Umayyad campaigns in India

The first incursion by Arabs in India occurred around 636/7 AD, during the Rashidun Caliphate, long before any Arab army reached the frontier of India by land.^[9] Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi, the governor of Bahrain and Oman, had dispatched the naval expeditions against the ports and positions of the Sasanian Empire, and further east to the borders of India.^[10] The ports in India raided were Thane (near Mumbai), Bharuch (in Gujarat) and faced success^[11], and Debal (in Sindh).^[12] These expeditions were not sanctioned by Caliph Umar and Uthman escaped punishment only because there weren't any casualties.^[13]

The motivation for these expeditions may have been to seek plunder or to attack pirates to safeguard Arabian trade in the Arabian Sea, not to start the conquest of India.^[14] Arabs led by Suhail b. Abdi and Hakam al Taghilbi later defeated a Sindhi army in the Battle of Rasil in 644 beside the Indian Ocean sea coast, then reached the Indus River.^[15] Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab denied them permission to cross the river or operate in Makran and the Arabs returned home.^[16]

Muhammad bin Qasim, after his conquest of Sindh, wrote to `the kings of Hind' calling upon them to surrender and accept the faith of Islam.^[17] He dispatched a force against al-Baylaman (Bhinmal), which is said to have offered submission. The Mid people of Surast (Maitrakas of Vallabhi) also made peace.^[18] Bin Qasim then sent a detachment of 10,000 cavalry to Kanauj along with a decree from the Caliph. He himself went with an army to the prevailing frontier of Kashmir called panj-māhīyāt (in west Punjab).^[19] Nothing is known of the Kanauj expedition. The frontier of Kashmir might be what is referred to as al-Kiraj in later records (Kira kingdom in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh^[20]), which was apparently subdued.^[21]

Bin Qasim was recalled in 715 CE and died en route. Al-Baladhuri writes that, upon his departure, the kings of al-Hind had come back to their kingdoms. The period of Caliph Umar II (r. 717–720) was relatively peaceful. Umar invited the kings of "al-Hind" to convert to Islam and become his subjects, in return for which they would continue to remain kings. Hullishah of Sindh and other kings accepted the offer and adopted Arab names.^[22]

During the caliphates of Yazid II (r. 720–724) and Hisham (r. 724–743), the expansion policy was resumed. Junayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Murri (or Al Junayd) was appointed the governor of Sindh in 723 CE.

After subduing Sindh, Junayd sent campaigns to various parts of India. The justification was that these parts had previously paid tribute to Bin Qasim but then stopped. The first target was al-Kiraj (possibly Kangra valley), whose conquest effectively put an end to the kingdom. A large campaign was carried out in Rajasthan which included Mermad (Maru-Mada, in Jaisalmer and north Jodhpur), al-Baylaman (Bhillamala or Bhinmal) and Jurz (Gurjara country—southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat). Another force was sent against Uzayn (Ujjain), which made incursions into its country (Avanti) and some parts of it were destroyed (the city of Baharimad, unidentified). Ujjain itself was not conquered. A separate force was also sent against al-Malibah (Malwa, to the east of Ujjain^[23]), The Arabs tried to extend Muslim dominion over interior parts of India. They conquered most of the Western India and conquered Bhinmal, Juzr , Marmad, Mandal, Dahnaz, Burwas and Malibah^[24].This means the boundaries of the new province would have included western and southern Rajasthan, nearly all of Gujarat, and a small part of Madhya Pradesh.^[25]

Towards the North, Umayyads attempted to expand into Punjab but were defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir.^[26]Another force was dispatched south. It subdued Qassa (Kutch), al-Mandal (perhaps Okha), Dahnaj (unidentified), Surast (Saurashtra) and Barus or Barwas (Bharuch).^[27]

The kingdoms weakened or destroyed included the Bhattis of Jaisalmer, the Gurjaras of Bhinmal, the Mauryas of Chittor, the Guhilots of Mewar, the Kacchelas of Kutch, the Maitrakas of Saurashtra and Gurjaras of Nandipuri. Altogether, Al-Junayd have conquered all of Gujarat, a large part of Rajasthan, and some parts of Madhya Pradesh. Blankinship states that this was a full-scale invasion carried out with the intent of founding a new province of the Caliphate.^[28]

In 726 CE, the Caliphate replaced Al-Junayd by Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi (Tamim) as the governor of Sindh. During the next few years, all of the gains made by Junayd were lost. The Arab records do not explain why, except to state that the Caliphate troops, drawn from distant lands such as Syria and Yemen, abandoned their posts in India and refused to go back. Blankinship admits the possibility that the Indians must have revolted, but thinks it more likely that the problems were internal to the Arab forces.^[29]

Governor Tamim is said to have fled Sindh and died en route. The Caliphate appointed al-Hakam ibn Awana al-Kalbi (Al-Hakam) in 731 who governed till 740.

Al-Hakam restored order to Sindh and Kutch and built secure fortifications at Al-Mahfuzah and Al-Mansur. He then proceeded to retake Indian kingdoms previously conquered by Al-Junayd. The Arab sources are silent on the details of the campaigns. However, several Indian sources record victories over the Arab forces.^[30]

The king of Nandipuri, Jayabhata IV, documented, in an inscription dated to 736 CE, that he went to the aid of the king of Vallabhi and inflicted a crushing defeat on a Tājika (Arab) army. The Arabs then overran the kingdom of Jayabhata himself and proceeded on to Navsari in southern Gujarat.^[31]The Arab intention might have been to make inroads into South India. However, to the south of the Mahi River lay the powerful Chalukyan empire. In the Battle of Navsari, the Chalukyan viceroy Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin decisively defeated the invading Arab forces as documented in a Navsari grant of 739 CE. The Tājika (Arab) army defeated was, according to the grant, one that had attacked "Kacchella, Saindhava, Saurashtra, Cavotaka, Maurya and Gurjara" kings. Pulakeshin subsequently received the titles "Solid Pillar of Deccan" (Dakshināpatha-sādhāra) and the "Repeller of the Unrepellable" (Anivartaka-nivartayitr). The Rashtrakuta prince Dantidurga, who was subsidiary to Chalukyas at this time, also played an important role in the battle.^[32]

The kingdoms recorded in the Navsari grant are interpreted as follows: Kacchelas were the people of Kutch. The Saindhavas are thought to have been emigrants from Sindh, who presumably moved to Kathiawar after the Arab occupation of Sindh in 712 CE. Settling down in the northern tip of Kathiawar, they had a ruler by the name of Pushyadeva. The Cavotakas (also called Capotaka or Capa) were also associated with Kathiawar, with their capital at Anahilapataka. Saurashtra is south Kathiawar. The Mauryas and Gurjaras are open to interpretation. Blankinship takes them to be the Mauryas of Chittor and Gurjaras of Bhinmal whereas Baij Nath Puri takes them to be a subsidiary line of Mauryas based in Vallabhi and the Gurjaras of Bharuch under Jayabhata IV. In Puri's interpretation, this invasion of the Arab forces was limited to the southern parts of modern Gujarat with several small kingdoms, which was halted by the Chalukyan empire.^[33]

Indications are that Al-Hakam was overstretched. An appeal for reinforcements from the Caliphate in 737 is recorded, with men being sent, a surprisingly small 3000 contingent. Even this force was absorbed in its passage through Iraq for quelling a local rebellion.^[34] The defeat at the hands of Chalukyas is believed to have been a blow to the Arab forces with large costs in men and arms.^[34]

The weakened Arab forces were driven out by the subsidiaries of the erstwhile kings. The Guhilot prince Bappa Rawal (r. 734–753) drove out the Arabs who had put an end to the Maurya dynasty at Chittor.^[35] A Jain prabandha mentions a king Nahada, who is said to have been the first ruler of his family at Jalore, near Bhinmal, and who came into conflict with a Muslim ruler whom he defeated.^[36] Nahada is identified with Nagabhata I (r. 730–760), the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, which is believed to have started from the Jalore-Bhinmal area and spread to Avanti at Ujjain.^[37] The Gwalior inscription of the king Bhoja I, says that Nagabhata, the founder of the dynasty, defeated a powerful army of Valacha Mlecchas (foreigners called "Baluchs"^[38]) around 725 CE.^[39] Even though many historians believe that Nagabhata repulsed Arab forces at Ujjain, there is no authentic information about where precisely he encountered them.

Baij Nath Puri states that the Arab campaigns to the east of Indus proved ineffective. However, they had the unintended effect of integrating the Indian kingdoms in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Chalukyas extended their empire to the north after fighting off the Arabs successfully. Nagabhata I secured a firm position and laid the foundation for a new dynasty, which would rise to become the principal deterrent against Arab expansion.^[40] Blankinship also notes that Hakam's campaigns caused the creation of larger, more powerful kingdoms, which was inimical to the caliphate's interests.^[41] Al-Hakam died in battle in 740 CE while fighting the Meds of north Saurashtra (Maitrakas, probably under the control of Chalukyas at this time).^[42]

The death of Al-Hakam effectively ended the Arab presence to the east of Sindh. In the following years, the Arabs were preoccupied with controlling Sindh. They made occasional raids to the seaports of Kathiawar to protect their trading routes but did not venture inland into Indian kingdoms.^[43] Dantidurga, the Rashtrakuta chief of Berar turned against his Chalukya overlords in 753 and became independent. The Gurjara-Pratiharas immediately to his north became his foes and the Arabs became his allies, due to the geographic logic as well as the economic interests of sea trade. The Pratiharas extended their influence throughout Gujarat and Rajasthan almost to the edge of the Indus river, but their push to become the central power of north India was repeatedly thwarted by the Rashtrakutas. This uneasy balance of power between the three powers lasted till the end of the caliphate.^{[citation needed]}

Later in 776 CE, a naval expedition by the Arabs was defeated by the Saindhava naval fleet under Agguka I.^[44][45]

The table below lists some of the major military conflicts during the Arab expeditions in Gujarat and Rajasthan.^[46]

• Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
• List of early Hindu Muslim military conflicts in the Indian subcontinent

• Al-Baladhuri (1924). The Origins of the Islamic State. Vol. Part II. Translated by Murgotten, Francis Clark. New York: Columbia University. OCLC 6396175.
• al-Balādhurī (1924). The Origins of the Islamic State. Vol. Part II. Translated by Murgotten, Francis Clark. New York: Columbia University. OCLC 6396175.
• Baloch, Nabi Bakhsh Khan (1953). "Muhammad ibn al-Qasim: A Study of His Family Background and Personality". Islamic Culture. 1927 (4): 242–271.
• Baloch, Nabi Bakhsh Khan (1946). "The Probable Date of the First Arab Expeditions to India". Islamic Culture. 20 (3): 250–266.
• Bhandarkar, D. R. (1929). "Indian Studies No. I: Slow Progress of Islam Power in Ancient India". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 10 (1/2): 25–44. JSTOR 41682407.
• Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994). The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-1827-7.
• Chattopadhyaya, B. D. (1998), Representing the Other? Sanskrit Sources and the Muslims, New Delhi: Manohar, ISBN 978-8173042522
• Crawford, Peter (2014). The War of The Three Gods: Romans, Persians, and the Rise of Islam. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62914-512-9.
• El Hareir, Idris; M'Baye, Ravene, eds. (2011). The Spread of Islam Throughout the World (PDF). The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture. Vol. Three. UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104153-2.
• Friedmann, Yohanan (1970). "Minor Problems in al-Baladhuri's Account of the Conquest of Sind". Rivista degli studi orientali. 45 (3): 253–260. JSTOR 41880183.
• Friedmann, Yohanan (1984). Islam in Asia. Vol. 1. Magnes Press, Jerusalem University. ISBN 978-965-223-521-3.
• Hoyland, Robert G. (2015). In Gods Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of An Islamic Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991636-8.
• Ishaq, Mohammad (1945). "A Peep Into the First Arab Expeditions to India under the Companions of the Prophet". Islamic Culture. 19 (2): 109–114.
• Khushalani, Gobind (2006). Chachnama Retold: An Account of the Arab Conquests of Sindh. Promilla & Co. ISBN 81-85002-68-1.
• Majumdar, R. C. (1977). Ancient India (Eighth ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
• Puri, Baij Nath (1986). The History of the Gurjara-Pratiharas. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
• Rāya, Panchānana (1939). A historical review of Hindu India: 300 B. C. to 1200 A. D. I. M. H. Press. OCLC 551490926.
• Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
• Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilisation (Second ed.). New Delhi: New Age International Publishers. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
• Sharma, Sanjay (2006). "Negotiating Identity and Status Legitimation and Patronage under the Gurjara-Pratīhāras of Kanauj". Studies in History. 22 (22): 181–220. doi:10.1177/025764300602200202. S2CID 144128358.
• Tripathi, Rama Shankar (1989), History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0404-3
• Virji, Krishnakumari Jethabhai (1955). Ancient history of Saurashtra: being a study of the Maitrakas of Valabhi V to VIII centuries A. D. Indian History and Culture Series. Konkan Institute of Arts and Sciences.
• Wink, André (2002) [first published 1996], Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World (Third ed.), Brill, ISBN 978-0391041738

• Atherton, Cynthia Packert (1997). The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004107892.
• Bose, Mainak Kumar (1988). Late classical India. Calcutta: A. Mukherjee & Co. OL 1830998M.
• O'Brien, Anthony Gordon (1996). The Ancient Chronology of Thar: The Bhattika, Laulika and Sindh Eras. Oxford University Press India. ISBN 978-1582559308.