Sack of Delhi (1398)
| Timurid Sack of Delhi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Timurid conquests and invasions and campaigns of Timur | |||||||
Timur celebrates his conquest of Delhi in 1398. Zafarnama of Ibrahim Sultan, Timurid Shiraz (1436) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Timurid Empire | Delhi Sultanate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Timur | Mahmud Shah II | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 90,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 100,000 civilians | ||||||
The Sack of Delhi took place on 17 December 1398 between Timur – founder of the Timurid Empire – and Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah, the Sultan of Delhi. The Sultan had war elephants among his ranks, something unknown to the steppe warriors at the time. Timur might have had camels loaded with kindling that was set on fire, releasing them to spread panic among the Indian elephants, who then trampled the sultan’s soldiers.