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The Sack of Delhi was a battle between Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire and the
Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq and Mallu Iqbal had made preparations in Delhi to face Timur, their army consisted of war elephants with chain mail and poison on their tusks. But Timur was a strategist and devised a plan, he dug trenches around his cavalry units, as he had gathered that horses were easily frightened by elephants. In most cases, commanders dug trenches to protect infantry from cavalry yet Timur did the opposite, which boosted the morale of his army. Timur also knew that elephants panic easily, Timur loaded hay and wood onto the camels. The camels ran towards the war elephants. While the elephants were panicking, Timur and his army began to shoot arrows and catapults pots filled with inflammable liquids. The Delhi army was poisoned by their own elephants, Timur then set loose of his main army and charged at Delhi's army, and Timur's horsemen destroyed what was left of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq's army. The city was sacked to ruins, and the population was enslaved. After the capture of the Sultanate's capital Delhi, the people unsatisfied of Timur began to revolt. It lasted for 3 days, and the army left the decomposing bodies to give "food to the birds".
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
. It took place on 17 December 1398 and lasted for 3 days and ended with the massacre of over 100,000 citizens as well as the Delhi army.
Background
Timur gained power in 1370, he swiftly began engaging in wars and conquering many surrounding nations. While he conquered Persia, and Iraq, a civil war broke out in theDelhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
and by 1398, there were two rulers who called themselves Sultan: Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughlaq, the grandson of Firuz Shah Tughlaq
Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.
who ruled from Delhi, and Nasir ud-Din Nusrat Shah Tughlaq, another relative of Firuz Shah Tughlaq who ruled from Firozabad, which was a few miles from Delhi. Timur who had heard about this quickly turned his eye on Delhi knowing about the rich wealth of India. Timur had begun preparations and mobilization for his next campaign. While Timur had no intention of ruling over India or interest in an Indian empire, he certainly had an interest in the massive amount of wealth that India had.
The invasion of India 1398
In 1398, Timur gathered an army of over 90,000 to invade India with. On 30 September 1398, Timur crossed theIndus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
and reached Tulamba where he sacked the city and massacred its inhabitants. In October, he reached Multan and the captured the city. Most of his invasion faced no fighting and almost no resistance by the Indians, as they were already weakened and had not mobilized properly.
Battle of Delhi
Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq and Mallu Iqbal had made preparations in Delhi to face Timur, their army consisted of war elephants with chain mail and poison on their tusks. But Timur was a strategist and devised a plan, he dug trenches around his cavalry units, as he had gathered that horses were easily frightened by elephants. In most cases, commanders dug trenches to protect infantry from cavalry yet Timur did the opposite, which boosted the morale of his army. Timur also knew that elephants panic easily, Timur loaded hay and wood onto the camels. The camels ran towards the war elephants. While the elephants were panicking, Timur and his army began to shoot arrows and catapults pots filled with inflammable liquids. The Delhi army was poisoned by their own elephants, Timur then set loose of his main army and charged at Delhi's army, and Timur's horsemen destroyed what was left of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq's army. The city was sacked to ruins, and the population was enslaved. After the capture of the Sultanate's capital Delhi, the people unsatisfied of Timur began to revolt. It lasted for 3 days, and the army left the decomposing bodies to give "food to the birds".
See also
*Timurid conquests and invasions
Timurid conquests and invasions started in the seventh decade of the 14th century with Timur's control over Chagatai Khanate and ended at the start of the 15th century with the death of Timur. Due to the sheer scale of Timur's wars, and the fac ...
Notes
References
{{Cite book , last=Smith , first=Vincent A. , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ , title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911 , publisher=Clarendon Press , year=1920 Timur Battles of Timur Battles involving the Timurid Empire Battles involving the Delhi Sultanate Battles of Pir Muhammad (son of Jahangir) Military history of the Timurid Empire Looting in India Military history of Delhi