In 1305, the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

ruler

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

sent an army to capture the Paramara kingdom of

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

in central India. The Delhi army defeated and killed the powerful Paramara minister Goga, while the Paramara king Mahalakadeva took shelter in the

Mandu Mandu may refer to: Geographic toponyms * Mandu River, a river in Minas Gerais, Brazil * Mandu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a village * Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, a ruined city in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Mandu, Jharkhand, ...

fort. Alauddin appointed Ayn al-Mulk Multani as the governor of Malwa. After consolidating his power in Malwa, Ayn al-Mulk besieged Mandu and killed Mahalakadeva.

Background

The

Paramara dynasty The Paramara Dynasty (IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmar (clan), Paramara clan of the Rajputs. The dynasty was establi ...

ruled the

region in central India. By 1305, nearly all the Indian rulers to the north of Malwa had acknowledged Alauddin's suzerainty. The Paramara king Mahalakadeva was a weak ruler, and his prime minister (''pradhan'') Goga (called Koka in Muslim chronicles) was more powerful than him.

Goga's death

In 1305, Alauddin sent a cavalry to capture Malwa. It is not clear who commanded this army, but he might have been Ayn al-Mulk Multani, whom Alauddin later appointed as the governor of Malwa. According to the Delhi chronicler

Amir Khusrau Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the period of the Delhi Sult ...

, the Delhi army comprised 1,000 soldiers, who had been selected specifically for the mission. According to Khusrau, the Malwa army commanded by Goga comprised a 3,000-4,000 strong

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and an "innumerable"

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

. The later historians Yahya, Firishta, and Hajiuddabir state that the Malwa army comprised 4,000 cavalry and 10 ,000 infantry. In the ensuing battle, the Delhi army emerged victorious. Khusrau states that the battlefield was "bloody with mud" as far as the human eye could see. Goga's horse was caught in a

mire A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

, and he was killed by arrows. His head was sent to Delhi, where it was trampled under the feet of horses at the palace gates. Alauddin appointed Ayn al-Mulk as the governor of Malwa. Ayn al-Mulk raided the former Paramara capital Dhara, where he broke the Dhar iron pillar. The former Paramara vassals were forced to recognize Alauddin's suzerainty. These included the chiefs of the

Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

Dhar Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...

, and Chanderi cities. Ayn al-Mulk sent a detailed record of his success to Delhi, where a week-long celebration was held and sweets were distributed among public for the entire week.

Mahalakadeva's death

After the establishment of peace in a large part of Malwa, Ayn al-Mulk marched to

, where the Paramara king Mahalakadeva stayed. Mahalakadeva sent an army led by his son to fight the invaders. Mahalakadeva's army was defeated and his son killed on the battlefield. The Delhi army besieged Mandu, and managed to enter it, after one of Mahalakadeva's fort guards betrayed him. The guard told the invaders about a secret entrance to the fort. Using this passage, the Delhi army entered the Mandu fort at night, taking Mahalakadeva by surprise. Mahalakadeva fled to a spring called Sar (''Chashm-i Sar'' in the Delhi chronicles), where he was killed. The Delhi army captured the fort on 23 November 1305, and Alauddin assigned it to Ayn al-Mulk. An inscription from

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

indicates that the Paramara dynasty survived in the north-eastern part of Malwa in 1310. However, this area had also come under the Delhi Sultanate rule by the

Tughluq The Tughlaq dynasty (also known as the Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty; ) was the third dynasty to rule over the Delhi Sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath a ...

period in 1338.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Description of conquest of Malwa
in ''Khazain ul-Futuh'' by Alauddin's courtier Amir Khusrau {{Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji Battles involving the Delhi Sultanate Battles involving the Rajputs Paramara dynasty History of Madhya Pradesh