Umayyad campaigns in India
| Caliphate campaigns in India | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent | |||||||||
Sindh and neighbouring kingdoms in 700 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Kingdom of Sindh Kingdom of Kashmir Kingdom of Kannauj Mori Kingdom Jaisalmer Kingdom of Mewar Gurjaras of Lata Chalukya dynasty Rashtrakuta dynasty Kingdom of Valabhi Kingdom of Anahilavada Saindhava |
Umayyad Caliphate (until 750) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Raja Dahir † Jai singh Lalitaditya Muktapida Yashovarman Nagabhata I Bappa Rawal Jayabhata IV Vikramaditya II Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin Dantidurga |
Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi Al Hakam ibn Awana † | ||||||||
During the first half of the 8th century, a series of battles took place in the Indian subcontinent between the Umayyad Caliphate and Indian kingdoms situated to the east of the Indus River, subsequent to the Arab conquest of Sindh (present day Pakistan) during 711–713.
The Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) launched a few raids in India, but no larger campaign took place. The second wave of military expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate lasted from 692 to 718. The reign of Al-Walid I (705–715) saw the most dramatic Marwanid Umayyad conquests in a period of barely ten years; North Africa, Iberia, Transoxiana, and Sindh were subdued and conquered by the Arabs. Sindh, ruled by King Dahir of the Brahmin dynasty, was captured by the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim, which became a second-level province of the Caliphate (iqlim) and a suitable base for excursions into India, but, after bin Qasim's departure in 715 most of his captured territories were recaptured by Indian kings.
Yazid II (720–724) launched the third Umayyad expansion along all the warring frontiers, including in India, which resulted in a series of battles between the Arabs and Silluka (725–750) of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, Nagabhata I of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, Siladitta IV (710-740) of Maitraka dynasty, Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty, and other small Indian kingdoms between 724 and 750. Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri (723–726) recaptured Sindh, conquered Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan. However, Arab forces invaded Malwa and achieved victory.
The fourth Umayyad campaign was launched after Arabs lost control of Sindh and conquered territories of Rajasthan and Gujarat under Tamim ibn Zayd al-Utbi (726–731). Al-Hakam ibn Awana, assisted by Amr, son of Muhammad ibn Qasim, pacified Sindh, established garrison cities of Al Mahfuza and Al Mansura, then campaigned in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Lalitaditya Muktapida and Yashovarman of Kannauj checked the Arabs in Punjab, although Al-Hakam conquered Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan, the Arabs were decisively defeated at Navsari in 739 by Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin, a general of Vikramaditya II. Arabs lost their conquests in Rajasthan and Gujarat by 743. These events took place during the reign of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 691–743), the 10th Umayyad caliph, which saw a turn in the fortune of the Umayyads which resulted in eventual defeat on all the fronts and a complete halt of Arab expansionism. The hiatus from 740 to 750 due to military exhaustion, also saw the advent of the third of a series of civil wars, which resulted in the collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate.
The Arab defeats led to an end of their eastward expansion in India, and later manifested in the overthrow of Arab rulers in Sindh itself and the establishment of indigenous Muslim dynasties (Soomras and Sammas) there.