As a general of

Jalal-ud-din Khalji Jalal-ud-Din Khalji, also known as Firuz al-Din Khalji, Jalaluddin Khilji or Firuz II ( Persian; جلال الدین خلجی c. 1220 – 19 July 1296, ) was the founder and first Sultan of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate of ...

, his nephew and son-in-law

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 ...

(then known as Ali Gurshasp) raided the Paramara city of Bhilsa in 1293 CE. He damaged the city's

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedica ...

, and looted a large amount of wealth.

Background

Alauddin Khalji was the governor of

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

in Sultan Jalaluddin's

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.

. Although he feigned allegiance to the Sultan, he was determined to dethrone Jalaluddin, and sought to raise money for a successful coup. Towards this objective, he decided to target Bhilsa, a wealthy city in 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 ...

. By the 1290s, the Paramaras had been weakened by Chahamana, Vaghela, and

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

invasions. In late 1292 CE, Alauddin Khalji obtained the Sultan's permission to raid Bhilsa.

The raid

In 1293 CE, Alauddin marched towards Bhilsa via the

Chanderi Chanderi, is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri, 37 km from Lalitpur, 55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 46 km ...

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 ...

road. His sudden attack took the city's residents by surprise. The town had several richly-endowed

, from which Alauddin obtained a large amount of wealth, including precious metals and cattle. The residents of Bhilsa concealed their idols in the riverbed of

Betwa , discharge1_min = , discharge1_avg = , date=November 2019 , discharge1_max = , source1 = Vindhya Range , source1_location = Near Obedullaganj, Vindhya Range north of Hoshangabad , source1_coordinates = , source1_elevation = , mouth ...

to prevent Alauddin's army from desecrating them. But Alauddin had these idols hauled out of Betwa. He damaged a number of temples, and plundered a large amount of wealth. According to Badauni's ''

Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh ''Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (منتخب التواریخ) or'' ''Tarikh-i-Bada'uni'' (تاریخ بداؤنی), ''Selection of Chronicles'' by `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (1540–1605) is a book describing the early Mughal history of India, covering the ...

'', Alauddin also brought to Delhi a large Hindu

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

, which was placed at the Badaun Gate to be trampled by the people.

Aftermath

At Bhilsa, Alauddin learned of the immense wealth of the southern Seuna (Yadava) kingdom, and about the routes leading to their capital

Devagiri Daulatabad Fort, originally Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas (9th century – 14th century CE), for a brief time the capital of ...

. Therefore, he shrewdly surrendered the loot from Bhilsa to Jalaluddin to gain the Sultan's confidence, while withholding the information on the Yadava kingdom. A pleased Jalaluddin rewarded Alauddin with the office of ''Ariz-i Mamalik'' (

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

), which his father once held. Jalaluddin also made him the governor of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

, and granted his request to use the revenue surplus for hiring additional troops. Subsequently, in 1296, Alauddin raided Devagiri, and used the loot accumulated from there to raise an army and usurp the power from Jalaluddin.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Alauddin Khalji Bhilsa Paramara dynasty Military raids Battles involving the Rajputs Battles involving the Delhi Sultanate History of Madhya Pradesh