Mongol Invasions and Other Turkish Attacks on the Delhi Sultanate

At a Glance

• First threat 1221, Changez Khan at the Indus
• Frontier line Beas, held by Balban
• Serious attacks 1299 and 1303 against Delhi
• Mongol decline After Dawa Khan’s death in 1306
• Last major raid Timur in 1398
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: The Delhi Sultanate

Where Does It Fit?

This is the seventh topic of the category on the Delhi Sultanate. The previous topic ended the story of the five dynasties, and this topic explains the external danger that shaped Sultanate policy through the dynasties. The next topic covers the structure of administration. Previous topic: Lodi Dynasty (Bahlul Lodi, Sikandar Lodi, Ibrahim Lodi).

Why Was the Northwest Frontier Always at Risk?

In short: Mongol invasions came through the northwest, the only vulnerable side of India, and unless the Sultanate held the area from Kabul to Ghazni and Qandahar, invaders could reach the fertile valleys of Punjab and Sindh.

India’s natural borders protected it for most of its history, but in the northwest, mountain passes let in the Huns, Scythians and Turks. To block an invader from the Punjab and Sindh, a ruler had to control the area from Kabul to Ghazni and Qandahar, flanked by the Hindukush, which was also the route for reinforcements from Central Asia. Because of the unsettled situation in West Asia, the Sultanate did not reach these frontiers, and this posed a constant danger.

How Did the Sultans Meet Changez Khan?

The Khwarizmi empire had reached the Indus after taking Ghazni. In 1218 the Mongols under Changez Khan, who called himself the scourge of God, destroyed it. They used terror as a weapon, sacked cities, killed soldiers and chiefs, enslaved women and children, and picked out craftsmen for service. In 1221 the Khwarizmi prince Jalaluddin fought a brave battle on the Indus and, after defeat, swam his horse across into India. Changez waited near the Indus for three months and then did not cross. Iltutmish, ruling at Delhi, politely refused Jalaluddin’s request for asylum to avoid a clash. Jalaluddin stayed for a time in the Cis-Sutlej region, which brought a series of Mongol attacks, and the Indus ceased to be India’s western boundary.

The Mongol onslaught also made Delhi a refuge for princes, scholars and theologians from the west. As the only remaining Muslim state in the area, the Sultanate became a centre of Islam, and the Turks, cut off from their homeland, had to adapt quickly to Indian conditions.

What Happened in the Thirteenth Century?

Balban combined force and diplomacy. He sent envoys to Halaku, the Il-Khan of Iran, and received Halaku’s envoys with honour, and he tacitly accepted Mongol control of most of the Punjab. The Mongols did not attack Delhi. He stayed at Delhi and avoided distant expeditions so as to keep the frontier safe.

How Did Alauddin Khalji Defeat the Mongols?

The Mongol Il-Khan of Iran was on the whole friendly with Delhi, but the Chaghatai Mongols of Transoxiana, under Dawa Khan, turned towards India after failing against Iran. From 1297 they attacked forts that defended Delhi. In 1299 a force of a reported 2,00,000 under Dawa’s son Qutlugh Khwaja came to conquer Delhi, cut its communications and entered some streets. Alauddin faced them outside the city, where the Indian armies held their own, though the general Zafar Khan died in one action, and the Mongols withdrew without a full battle. In 1303 a force of a reported 1,20,000 appeared while Alauddin was fighting at Chittor. He hurried back, fortified his new capital Siri near Delhi, and after two months of facing each other, the Mongols retreated.

These events showed that the Sultans of Delhi could match the Mongols, which no West or Central Asian ruler had managed then. Alauddin raised a large, efficient army, repaired the forts near the Beas and beat later attacks with heavy loss. After Dawa Khan died in 1306, civil war divided the Mongols, and Delhi recovered Lahore and later reached the Indus.

What Happened Under the Tughlaqs and Timur?

In the early years of Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign the Mongol Tarmashrin burst into Sindh and a force reached Meerut. Muhammad defeated the Mongols near the Jhelum, occupied Kalanaur and for a time held power as far as Peshawar. He then raised a large army to take Ghazni and Afghanistan, an aim that Barani gave as Khurasan and Iraq, but disbanded it after about a year. A new threat emerged when Timur united Central Asia. In 1398 Timur raided India to seize the wealth the sultans had gathered over two centuries. He sacked towns on the way and then Delhi, took wealth and artisans to Samarqand, and exposed the danger of weak government.

The Mongols also attacked Kashmir in 1320 under Dalucha, who killed men and enslaved women and children, which ended Hindu rule there by the middle of the fourteenth century.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Shaped policy Explains Alauddin’s army, Balban’s frontier and the market control
• Frontier idea The scientific frontier of the Hindukush appears often
• Chronology Dates 1221, 1299, 1303 and 1398 are favourite questions

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the structure of government in the Sultanate, including the iqta system. Next topic: Administration of the Delhi Sultanate (Iqta System, Central and Provincial Administration).

Key People and Terms

• Changez Khan Mongol leader at the Indus in 1221
• Dawa Khan Chaghatai ruler who raided Delhi
• Qutlugh Khwaja Mongol commander of 1299
• Siri Alauddin’s new capital near Delhi
• Il-Khan Mongol ruler of Iran
• Timur Raided Delhi in 1398

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on the Mongols ask how they shaped Sultanate policy. These points add depth.

• Defence Frontier forts and a standing army
• Policy effect Market control and cash payments
• Result Delhi became the centre of Islam in the region