the arabs in sind

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73-31,301

BEDE, John Jehangir, 1940-THE ARABS IN SIND, 712-1026 A.D.

Un ive rs i ty o f Utah , Ph .D . , 1973His to ry , medieva l

University Microfilms, A XEROX Com pan y, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Copyright 1973 John Jeh ang ir Bede

All r ights reserved

THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.


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THE ARABS IN

SIND, 712 - 1026 A.D.

by

John Jehangir Bede

A d i s s e r t a t i o n s u bm i tt ed t o t h e f a c u l t y o f t h e

U n i v e r s it y o f Uta h i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e r e q u ir em e n tsf o r t h e d e g r e e o f

Doc tor o f Ph i losophy

Depar tment of His tory

U n iv e r s i t y o f U ta h

August 1973


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This dissertation Cor the

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

by

John Jehangir Bede

has been approved

July 1973

/Q f/KdI

*

Chairman, Supervisory Committee

Member

Memb er

Member

Member

Chairman , Mn rr Dooartnient

in. '"xkMu.Dean of tine Graduate School

i-dr&'fr'W'..


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deep ly indeb ted to Dr. Aziz S. A tiy a, D istin gu ish ed

Professo r o f Hi s to ry a t t he Un ive r s i ty o f Utah, wi thou t*whose in t e r e s t ,

encouragement and un rel en t in g guidance, th is rese arch could never

have been completed.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapte r

I . INTRODUCTION............................................................. 1

I I . THE SOURCES........................................................................................................7

H i s t o r i c a l ....................................................................................... 7Geograph ica l............................... 15

I I I . INDIA ON THE EVE OF THE ARAB INVASION..........................................20

K a s h m i r ................................................................................................. 21Easte rn Afghanis tan and Punjab ................... . . . . 26S i n d . ......................................................................................................34Rajp utana and G ujara t .............................................................. 44

IV. IMPERIAL EXPANSION: CAUSES AND POTENTIAL................................52

Arab Art of W ar ...............................................................................59I n d i a n A r t o f W a r ...........................................................................71

V. ARAB EXPEDITIONS AGAINST INDIA: G57 A.D. -715 A. D................................................................................................................83

Phase I : Naval Op e ra t ions Aga ins t the Coas ta lC i t i e s o f I n d i a 637 A.Ij . - 638A . D . .................................83P h as e I I : M i l i t a r y O p e r a t i o n s A g a in s tS i j i s t a n , Z a b u l i s t a n and Makran ..................................... 86The Conquest of Sind 711-715 A.D...........................................94

VI. ARAB ADMINISTRATION IN SINT).............................................................. 117

I s l a m i c I n s t i t u t i o n s ............................................................ 117A r a b A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ....................................................................134

VII. WAR AND POLITICS IN SIND TO THE YEAR 1020 A.D.................... 156

Abbass id A dm inis t ra t ion 750-871 A.D.............................165Independent Dynasties to 1026 A.D....................................171


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Chapter

V I I I . C O M M E R C E A.\D CULTURE IN S IN D ......................................................... 183

Commerce............................................................................................183

C ul tu ra l Achievements ...................................................^05

IX. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................223

APPENDIX I . HIIJEN TSIANG'S ACCOUNT OF SINDAND MULTAN........................................................................................229

S i n - T u ( S i n d h ) .................................................................229M u - lo - s a n - p u - lu ( M u l t a n ) .......................................... 231

APPENDIX t l : LETTERS OF YUSUF IBN AL-HAJJAJ TO MUHAMMADIBN AL-QASIM, ARAB COMMANDER, IN S IN D ........................ 233

APPENDIX I I I : AL-SHEIKH ABU ISHAQ AL-FARISI AL-ISTAKHRI1S ACCOUNT OF SIND, 951 A.D.TAKEN FROM HIS BOOK ENTITLED KITAB1ULAQALIM............................................................................................. 235

APPENDIX IV: IBN HAUQAL'S MAP OF SIND..........................................................246

APPENDIX V: LETTER OF THE FATIMID CALIPH AL-MU'IZZ TOHAL.AM IBN SHAIBAN, CHIEF ISMA'ILIAN DA11IN SIND DATED 354 A.H. (965 A . D . ) ................................. 247

APPENDIX VI: REFERENCES TO ARABS IN SIND IN SANSKRITINSCRIPTIONS...................................................................................248

APPENDIX V II: ARAB GOVERNORS OF SIND WITH KNOWN DATES..................... 250

BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................... 252

VITA..........................................................................................................................................269

v


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L is t o f Maps

Sind and V ic in it y , 630-1020 A.D. . . .


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ABSTRACT

In 712 A.D. an Arab fo r ce f rom i t s ba se s in Sh i raz in sou th e rn

Pe rs ia advanced upon the k ingdom of S ind in p re sen t -day Pak is tan and

w i th in t h e e n s u in g t h r e e y e a r s o v e r r a n t h e e n t i r e a r e a f ro m D ayb ul i n

t h e s o u t h t o M u lt an in t h e n o r t h . F or t he . n e x t t h i r t y - f i v e y e a r s S in d

formed a p a rt o f th e Umayyad C a lip h a te , w hile from 750 A.D. to 871 A.D

th e Ab b as id s e x e r c i s e d a somewhat p r e c a r i o u s c o n t r o l o v e r t h e r e g io n .

The b r i e f S a f f a r i d i n t e r re g n u m l a s t i n g fro m 871 t o 900 A.D. s u b j e c t e d

S in d t o t h e c o n t r o l o f P e r s i a . The f o l lo w i n g c e n t u r y w i t n e s se d t h e

e me rg en ce o f l o c a l A rab d y n a s t i e s e s t a b l i s h e d a t M ul ta n in t h e n o r th

and a t Mansura in th e so uth . As ea r ly a? 963 A.D. Sind was th re a t en ed

by th e r i s i n g power o f th e Ghaznavid T u rk s , b u t i t was n o t u n t i l th e

b e g in n in g o f th e e le v e n th c e n tu ry t h a t t h i s t h r e a t assumed menacing

p r o p o r t io n s . By 1026 A.D. M ultan and Mansura had been s u c c e s s f u l l y

inc orp ora ted in to the rap id ly expanding Ghaznavid empi re . Thus ended

the Arab au thor i ty ove r the lower Indus va l ley which had endured wi th

v a r yi n g d e gr e es o f s u c c e ss f o r n e a r l y t h r e e c e n t u r i e s .

M e diev al h i s t o r i a n s , A ra bs an d P e r s i a n s a l i k e , h av e t e n d e d t o

v ie w th e a n n e x a t i o n o f S ind i n p u r e ly p u n i t i v e t e r m s -- A r a b c om m er ci al

v e s s e l s on t h e i r way f ro m C e ylon t o t h e P e r s i a n G u l f h a v in g f a l l e n

v i c t im s t o p i r a t i c a l a c t i o n fro m S i nd . S u bs eq ue n t h i s t o r i a n s , on t h e

w h o le , h a ve a g r e e d w i th t h i s p o in t o f v ie w . H ow ev er , t h i s c l im a t e o f

o p in io n f a i l s t o c o nv ey a b a l a n c e d a s s e s s m e n t .


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Behind the Sind ep i sode lay l a r g e r i s su e s , ba s ic a l ly economic

i n s co p e. The c a l i p h a t e ' s f i n a n c i a l s t r u c t u r e , s u b je c t e d t o t h e r e c e n t

ly conc luded c i v i l wa r , was in an emba r ra s sing s ta te . The r ic h lands

o f S in d, c o m pr is in g t h e l ow e r I nd us v a l l e y w i th i t s t h r i v in g t r a d e

cen te r s exc i ted the imagina t ion o f Arab po l icy makers. The fa r - f lu ng

Arab mar i time e n te rp r i s e s , moreover , needed a ba se on the Ind ian co as t .

Af te r l e av ing th e Pe rs ia n G ul f , Arab ve sse l s were ou t o f I s lamic wa te r s

Daybul , near modem Karachi , the main por t of Sind, ac ted as the out le t

fo r a ma jor po r t ion o f s ea -go ing p roduc ts o f nor thw es te rn Ind ia . With

the sub juga t ion o f S ind , comple ted in the face o f ma jor obs tac le s and

w i th a s s i s t a n c e f r o m r e l i g io u s a n d c o r p o r a t e i n t e r e s t s , b o th t h e s e

o b j e c t i v e s w e r e r e a l i z e d .

In Sind the Hindu-Buddhis t popula t ion was extended de fac to

r e c o g n i t io n a s t h e " t o l e r a t e d c u l t s , " a c o nc e ss io n w hich b y s t r i c t

d e f in i t io n had been g ran ted to th e Jews , the C hr i s t i an s and the Zoro-

a s t r i a n s a lo n e . I n d ia n i n s t i t u t i o n s w er e i n t h e m ain p r e s e r v e d , th ou g

Is lamic lega l s t r u c t u re was fos te r ed s ide by s ide th e rew i th to accommo

da te the Mus lims , bo th fo re ig ne rs and na t ive conve r t s a l ik e . Cut o f f

f rom the p ro tec t ing arms o f a decaying ca l ip h a t e , th e Arabs degene ra ted

in to wa r r ing fa c t i on s . During the t en th c en tu ry , S ind became an a rena

f o r t he F a tim id -A b b as id c o n t e s t . To d e p r iv e t h e i r r i v a l s o f l u c r a t i v e

S ind t r ade and s imul taneous ly to ga in a foo tho ld on the Ind ian coas t ,

the Fa t imids d i spa tche d I s m a ' i l i a n m is s ion a r ie s who undermined the

Is lamic or thodoxy and with i t the Abbas id connec t ions . The Egypt ian

connec t ion la s ted un t i l the coming of the Turks .


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Though t h e y f a i l e d t o e x pa nd t h e i r p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l o ve r

nor th e rn Ind ia , a t a sk la te r a ccompli shed by the Ce n t ra l As ian Turks,

t h e A r ab s, n e v e r th e l e s s , l e f t t h e i r im p ac t on t h e s u b - c o n t i n e n t . I sl am

was permanent ly implanted in the lower Indus Val ley and, except for the

b r i e f B r i t i s h in te r re gn u m , th e a re a ha s remained in Musl im hands e ve r

s inc e . The leg a l s t a t u s o f the Hindu-Buddhis t pop u la t ion unde r the

Arabs in S ind was l a te r ex tended to a l l o f nor the rn Ind ia by the Turks.

Is lam ic myst ic ism, or suf ism , one of the most engaging and endur ing

aspec t s o f Ind ian I s lam, was in t roduce d v i a S ind . The ac qu is i t io n o f

the lower Indus va l le y provided a tremendous impetus to Arab t rad e with

In dia . In consequence Muslim commercial colo nie s sp rang up ov er most

o f w e st er n I n d i a - - a s i t u a t i o n w hich c a l l e d f o r p e a c e f u l i n t e r c o u r s e .

I t was t h e p re v a le n c e o f t h i s a t t i t u d e t h a t r en d e re d i t p o s s i b l e f o r

the two grea t communi t ie s o f Ind ia to l ive peace fu l ly s ide by s ide .

Wi th the coming of the Turks , howeve r , th i s s ta te o f a f fa i r s was re

p lac e d by an atmosphere o f g en e ra l h o s t i l i t y . In d ia n impact on Is la m ic

thought and cu l tu re was im press ive . Indian medic ine , as tronomy, mathe

ma t ic s and l i t e ra tu re we re t r ansm i t ted to the I s lamic wor ld and beyond,

ge ne ra l ly th rovgh S ind . Ind ian t r ad e connec t ions were h igh ly va lued .

This impo r tan t chap te r in the medieva l anna ls o f the su b-c on t i

n e n t h a s h i t h e r t o r e c e iv e d l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n from h i s t o r i a n s who b as ed

th e i r inqu i ry on ex t reme ly tenuous ev idence , u sua l ly Arab ic o r Ind ian ,

b u t s c a rc e ly on b o th . In th e p r e s e n t e s sa y , an a t te m p t has been made

to f i l l t h a t l a c u n a . Though o u r b ib l i o g r a p h y i n c lu d e s a n a r r a y o f t h o s e

sou rces , i t su ff i ce s he re to note the Chachriami'h and var io us e pig rap hi-

ca l evidences on the Indian s ide and a l -Buladhur i1s Kitab Futuh a l -


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Buidan, a l- B ir u n i' s Tahqiq ma l i 11-Hin d, and ibn Khald un's Muqaddimah

on the Arab ic s ide . By we igh ing th e i r c on f l i c t in g s ta tem ents , i t i s

hoped tha t we have been ab le to p re sen t an accep tab le por t ra i t o f a

c om p li ca te d s i t u a t i o n i n t h e se r v i c e o f h i s t o r i c a l s c h o l a r s h ip .

x


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

I t i s c u stom a r y t o d a t e t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f pe r m an e nt M usl im

ru le ove r In d ia a t 1206 A.D. when Qutb ud -d in Aibak , a l i e u te n a n t o f

S u l t a n M u ' i z z u d - d in o f G h o r i n m o d e r n A f g h a n i s t a n , p r o c l a im e d h im s e l

t h e s u l t a n o f D e lh i f o l l o w i n g h i s m a s t e r s d e a t h . 1 Two c en tu ri es e a r l i e

t h e T u r k i s h h o r d e s o f Mahmud o f Gh azn a h a d r e p e a t e d ly d e a l t d e v a s t a t i n

blows t o th e Hindu power in n o r th e r n I n d ia b u t had w ithdraw n to th e

Afghan hi g h la n d s w i t ho u t a f f e c t i n g a p o l i t i c a l s e t t le m e n t o n t h e

Gange t ic p la in s . Both eve n ts we re amply rec ord ed , though no t by the

In di an s , and both command a re sp ec ta b le p o s i t i o n in th e an na ls Mislim

I n d i a .

The expans ion o f Arab a rms in S ind , which a t i t s g re a te s t ex ten

e mb ra ce d t h e e n t i r e l ow e r In du s v a l l e y , v a s t a r e a s o f th e B a l u c h i s t a n

p l a t e a u , a s w e l l as s u b s t a n t i a l p o r t i o n s o f R a ja s th a n and G u ja r a t , ha

been r e l e g a t e d a somewhat i n s i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i o n by h i s t o r i a n s . T h is

a l l t h e more s t r i k i n g i n vie w o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e A rab c o n q ue s t p r e -

^ u l t a n Mu i z z u d - d in b e lo n ge d t o t h e S h a n sb a n i d y n a s ty o f Ghin Afg han is tan which had begun to ex ten d i t s power a t th e expense o fth e Ghaznavids as ea r l y as 1151 A.D. when Ala ud-d in Hussa in c ap ture da nd b u r n e d t o t h e g r o un d t h e c i t y o f G ha zn i a nd e ar n e d f o r h im s e l f t h ein famous t i t l e , ' j ehan suz o r the wor ld bu rne r . In 1191 A.D. theG h or id s h ad in v ad e d I n d i a b u t w er e r o u t e d a t t h e b a t t l e f i e l d o f T a r o a

by a c o a l i t i o n o f In d ia n p r i n c e s . The fo l lo w in g y e a r , however, th eInd ian s we re ove rwhe lmed by th e Ghor ids a t th e same s i t e . Wi th in afew y e a r s m os t o f n o r th e r n I n d i a was a f f e c t i v e ly u n d e r t h e G h o rid s wa


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2

da te s the Ghaznav id ep i sode by roughly t h re e ce n tu r ie s and the e s t a b l i s h

ment o f the su l ta n a t e o f Delh i by f iv e . Thus th e p re t ig io u s Cambr idge

H i s to r y o f I n d i a , c o n c lu d in g a b r i e f c h a p t e r on th e A rab c o n q ue s t o f

S ind , r emarks somewhat de ro ga to r i ly th a t , "o f the Arab conquest o f Sind

th e r e i s n o th ing more to be sa id . I t was a mere ep i sode in the h i s t o ry

o f I n d i a and a f f e c t e d o n l y a s m al l p o r t i o n o f t h e f r i n g e o f t h a t v a s t

c o u n t r y . "2 A s im i l a r a t t i t u d e was t a k e n b y t h e ren ow ned B r i t i s h o r i e n

t a l i s t , S t a n l e y La n e- P oo l e. "Bu t t h e m ea gu re a n n a l s o f t h i s l im i t e d an d

in e f f e c tu a l o c c u p a t i o n o f a n u n im p o r t a n t P r o v in c e , " h e d e c l a r e s , "n e e d

not d e ta in us . The Arab conques t o f S ind led to n o th in g . . . " 3 Hindu

h i s to r i a n s h a ve a g r e ed w i th t h i s p o in t o f v ie w alm o st w i th o u t e x c e p t i o n ,

wh i le the Muslim sch o la r s have done l i t t l e to improve i t .

To wha t f a c to r s c an th i s a cademic temper be a t t r i b u te d ? By fa r

t h e g r e a t e s t im p e d im e n t i n t h i s e n d e a v o r h a s b e e n t h e s c a r c i t y o f

h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s c o n c e r n in g S in d , w hic h h a s t u r n e d s c h o l a r s t o se e k

more rewarding under ta king s e lsew here . The Turks , the Afghans and the

Mughuls c r e a t e d a n im p r e s s iv e body o f h i s t o r i c a l l i t e r a tu r e i n I n d i a .

The A r a bs , g r e a t h i s t o r i a n s i n t h e i r own r i g h t , h av e a l s o l e f t a bu nd an t

l i t e ra ry monuments o f th e i r pa s t g lo ry . The conques t o f Spa in , fo r

example , which coinc ided with tha t of Sind, was amply recorded, and so

was the Arab occu pa t ion of C en tra l Asia . Did Sind s tand so ob du ra te ly

o u t s i d e t h e main c u r r e n t s o f Arab p o l i t i c a l and c u l t u r a l s ce n e so t h a t

2Wolseley Haig , e d . , The Cambridge H isto ry of In di a (De lhi: S.Chand 5 C o., 19S8), I I I , 10.

3Stanley Lane-Poole, Medieval India Under Muhammedan Rule(London: T. Fis h er Unwin L td ., 1917 ), p. 13.


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3

i t d id not f i r e th e imaginat ion of Arab chro nica rs? Not so! There i s

s t rong ev idence to ind ica t e tha t t he conques t o f S ind was we l l r eco rded

and so were the subsequen t even t s o f t he fo l lowing ce n tu ry .1* I t i s

r e g re t t a b le , however, t h a t t hese o r ig in a l works a r e no longer ex ta n t .

Por t ions of these los t works were indeed copied by la ter medieval

h is to r ia n s who sometimes added th e i r own b r ie f knowledge o f a f f a i r s in

S i nd , m o st ly s c a t t e r e d t h ro u gh o ut t h e i r v olu min ou s u n i v e r s a l h i s t o r i e s .

These b r i e f r e f e r ences were pe r iod ica l ly implemen ted by the i so l a t ed

obse rva t ion o f r emarkab le ind iv idua l s gene ra l ly ca l l e d "geographer s , "

who v i s i t ed S ind dur ing the n in th and the t en th cen tu r i e s .

Of h is to r i c a l record s f rom Sind i t s e l f we have no knowledge.

C e r t a i n l y t h e G ha zn av id s c h o l a r s , i n c l u d i n g th e c e l e b r a t e d a l - B i r u n i ,

who witnessed the f inal destruct ion of Arab power in Sind, make no

r e f e r e n c e t o i nd i ge n ou s c h r o n i c l e s . I t i s p o s s i b l e , t h e n , t h a t p r i o r

to the e l even th cen tu ry the na t ive accoun t s were , by some inexp l i cab le

phenomenon d es tro y ed . There i s one o th e r p o s s i b i l i t y o f course ; th e

Arabs in the course of t ime may have become so Indianized that they

a d op te d t h e H indu te n de n cy o f s a l u t a r y n e g l e c t to w ar d s e c u l a r h i s t o r i o

graphy. Th is , however, seems h igh ly improbable . On the whole , h is to r i

ca l da ta on Arab Sind seem to have been d i f f ic u l t to ob ta in even by the

medieval Musl im his tor ians .

Consequently, no standard work on Arab Sind has yet been com

p i l e d to t h i s d a te . Over th e p a s t cen tu ry fo u r main a t tem p ts were made

to r econ s t ruc t ce r t a in a spec t s o f t he Arab pe r iod . Nine teen th cen tu ry

See below, ch ap ter I , pp. 7-8.


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4

B r i t i sh o r i e n ta l i s t and long t ime Ind ian c iv i l se rvan t , S i r Henry

El l io t , in h is ce lebra ted work , The His tory of India as Told by i t s

Own H is to r ia ns , devoted a b r i e f but highly valua ble s ec t ion to th e Arab

ep iso de ,5 The oth er thr ee works al l appeared in India during the nine

te e n -t h ir t i e s . H. C. Ray in hi s cl a ss ic work, The Dynast ic Histo ry of

North ern I n d ia , published in 1931, considered th e r i s e and f a l l o f Arab

power in Sind in th e f i r s t chap ter o f the book.6 The same year R. C.

Majumdar set for th the resul ts of his research in The Decca Universi ty

Supplement. 7 India n Muslim h is to ri a n Sulaiman Nadvi, in a s e ri e s of

ar t icles ent i t led "Muslim Colonies in India Before the Muslim Conquest ,"

pub lished in Is lam ic C u ltu re during 193 4-35, d e a l t b r i e f l y with lo c a l

Arab dy nas t ies in the lower Indus va l le y during the nin th and ten th

c e n t u r i e s . 8

The researches of these scholars have made s igni f icant cont r i

bu tions to Medieva l Sin d h i s to r y . Yet they tend to be r e s t r i c t e d in

th e i r scope and l imi ted in th e i r sources , whi le basing their conclusions

on extre mel y tenuous e vid enc e. For example, none i s a comprehensive

treatment of the subject f rom the middle of the seventh century when

5Henry E ll io t , The Histo ry of Ind iaas Told by i t s Own H isto r ia ns (Rev. e d ., C alc utta : Si s ir Gupta, 1956) , V,

6H. C. Ray, The Dyn astic Histor y of Northern In dia (C alc utta :

The Univ. Pr es s, 1931) I , ch ap ter I.

7R. C. Majumdar, "The Arab In va sio n of In d ia ," DaccaUnivers i tySup plem ent, XV (193 1), 1-64 .

8Sulaiman Nadvi, "Muslim Colonies in India Before the MuslimCon ques t," Is lam ic Cu ltu re , V III (Oct. 1934), 601-621 and IX (Jan . 1935),145-166.


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the Arabs had become the western neighbors of S ind to the e leventh

cen tury when th e Ghaznavid fo rces ex t ing uish ed Arab dominion over the

a r ea . A l l accep t t he t r a d i t i o n a l accoun t fo r t he Arab "Drang nach

o s t e n " - - t h e v i c t i m i z i n g o f M uslim c om m er ci al v e s s e l s b y t h e p i r a t e s

o f Daybu l and the impl i ca t ion o f t he S ind monarchy in the who le nas ty

a f f a i r , w i t h o u t q u e s t i o n i n g i t . None e n de av o ur s t o l oo k i n t o t h e p o s

s ib le economic mot ives behind such a move. Moreover, a l l t end to v iew

i t a s an i s o l a t e d i n c i d e n t , r a t h e r t h a n a p a r t o f an o v e r a l l and lo n g-

p lann ed s t r a t e g y o f g e n e ra l expansion in th e E a s t . B esides none r e a l l y

d e a l s e x h a u s t i v e l y o f b o t h t h e A r a b ic an d t h e I n d i a n s o u r c e s o f t h e

two camps.

On t h e w hole th e p a r t i c u l a r tr e a t m e n t i s g e n e r a l l y s u b j e c t t o

p re c o n c e iv e d p r e ju d ic e s m ainly c o lo re d by th e r e l i g i o u s o u tlo o k o f t h e

p a r t i c u l a r a u th o r s . Hence E l l i o t ten d s t o be e x c e s s iv e ly h o s t i l e to

the Arabs whereas the r eve r se i s t he case wi th Nadv i. The Hindu h i s

to r i a n s , t hough v iewing the Arab conques t i n a genera l a tmosphere o f

h o s t i l i t y to wa rd Is la m , t en d to be l e s s b i a s e d t ha n e i t h e r E l l i o t o r

Nadvi. The pu rpo se o f t h i s r e s e a r c h , t h e r e f o r e , i s tw o fo ld : t o r e

co ns t ru c t a much needed sys t em at i c h i s to ry o f Arab ru l e in S ind and ,

s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , t o r e e v a l u a t e t h e m aj or i s s u e s a t s t a k e d u r in g t h a t

p e r io d . C onsequently an a t tem p t has been made to emphasize th e use o f

p r im a ry s o u rc e s , A rab ic , P e r s i a n , C h in ese , Greek and S a n s k r i t , whic h

have been analyzed a t some length in Chapter I . tVb p r ev ai lin g p o l i t i

ca l l ayou t o f Nor th In d ia on the eve o f t he Arab invas ion forms the

b a s i s o f C hap te r I I , w h ile th e causes beh ind th e expan sion an d th e

m i l i t a r y b a l a n c e s be tw ee n th e two r i v a l s a r e t r e a t e d i n C h a p te r I I I .


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The ac tua l m i l i t a ry ope ra t ions aga ins t va r ious p a r t s o f Ind ia from 637

to 715 A.D. a re d e a l t with in Chapter IV. Chapter V is devoted to th e

ad m inis t ra t iv e p o l ic ie s of an I s lam ic government in an area overwhelming

ly non-Muslim. The subse quent hi st o ry o f Sind to 1026 A.D. i s t r ac ed

in Chapter VI. F in al ly th er e i s a b r i e f concluding sec t io n summing up

the f i nd in gs . Al l computa tions of the Muslim cale nd ar are based on

G.S.P. Freem an-G renvi l les book, The Muslim and C h r is t ia n C ale nd ars .9

9G.S.P . Freem an-G renvi l le , The Muslim and C h r is t ia n Calendars(London: Oxford Univ. P re ss , 1963).


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CHAPTER II

THE SOURCES

The body of l i t e ra tu re cove r ing the Arab pe r iod in S ind i s

d e f i c i e n t a t b e s t . T h is s c a r c i t y i s more s t r i k in g i n v ie w o f t h e

abundance of mate r ia l dea l ing with the Ghaznavid and pos t-Ghaznavid

p e r io d s o f Is la m ic domination over North In d ia . The o ccu p a tio n o f Sind

had been c ar r ie d out with th e same sense o f purpose and energy th a t had

enabled the Arabs to overrun Spain on the one hand and Central Asia on

the o the r . The marve l o f i t a l l i s - t h a t a l l the se reg ions were perma

n en tly occupied durin g the same decade. Whereas th e conquest and the

subsequent h is tor ies of Spa in and Centra l Asia were amply recorded, the

record s p e r t a in in g to S ind a re meager and in some ca se s , no nex is ten t .

H i s t o r i c a l

Known ev idence po in t s to a los s o f l i t e ra tu re on S ind ra th e r

than a comple te absence of i t f rom the beg inning. Thus , the Arab

h is to r ia n A li ib n Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-M adaini (752-839 A.D.) is

reputed to have compiled no less than three works on the Arab con

qu es ts of Makran and S in d .1 U nfo r tun a te ly , none o f these a re now

1See Ibn al-Nadim, The F ih ri s t o f a l-Nadim; a Tenth-CenturySurvey of Muslim C u ltu re , tr a n sl a te d and ed ite d by Bayard Dodge (NewYork: Columbia Univ. Pr e ss , 19 70), I , 150. The works in qu es tio n wereKitab Fatah Makran, Kitab Thaghral-a l-Hind and Kitab Ummal-al-Hind.


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ex tan t . Even i f th es e works were av ai la b le , they would not have re

corded the events beyond 839 A.D. , the d ate o f a l -M ada ini ' s dea th ,

whereas the Arab hold over the area lasted for another one hundred and

e igh ty - seven yea r s . For a b r i e f bu t h igh ly va luab le account o f Arab

ru le over Sind, we are inde bted to ano the r Arab sc ho la r , Ahmad

ibn J a b ir a l-B al ad h u ri , who died a t Baghdad in 892 A.D. A se ct io n of

B alad hu r i ' s ce leb ra te d work , Ki tab Futuh a l -B ulda n, covers the events

in Sind down to th e ye ar 842 A.D.2 The au tho r is sa id to have held

ve rba l communication with al-Mada ini and, in consequence, inc orp ora ted

a sub s t a n t i a l p o r t ion o f t he l a t t e r* s m a te r i a l on Sind in h i s own work.

The account of S ind , be ing a summary of a l -Madaini ' s la rger nar ra t ive ,

l a ck s in d e t a i l s , h a r d ly co mp en sa te d by p r e c i s i o n . I t i s r e g r e t t a b l e

that Baladhur i d id not br ing the events c loser to 892 A.D. , the year of

h i s dea th . The b r ev i ty o f t he sec t ion s on S ind no tw i ths t and ingthe

account takes up less than f i f t e e n pageshappens to be the most re

l i a b l e a c c o un t e x t a n t a nd a s su c h , i n d i s p e n s i b l e t o h i s t o r i a n s .

For the most detailed, though by no means the most dependable,

version of Arab conquest of Sind, we must refer to what has commonly

been known as The Chachnamah o r th e Fatahnamah.3 We do no t

2Al-B aladhu r i , Ki tab Futuh a l -B ulda n, t r a n sl a te d by Francis C.Murgotten and P h il ip K. H i tt i (New York: Columbia U ni ve rs ity P re ss ,

1916) . For Arabic ve rs io n , see B elad sor i , Liber expug nat ionisregionum, ed i ted by Michael Jan deGoeje (Lugd. B a ta v .: E. J . B ri l l ,1866). For an ev alu at io n of al -B ala dh ur i , see Carl Brockelmann,Geschich te der Arabischen L it te ra tu r (Weimar: E. F elb er , 1898-1902),I , 141.

3The Chachnamah, translated by Kalichbeg Frendunbeg (Karachi:The Commissioner 's Press, 1900).


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know who the au th or o f t h i s work was and n e it h e r d id Muhammad A li ibn

Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Kufi, who rendered the manuscript in Persian in

1220 A.D. The o r ig in al Arabic ve rsio n is now lo s t . The tr a n s la to r

informs us th a t he found the manuscript with a Kazi Is m a'i l bin Ali

in Sind, who claimed to have been a direct descendant of early Arab

s e t t le rs in the area . According to Kazi I sm a ' i l , the work was

composed by one of hi s a nce stor s in Sind. There is reaso n to b el ie v e,

however, that The Chachnamah is no other than one of the three works

of al-M adain i alre ad y allu de d to . 4 The Chachnamah su ff e rs from two

main de fec t s . Being s t r i c t l y the account o f t he sub juga t ion o f Sind

i t ends when th a t under takin g is completed by 715 A.D. I t i s ,

moreover, a highly rom anticized account which f a i l s to convey a

balanced assessment and th e s ta tem en ts o f which o cc a s io n a l ly evoke

grave doubts. Many of i t s l a t t e r shortcomings could have been

occas ioned by the imag ina t ive mind o f t he t r a n s l a to r . I t s m er i t s ,

however , a re obvious. The author d isp lays an outs tanding fa m i l ia r i t y

wi th the Arab and the Indian a r t s of warfa re , wi th the topography of

Sind and of southern Punjab and with a wide range of varied elements

touch ing upon the s ub jec t as a whole. From i t can be deduced the

s o c i a l , p o l i t i c a l , r e l i g i o u s a n d e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e s o f S i n d d a t i n g

ba ck to th e e a r ly f i f t h century A.D.

For th is hy po th es is , see N. A. Ba loch, "F ateh Nama and i t sSources ," The Proceedings of the Pakis tan His tor ica l Conference ,5th Session (1955), 979-982. In the opinion of nin ete en th centuryIn do lo g is t Henry E l l i o t , The Chachnamah was composed p ri o r t o 750 A.D.,and hence predates M adaini ' s b i r th . See Henry E l l io t , The His toryof Ind ia As Told by i t s Own H isto r ian s (C alc utta : S is ir Gupta,1956), I I , 37.


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1 0

D u r i n g t h e n i n t h c e n t u r y , t w o m o r e A r a b h i s t o r i a n s d e a l t

w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f S in d b r i e f l y . K h a l i f a i bn Khayyat a l - ' U s f u r i

( d i e d 8 5 4 A .D . ) , i n h i s u n i v e r s a l h i s t o r y , T a r i k h K h a l i f a i b n

Khayyat , cover s the S ind ep i sode in l e ss t han f iv e pages wh i l e

Ahmad ibn Ya 'qub a l -Ya 'qubi (d ied 897 A.D.) , in h is Tar ikh a l -Ya*qubi ,

does no b e t t e r . 5 The g r ea t h i s to r i a n Abu J a ' f a r Muhammad ibn J a r i r

a l -T ab ar i (839-923 A .D.) , wh i le comment ing upon the ann exa t ion of

Sind in his monumental work Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l Muluk does so merely

i n one l i n e . 6

A c l e a r l y d i s c e r n i b l e p a t t e r n i s e v i d e n t among t h e n i n t h

c e n t u r y Muslim h i s t o r i a n s i n t h e i r a c c ou n t s o f S i n d . A l l p r o v i d e

s c a t t e r e d and i d e n t i c a l r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e A rab do min io n o v e r S in d

down to the ye a r 842 A.D. The da te i s no t i n c i d en ta l . I t i s

removed f rom al -M ad ain i ' s dea th merely by a yea r or two. As a l l th e

a b o ve -m e n ti on e d h i s t o r i a n s se emed t o h av e u t i l i z e d a l - M a d a i n i ' s

a c co u nt o f S in d , i t i s e n t i r e l y p o s s i b l e t h a t n on e o f t hem w ere a b le

t o , o r in d ee d w i l l in g t o , a c q u i re h i s t o r i c a l d a t a on t h e a f f a i r s o f

d i s t a n t S ind a f t e r 842 A.D. The da te a l so marks the beg in n ing o f t he

end o f A bb as si d c o n t r o l o v e r th e e a s t e r n s e c t i o n s o f t h e c a l i p h a t e

w he re t h e T a h i r i d s o f K h ur as an s u c c e s s f u l l y e x te n de d t h e i r s way.

The Tahi r ids were themselves replaced by the Socfar ids who annexed

5A l- ' U s fu r i , Tar ikh K hal i fa ibn Khayyat (Negav: Impr imer iea l -Adabe , 1967), A l -Ya 'qu b i , Ta r ikh a l -Y a 'qub i (B a i ru t : Dar Sadr ,1960) .

6A1-T abar i , T ar ikh a l -R usu l Wa' l Muluk, e d i te d by MichaelJan de Goeje (Lugd. B at . : E. J . B r i l l , 1879-1901) .


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Sind to t h e ir growing t e r r i t o r i e s by 871 A.D. By 900 A.D. th e

S a f f a r i d s i n t h e i r t u r n g av e way t o two i nd e p e n d en t Arab d y n a s t i e s

in the lower Indus Va l ley e s tab l i shed by Mul tan in sou the rn Pun jab

and a t Mansura in Sind. These , in tu rn , were over thrown by the

Ghaznavids by 1026 A.D. Thus, fo r a pe rio d o f app rox ima tely one

h u nd re d a nd e ig h ty - f i v e y e a r s , S in d , s t a n d in g o b d u r a t e ly o u t s i d e

t h e main c u r r e n t s o f Is la m i c p o l i t i c a l a r e n a , f a i l e d t o a t t r a c t t h e

n o t i c e s o r a r ou s e t h e c u r i o s i t i e s o f Muslim h i s t o r i a n s .

To t h e Gh az na vid h i s t o r i a n s b e lo n g s t h e c r e d i t o f r e c o r d in g ,

t ho ug h m e a g e r ly , t h e e v e n t s c o v e r in g t h e l a s t t h i r t y y e a r s o f Arab

p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l o ve r S in d . Of th e s e we may mention t h r e e :

a l - 'U tb i , a l - B i ru n i and a l -G a r d i z i . Abu Nasr Muhammad a l - Ja bb a r

a l - * U tb i i n K i t a b u l - Y a m in i c o v e r s t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e G h a z n a v id

dynas ty f rom 975 to 1030 A.D.7 A l - Utb i l a cks h i s to r i c a l p re c i s io n

an d i s r e p e a t e d ly v ag ue a b o u t d e t a i l s . The G ha zn a- Mu lt an r e l a t i o n s

d is c u ss e d by him ar e o f some v a lu e . Abu Raih an Muhammad ib n Ahmad

a l - B i ru n i i s cons ide red by some to be the g re a t e s t o f Muslim

s c h o l a r s . 8 H is s p e c i a l s t u d i e s we re i n th e f i e l d s o f M a th e ma ti cs and

Ast ronomy, which fo rm the ba s i s o f h i s c e leb ra te d work on In d ia ,

7The original work in Arabic was published in 1883 A.D. inC a ir o b y a l - A z h a r , t o g e t h e r w i th I bn a l - A t h i r ' s t e x t i n t h e m a rg in sA l- 'U tb i ' s work was t r a n s l a te d in to P e rs ia n in 1206 A.D. by Nas ihb in J a ' f a r a l - J u rb a d h a q a n i . A l i th o g ra p h e d e d i t i o n o f t h i s t r a n s l a t i o n a p p ea r ed i n T e hr an i n 1 857. I t was t h e P e r s i a n t r a n s l a t i o nwhich was u t i l i z e d by subsequen t com pi le r s , w he the r in Pei s ia ,C e n t r a l A s i a o r I n d i a .

8V a s i l l i i B ar th old , Tu rkes ta n Down to the Mongol Inv as ion(2nd e d . , London: Me ssrs . Luzac and Co ., Lt d . , 1958), p. 20.


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gTahqiq ma l i 11-Hind . I t i s mos tly to a l -B i ru n i ' s pa s s ion fo r

h is to r ia l res ea rch th a t we owe our meager knowledge of the Shahi

dynas ty of nor th ern Punjab and some aspec ts of the Is m a ' i l ia n r u le

over Mu ltan .10

Around 1050 A.D., Abu S a 'id Abdul-Hayy al- G a rd iz i, w ri tin g

in Persian, composed his work, Kitab Zain11-Akhbar, dealing with the

Ghaznav id pe r iod . Al -Ga rd iz i l a cks the same s p i r i t o f h i s to r i c a l

c r i t i c i sm one f inds so abundan t ly mani fe s ted in a l -B i run i . He i s ,

however , more pr ec ise when de scr ib ing events and da te s than a l - 'U tb i

t h o u g h c o n s id e r a b ly b r i e f e r .

Thus i t i s th a t between the works of a l -Madaini and a l -G ard iz i

one aspe c t of Sind his to r iog rap hy is comple ted. Dur ing th is t ime

span , the Arabs we re s t i l l the ho lde r s o f p o l i t i c a l power in S in d .11

Each w ri te r in h is own way was ab le to p rovide some ad d iti o na l h is to r i-

9This i s the co rre c t t i t l e of the work and not t he commonly

ye t e r roneous ly known t i t l e s o f Ta rikh a l -Hind and Ta r ikh- i -H ind .See Muhammad Nazim, The L if e and Times o f S u l ta n Mahmud o f Ghazna(Cambridge: The U ni ve rsi ty P re ss , 19 3] ), p. 10 . The work wasrendered in to Engl ish by Edward Sachau under the t i t l e Al-Birun i *sIndia and published in London in 1888 by Trubner and Company.

10A1-Biruni accompanied Sultan Mahmud on some of his Indianexp edi t ion s though i t must have been a f t e r 1017 A.D., fo r i t was inth i s yea r tha t Khwar izon , whose ru le r was a l - B i ru n i ' s pa t ro n , wasannexed and th e gr ea t sch ola r snatched away to Ghazna. A l-B iru ni 'sa t t empts to d i scove r the dynas t ic h i s to ry o f the Shah is we re remarkab le . " I have been to ld " he in forms us , " th a t the ped igree o f th i s

r o y a l f a m i ly , w r i t t e n on s i l k , e x i s t s i n th e f o r t r e s s o f N a ga rk o t,and I much de s ired to make myse lf acqua inted with i t , but the th in gwas imp ossib le for vario us rea so ns ." Edward Sachau, A l-B iru ni 1s India(London: Tru bne r and Company, L td ., 18S 8), I I , 11. No doub t as im i l a r i n v e s t i g a t i v e s p i r i t m ust h av e m a n i fe s te d i t s e l f i n t h e c a seof Multan, but obviously without much success.

1JThough al -G a rd iz i 's work was not completed u n ti l 1052 A.D.,the f a l l of Mansura in 1026 A.D. occurred dur ing the a u th o r ' s l i f e t im e .


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c a l d a t a . I t i s t o be r e g r e t t a b ly n o te d t h a t s ub se q ue nt h i s t o r i a n s

have copied th e ir meager accounts of Sind from the cha in of h is

t o r i a n s s t r e t c h in g f rom a l- M a d ain i t o a l - G a r d i z i , a d ding l i t t l e o r

no inform ation of th e ir own. Of these-we may mention fo ur: Ibn a l-

A th ir , Ibn Khaldun, F ar ish ta and Mir Ali Sher Kani. ' I z z ad-Din

Abu'l -Husayn Ib n-a l-A thir (d ied 1232 A.D .) , in Al-Kamil f i a l -T ar ik h

copied the se c t io ns de a l in g with Sind a lmost verba t im from a l-

Ba lad hu r i ' s Futuh a l -B ulda n. 12 For the la s t years of Arab co ntro l

he re l i e d heav i ly on a l - 'U tb i ' s Ki tabu '1 -Yamini . He i s , however ,

t h e f i r s t w r i t e r t o m en tion t h e I s m a i ' l i a n t a k e o v e r o f M an su ra ,

a f a c t omi t ted by a l -B i run i a s we l l as by a l -G a rd iz i . Four teen th

century North African scholar IVali Ad-Din Abu Zayd Abd ar-Rahman Ibn

Khaldun i n the Muqaddimah pro vid es a ra re and indeed t h e o nly glimpse

in to the f inan ces of Sind dur ing the ea r ly Abbassid period..13 Sixte enth

century Indian h is to r i a n Muhammad Qasim Fa r is h ta , w r i t in g in Pe rs ian

comple ted his work, Tar ikh- i -Far ishta , in 1606 A.D. , which dea ls with

the r is e of th e Muslim power in In d ia .11*

In cove r ing the f in a l f i f ty yea r s o f Arab ru le in S ind,

Fa r i sh ta r e l i e d mainly on a l -G a r d iz i ' s Z a inu ' l Akhbar and, to a l e s s e r

12Ibn a l -A th i r , Al -Kamil f i a l -T a r ikh (Le iden : E. J . B r i l l ,1867-1876). Also pu blis he d in Cario by al-Az har in 1883.

13Ibn Khul^dun, The Muqaddimah: An In tr o d u c ti o n to H is to ry ,

tr a n s la te d by Franz Rose nthal (New York: Pantheon Books, 1958).

14Far ishta ' s work has been t rans la ted in to Engl ish by JohnBrigg under the t i t l e , The H isto ry o f the Rise of Mohemedan Powerin India (C alc utt a : S. Day, 1966).


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14

deg ree , on a l -* U tb i ' s K i tabu l Yamin i . The work p rov id es some us e fu l

h in t s a b o u t t h e G h a z n a - S h a h i - M u l t a n d ip lo m a t i c f r o n t .

Mir Ali Sher Kani compiled his work, Tuhfa t a l -Kiram in

P e r s i a n a r ou n d 17 70 , wh ic h i s a s c a n ty t r e a tm e n t o f t h e h i s t o r y o f

Sind f rom about 400 A.D. down to th e middle o f the e i gh te en th

c e n tu r y . 15 I t i s t h e o n ly work c om po se d i n S in d i t s e l f , w i th t h e

somewhat do ub tfu l ex ce pt io n of The Chachnamah. The au tho r was th e re

f o re i n a p o s i t io n t o u t i l i z e n a t i v e v e r b a l t r a d i t i o n s n o t a v a i l a b l e

t o o t h e r w r i t e r s . He i s t h e s o l e w r i t e r who p r o v i d e s us w i t h a

c o m p le t e l i s t o f t h e r u l e r s o f t h e R a i d y n a s ty w hich was o ve r th r ow n

a ro u nd 622 A . D . , t o g e th e r w i th t h e e x a c t n um ber o f y e a r s i t h e ld

power ov er th e a r e a .

H in du s o u r c e s o f m e d i ev a l a n d p r e - m e d ie v a l I n d i a n h i s t o r y a r e

meage r and in the ca se o f S ind , n on ex is te n t . One can sympa th ize

w i th a l - B i r u n i ' s c o nc er n a s e a r l y a s th e e l e v e n th c e n t u r y.

" U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e H in dus do n o t p ay much a t t e n t i o n t o t h e h i s t o r i

c a l o r d e r o f t h i n g s , " h e l a m e n ts . " Th ey a r e v e r y c a r e l e s s i n

r e l a t i n g t h e c h r o n o l o g i c a l s u c c e s s i o n o f t h e i r k i n g s , a nd when t h e y

a r e p r e s s e d f o r i n f o r m a t io n a n d a r e a t a l o s s , n o t kn ow ing w ha t to

s a y , t h ey i n v a r i a b l y t a k e t o t a l e - t e l l i n g . " 16 K ashm ir, h ow ev er ,

o f a l l t h e I n d ia n r e g i o n s , ca n p r o u d ly b o a s t o f a w r i t t e n c h r o n i c l e

w hic h t r a c e s i t s h i s t o r y f ro m t h e e a r l i e s t t im e s down t o t h e y e a r

15Mir Al i She r Kani, Tuhfa t a l -K i ram , t r a n s l a te d by J . Pos tans( C a l c u t t a : B i sh o ps C o l l e g e P r e s s , 18 4 3) .

16Sachau , A1 B i ru n i s Ind ia , I I , 11.


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1 5

1027 A.D. The R a ja ta r i n g in i was composed by Pa nd i t Kalhana in

S a n sk ri t around 1148 A.D. Th is voluminous work in th e form o f a

poem, assumes a f a i r l y r e l i a b l e a s p e c t fo l lo w in g th e fo u n d in g o f

t h e K a r k o ta d y n a s ty a t t h e b e g in n in g o f t h e s e v e n th c e n tu r y . D u ring

t h e e i g h t h c e n t u r y K a shm ir was i n c o n t r o l o f s u b s t a n t i a l p o r t i o n s o f

no r the rn Pun jab and in consequence came in to c o n f l i c t wi th th e Arabs

p u sh in g n o r th fro m t h e i r b a se s a t M ultan. The Kashmir -Arab c o n f l i c t

an d t h e r e s u l t a n t K a sh m ir i e m b a s si e s t o t h e T ' a n g c o u r t o f C hina t o

s o l i c i t a i d a g a i n s t t h e d a n ge r from t h e S o ut h, a r e b r i e f l y a l lu d e d

to by Kalhana .

Geograph ica l

I n t h e a b se n c e o f a d e qu a te h i s t o r i c a l d a t a o n S i n d , t h e

a c co u n ts o f c e r t a i n t r a v e l l e r s >:io p a ss e d t hr ou g h I n d i a p e r i o d i c a l l y

and reco rded th e i r imp re ss ions a ssume pa ramount impor tance . These

" v i s i t o r s " can b e c l a s s i f i e d i n to t h r e e c a t e g o r i e s - -r e l i g io u s p i lg r i m

m e r c h a n t - a d v e n t u r e r s , and g e o g r a p h e rs . O f t h e f i r s t c a t e g o r y we

p o s s e s s t h e d e t a i l e d accou nt o f th e C h inese B uddh is t p i l g r im

H iu en T s i a n g , who s p e n t no l e s s t h a n t h i r t e e n y e a r s i n I n d i a , fro m

630 t o 643 A . D . 17 T h i s p i l g r im ' s o b s e r v a t i o n s a b ou t S ind in p a r t i

c u l a r and I n d i a i n g e n e r a l , t ho ug h much c o l o r e d by h i s r e l i g i o u s o u t

l o o k, a r e o f p ri m a r y i m p o rt a nc e t o t h e s t u d e n t s o f S in d h i s t o r y .

17Si -Yu-Ki , Buddhis t Records o f the Wes te rn Wor ld , t r ans la ted from the Chinese of Hieun Tsiang by Samuel Beal (JLondon:Tru ebn er and Company, L td . , 1900).


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Fol lowing the Arab conques t , when the lower Indus Val ley

a nd t h e s u r ro u n d in g t e r r i t o r y was draw n in t o t h e v a s t n e tw o rk o f

I s lam ic commerc ia l a c t i v i t i e s , numerous Musl im merchan ts f r eq uen ted

we s te rn and sou the rn I nd ia , though we have the w r i t t en account o f

only two of them. The f i r s t o f the se remains anonymous. The au tho r

o f Akbar as -S in w a ' l -H ind comple ted his work in 851 A.D. , which i s

an o n - th e - s p o t o b s e r v a t i o n o f m a r i tim e s t a t e s s t r e t c h in g f ro m S ind

to China . The work was e d it e d and added to by Abu Za id, a merc hant

from S ir a f in Southe rn Pe rs ia around 915 A.D .18 Abu Zaid informs us

o f h i s p u r p o s e :

Having ve ry c a re fu l ly examined the book I wasde s i re d to pe r sue , th a t I migh t conf irm wha tt h e a u th o r r e l a t e s s o f a r a s h e a g r e e s w i thw h a t I h a v e l e a r n t c o n c e r n in g t h e a f f a i r s o fnav iga t ion , the k ingdoms on the coas t , andt h e s t a t e o f t h e c o u n t r i e s o f w hic h h e t r e a t sand that I might add what I have elsewherec o l l e c t e d co n c e rn in g t h e s e m a t t e r s : 1 f i n dtha t th is book was composed in the year ofthe He gira 237 (851 A .D.) , and th a t th eaccounts g iven by the au thor a re conformable

with what I have heard from merchants whoh av e s a i l e d f ro m I r a k o r P e r s i a , t h ro u g ht h e s e s e a s . 19

18The be s t ed i t io n o f th i s work, tog e th e r wi th a F rencht r a n s l a t i o n a p p ea r ed i n P a r i s i n 1 948 u n d e r t h e t i t l e A kh ba r a s - S inw a ' l H ind : Re la t ion de la ch ine e t de 11Inde rdd ig ge en 851 , t r a n s

l a t e d a nd e d i t e d by J . S au va ge t ( P a r i s : S o c i e t e d ' l e d i t i o n " Le sB e l l e s L e t t r e s , " 1 94 8) . The E n g l is h t r a n s l a t i o n , t o g e t h e r w i t hAbu Z a id 's ; e d i t i o n , was pu bl ish ed in Vol . I o f Rober t Kerr , AGenera l H is to ry and C ol le c t i on of Voyages and Tra ve ls (London:W illiam Blackwood, 182 4).

1 9K e r r , o p . c i t . , I , 6 8 -6 9 .


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17

Both accounts are p r im ar i ly concerned wi th the mar i t ime

a c t i v i t i e s and u n d e rs t an d a b ly s o. Ye t t h e y o c c a s i o n a l l y r e v e a l

v er y u s e f u l i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l a nd r e l i g i o u s a s p e ct s

o f va r ious a r eas inc lud ing S ind .

Dur ing the ten th century a Pers ian sea capta in , Buzurg ibn

Sha hr iya r , composed the work, A ja ib u l Hind, be ing a co l le c t io n of

his personal exper iences on h is many voyages to India and the Far

East , as wel l as mater ia l provided to h im by o ther merchants and

s a i l o r s .20 Reference to Sind , t hough r a r e , a r e o f p r imary impor

t ance .

I t i s t o t h e t h i r d c a t eg o r y o f t r a v e l l e r s t h a t we a r e mo st

ind ebte d . This co ns is ts of Muslim geographers who ac tu al ly

v i s i t ed S ind between 915 and 985 A.D.2-1 In o rde r o f t h e i r appear

ance they include d Abu'l Hassan, Ali ibn Husayn al- M as 'u di , who

passed through Sind i n 915 A.D. and r eco rded h i s impress ions in

Muruj al-Zahab wa Ma*adin al-Jawahar.22

20Ibn Shahr iyar , Aja ibu l Hind, t ransla ted by Marcel Devic(London: G. Routledge and Sons, L td ., 1928).

21Major Arabic geographical works were col lected and edi tedby Michael Jan de Go eje i n B ib l io th e c a Geographorum Ar abi cor um(Le iden : E. J . B r i l l , 1870-1894). Eng l i sh t r a ns l a t io n o f oo r t ionsre l a t in g to Ind ia can be found in Henry E l l io t , The Hi s to ry o f Ind iaas Told by i t s Own H is to ri a n s , Vol. I: The Arab Geographers (Cal

cu t t a : S i s i r Gup ta , 1956). Sec t ions o f t hese accoun t s can a l so befound in Sulaiman Nadvi, "Muslim Colon ies in In di a Before the MuslimConque st ," Isla mic C ul tu re , VIII (1934) and IX (1935).

22E l l io t , op . c i t . , Vol . I , 23 -33 . Por t ions o f Ma s 'ud i ' s workwere rendered in to Engl i sh by Aloys Sprenger under the t i t l e El -Masudis H is to r i ca l Encyclopedia (London: Or ien ta l Tra ns la t ion Fund,1841), I . Al l refe renc es to Masudi are from Sprenger unle ss o t he r w i s e s t a t e d .


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18

Abu 'I sh aq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad a l- I s t a k h r i follow ed Mas'udi

in 951 A.D ., rec ord ing hi s impress ions in Kitab Masal ik al-Mamalik. 23

Abu'l Qasim Muhammad Ibn Hauqal has the so le d is t i n c t i o n o f t r a v e l l in g

through the lower Indus Valley twice, once in 951 A.D. and again in

976 A.D. , hold ing verbal communicat ions wi th a l - I s takhr i on the

former occa sion . His work, Kitab al-M asa l ik wa'1-Mamalik, con tain s

h i s impress ion . ' o f S ind .21* The l a s t o f t he geographers to

th e f a r - o f f Sin d was Abdull ah Muhammad ibn. Ahmad al- M uq ad di si , con

s id ered by some to be one of the gr ea te s t geographers o f a l l t im e. 25

The rec ord o f his v i s i t in 985 A.D. is to be found in his work

Ahsan11-Taqasim f i Ma 'ar i fa t a l -Aqual im.25

The r eco rds o f t hese geographer s , t hough l ack ing in su f f i

c i e n t d e t a i l s , c o n s t i t u t e t h e mai n b a s i s o f o ur knowledge o f t e n t h

cent ury Sind. Geography, p o l i t i c a l as well as economic forms and

under s t andab ly so , t he ma in por t io ns o f t h e i r na r r a t iv es . Yet

h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h i s n o t a l t o g e t h e r l a c k i n g and i n M as 'u di i t

f i nds cons ide rab le express ion .

In enumerat ing the sources , we must ment ion the ro le of

ep ig raphy . Hindu ru l e r s o f t he Ind ian s t a t e s o f Rajas than and

Guj arat clai ming to be champions o f Hinduism ag ai ns t the hated

23DeGoeje, Bib l io th ec a Geographorum Arabicorum, I ; E l l i o t ,

o p. c i t . , I .2**De Go ej e, B ib li o th e c a Geographorum Arab icor um, I I ;

E l l i o t , o p . c i t . , I; Mid. Ea st Lib. Univ. o f U tah , Gotha MSS> 312, 569AH.

25Bar tho ld , op . c i t . , p . 11.

26De Goeje, Bi bl io th ec a Geographorum Arabicorum, I I I .


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o u t s id e r s , b o a s t f u l l y r e c or d ed t h e s u c c e s s f u l out come o f t h e i r

encounte r s aga ins t the Arabs on coppe r p l a t e s . This ep ig raph ic ev i

dence, ma in ly coming to l ig h t ove r the pa s t f i f t y yea r s , i s p r im ar i l y

conce rned wi th the expans ion is t po l ic ie s o f the Arabs p r io r to 850 A.D.

The above i s a f a i r ly exhaus t ive l i s t o f the source s needed to

rec on s t ru c t the h i s to ry o f Arab S ind. I t i s unfor tuna te th a t more i s

not av a i la bl e and one cannot but hope th a t wi th the passage o f t ime ,

new ev idence wi l l come to the su r face , b r ing ing to l igh t those a spec t s

of the Arab per iod concerning which our present knowledge is re la t ive ly

i n s u f f i c i e n t i n s p i t e o f ou r e f f o r t s i n th e p r e s e n t es sa y .


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CHAPTER I I I

INDIA ON THE EVE OF THE ARAB INVASION

On th e eve of the Arab inva s ion of Sind a t the begin ning of

t h e e i g h t h c e n t u r y A .D ., no c e n t r a l p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y h ad e x i s t e d

in I n d i a . I n f a c t s i n c e t h e f a l l o f t h e Maurya Empi re i n t h e f i r s t

c en tu ry B .C. , which had suc ce ss f u l ly u n i te d Ind ia f rom the Oxus in

th e nor thw est to Ceylon in th e sou th , no empire had been able to

e x e r c i s e f u l l p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y o v er most o f t h e I n d ia n su b

c o n t i n e n t u n t i l t h e M u g h a l E m p i r e r e a c h e d i t s g r e a t e s t e x t e n t i n t h e

second h a l f o f th e seven teen th cen tury . To be su re , a t t em pts we re

made to br in g nort he rn In dia under one ru le . Hence th e Kushan Empire

in th e e a r l y p a r t o f the second cen tury A.D., the Gupta Empire in the

f o u r t h a nd f i f t h c e n t u r i e s and t h e e mp ir e o f H ar sh a i n t h e f i r s t h a l f

o f t h e s e v e n th c e n tu r y d i r e c t e d t h e i r e n e r g i e s t o w a r d a c h i e v in g

p o l i t i c a l u n i t y f o r North I n d i a , w i th mixed r e s u l t s . The o u t l y in g

p a r t s o f I n d ia i n t h e n o r th w e s t , however, remained o u t s i d e the p a l e

of the Gupta Empire and th a t of Harsha . Eas te rn Afgha nis ta n, Punjab

and S ind had to bea r the burden o f f r equ en t inc urs io ns by the Pe rs i an

Empire on one hand and by th e nomadic hordes of var iou s e t hn ic or ig in s

f rom Cent ra l As ia on the o th e r . At the inc ep t io n o f the e ig h th

cen tury A.D. , power fu l loca l dynas t ie s began to emerge in the se

re gi on s, as we ll as in Kashmir. In th e meantime, however, the Arabs

had overrun th e P er sia n Empire and were waging suc ce ss fu l campaigns


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in Centra l Asia . The s t a te s on the wes te rn bord er la nd of Indi a now

faced a so l id wal l of Arab arms. The fol lowing a reas were p a r t ic u

la r l y hard pre ssed by the Arab might : Kashmir , ea s te rn Afghanis tan,

Rajput ana, Guja rat and Sind.

Kashmir

One of the most powerful s ta te s in I ndi a a t the t ime of the

Arab inva s ion was Kashmir. The to ta l a rea of the s ta te a t t he t ime

of the Br i t ish withdrawal in 1947 was 84,516 square miles , and i ts

p o p u l a t io n , a ccording t o th e 1941 ce nsus , was 3 ,6 4 6 , 2 4 3 .1 At th e

t ime of the Arab invas ion of Sind the author i ty of the Kashmir ian

monarchs extended over pa rt s of nor the rn Punjab as we ll , and hence

cove red a l a r ge r a rea than in 1947. No popula t ion f igu re s a re av a i l

able fo r the e ig hth centu ry. The geography of Kashmir he lp s to

e x p l a in t h e r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y f r o m f o r e ig n i n v a s io n s w h ic h t h e s t a t e

has enjoyed over the ce nt ur ie s . Lying in the extreme nor thwest

co m er o f the Ind ian sub-c on t i nen t , Kashmir i s nor th o f the ma in

inva s ion r out es which lead f rom Ce ntra l and Western Asia in to In d ia .2

Whereas most o f the Ind ian sub-con t inen t i s loca te d sou th o f l a t i tu de

S t a t i s t i c a l A b st r ac t f o r B r i t i s h I n d i a (London: Hi s M a j e s ty ' s

St a t i on ary Of f ice , 1942) , pp. 4-5 (based on the 1941 census) .

2The main invasion routes from Central and Western Asia runfrom Kabul through the Khaybar Pass to Peshawar, thence to Rawalpindi,Lahore and Delhi. Somewhat lesser in importance is the route runningfrom Kabul to Swat (north of the Khaybar) and thence to Rawalpindi.This is the ro ut e used by the main army of Alexander the Great


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33 N. , a l l of Kashmir l i e s n or th of th at l in o. The main defense of

Kashmir aga ins t the fore ign invas io ns has been f iv e mounta in ranges

which run ea st to west through Kashmir. The P ir Pan jal ran ges

sep ara tes Kashmir from the Punjab in the south . This range is nea rly

180 miles long and about 30 miles wide. I t is named a f t e r the famous

P ir Panja l Pass which is 11,400 fe e t h igh. Other passes in the

range inc lude t he Banih al, 9,290 fe e t and Baramula, 5,191 fee t h ig h .3

The gre at Himalayan range l i e s about 50 miles no rth of the P ir P anjal

range . I t i s near ly 150 miles long and is per pe tu a l l y covered with

snow, be ing above the snow li n e . 4

Lying between the Pir Panjal range in the south and the Great

Himalayan range in the north is the famous Vale of Kashmir, a great

b a s in about e i g h ty - f i v e miles by t w e n t y - f i v e . 5 The Vale with the c i t y

of S r inaga r has been the po l i t i c a l , cu l tu ra l and economic cen te r o f

Kashmir.6 The Vale is dra ine d by the upper Jheluin r iv e r and has the

r i c h e s t s o i l i n th e e n t i r e s t a t e . N ea rl y t h r e e - f o u r t h s o f K as hm ir 's

in 322 B.C. Yet ano the r ro ut e le ads from Qandhar to Qu etta andthence either to Multan and Lahore or to Shikarpur, Ferozpur andDelhi . The Qandhar-Quet ta -Shikarpur route was used by the B r i t is hduring the First Afghan War in 1840.

3Meneck B. P it ha w al la , An In tr od uc ti on to Kashmir: It sGeology and Geography (Karachi: Oxford Un iv er si ty Pre ss , 1953),

p. 24.

4 I b i d .

50. H. K. Sp at e, In di a and Pa ki st an : A Genera l and Region alGeography (London: Methuen and Company, 195 4) , p. 371.

6Sri n ig ar was b u i l t by Maurya emperor Asoka, B.C. 273-232.See Vincent Smith, The Earl y Hi sto ry of India (Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1904), p. 170.


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area l ies north of the Great Himalayan range, yet in 1941 i t contained

only 311,300 people out of a to ta l pop ula t ion of 3 ,6 46,2 43. 7 Three

mountain ranges run through the se northe rn area s. Immediately north

of the Great Himalayan range is the Zanskar range which cuts Kashmir

ne arl y int o two equal hal ves . The Ladakh range st re tc he s mostly

across T ibe t , bu t i t s western arm l i e s in Kashmir. Between th is

range and the Zanskar range flows the upper Indus. The no rt he rn

most range is the Karakoram range which separates Kashmir from the

Chinese province of S inkiang. The en t i r e area ly ing nor th of the

Great Himalayan is extrem ely cold and mountainous. I t con tain s some

of t he w orl d 's hig he st peaks such as Godwin Austin, 28,178 fe e t ;

Gasherbrum, 28,100 feet; Nanga Parbat, 26,620 feet; and Masherbvum,

25,660 fe e t . Very l i t t l e cu l t i va t io n can be done in such dry waste

la n d s .8 The re la t i v e s ec ur i ty which Kashmir has enjoyed from fore ign

intrusions due to geography and physiography is shown by the fact

th a t i t was not un t i l 1320 A.D. t ha t I s lamic ru le was es ta bl i s hed

over Kashmir, even though Sind had been conquered by the Muslims as

ea rl y as 715 A.D. Even th e Muslim dynasty which succeeded in e s ta b li s h

ing its rule over Kashmir in 1320 A.D. was a local Kashmirian dynasty.9

7P i thawal l a , o. c i t . , pp. 77 -78.

0For de sc r ip t io ns of the nor the rn areas of Kashmir, see Spate ,pp. 380-91 ; and P i th aw al la , o j k c i t . , pp. 25-27 .

9S. R. Sharma, Mughal Empire in India, Revised Edition (Agra:Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, 1966), p. 200.


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Ac tu a l l y i t was not u n t i l 1563 th a t Kashmir was annexed by the Grand

Mughal Akbar to his empire governed from Agra.10

T h e r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y w h i c h t h e r u l e r s o f t h e V a l e e n j o y e d

f rom f o r e ig n c o n q u e st s d id n o t mean t h a t t h e y p l a y e d a p a s s iv e r o l e

i n t h e powe r p o l i t i c s o f t h e i r s o u t h e r n n e i g h b o r s . As a m a t t e r o f

f a c t , a lm os t a h u nd r ed y e a r s b e f o r e t h e c o n q ue s t o f S in d b y t h e

Arab' : , in 715 A.D., the rulers of Kashmir had begun a vigorous

campaign of expans ion in the south and southwest of Kashmir which

e v e n tu a l l y b r ou g h t th em in t o c o n f l i c t w i th t h e A ra bs i n S in d. At t h e

b e g in n in g o f t h e se v en th c e n tu r y A.D., Dur labhavardhava founded t h e

Karko ta dynas ty which la s t ed u n t i l 855 A.D. The da te o f th i s

m o n a rc h ' s a c c e s s io n i s a m a t t e r o f some d i s p u t e a nd t h e d a t e s o f

589 and 602 have been su g g e s t e d .11 Durlabhava rdhava ru le d fo r

t h i r t y - s i x y e a rs and du r in g h i s r e i g n h e w r e st e d p a r t s o f n o r t h

wes t e rn Punjab from th e Turk i Sah i dynas ty o f Kab ul .12 I t was dur in g

th e r e ig n o f t h i s m o n a r c h t h a t H iu e n T s i a n g , f a m o u s C h in e s e p i l g r im ,

v is i te d Kashmir in 631 A.D. His account throws some l ig h t on the

condi t ions in Kashmir :

1 0 I b i d .

11Gwasha Kau l, Kashmir Through th e Ages (Sr in ag ar : Ch ro ni clePu bl ish in g House , 1954) , p . 10; H. C. Ray, The Dyn as t ic Hi s to ry o f

N or the rn I n d ia ( C a l c u t t a : The U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1931) , I , 11 2;

K a lh a n a ' s R a j a t a r a n g in i , t r a n s . f ro m S a n s k r i t b y M. A. S t e in ( D e lh i :M ot i la l Ban a rs i da s s , 1961) , I , 87 . Ka lhana , a Kashmir i Pa nd i t , wro teth i s ch ron ic l e o f the k ings o f Kashmir in 1149 A.D.

12Si-Yu-K i, Buddhis t Records o f th e Weste rn World , t ra n s .from Chin ese of Hiuen Ts ia ng by Samuel Beal (London: Tru eb ner andCompany, 1900) , I , 136; Ray, o p. c i t . , I , 112.


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The Kingdom o f Kashmir is abou t 7, 000 l i inc i r c u i t ; and on a l l s i d e s i t i s e n cl o se d bymounta ins . These mountains a re ve ry h ig h . . . .T h e n e ig h b o r in g s t a t e s t h a t h a v e a t t a c k e d i th av e n e ve r s u cc e ed e d i n s ub d uing i t . . . . T h e s o i li s f i t fo r p roduc ing ce r ea l s and abounds wi thf r u i t s and f l o w e r s . . . . The p e o p le we ar l e a t h e rd o u b l e t s a nd c lo th e s o f w h i t e l i n e n . . . . Th ey a r el i g h t and f r iv o lo us and o f a weak, pus i l l an im ousd i s p o s i t i o n . T he re a r e b o th h e r e t i c s ( non -Buddhis ts ) and b e l ie v er s among the m .13

The four th rule r of the Karkota dynas ty was Chandrapida who

p ro b a b ly d i e d i n 720 A .D.11* I t was d u r in g th e r e ig n o f t h i s r u l e r

t h a t Kashmir came in to co nf l i c t wi th the Arabs. The th re a t o f the

Arabs f rom S ind fo rced the Kashmir ian mona rch to s o l i c i t the a id o f

th e Tang emperor o f China in 713 A.D.15 King Lal ita dit ya -M uk da pid a

who ruled Kashmir from 725 to 756 A.D. greatly expanded the kingdom

of Kashmir . According to Kalhana , he conquered a l l o f ea s t e r n and

n o r t h e a s t e r n A f g h a n is t a n , p a r t s o f C e n tr a l A s i a , a nd a l l o f n o r t h e r n

Ind ia and even p ar ts o f the Decc an.16 S ir Aurc . S t e in who ed i te d

R a j a t a r a n g i n i r e f u s e d t o a c c e p t t h e s e e x t e n s i v e c o n q u e s t s a s r e a l i t y ,

a rguin g t h a t such exte ns i ve campaigns were s imply beyond the p o ss i

b i l i t i e s o f f e r e d by t h e manpower and r e s o u rc e s o f Kashmir .17 How

ev er , "h is conq uest o f Kanauj i n th e Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Tuk ha ris ta n

13Si-Yu-Ki , I , 148. There a re about 3 l i to one mi le .

11+The da te s o f th i s r u l e r ' s r e i gn a re a ma t te r o f cons id e rab le

d is pu te . See Ra ja t a ra ng in i , I , 67; Ray, op . c i t . , I , 112 ; HermannGoetz , S tud ies in th e His to ry and Art of~Tashmir and the In dianHimalaya (Weisbaden: Otto H ar ra ss cw it z , 1969), pp. 8-12.

15Goetz, 0 . c i t . , p p. 1 1- 12 ; R a j a t a r a n g i n i , I , 67.

1 6 R a ja t a r a n g in i , I , 1 2 8 - 3 5 .

17Ib id . , I , 82-92.


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in the upper Oxus valley and Daraddesa in the upper Kishen Ganga

a p p ea r s t o b e b a s ed on h i s t o r i c a l d a t a . " 18

German scholar, Herman Goetz, however, attempted to show that

L a l i t a d i t y a d id a c t u a l l y c onq ue r a l l o f n o r t h e r n and c e n t r a l I n d i a ,

tog e th e r wi th ea s te rn Afghan is tan , and th a t he even invaded ea s te r n

Tu rk is t an , and indeed died somewhere in the Tar im b a s in .19 In

736 A.D. th is ru le r sent an embassy to the Tang cour t to sol ic i t

a id aga ins t the Arabs .28

Eastern Afghanistan and Punjab

At the beg inn ing o f the e igh th cen tury the r e we re two s ta te s

lo ca ted on the extreme nor th weste rn corner of Ind ia . These were the

kingdom of Z ab ul is ta n and th e kingdom of Ka pis i. The kingdom of

K a pi s i i n c lu d e d t h e t e r r i t o r y e n c lo s e d by t h e I nd us on t h e e a s t , t h e

Hindukush mountains on the north and west and 34 N. on the south in

18Ray, 0 . c i t . , I, 112. The Ganga-Yamuna Doab and Dara ddes acor re spond roughly to wes te rn and sou the rn por t io ns o f the Ind ians t a t e o f U t t a r P ra de sh .

19Goe tz , op . c i t . , pp . 8-22.

2 8R a ja t a r a n g in i , I , 6 7. L a l i t a d i t y a ' s p rime m in i s t e r was a

Buddhist Tokharian (modern Badakhshan province in northeasternAf gh an ist an ), Chankuna, who had been in the Chinese se rv ic e. Hemight have persuaded La l i tadi tya to form some kind of an a l l iancewith the Tang emperor against the Arabs in Central Asia and Sind.See Goetz , o. c i t . , pp. 11-12.


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modern Af gh an is ta n and 32 N. i n modern West Pa k is ta n . I t commanded

the main invasion and trade routes between Central Asia and India .21

The kingdom of Zabulis tan was made up of the terri tory

watered by the Helmand River and i t s t r ib u ta r i e s in southe as te rn

Af gh ani sta n.22 Here "the cou ntry f l a tt e n s and runs out among jagge d,

i s o l a t e d h i l l s i n to t h e R e g i st a n , t h e g r e a t d e s e r t s t r e t c h in g away

to the Persian border, unbroken save by the Helmand River."23

By 631 the ru le r s o f Kapis i had los t t h e i r t e r r i t o r ie s ly ing

e as t o f the Indus to Kashmir.2*1 Between th e Indus on the e as t and

the Saf id Koh mounta in range nea r ly s ix ty miles to the wes t l i es the

f e r t i l e va l ley o f Pe shawar ca l led Gandha ra a t the beg inn ing o f the

eig ht h cen tur y A.D.25 Gandhara was se pa ra te d from th e weste rn

21 Pa rt of t h i s kingdom lay in modern West Pak ista n and i n c lu ded the d i s t r i c t s of Peshawar, Kohat and Bannu of the pres en t-d ay

North We stern F ro n t i e r Province . In Afghanistan i t inc luded th eare as around Kabul and Ja la la ba d. See Si-Yu-Ki, I , 54-55; a l soR. C. Majumdar, "The Arab Invasion of India," Dacca University

Suppl emen t, No. XV (1931) , 5-7.

22Si-Yu-Ki, I, 190.

23Will iam K. Fr as er -T yt le r , Afghanis tan. A Study of P o l i t i c a lDevelopments i n C en tra l and South ern As ia , Third e d it io n (London :Oxford Un ive rsit y Pre ss, 1966), p. 8. This are a corresponds roughlyto S ij is t a n o f the Arab geogr aphers. See G. Le Stra nge , Lands of theEaste rn Cal iph ate (London: Cambridge Un ive rsit y Press, 1905), Chapterxxiv .

2llThis information is provided by Hieun Tsiang who visitedth e s e t e r r i t o r i e s , now m ainly t h e R a wa lp in di d i s t r i - t o f t h e Pu nj a b,

in 631 A.D. and observed that formerly they were part of the kingdomof Kapis i . Si-Yu-Ki, I I , 136-47.

25Gandhara was the home of the famous Indo-Greek sculpturewhich f lo ur i she d in nor thweste rn India between the second centuryB.C. and 300 A.D.


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p o r t i o n o f t h e ki ngdom of Kapis i by th e b a r r e n mounta in range o f t he

Sa f id Koh. Today the se mounta ins form th e bo rde r between Afghanis t an

and Pa ki s ta n , and the famous Khaybar Pass i s loc ated her e twelve

mil es west of Peshawar. West of th e Khaybar Pa ss , th e Bamiyan Va lley

and the Kabul Va l l ey were the r i c h e s t se c t io ns o f t he k ingdom of

Kap is i . Both the se va l le ys a re enclos ed by h igh mounta ins which

p r e s e n t fo rm id ab le b a r r i e r s to in v a d in g a r m i e s . 26

When Hieun Tsiang pas sed through no r th ern Afgh anis tan in

630 A.D. he found the t e r r i t o r i e s l y ing nor th o f t he Kindukush under

th e ru le o f th e Western Turks . The pi lg r i m met the Khakan or Yabghu

of the Wes te rn Turks on the shore o f t he l ake I s s i k -k u l . Tak ing

adva ntage o f th e campaigns which Khusru Par viz (590-628 A. D.) , th e

Pe rs i an monarch, was waging aga in st the Byzant ine Emperor He ra el i us ,

the Western Turks had extended thei r dominions southwards to the

p ro v in c e o f G andhara .27 Soon a f t e r Hieun T s i a n g ' s d e p a r t u r e , C e n t r a l

As ia became a b a t t l e g round be tween four con tend ing g roups : t he

Arabs , t he Ch inese , t he Turks and the Ind ia ns . Th i s fou r-way con te s t

l a s t e d f o r more t h a n a hu nd re d y e a r s . 28

26There are some passes which lead through these mountainsin to the Kabul Val le y . In the no r th th es e inc lud e the Khawak Pas s ,11 ,640 f e e t ; t he Qipchak Pass , 13,900 f e e t ; t he Sa lang Pass , 14 ,237fe e t , and the Kaoshan Pass . I n the wes t a r e the Kharza r Pass , t heSh iba r Pas s , the Haj i Gak Pass and th e Unai Pass . In the south i sth e Khurd Kabul Pas s. Bamiyan Va lle y can be approache d from th e no rt h

by p a s s in g through th e Ak Rob at P a s s , 12,650 f e e t , and fro m th e westt h r ou g h t h e N i l P a s s . Se e F r a s e r - T y t l e r , o p . c i t . , p p. 1 0 -1 3.

27H. A. R. Gibb, The Arab Conquests in Central Asia (London:Royal A si a t ic So cie ty , 1923), pp. 3-11; Percy Sykes, A His tory o fA fg ha ni st an (London: Macmillan and Company, 1940), I , 151.

28See H.A.R. Gibb, The Arab Conqu ests in C en tr al As ia (London The Roya l A s i a t i c So c ie ty , 1923).


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On the west the kingdoms of Kapisi and Zabulistan were

bordered by the Sassan id empire. Z a b u l i s ta n was bordered on the

sou thwes t by Sassan id t e r r i t o r i e s and on the sou theas t by the k ing

dom of Sind.29

As men tioned ea r l i e r , t he po l i t i c a l h i s to ry o f the k ingdoms

of Kapi s i and Zabu l i s t an f rom the s ix th to the t en th cen tu r i e s i s

extremely obscu re. Hieun Tsia ng, who passe d through Kapisi in

631 A.D., has l e f t us a b r i e f account of i t :

I t produces c ere als of a l l so r t s and manyk inds o f f r u i t t r e e s . The shen hor ses a r e b red

he re . . . .H er e a r e a l so found ob jec t s o f merchandise f rom a l l p a r t s . The c l im ate i s co ld andwindy. The people are cru el and f i e rc e ; t h e i r language i s coarse and rude; th e i r marr iager i t e s a mere in t e rm ing l ing o f t he sexes . Forc lo th i ng they use ha i r garments . . . . In commercet h ey u se g ol d and s i l v e r c o i n s , and a ls o l i t t l ecopper co i ns . . . .T he k ing i s a Ksha t trya bycas te . He i s of a shrewd ch ara cte r and, be ing

brave and determined , he has brought i n t o s u b je c t ion the ne ighbor ing coun t r i e s , some t ens o fwhich he r u le s . 30

The most co nt r ov ers ia l s ta temen t o f the above account i s

the sen tence , "The k ing i s o f t he Ksha t t rya ca s t e . " The o r ig ins o f

the ru li n g house o f Kapisi ar e shrouded in mys tery . In 1893 M.A.

Ste in upheld the v iew that the ru l ing house of Kapis i a t the t ime

0Q

B. D. Mirchan dani, "Chach-Nama: Refe renc es to P er si a,Z ab ul , Kas hmir and K a n a u j J o u r n a l o f I n d i a n H i s t o r y , XLIII ( l gb S) .371.

30S i -Yu-Ki , I , 54-55 . Th is accoun t app l i e s pa r t i c u la r ly tothe Kabul Valley.


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o f Hieun Ts ia ng 's v i s i t was Kushan by r a c e . 31 The Kushans were a

branch o f th e Yue Chi t r i b e o f the Turki nomads who g ra d u a l ly

succeeded in conso l ida t ing the i r power ove r the Pun jab and Afghan is

t a n d u r in g t h e f i r s t two c e n tu r i e s o f t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a . The

greatest ruler of the Kushan dynasty was Kanishka who reigned from

3 2120 A.D. to 160 A.D. Kanish ka became a Bud dhi st and un de r h i s

pa tronage Gandhara, as we l l as t h e Kabul V a l ley , became g r e a t

c e n t e r s o f Bu dd hi st l e a r n i n g . 33

Kanishka and h is immediate succ ess ors borrowed the term

"King of Kings" f rom the P ers ia ns and used i t on th e ir coins with

Greek l e t t e r s ">A0NAN0^A0'.34 The te rm a pp ar e nt ly came t o de no te

th e l a t e r p e t t y Kushan p r i n c ip a l i t i e s which s p ru ng up i n w e st e r n

Punjab and ea s te rn Afghanis tan a f t e r the dea th of Kanishka . Thus

Gupta emperor, Samudra Gupta, who reigned from 335 to 375 A.D,,

c la imed a c ts of homage f rom th e "Sahi-Saha nusahi" of e as te r n

31M. A. S te in , "Der Ge sch ich te de r Sah is von Kabul,"Fe st gr us s an Rudolf von Roth zum Doktor Ju bi l3 um . Discu ssed inRay, 0 . c i t . , I , 61.

32Smith, 0 . c i t . , pp . 26 3- 67 .

33Ib id . , pp. 272-85.

31fRay, oja. c i t . , I , 55; Smith , o. c i t . , "Contents of p la teof Indi an coins (1) in th e B ri t i sh Museum," pages unnumbered (att h e b e g in n in g o f t h e b o o k ) .


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Afg hani stan and wes ter n Pu nj ab .35 As l a t e as 450 A.D. t he coi ns of

the se l a t e r Kushans b e a r t h e word ^AONANOPAO. 36

The Arab geographer-historian Al-Baladhuri in Kitab Futuh

Al-Bui dan re fe rs to the ru le r o f Kabul in 670 as "Kabul Sh ah ."37

At the beginning o f the e levent h century Arabic ized Turkish sc hol a r

Al-Bir uni provid ed a somewhat meager account of the ru le rs o f ea st er n

Afghanistan and western Punjab:

The Hindus had kings residing in Kabul, Turkswho were sa i d to be of T ibe tan or igi n . The f i r s tof them, Ba rhata kin, came int o th e c ountry andente red a cave in Kabul . . . .He wore Turkish dress ,a shor t tun i c open in f ron t , a h igh ha t , boo tsand a rms. . . .He brought those co untr ies under hissway and ruled them under the t i t l e of a shahiyao f Kabul. The ru le remained among th e des cen den tsfor gen era t ion s , the number of which is s r id to bea bo ut s i x ty . . . . O n e o f t h i s s e r i e s o f kin g s wasKanik, the same who is sa id t o have bu i l t theVihara (Buddhis t ic monas te ry) of Pur ush ava r . . . .The last king of this race was Lagaturman and hisVaz ir was Ka l la r , a Brahman. . . the la s t k in g ofth i s T ibe tan house a f te r i t had he ld the roya l

power f o r so long a p e r i o d , l e t i t by degree s l i p

from his hands . . . .Now the viz i r put h im in cha insand imprisoned him for correc t ion, but there heh imse l f found ru l ing swee t , h i s r i che s enab ledhim to carry out his plans, and so he occupiedth e r o y a l t h r o n e . 38

35Ray, 0. c i t . , I , 55 and 57.

36Numismatic C h ro ni cl e , 3rd Ser . , XIII (189 3), 167-69.

37A1-Ba ladhu ri , Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan, pa rt I I , tr an s. fromArab ic by Fran ci s C. Murgotte n and P h il i p K. H i t t i (New York:Columbia Un ive rsi ty Pre ss, 1916), p. 147.

38A1 Be ru ni s I n d i a , tr a n s . by Edward Sachau (London: Trub nerand Company, 1888), II, 10-13.


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Kanik doubtlessly refers to the Kushan emperor Kanishka who

did bu il d a gre at monastery a t Peshaw ar.39 The usu rpa tio n of the

Brahmin Vazir , Kallar , supposedly took place in the middle of the

nint h century A.D.46 Thus, according to Al-Bi runi , the ru le rs o f

eas te rn Afghanis tan pr ior to the middle of the ninth century were

descendents of the Turki tr ibe of the Kushans and are accordingly

known as the Tu rki -Sh ahi . The view th at th e Turki Shahis were the

descendents of the Kushan rulers was upheld by Vincent Smith and

M. A. S te in .41 Ray only po in ts out tha t th is connection is

"pr ob ab le ." 42 Percy Sykes f a i l s to touch the issue a l t o ge th er .43

Fraser-Tyt le r s ta tes tha t Hieun Ts iang found in Kapis i a "Turkish

(or Ephtha l i t e ) r u le r . " 44 I f the ru l e r was an Ephth a l i t e , he cou ld

not have been a Kushan.45 Majumdar merely de sc rib es the r u le r as

"an Ind ian , Ksha t t r iya by ca s te . " 46

39Smith, 0 . c i t . , p . 277.

40The exac t da te of the event is sub jec t to dis pu te . SeeRay, 0 . c i t . , I , 72- 76.

41Smith, op. c i t . , p. 388; St ei n, "Die Geschichte der Sahisvon Kabul ," i n Ray, oj>. c i t . , I , 62.

42Ray, o]D. c i t ., I , 71.

43Sykes, o. c i t . , I, 154.

44Fra se r - Ty t le r , op . c i t . , p . 24.

45The Ephthalite or Huns (Arabic Haytal, Chinese Ye-Tha) werea nomadic people who o ri g in al ly l iv ed to the no rth o f the Great Wallof China. In 425 A.D. t he Huns b u rs t upon Ce nt ral As ia, and wi th inf i f ty yea r s th e i r empire included a l l o f Cen t ra l As ia , Afghanis tanand a gr ea te r pa r t of nor thweste rn India . The ir power was f i n a l l ycrushed by the combined e f fo rt s of Khusru Anushirvan, the P ers ia nmonarch, and th e west ern Turks around 554 A.D. See Sykes, op. c i t . ,I, 143.

46Majumdar, o. c i t . , p. 9.


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