Muslim Conquest Of Sindh

The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place from the 13th to 17th centuries. Earlier Muslim conquests include the invasions into what is now modern-day Pakistan and the Umayyad campaigns in India in eighth century and resistance of Rajputs to them.

Mahmud of Ghazni, who was the first Sultan, and preserved an ideological link to the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate, invaded and plundered vast parts of Punjab and Gujarat, starting from the Indus River during the 11th century.

After the capture of Lahore and the end of the Ghaznavids, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India. In 1206, Bakhtiyar Khalji led the Muslim conquest of Bengal, marking the easternmost expansion of Islam at the time. The Ghurid Empire soon evolved into the Delhi Sultanate, ruled by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, the founder of the Mamluk dynasty. With the Delhi Sultanate established, Islam was spread across most parts of the Indian subcontinent.

In the 14th century, the Khalji dynasty, temporarily extended Muslim rule southwards to Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan. The Tughlaq dynasty, meanwhile, temporarily expanded its territorial reach to Tamil Nadu. The break up of the Delhi Sultanate resulted in several Muslim sultanates and dynasties to emerge across the Indian subcontinent, such as the Gujarat Sultanate, Malwa Sultanate, Khandesh Sultanate, Bahmani Sultanate, the Madurai Sultanate, and the wealthy and powerful Bengal Sultanate, a major trading nation in the world. Some of these, however, were followed by Hindu reconquests and resistance from the native powers and states, such as the Kamma Nayakas, Vijayanagaras, Gajapatis, Cheros, and Rajput states.

The Sur Empire, ruled by Sher Shah Suri, conquered large territories in the northern parts of India prior to the full rise of the Mughal Empire, founded by Babur, one of the three gunpowder empires which included a majority of the ruling elites of South Asia. Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include a large portion of the subcontinent. The zenith was reached at the end of the 17th century, when the reign under emperor Aurangzeb witnessed the full establishment of Islamic Sharia through the Fatawa al-Alamgir.

The Mughals suffered a major decline in the early 18th century, mostly after their defeat in the Mughal-Rajput Wars and Mughal–Maratha Wars. Afsharid ruler Nader Shah's invasion was an unexpected attack which demonstrated the weakness of the Mughal Empire. This provided opportunities for the powerful Rajput States, Mysore Kingdom, Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad, Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire, and Nizams of Hyderabad to exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent. The Maratha Empire was the dominant force on the subcontinent after the Mughals.

After the Battle of Plassey, the Battle of Buxar, Anglo-Mysore Wars, Anglo-Maratha Wars and Anglo-Sikh Wars the British East India Company seized control of much of the Indian subcontinent. By the end of the 18th century, European powers continued to exert a large amount of political influence over the Indian subcontinent, and by the end of the 19th century most of the Indian subcontinent came under European colonial domination, most notably the British Raj.

Considering the complex history of the Muslim conquests of India, their recollection and legacy is indubitably controversial. The legacy of the Muslim conquest of South Asia is a hotly debated issue and argued even today.

Early Muslim presence

Islam in South Asia existed in communities along the Arab coastal trade routes in Sindh, Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, and Ceylon. The religion originated and had gained early acceptance in the Arabian Peninsula. The first incursion by the new Muslim successor states of the Arab world occurred around 636 AD or 643 AD, during the Rashidun Caliphate, long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land.Wink, Andre, " Al-Hind The Making of the Indo-Islamic Worlds Vol 1", pp201 Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi, the governor of Bahrain and Oman, sent out ships to raid Thane, near modern-day Mumbai. His brother Hakam sailed to Broach and a third fleet sailed to Debal under his younger brother Mughira either in 636 or 643 AD, according to one source, which does not specifically state the results but mentions that these expeditions were sent without the Caliph Umar's consent, and he rebuked Uthman, saying that had the Arabs lost any men in the expeditions, the Caliph would have killed an equal number of men who had participated from Uthman's tribe in retaliation.: "'Uthmân ibn-abu-l-'Âși ath-Thaķafi ... sent his brother, al-Hakam, to al-Bahrain, and went himself to 'Umân, and sent an army across to Tânah. When the army returned, he wrote to 'Umar, informing him of this expedition and its result. 'Umar wrote to him in reply, ' ... By Allah, I swear that if they had been smitten, I would exact from thy tribe the equivalent.' Al-Hakam sent an expedition against Barwaș roachalso, and sent his brother, al-Mughîrah ibn-abu-l-'Âsi, to the gulf of ad-Daibul, where he met the enemy in battle and won a victory." However, another source states Mughira was defeated and killed at Debal.Fredunbeg, Mirza Kalichbeg, "The Chachnama: An Ancient History of Sind", pp57 The expeditions may have been sent to attack pirates to safeguard Arabian trade in the Arabian Sea, and not to start the conquest of India. Shortly after the Muslim conquest of Persia, the connection between the Sindh and Islam was established by the initial Muslim missions during the Rashidun Caliphate.

Rashidun Caliphate and the Indian frontier

The kingdoms of Kapisa-Gandhara in modern-day Afghanistan, Zabulistan, and Sindh (which then held Makran) in modern-day Pakistan, all of which were culturally and politically part of India since ancient times, were known as "The Frontier of Al Hind". Makran had been conquered by Chach of Alor in 631 AD, but ten years later, it was described as "under the government of Persia" by Xuanzang, who had visited the region in 641 AD.

The first clash between a ruler of an Indian kingdom and the Arabs took place in 643 AD, when Arab forces defeated Rutbil, the King of Zabulistan in Sistan. Arabs led by Suhail b. Abdi and Hakam al Taghilbi defeated a local army in the Battle of Rasil in 644 AD at the Indian Ocean sea coast, then reached the Indus River. Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab denied them permission to cross the river or operate on Indian soil and the Arabs returned home.

Abdullah ibn Aamir led the invasion of Khurasan in 650 AD, and his general Rabi b. Ziyad Al Harithi attacked Sistan and took Zaranj and surrounding areas in 651 AD while Ahnaf ibn Qais conquered the Hepthalites of Herat in 652 AD and advanced up to Balkh by 653 AD. Arab conquests now bordered the Kingdoms of Kapisa, Zabul and Sindh in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Arabs levied annual tributes on the newly captured areas, and leaving 4,000 men garrisons at Merv and Zaranj retired to Iraq instead of pushing on against the frontier of India. Caliph Uthman b. Affan sanctioned an attack against Makran in 652 AD, and sent a recon mission to Sindh in 653 AD. The mission described Makran as inhospitable, and Caliph Uthman, probably assuming the country beyond was much worse, forbade any further incursions into India.

Al-Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi, who attacked Makran in the year 649 AD, was an early partisan of Ali ibn Abu Talib. During the caliphate of Ali, many Hindus of Sindh had come under the influence of Shi'ism and some even participated in the Battle of Camel and died fighting for Ali. Under the Umayyads (661–750 AD), many Shias sought asylum in the region of Sindh, to live in relative peace in the remote area. Ziyad Hindi was one of those refugees.

Umayyad expansion in Al Hind

Mu'awiya I established the Umayyad rule over the Arabs after the First Fitna in 661 AD, and resumed expansion of the Muslim's empire. Al-Baladuri wrote that "In the year 664 AD, and in the days of the Mu'awiya I, Muhallib son of Abu Safra made war upon the same frontier, and advanced as far as Banna ( Bannnu) and Al-Ahwar (Lahore) which lie between Multan and Kabul.”Elliot H. M. 'The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians' in "The Muhammadan period: Volume 1"Briggs, J. trans. Mohammad Kasim Firishta, "History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India Till the Year A.D. 1612“, Volume VI

After 663-665 AD, the Arabs launched an invasion against Kapisa, Zabul and what is now Pakistani Balochistan. Abdur Rahman b. Samurra besieged Kabul in 663 AD, while Haris b Marrah advanced against Kalat after marching through Fannazabur and Quandabil and moving through the Bolan Pass. King Chach of Sindh sent an army against the Arabs, the Arabs were trapped when the enemy blocked the mountain passes Haris was killed and his army was annihilated. Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra took a detachment through the Khyber pass towards Multan in Southern Punjab in modern-day Pakistan in 664 AD, then pushed south into Kikan, and may have also raided Quandabil. Turki Shah and Zunbil expelled Arabs from their respective kingdoms by 670 AD, and Zunbil began assisting in organizing resistance in Makran.

This was the beginning of a prolonged struggle between the rulers of Kabul and Zabul against successive Arab governors of Sistan, Khurasan and Makran in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Kabul Shahi kings and their Zunbil kinsmen blocked access to the Khyber Pass and Gomal Pass routes into India from 653 to 870 AD, while modern Balochistan, Pakistan, comprising the areas of Kikan or Qiqanan, Nukan, Turan, Buqan, Qufs, Mashkey and Makran, would face several Arab expeditions between 661 and 711 AD. The Arabs launched several raids against these frontier lands, but repeated rebellions in Sistan and Khurasan between 653 and 691 AD diverted much of their military resources in order to subdue these provinces and away from expansion into Al Hind. Muslim control of these areas ebbed and flowed repeatedly as a result until 870 AD. Arab troops disliked being stationed in Makran, and were reluctant to campaign in the Kabul area and Zabulistan due to the difficult terrain and underestimation of Zunbil's power. The Arab strategy was tribute extraction instead of systematic conquest. The fierce resistance of Zunbil and Turki Shah stalled Arab progress repeatedly in the "Frontier Zone".

Battles in Makran and Zabulistan

Arabs launched several campaigns in eastern Balochistan between 661 and 681 AD. Four Arab commanders were killed during the campaigns, but Sinan b. Salma managed to conquer parts of Makran including the Chagai area, and established a permanent base of operations in 673 AD. Rashid b. Amr, the next governor of Makran, subdued Mashkey in 672 AD. Munzir b. Jarood Al Abadi managed to garrison Kikan and conquer Buqan by 681 AD, while Ibn Harri Al Bahili conducted several campaigns to secure the Arab hold on Kikan, Makran and Buqan by 683 AD. Zunbil saw off Arab campaigns in 668, 672 and 673 AD by paying tribute. Although Arabs occupied the areas south of Helmand in 673 AD permanently Zunbil defeated Yazid b. Salm's army in 681 AD at Junzah, and Arabs had to pay 500,000 dirhams as ransom to get free their prisoners, but the Arabs defeated and killed Zunbil in Sistan in 685. The Arabs were defeated in Zabul in next invaded Zabul in 693 AD.

Al Hajjaj and the East

Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Al Thaqifi, who had played a crucial role during the Second Fitna for the Umayyad cause, was appointed the governor of Iraq in 694 AD. He further extended his reign to Khurasan and Sistan