taxila), the second capital of the Pal clan (Jai Pal, Trilochan Pal, Bhim Pal etc) was also situated in this area.
Chajj Doab: Area between Jhanan/Chenab and Jehlum rivers is known as Chajj Doab. This Doab includes the areas of Jehlum, Kharian, Sargoda, Mandi Baha-ud-Din etc. When Alexander attacked South Asia, Porus was the ruler of this land. The brave Gakkhar tribe too belonged to this area.
Rachna Doab: Land between Raavi and Jhanan/Chenab rivers is known as Rachna Doab. Ancient town of Harrapa, Sahiwal, Multan, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Narowal, Sheikhupura, Jhang, Faisalabad (Lyallpur), Sherkot are the main towns of this Doab. In earlier times, this area had the honour of having the capital of the Punjab at Sialkot. This is the most fertile area of the Punjab. The Sikh religion was born in this Doab; Guru Nanak Sahib’s birth place Nanakana Sahib and the city village Kartarpur (founded by him) are in this Doab. This zone is also known as zone of baars (e.g. Saandal Baar, Ganji Baar, and Neeli Baar etc).
Bari Doab: Area between Beas and Ravi is known as Bari/Baari Doab. This is also known as Manjha (meaning the central, i.e. centre of the Greater Punjab); now it is pronounced more as Majha. Sialkot, Lahore, Amritsar (& Tarn Taran), Gurdaspur are a part of this zone. The language of this area is known as Manjhi/Majhi and is considered as standard or Central Punjabi. This was the area where the Sikh Gurus had their headquarters (Amritsar, Khadur, Goindwal etc) up to the time of the sixth Guru. In the eighteenth century, the forest (Chhambh) of Kahnuwan, in this area, was used as refuge by the Sikhs; Baba Banda Singh Bahadur’s last battle was fought here in Gurdas Nangal village. About seven thousand Sikhs were killed here (known as small carnage i.e. Chhota Ghallughara) in 1746. Again, in 1980s, this was the major centre of the Khalistan movement.
Bist Doab: The land between Beas and Satluj rivers is known as Bist Doab. Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts are part of this Doab. Though there are six more doabs but, nowadays, this area is particularly known as DOABA. This Doab was full of several choas (rainy streams) but now most of them have stopped flowing due to small dams as well as due to scanty rains.
Sarsut Doab: The land between Saraswati (now non-existent) and Satluj rivers is known as Sarsut-Doab. The districts of Rupar, Mohali, Ambala, Shahbad, Kala Amb etc are a part of this zone; Patiala and Fatehgarh too are reckoned a part of this zone.
Sarya Doab: The area between Sarasvati and Yamuna is knwn as Sarya-Doab. Karnal, Kunjpura, Buria, Panipat, Samalkha, Gharaunda etc are part of this doab.
The present East Punjab is divided according to another pattern too:
Manjha/Majha: Districts of Amritsar (now Tarn Taran is a separate district) and Gurdaspur are known as Manjha (before 1947 Lahore and Sialkot too were a part of Mjha). Other important towns and villages of this zone include: Patti, Tarn Taran, Khadur, Goindwal, Kalanaur, Gurdaspur, Batala,
Hargobindpur etc. Some part of the area between river Raavi and Beas is also known as Riarki.
Malwa: The land between Satluj and Ghaggar rivers and bordering Rajasthan is known as Malwa. Earlier the western part of this area was known as Jungle Des because it was mostly forest and did not produce enough crops. The districts of Ludhiana, Sangrur (& Barnala), Bathinda (& Mansa) and Firozpur (& Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot) are a part of this zone. During the eighteenth century, this was one of the hiding places for the Sikhs; and the two major anti-Sikh Muslim States (Malerkotla and Sarhind) were also a part of this zone. A holocaust of the Sikhs (5th of February 1762) took place at Kup-Rahir villages, in this zone. The first fort and city to be freed by Banda Singh Bahadur was in this zone; he captured Samana on the 26th of November 1709 and Sarhind on the 12th of May 1710. The British and the Sikhs (Lahore Darbar) fought two battles in Malwa, at Firozshah and Mudki in 1845-46.
Doaba: As mentioned earlier, Doaba literally means any land between two waters (rivers), but now this term has become a specific name for the land between the rivers Beas and Satluj (i.e. Bist Doab). Ancient towns and villages like Jalandhar, Phillaur, Nagar, Aur, Rahon, Bajwara as well as the towns founded by Muslims rulers, like Sultanpur, Nakodar, Nurmahal, Hadiabad (near Phagwara), Adampur, Alawalpur, Shahjahanabad (now Phagwara), Naushehra (now Nawan Shahar), Hoshiarpur; and Kartarpur founded by Guru Arjan Sahib are a part of this Doaba.
Puadh: Literally half of the east (of Punjab). It is used for the land between Satluj and river Sarasvati/Ghaggar; Ambala, Fatehagarh Sahib and present Mohali district is known as Puadh; some writers include Patiala as well as the Baangar Desh (Dhamtan, Jind, Rori and Sirsa etc) too in the Puadh. The ancient town of Sanghol is situated in this zone. This zone has been one of the headquarters of the Sikhs; once, in 1665, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib had planned a second headquarter of the Sikhs at Dhamtan in the Bangar Desh.
Delta of Satluj River: By 1750s, the river Satluj used to flow through Anandpur and Keeratpur etc; since 1750s, it flows about 10 km away from its earlier route. The two major centres of Sikhism (Keeratpur and Anandpur) are a part of this zone. The erstwhile semi-hill State of Basali was also a part of this zone. During the seventeenth century a village Jindbari (between Anandpur and Nangal) was one of the state headquarters of this zone. This is semi hilly and Kandi area.
Himachal’s Sikh zone: Lohgarh (the capital of Banda Singh Bahadur), Mandi, Haripur (the two states bleesed by the Gurus), Paonta Sahib (founded by Guru Gobind Singh in April 1685), Bhangani (the scene of the battle of the 18th of September1688), Nahan (the scene of battle of 1691), Guler/Gwalior (the scene of battle of 1696), Nalagarh (earlier known as Handur) etc are associated with the Sikhs.
1It is noteworthy that all the Muslim attacks had been sanctioned by the Islamic Caliph (Khalifa in Punjabi); and, ‘all the Muslim invaders and the rulers were under the suzerainty of calip’ (Mohammed Habib, Sultan Mehmud of Ghazni, p.3).
2 Tarikh-i-Farishta, translated by Briggs, Vol. I, p. 15.
3 Tabakat-i-Nasri, Vol. I, page 82.
4 In 962 Abdul Malik, the Samanid king of Bokhara died; at that time Alptigin was the governor of Khorasan; the aamirs wanted to make him the king of Bokhara, but before they could do so Malik’s brother occupied Bokhara; Alptigin did not contest and, instead, he occupied Ghazni; he ruled Ghazni till his death in 969.
5 Mohammed Habib, Sultan Mehmud of Ghazni, p.24.
6 Khulastut Twarikh, p. 174
7 Khulastut Twarikh, pp. 170-75.
8 Such ruthless killings are not unknown to the history of Islam; during 690 and 714, Hajjaj had committed untold atrocities on Shias, killing 120,000 of them; Gengis Khan too was a ruthless killer; Ghaznavi and Gauri just repeated the history; it was further repeated by Nadir Shah (1739) and Ahmed Shah Durrani between 1749 and 1762. For Hajjaj’s role see: Hitti (History of the Arabs); for Ghaznavis, see: Habib (Mahmud of Ghaznin) and Mohammed Nazims (Sultan Mahmud); for Ghauri’s role, see: Firishta (Twarikh-i-Firishta, vol. I, pp. 56-63); for Gengis/Changez Khan, see Minhaj-ud-Din Saraj (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri); for Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah, see: Harjinder Singh Dilgeer (Sikh History-III).
Saravan/Sarais and Kosminars: The construction of saravan (inns for travellers) had begun since the times of Ashoka. At those times these were centres of the monks, army and travellers alike; but we don’t have much information of the existence and usage of these inns etc. When Firoz Shah Tughlak (ruled 1351 to 1388) became the ruler, he paid special attention to infra-structure; he established several new towns (like Firozpur, Hissar, Fatehabad etc) in the Punjab and also built a large number of inns, mosques, palaces and gardens. The first canal of the Punjab, the old Sirhind canal, was also dug by him during 1360-65.
After Firoz Shah Tughlak, Sher Shah Sur (1540-45) too paid special attention to infra-structure: inns, Grand Trunk Road, mile-stones, trees and wells for the benefit of the army, the caravans of the traders and the other travellers and common public. He established inns, each at a distance of 10 kos (32 kms), on the main road (Grand Trunk Road) between Peshawar and Delhi and even up to Calcutta. On this route, he erected minar (tower) at each kos (3.2 km); these kos-minars served for postal functions too.
The inns and Kosminars built by Sher Shah were made of mud but when Jahangir became emperor, he rebuilt these (and built new ones too) inns and kosminars with baked bricks and stones. Some of these inns are still in existence e.g. Sarai Khera/Shambhu, Sarai Banjara, Sarai Rajpura, Sarai Lashkari Khan (Kotan village), Sarai Doraha, Nurmahal Saran, Dakhani Saran (village Jahangir, near Nakodar), Sarai Nur Din, Jhabal/Chabhal, Sarai Amanat Khan etc; a very large number of Sarai/Saravan inns) are still in existence between Lahore and Peshawar as well as around Delhi, between Delhi and Agra too. Similarly, some kosminars have also survived in the Punjab e.g. Amanat Khan, Nur Din, Jhabal, Sultanpur, Dakhani (Jahangir pind), Tutt Pind, Nakodar, Bara Pind, Cheema Kalan, Uppal Kalan, Shampur, Sahnewal, Karnal, Gharaunda, Panipat and many more.
[Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer]
9 Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, translated by Bevridge, pp. 6-7, Asiatik Researches, p. 298, Indian Antiquary, p. 187, also see A.B.M. Habibullah’s The Foundations of the Muslim Rule in India and B. Siraj Mihhaj’s Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.
10 Habibulla, op. cit.
11Ibid, pp. 8-9.
12 Firishta, op.cit., p. 58.
13 Chanderbardai in Prithviraj Raso.
14 Earlier known as Ashika/Asi.
15 Ghuram is about 225 km from Delhi; then it was known as Kuhram; for details see: Minhaj-ud-Din Saraj (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri) second volume.
16 Firishta, op.cit., p. 80, Minhaj, op. cit., p.214.
17Firishta, op.cit., p. 65.
18Minhaj, op.cit., p. 175.
19M. Baqir, Lahore Past and Present, p. 70, Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, translated by Bevridge, p. 23.
20Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, p. 27, M. Baqir, Lahore Past and Present, p 72, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, pp 188-91.
21Tarikh-i-Mubarakshahi, p. 27.
22Tabakat-i-Nasir, p. 194, Farishta, op. cit., Vol i, p 121, M. Baqir, op.cit., p. 73.
23 Khalji has been wrongly mentioned as Khilji by some writers.
24This was the biggest-ever an army that attacked the Punjab in the whole of history.
25 Firoz Shah Tughlak was born to a Rajput (Hindu) mother but he was very aggressive to the Hindus; he demolished several temples including Jwalamukhi and Jagan Nath. He was so inimical to the Hindus that when a Muslim woman fell in love with a Brahmin and embraced Hinduism, he got the Brahmins burnt alive (S. Lanepole, Medieval India, p. 104). Lanepole have given details of other such incidents too.
26 Timur had executed Sheikha Khokhar, the father; Jasrat was taken to Samarkand as prisoner. When Timur died in 1405, Jasrat succeeded in escaping. After his return to the Punjab, he reorganized his clan and collected a big army.
27 The Khokhars were a brave tribe of the Punjab; besides them Janjuas, Chhinas, Chimas, Nijjars, Waraichs, and Meos etc. peasant tribes were known for their rebellious nature. They did not easily accept subjugation by any power. Similarly, Tomar Rajputs in Haryana raised their head several times and fought several battles against the invaders.
28 For details of this period, see: Bakshi Nizam-ud-Din Tabaqat-i-Akbari), vol.I, pp 300-317, also see: Firishta op.cit., vol II.
29 M. Prothoro, History of India, p. 290.
30 Sur has been wrongly spelled as Suri by some writers.
31 For detailed study: D.N. Jha, Ancient India, Romila Thapar, A History of India, John Keay, India: A History.