The Umayyad conquest of Sindh took place in 711 AD and resulted in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

being incorporated into the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

. The conquest resulted in the overthrow of the last Hindu dynasty of Sindh, the Brahman dynasty of Sindh after the death of

Raja Dahir Raja Dahiraud (; ''Raja Dahiraud ''; 663 – 712 CE) was the last Hindu ruler of Sindh in present-day Pakistan. In 711 CE his kingdom was invaded by the Umayyad Caliphate led by Muhammad bin Qasim where Dahiraud died while defending his king ...

Background

Although there was no connection between Arabia and Sindh, the war being started was due to events of piracy that plagued the Arabian Sea, at the time the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of the

offered Raja Dahir protection and sovereignty if he would help him in quelling the piracy. Raja Dahir of Sindh had refused to return Arab rebels from SindhFredunbeg, Mirza Kalichbeg, "The Chachnama: An Ancient History of Sind", pp57 and furthermore, '' Meds'' and others.Wink (2002), pg.164 Meds shipping from their bases at Kutch,

Debal Debal (Urdu, Arabic, sd, ) was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Pakistan. It is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta. Etymology In Arabic history books, most notably in the early e ...

and

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

during one of their raids had kidnapped Muslim women travelling from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

, thus providing a ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' against Sindh

. Raja Dahir expressed his inability to help retrieve the prisoners and after two expeditions was defeated in Sindh.Fredunbeg, Mirza Kalichbeg, "The Chachnama: An Ancient History of Sind", pp69 Al Hajjaj equipped an army built around 6,000 Syrian

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

and detachments of ''

mawali Mawlā ( ar, مَوْلَى, plural ''mawālī'' ()), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet ...

'' from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

,Wink (2004) pg 201–205 six thousand camel riders, and a baggage train of 3,000 camels under his Nephew

Muhammad bin Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqāfī ( ar, محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (part of modern Pakistan), inaugurating the Umayya ...

to Sindh. His artillery of five

catapults A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored ...

were sent to

by sea ("manjaniks").

Invasion

After conquering

Brahmanabad Mansura ( ar, المنصورة, al-manṣūra, the triumphant ity}), referred to as Brahmanabad ( ur, برہمن آباد ; sd, برهمڻ آباد, barhamaṇabād) in later centuries, was the historic capital of the Muslim Caliphate in Sindh ...

in Sindh, Bin Qasim co-opted the local Brahman elite, whom he held in esteem, re-appointing them to posts held under the

Brahman dynasty The Brahmin dynasty of Sindh (), also known as the Chacha dynasty, were the Brahmin Hindu ruling family of the Chacha Empire. The Brahmin dynasty were successors of the Rai dynasty. The dynasty ruled on the Indian subcontinent which originated i ...

and offering honours and awards to their religious leaders and scholars. This arrangement with local Brahman elites resulted in the continued persecution of

Jatts The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralism, pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval time ...

, with Bin Qasim confirming the existing Brahman regulation forbidding them from wearing anything but coarse clothing and requiring them to always walk barefoot accompanied by dogs. The eastern

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

supported the

Sind Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

ruler, Dahir, against the Arab invaders, whereas the western

aligned with

against Dahir. Having settled the question of the freedom of religion and the social status of the

Brahmans Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

, Muhammad bin al-Qasim turned his attention to the

and Lohana. Significant medieval

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

chronicles such as the ''Chach Nama'', ''Zainul-Akhbar'' and ''Tarikh-I-Baihaqi'' have recorded battles between

and forces of Muhammad ibn Qasim. Following his success in Sindh,

wrote to `the kings of Hind' calling upon them to surrender and accept the faith of Islam.: "And Al-Qasim wrote letters `to the kings of Hind (''bi-mulūk-i-hind'') calling upon them all to surrender and accept the faith of Islam (''bi-muṭāwa`at-o-islām'')'. Ten thousand-strong cavalries were sent to Kannauj from Multan, with a decree of the caliph, inviting the people `to share in the blessings of Islam, to submit and do homage and pay tribute'." He dispatched a force against ''al-Baylaman'' (

Bhinmal Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the capital of the Bhil king, then the capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and nor ...

), which is said to have offered submission. The ''Mid'' people of ''Surast'' (Maitrakas of Vallabhi) also made peace. Bin Qasim then sent a cavalry of 10,000 to Kanauj, along with a decree from the Caliph. He himself went with an army to the prevailing frontier of Kashmir called ''panj-māhīyāt'' (in west

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

). Nothing is known of the Kanauj expedition. The frontier of Kashmir might be what is referred to as ''al-Kiraj'' in later records (Kira kingdom in

Kangra Valley Kangra Valley is a river valley situated in the Western Himalayas.Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

), which was apparently subdued.

Aftermath

Bin Qasim was recalled in 715 CE and died ''en route''.

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and ...

writes that, upon his departure, the kings of ''al-Hind'' had come back to their kingdoms. The period of Caliph

Umar II Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( ar, عمر بن عبد العزيز, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; 2 November 680 – ), commonly known as Umar II (), was the eighth Umayyad caliph. He made various significant contributions and reforms to the society, and ...

(r. 717–720) was relatively peaceful. Umar invited the kings of "al-Hind" to convert to Islam and become his subjects, in return for which they would continue to remain kings. Hullishah of Sindh and other kings accepted the offer and adopted Arab names.

References

{{Reflist History of Sindh Invasions by the Umayyad Caliphate 8th-century conflicts 8th-century military history 8th century in the Umayyad Caliphate