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Arabesque from a Mohammedan Tomb.

Chapter 1 – Arab Conquest Of Sind

As the history of Mohammedan rule in India begins with the conquest of Sind by the Moslems, it seems fitting to present an account of the Arab invasion as told by one of their own historians. Such a narrative we have, for example, from the pen of al-Baladhuri of Baghdad, a Mussulman chronicler who wrote contemporaneously with many of the events he described, and died in the year 892 A.D., hardly a hundred years after the Mohammedans had gained their first foothold in Hindustan. His narrative, which is here slightly abridged, should be compared with the main current of events described in the first chapter of the third volume of this series for a clearer understanding of some of the incidents whose importance was not fully realized in his time. But it is best to allow al-Baladhuri to tell his own story.

Ali ibn Mohammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abu Saif has related that the Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab appointed

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Osman ibn Abu-l-Asi of the tribe of Sakif to Bahrain and Oman in the year 15 A.H. (636 A.D.). Osman sent his brother Hakam to Bahrain, while he himself went to Oman and despatched an army to Tana. When the army returned, he wrote to the Caliph Omar to inform him of it. Omar wrote in reply: “O brother of Sakif, thou has placed the worm in the wood, but I swear that if our men had been killed, I would have slain an equal number from thy tribe.” Hakam despatched a force to Barauz (Broach); he also sent to the bay of Daibul his brother Mughira, who met and defeated the enemy.

When Osman ibn Akkan became caliph, he appointed Abdallah ibn Amar ibn Kuraiz to the government of Irak, and wrote to him an order to send someone to the confines of Hind in order to acquire knowledge and bring back information. He accordingly deputed Hakim ibn Jaballa al-Abdi. When this man returned, he was sent to the caliph, who questioned him about the state of those regions. He replied that he knew them because he had examined them. The caliph then told him to describe them. He said: “Water is scarce, the fruits are poor, and the robbers are bold; if few troops are sent there, they will be slain; if many, they will starve.” Osman asked him whether he spoke literally or metaphorically. He said that he spoke according to his knowledge. The caliph abstained from sending any expedition there.

At the end of the year 38 or the beginning of the

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year 39 A.H. (659 A.D.), in the caliphate of Ali ibn Abu-Salib, Haras ibn Marra-al-Abdi went with the sanction of the caliph to the same frontier as a volunteer. He was victorious, got plunder, made captives, and distributed a thousand heads in one day.

Seals of Early Caliphs

He and all but a few of those who were with him were slain in the land of Kikan in the year 42 A.H. (662 A.D.). Kikan is in Sind near the frontiers of Khorasan.

In the year 44 A.H. (664 A.D.), and in the days of the Caliph Mu’awiya, Muhallab ibn Abu-Safra made

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war upon the same frontier, and advanced as far as Banna (Bannu) and Alahwar (Lahore), which lie between Multan and Kabul. The enemy opposed him and killed him and his followers. In the reign of Mu’awiya, the Amir Abdallah ibn Amir or, according to some, Mu’awiya himself, sent Abdallah ibn Suar-al-Abdi to the frontier of Hind. He fought in Kikan and captured booty. He then came to Mu’awiya and presented him with some Kikan horses. He staid near the caliph some time, and then returned to Kikan, whereupon the Turks mobilized their forces and slew him.

In the reign of this same Mu’awiya, Ziyad ibn Abu-Sufian appointed Sinan, a good and godly man, commander. He proceeded to the frontier, and having subdued Mekran and its cities by force, he staid there and established his power in the country.

Ziyad then appointed Rashid ibn Omar-al-Judaidi, of the tribe of Azd, to the frontier. He proceeded to Mekran and was victorious in warring against Kikan, but was slain fighting against the Meds. Sinan ibn Salama then succeeded to the command and was confirmed therein by Ziyad. He remained there two years.

Abbad ibn Ziyad then made war on the frontier of Hind by way of Seistan. He went to Sanaruz, whence he proceeded by way of Khaz to Rudbar in Seistan on the banks of the Hilmand. He then descended to Kish, and crossing the desert came to Kandahar. He fought against the inhabitants, routed them,

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put them to flight, and subdued the country; but many Mussulmans also perished.

Ziyad next appointed al-Manzar ibn al-Jarud-al-Abdi to the frontiers of India. He was known by the name of Abu-l-Ash’as. He attacked and conquered Nukan and Kikan. The Mussulmans obtained great plunder, and their forces spread over all the country. He captured Kusdar, which Sinan had already taken, but which had again revolted, and took prisoners there. Abu-l-Ash’as died in Kusdar, and after that the governor, Ubaid-Allah ibn Ziyad, appointed Ibn Harri al-Bahali. God, by his hands, subdued these countries, for he- waged cruel war in them and conquered and plundered them.

The people of Nukan are now Mohammedans. Amran ibn Musa ibn Yahya, son of Khalid the Barmacide, built a city there in the caliphate of Mu’tasim bi-Allah which he called al-Baiza (the white). When al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was governor of Irak, Sa’id ibn Aslam was appointed to Mekran and its frontiers. He was opposed and slain there by Mu’awiya and Mohammad, sons of al-Haras al-Alafi. Hajjaj then appointed Mujja’ ibn Si’r at-Tamimi to the frontier. He made war upon, plundered, and defeated the tribes about Kandabil, and this conquest was subsequently completed by Mohammad ibn Kasim. Mujja’ died in Mekran after being there a year.

After the death of Mujja’, Hajjaj appointed as his successor Mohammad ibn Harun ibn Zara’ al-Namari. Under the government of Mohammad, the king of the

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A type of Ceylon beauty

Isle of Rubies (Ceylon, so called from the beauty of its women), sent as a present to Hajjaj certain Mohammedan girls who had been born in his country, the orphan daughters of merchants who had died there.

The king hoped by this measure to ingratiate himself with Hajjaj; but the ship in which he had embarked these girls was attacked and taken by some barks

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belonging to the Meds of Daibul. When this news reached Hajjaj, he sent an ambassador to Dahir to demand their release, but Dahir replied: “They are pirates who have captured these women, and over them I have no authority.” Hajjaj then sent Ubaid-Allah ibn Nabhan against Daibul. Ubaid-Allah being killed, Hajjaj wrote to Budail ibn Tahfa, of the tribe of Bajali, who was at Oman, directing him to proceed to Daibul. When he arrived there, his horse took fright and threw him, and the enemy surrounded him and killed him, although some say that he was killed by the Jats of Budha.

Hajjaj afterwards appointed Mohammad ibn Kasim to govern the Sindian frontier. Mohammad was in Fars when the order arrived, and had previously received instruction to go to Rai (in Persia, south of the Caspian Sea). Abu-l-Aswad Jahm ibn Zahr-al-Ju’fi was at the head of the advance-guard, and was ordered to return to Mohammad, whom he joined on the borders of Sind. Hajjaj ordered six thousand Syrian warriors to attend Mohammad, and others besides. He was provided with all he could require, without omitting even thread and needles. He had leave to remain at Shiraz until all the troops who were to accompany him had assembled and all the preparations had been duly made. Hajjaj had some dressed cotton saturated with strong vinegar, and then dried it in the shade, and said: “When you arrive in Sind, if you find the vinegar scarce, soak the cotton in water, and with the water you can cook your food and season your dishes as you

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wish.” Some authors say that when Mohammad arrived on the frontiers, he wrote to complain of the scarcity of vinegar, and this was the reason which induced Hajjaj to send cotton soaked in vinegar. Mohammad ibn Kasim then went to Mekran and remained there some time. He then went to Kannaz- bur and took it, and then to Armail, which he also took. After this he left Armail, accompanied by Jahm, and arrived at Daibul on Friday, where ships brought him a supply of men, arms, and engines of war. He dug an entrenchment, which he defended with spearmen, and unfurled his banners; each body of warriors was arrayed under its own banner, and he fixed the manjanik, a catapult or ballista, which was called “the bride” and required five hundred men to work it. There was at Daibul a lofty temple surmounted by a long pole, and on the pole was fixed a red flag, which, when the breeze blew, was unfurled over the city. The temple is a high steeple, below which the idol or idols are deposited, as in this instance. The Indians give the general name of budd (temple) to anything connected with their worship or which forms the object of their veneration, so that an idol itself is called budd.

In the correspondence which ensued, Mohammad informed Hajjaj of what he had done, and solicited

The Manjanik, a Catapult or Ballista

From Egerton’s Indian Armour.

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advice respecting the future. Letters were written every three days. One day a reply was received to this effect: “Fix the manjanik, and shorten its foot, and place it on the east; you will then call the manjanik-master, and tell him to aim at the flagstaff, of which you have given a description in your letter.” So he brought down the flagstaff, and it was broken; at which the infidels were sore afflicted. The idolaters advanced to the combat, but were put to flight; ladders were then brought and the Mussulmans scaled the wall. The first who gained the summit was a man of Kufa, of the tribe of Murad. The town was thus taken by assault, and the slaughter lasted three days. The governor of the town, who had been appointed by Dahir, fled, and the priests of the temple were massacred. Mohammad marked out a place for the Mussulmans to dwell in, built a mosque, and left four thousand Moslems to garrison the city.

Ambissa ibn Ishak az-Zabbi, the governor of Sind, in the caliphate of Mu’tasim bi-Allah, knocked down the upper part of the minaret of the temple and converted it into a prison. At the same time he began to repair the ruined town with the stones of the minaret; but before he had completed his labours, he was deprived of his office and was succeeded by Harun ibn Abi Khalid-al-Maruruzi, after which he was slain there. Mohammad ibn Kasim then went to Nirun, the inhabitants of which had already sent two Samanis, or priests, of their town to Hajjaj to treat for peace. They furnished Mohammad with supplies, and permitting

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Jat Peasants and Landlords

him to enter the town, they were allowed to capitulate. Mohammad conquered all the towns successively which he met on his route, until he had crossed a river which runs on this side of the Mihran (Indus). He then saw approaching him Sarbidas, the Samani, who came to sue for peace in the name of the inhabitants.

Mohammad imposed tribute upon them, and then went towards Sahban, and took it. He then went to the banks of the Mihran, and remained there. When this news reached Dahir, he prepared for battle. Mohammad ibn Kasim had sent Mohammad ibn Mus’ab to Sadusan, with men mounted on horses and asses, and at their approach the inhabitants begged for quarter and peace, the terms of which were negotiated by the Samani. Mohammad granted them peace, but he imposed tribute on the place and took pledges from them, and then returned to his master. He brought with him four thousand Jats, and left an officer in command at Sadusan.

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Mohammad now sought means for crossing the Mihran, and effected the passage in a place which adjoined the dominions of Rasil, chief of Kassa, in Hind, upon a bridge which he had caused to be constructed. Dahir had neglected every precaution, not believing that the Mussulmans would dare to advance so far. Mohammad and his Mussulmans encountered Dahir mounted on his elephant, and surrounded by many of these animals, and with his Thakurs near his person. A dreadful conflict ensued, such as had never been heard of. Dahir dismounted and fought valiantly, but he was killed toward evening, whereupon the idolaters fled and the Mussulmans glutted themselves with slaughter.

Mohammad ibn Kasim then went to old Brahmanabad, two parasangs from Mansura, which did not then exist, its site being a forest. The remnant of the army of Dahir rallied at Brahmanabad and offered resistance, so that Mohammad was obliged to resort to force, and eight, or as some say, twenty-six, thousand men were put to the sword.

Mohammad then marched toward Alrur (Alor) and Baghrur. The people of Sawandari came out to meet him and sued for peace, which was granted them on condition that they should entertain the Mohammedans and furnish guides. At this time they profess the Mohammedan creed. After that he went to Basmad, where the inhabitants obtained peace on the same terms as those accorded to the Sawandarians. At last he reached Alrur, one of the cities of Sind, which is situated on a hill. Mohammad besieged it for several

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A Tomb at Multan

months and compelled it to surrender, promising to spare the lives of the inhabitants and not to touch the temples. “The temples,” he said, “shall be unto us like as the churches of the Christians, the synagogues of the Jews, and the fire-temples of the Magians.”

He imposed tribute upon the inhabitants, however, and built a mosque in the city.

Mohammad then advanced to Alsakah, a town on this side of the Biyah, which was captured by him, and is now in ruins. He then crossed the Biyah and went toward Multan, where, in the action which ensued, Zaid ibn Omar, of the tribe of Tai, covered himself

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with glory. The infidels retreated in disorder into the town and Mohammad commenced the siege, but the provisions being exhausted, the Mussulmans were reduced to eat asses. Then came a man who sued for quarter and pointed out to them an aqueduct, by which the inhabitants were supplied with drinking-water from the river of Basmad. It flowed within the city into a reservoir like a well, which they call talah, or talao. Mohammad destroyed the water-course, whereupon the inhabitants, oppressed with thirst, surrendered at discretion. He massacred the men capable of bearing arms, but the children were taken captive, as well as the ministers of the temple, to the number of six thousand. The Mussulmans found much gold in a chamber ten cubits long by eight broad, and there was an aperture above, through which the gold was poured into the chamber, whence they call Multan “the Frontier of the House of Gold.” The temple of Multan received rich presents and offerings, and the people of Sind resorted to it as a place of pilgrimage. They circumambulated it and shaved their heads and beards. They believed that the image in the temple was that of the prophet Job, the peace of God be upon him!

Upon the death of Hajjaj in 95 A.H. (714 A.D.), Mohammad left Multan and returned to Alrur and Baghrur, which had previously been captured. He made donations to his men, and sent an army toward al-Bailaman, the inhabitants of which place surrendered without any resistance. He made peace with the inhabitants of Surast, who are Meds, seafarers, and

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An Indian Barber

pirates. He went against the town of Kiraj. Duhar advanced to oppose him, but the enemy was put to flight and Duhar fled, although some say he was killed., The inhabitants surrendered, and Mohammad slew all those capable of bearing arms and reduced the rest to slavery.

Meanwhile, Walid ibn Abd-al-Malik died and was succeeded by his brother Sulaiman, who appointed Salih ibn Abd-ar-Rahman to collect the tribute of Irak. Yazid ibn Abu-Kabsha as-Saksaki was made governor of Sind, and Mohammad ibn Kasim was sent back a prisoner with Mu’awiya ibn Muhallab. The people of Hind wept for Mohammad, and preserved his likeness at Kiraj. He was imprisoned by Salih at Wasit. Salih put him to torture, together with other persons of the family of Abu-Ukail, until they expired, but of him Hamza ibn Baiz Hanafi says:

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“Verily, courage, and generosity, and liberality,

Belonged to Mohammad, son of Kasim, son of Mohammad;

He led armies at the age of seventeen years;

He seemed destined for command from the day of his birth.”

Yazid ibn Abu-Kabsha died eighteen days after his arrival in Sind. Sulaiman then appointed Habib ibn al-Muhallab to carry on the war in Sind, and he departed for that purpose. Meanwhile the princes of Hind had returned to their states, and Jaishiya ibn Dahir had come back to Brahmanabad. Habib proceeded to the banks of the Mihran, where the people of Alrur made their submission; but he warred against a certain tribe and reduced them.

When the Caliph Sulaiman ibn Abd-al-Malik died, he was succeeded by Omar ibn Abd-al-Aziz in 717 A.D. He wrote to the princes of Hind, inviting them to become Mussulmans and submit to his authority, whereupon they would be treated like all other Mussulmans. These princes had already heard of his promises, character, and creed, so Jaishiya and other princes turned Mussulmans and took Arab names Amru ibn Muslim al-Bahali was lieutenant of Omar on this frontier. He invaded several places in Hind and subdued them.

In the days of Yazid ibn Abd-al-Malik, who reigned from 720 to 724 A.D., the sons of al-Muhallab fled to Sind, and Hilal ibn Ahwaz at-Tamimi was sent after them. He fell in with them and killed Mudrak ibn Muhallab at Kandabil. He also slew Mufazzal, Abd-al-Malik, Ziyad, Marun, and Mu’awiya, sons of Muhallab, and last of all he killed Mu’awiya ibn Yazid.

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Junaid ibn Abd-ar-Rahman al-Marri was appointed to the frontier of Sind, under the authority of Omar ibn Hubaira al-Fazari, and was confirmed in the government by the Caliph Hasham ibn Abd-al-Malik, who ascended the throne in 724. When Khalid ibn Abdallah al-Kasri was sent to Irak as governor, Hasham wrote to Junaid, directing him to keep up a correspondence with Khalid. Junaid went to Daibul, and from thence to the banks of the Mihran, but Jaishiya ibn Dahir forbade him to cross, and sent to him, saying, “I have become a Mussulman, and an excellent man confirmed me in my estates, but I have no faith in thee.” Junaid, however, gave him pledges and took pledges from him, together with the tribute due from his territories. They thus exchanged guarantees, but Jaishiya acted like an infidel and took up arms, although some say that he did not begin the attack, but that Junaid dealt unjustly with him. Jaishiya assembled his troops, fitted out ships, and prepared for war. Junaid proceeded against him in ships and they fought in the lake of ash-Sharki. Jaishiya’s ship was destroyed, and he himself was taken prisoner and slain.

Thereupon, Sasah ibn Dahir fled and proceeded toward Irak to complain of the treachery of Junaid, but the latter did not cease to conciliate him until they had shaken hands, and then he slew him. Junaid then made war against Kiraj, where the people had rebelled. He made use of battering-rams, and battered the walls of the town with them until they were breached, and then he stormed the place, slaying, plundering, and

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making captives. He then sent his officers to Marmad, Mandal, Dahnaj, and Barus (Broach). He sent a force against Uzain (Ujjain) and he also sent Rabid ibn Marra with an army against the country of Maliba (Malabar). They made incursions against Uzain, and attacked Baharimad and burnt its suburbs. Junaid conquered al-Bailaman and Jurz (Gujarat), and he received at his abode, in addition to what his visitors presented to him, forty millions, while he himself carried off a similar sum.

The successor of Junaid was Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi. He was feeble and imbecile, and died near Daibul in a water called the “Buffalo-water,” so named because buffalos took refuge there from the bears which infested the banks of the Mihran. Tamim was one of the most generous of Arabs and soon spent the eighteen million Tartar dirhams which he found in the treasury of Sind. In his days, the Mussulmans retired from several parts of India and left some of their positions, nor have they up to the present time advanced so far as in days gone by.

Hakim ibn Awana al-Kalbi succeeded Tamim. The people of India had returned to idolatry, excepting those of Kassa, and the Mussulmans had no place of security in which they could take refuge, so he built a town on the other side of the lake facing India, and called it al-Mahfuzah, “the secure,” and this he made a place of refuge and security for them, and their chief town. He asked the elders of the tribe of Kalb, who were of Syrian descent, what name he should give the

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town. Some said Dimashk (Damascus), others, Hims (Emessa), and others Tadmur (Palmyra), whereupon Hakim chose the latter name for his city, to which he gave the epithet of al-Mahfuzah, and dwelt there.

Amr ibn Mohammad ibn Kasim was with Hakim, and the latter advised with him, trusted him with many important matters, and sent him out of al-Mahfuzah on a warlike expedition. He was victorious in his commission, and was made an amir. He founded a city on this side of the lake, which he called Mansura, in which the governors now dwell. Hakim recovered from the enemy those places which they had subjugated, and gave satisfaction to the people in his country, so that Khalid said: “It is very surprising – I gave the charge of the country to the most generous of Arabs, that is, to Tamim, and they were disgusted; I gave it to the most niggardly of men, and they were satisfied.” Hakim was killed there.

The governors who succeeded him continued to kill the enemy, taking whatever they could acquire and subduing the people who rebelled. When the dynasty of the Abbasids was established, Abu Muslim appointed Abd-ar-Rahman ibn Abu Muslim Mughallis-al-Abdi to the frontier of Sind. Abdshar-Rahman went by way of Tokharistan, and proceeded against Mansur ibn Jamhur al-Kalbi, who was in Sind, but he was met by Mansur and slain, and his forces were put to flight. When Muslim heard this, he appointed Musa ibn Kab at-Tamimi and sent him to Sind. When he arrived, the river Mihran lay between him and Mansur ibn Jamhur. Still he

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Arab Armour

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Blank page

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came up with Mansur, put him and his forces to flight, and slew his brother Manzur. Mansur fled in wretched plight to the sands, where he died of thirst. Musa ruled in Sind, repaired the city of Mansura, and enlarged its mosque. He was victorious in his campaigns.

The Caliph al-Mansur sent Hasham ibn Amr at-Taghlabi to Sind, and he reduced those places which still held out. He sent Amr ibn Jamal in boats to Narand. He also sent a force to the territories of Hind, subdued Kashmir, and took many prisoners and slaves. Multan was reduced, and he overpowered a body of Arabs who were in Kandabil, and drove them out. He then went to Kandahar in boats, and conquered it. He destroyed the temple there, and built a mosque in its place. There was abundance in the country under his rule, and the people blessed him; he extended the frontier and enforced his decrees.

Omar ibn Hafs ibn Osman Hazarmard was then appointed governor of Sind, and after him came Daud ibn Yazid ibn Hatim. There was with him Abu-l-Samma, who had been a slave of the tribe of Kanda, and who later became governor. The affairs of the frontier went on prosperously until Bashar ibn Daud was appointed under the caliphate of Mamun, who began to reign in 813 A.D. He rebelled and set up in opposition. Ghassan ibn Abbad, who was a native of the neighbourhood of Kufa, was sent against him. Bashar proceeded to meet Ghassan under a safe-conduct, and they both proceeded to Baghdad, the Mohammedan

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capital. Ghassan deputed Musa ibn Yahya ibn Khalid to the charge of the frontier. Musa killed Bala, King of ash-Sharki, although the latter had given him five hundred thousand dirhams to preserve his life. Bala was faithful to Ghassan and wrote to him in the presence of his army through the princes who were with him, but his request was rejected. Musa died in 221 A.H. (836 A.D.), leaving a high reputation, and appointed his son Amran as his successor. The Caliph Mu’tasim bi-Allah wrote to him confirming him in the government of the frontier. He marched to Mikan against the Jats, whom he defeated and subjugated. He built a city there, which he called al-Baiza (the white), and posted a military force there.

He proceeded thence to Multan and then to Kandabil, which stands upon a hill Mohammad ibn Khalil was reigning there, but Amran slew him, conquered the town, and carried its inhabitants to Kusdar. He then made war upon the Meds, and killed three thousand of them. There he constructed a band, or dike, called Sakr-al-Med, “Band of the Meds.” He encamped on the river at Alrur, and summoned the Jats, who came to his presence, whereupon he sealed their hands, took from them the jizya (the poll-tax levied on all who are not Mussulmans), and ordered that every man of them should bring a dog with him when he came to wait upon him, so that the price of a dog rose to fifty dirhams. He again attacked the Meds, having with him the chief men of the Jats. He dug a canal from the sea to their tank, so that their water

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became salt, and he sent out several marauding expeditions against them.

Dissensions then arose between the Nizarians and Yamanians, and Amran joined with the latter. Omar ibn Abu-l-Aziz al-Habbari consequently went to him and killed him unawares.

Mansur ibn Hatim related to me that Fazl ibn Mahan, formerly a slave of the sons of Sama, got into Sindan and subdued it. He then sent an elephant to the Caliph Mamun, wrote to him, and offered up prayers for him in the Jami’ Masjid, which he built there. When he died, he was succeeded by Mohammad ibn Fazl ibn Mahan. He proceeded with sixty vessels against the Meds of Hind. He killed a great number of them, captured Kallari, and then returned toward Sindan. But his brother, named Mahan, had made himself master of Sindan, and wrote to the Caliph Mu’tasim bi-Allah, and sent him as a present the largest and longest teak-tree that had ever been seen. But the Indians were under the control of his brother whom they liked, so they slew Mahan and crucified him. The Indians afterwards made themselves masters of Sindan, but they spared the mosque, and the Mohammedans used to meet in it on Fridays and pray for the caliph.

Abu Bakr, who had been a slave of the Karizis, related to me that the country called al-Usaifan, lying between Kashmir and Multan and Kabul, was governed by a wise king The people of this country worshipped an idol for which they had built a temple. The son of the king fell sick and the king desired the priests

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Mohammedan Traders and Escort at Kathiawar

India first became known to the Arabs through traders and travellers, and the prospect of trade and pillage combined with religious zeal to open the way to the Mohammedans for the conquest of Sind.

of the temple to pray to the idol for his son’s recovery. They retired for a short time, and then returned and said: “We have prayed and our supplications have been accepted.” But no long time passed before the youth died, whereupon the king attacked the temple, destroyed and broke in pieces the idol, and slew its priests. He afterwards invited to his court a party of Mohammedan traders, who made known to him the unity of God, so that he believed in the unity and became a Mussulman. This happened in the caliphate of Mu’tasim bi-Allah.’

This last section concludes al-Baladhuri’s account of the conquest of Sind, but by way of supplement and to bring the history of this particular province down to the time of Mahmud of Ghazni, it seems appropriate to add here, in abridged form, the excellent sketch by Sir Henry M. Elliot himself, tracing the main current of events down to the extinction of the Arab dominion in Sind. His account occupies the remainder of this chapter:–

During the nine reigns which occupied the period between the reigns of al-Mu’tasim (833–841 A.D.) and al-Muktadar (908–932 A.D.), the power of the caliphs had been gradually on the decline. The Turkish guard had become more and more outrageous and arbitrary; independent dynasties, such as the Tahirids and Safarids, after having shorn the kingdom of some of its fairest provinces, had themselves died out; eunuchs, and even women, had sat upon the judgment seat and dispensed patronage, while corruption and venality

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openly prevailed; and now, at a later period, notwithstanding the fact that literature flourished and the personal dignity of the caliph was maintained in the highest splendour, nevertheless, not only had the Samanids conquered the whole of Mawara-an-nahr and Khorasan, not only had the Dailamites penetrated to the borders of Irak, not only had all northern Africa, except Egypt, been lost to the caliphate forever, but, as if to crown the measure of its misfortunes, the Karmathian heretics, after plundering Kufa, Basra, and Samarra, had possessed themselves of Mecca during the very time of pilgrimage, had massacred the pilgrims, and had even carried off the sacred black stone itself, the principal and universal object of Mohammedan veneration.

Under such circumstances, the most distant provinces necessarily partook of the decline from which the heart of the empire was suffering; and Sind, neglected by the imperial government, came to be divided among several petty princes, who, though they transmitted no revenue and rendered no political allegiance to the caliph, were, like other more powerful chiefs who had assumed independence, glad to fortify their position by acknowledging his spiritual supremacy and by flattering him with the occasional presentation of some rarity from the kingdoms which they had usurped.

The virtual renunciation of political control in Sind may be dated from the year 257 A.H. (870 A.D.), when the Caliph Mu’tamad, to divert the Safarids from their hostile designs against Irak, conferred upon Ya’kub

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An old pavilion at Tatta in Sind

ibn Lais the government of Sind, as well as of Balkh and Tokharistan, in addition to that of Seistan and Kirman, with which he had already been invested.

The two principal kingdoms which were established in Sind a few years after this event were those of Multan and Mansura, both of which attained a high degree of power and prosperity. It is probable that the

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independence of those states commenced immediately after the death of Ya’kub ibn Lais in 265 A.H. (879 A.D.), for his successors were comparatively powerless, and the Samanis, at the commencement of their rule, had little leisure to attend to so remote a province as Sind.

Mas’udi, who visited the valley of the Indus in the year 303–304 A.H. (915–916 A.D.) and completed his “Meadows of Gold” in 332 A.H. (943–944 A.D.), furnishes a brilliant account of the state of Islam in that country. The Amir of Multan was an Arab of the noble tribe of Kuraish, named Abu-l-Dalhat al-Munabba ibn Assad as-Sami, and the kingdom of Multan is represented to have been hereditary in his family for a long time, “nearly from the beginning of Islam” (meaning, probably, from its introduction into Sind). Kanauj, Mas’udi asserts, was then a province of Multan, “the greatest of the countries which form a frontier against unbelieving nations.” Abu-l-Dalhat himself was descended from Sama ibn Lawi ibn Ghalib, who had established himself on the shores of Oman before the birth of Mohammed. The amir had an army in his pay, and there were reckoned to be 120,000 hamlets around the capital, while his dominion extended to the frontier of Khorasan.

Mansura was governed by another Kuraishi, whose name was Abu-l-Mundar Omar ibn Abdallah. He was descended from Habbar ibn Aswad, who was celebrated for his opposition to Mohammed, and who, on the return of the prophet to Mecca in triumph, was among

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the few that were excepted from the terms of the amnesty which was proclaimed at that time. He subsequently became a convert, and toward the year 111 A.H. (729 A.D.) one of his descendants came to the valley of the Indus to seek his fortune. Some time after, his family, taking advantage of the anarchy which prevailed in the country, made themselves masters of the lower Indus, and established themselves at Mansura, a principality which extended from the sea to Alor, where that of Multan commenced. It was said to contain three hundred thousand villages, which is, of course, an exaggeration, but the whole country was well cultivated and covered with trees and fields. Nevertheless, the inhabitants were continually obliged to protect themselves against the aggressions of the Meds and other savage tribes of the desert.

A few years after Mas’udi, the valley of the Indus was visited by the Arab geographer and traveller Istakhri, and by Ibn Haukal, who has included nearly the whole of Istakhri’s relation in his own and has entered into some further details. With respect to the condition of the country at the time of his visit, Ibn Haukal, who wrote his work after the year 366 A.H. (976 A.D.), when he was for a second time in India, observes that Multan was not so large as Mansura and was defended by a citadel, and that the territory was fertile, although it was inferior to that of Mansura, and not cultivated with the same care. The amir lived outside the town and never entered it, except for the purpose of going to the mosque on Fridays, mounted on an elephant.

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Sind, According to the Arab Geographer Ibn Haukal.

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There appears to have been no native coinage, but the money in circulation was chiefly Kandahar and Tartar dirhams. The dress of the Sindians was like that of the people of Irak, but the amirs habited themselves like the native princes. Some persons wore their hair long, and their dresses loose, with waistbands, on account of the heat, and there was no difference between the garb of the faithful and of idolaters.

The Amirs of Multan and Mansura were independent of one another, but both deferred to the spiritual authority of the Caliph of Baghdad. The former was still a descendant of Sama ibn Lawi, in the clays of Ibn Haukal, and the latter a descendant of the Habbari family.

Alor, the ancient Hindu capital, surrounded by a double wall, was nearly as large as Multan, and was a dependency of Mansura. Its territory was fertile and rich, and it was the seat of considerable commerce. Rahuk (or Dahuk), on the borders of Mekran and to the west of the Hala range, was also included in Mansura. There were other principalities to the west, besides the two in the valley of the Indus, such as Turan, Kusdar, Mekran, and Mushki.

With respect to those other parts of India to which the Mussulmans resorted, such as the maritime towns in the jurisdiction of the Balhara, between Cambay and Saimur, Ibn Haukal observes that they were covered with towns and villages. The inhabitants were idolaters, but the Mohammedans were treated with great consideration by the native princes. They were governed

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A ruined Mohammedan Mosque at Haidarabad in Sind

by men of their own faith, and had the privilege of living under their own laws, nor could any one give testimony against them, unless he professed the Mohammedan faith. They had also erected their mosques in these infidel cities and were allowed to summon their congregations by the usual mode of proclaiming the times of prayer.

The revenues, which the Arab princes of Sind. derived from their several provinces, are pronounced to have been very small, barely more than sufficient to provide food and clothing and the means of maintaining their position with credit and decency; and, as a necessary consequence, only a few years elapsed before they were driven from their kingdoms, and compelled to yield their power to more enterprising and energetic assailants.

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The Karmathians of India are nowhere mentioned by Ibn Haukal, but it could not have been long after his visit that these heretics, who probably contained within their ranks many converted natives and foreigners as well as Arabs, began to spread in the valley of the Indus. It must have been about the year 375 A.H. (985 A.D.) that, finding their power expiring in the original seat of their conquests, they sought new settlements in a distant land and tried their success in Sind. There the weakness of the petty local governments favoured their progress and led to their early occupation both of Mansura and Multan, from which latter place history records their expulsion by the overwhelming power of Mahmud of Ghazni, whose victories brought Sind under his triumphant sway, resulting ultimately in the extinction of the Arab dominion in that province after a duration of three centuries.

This collection transcribed by Chris Gage
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