| Battle of Amroha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMongol invasions of India | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Chagatai Khanate | Delhi Sultanate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ali Beg (POW) Tartaq (POW) | Malik Nayak | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000–50,000 | 30,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20,000 dead 9,000 (POW) (later executed) | Unknown | ||||||
  Location ofAmroha in present-day India | |||||||
TheBattle of Amroha was fought on 20 December 1305 between the armies of theDelhi Sultanate of India and theMongolChagatai Khanate of Central Asia. The Delhi force led by Malik Nayak defeated theMongol army led by Ali Beg and Tartaq nearAmroha in present-dayUttar Pradesh.
TheMongolChagatai Khanate had invaded the Delhi Sultanate a number of times in the 13th century. AfterAlauddin Khalji ascended the throne of Delhi, four such invasions had been repulsed in1297-98,1298-99,1299, and1303. During the 1303 invasion, the Mongols managed to enter Alauddin's capitalDelhi, which prompted him to take a series of steps to prevent further Mongol invasions. Alauddin started residing in the newly-constructedSiri Fort, repaired and built several frontier forts, and appointed powerful commanders in the frontier regions.[1]
Despite Alauddin's measures, a Mongol force led by Ali Beg invaded the Delhi Sultanate in 1305.[2] The Delhi chroniclerZiauddin Barani describes Ali Beg as a descendant ofGenghis Khan, but Ali Beg actually belonged to theKhongirad tribe. He was married to aChinggisid princess, who was a descendant of Genghis Khan throughÖgedei Khan.[3]
Ali Beg was supported by the generals Tartaq andNoyan Taraghai (sometimes incorrectly transliterated as "Targhi"[4]). This was Taraghai's third battle in India: he was a general inQutlugh Khwaja's army during the1299 invasion, and had led the1303 invasion. However, this time, he appears to have returned once the invading army crossed theJhelum River.Dawal Rani by the Delhi chroniclerAmir Khusrau implies that he was later killed by his fellow Mongols.[2]
After Taraghai's return, Ali Beg and Tartaq continued their march with towards present-dayPunjab, India. According to Amir Khusrau, their army had 50,000 soldiers, although other chroniclers give lower numbers[5] (as low as 30,000[6]). The Punjab area was under the control of Alauddin's officer Malik Nayak,[7] who was a Hindu convert to Islam.[8] This officer is also called Naik, Manik, or Manak in some manuscripts;Isami wrongly calls him "Nanak".[9] One manuscript of Amir Khusrau'sKhaizan-ul-Futuh erroneously mentions the general's name as "Malik Nayb"; some later chroniclers read this as "Malik Na'ib" (which was the title of a post later held byMalik Kafur); based on this,`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni wrongly names the general as Malik Kafur.[3] Malik Nayak was a different officer, who held the titleAkhurbeg-i-Maisrah (equivalent to "Master of the Horse"),[9] and had been granted theiqta's ofSamana andSunam.[7]
The Mongols did not attack any frontier forts in the territory administered by Malik Nayak. Expecting them to launch a direct attack on Delhi, Malik Nayak seems to have led his army to that city. However, unlike on the previous occasions, the Mongols did not attack Delhi this time.[7] They knew that the city was heavily guarded, and the Mongol armies had been unable to capture it in the past.[9] Therefore, they ransacked the territories at the foot of theShivalik Hills, and then proceeded south-east to theGangetic plains along the Himalayan foothills.[7]
Alauddin sent a 30,000-strong cavalry led by Malik Nayak to defeat the Mongols. Malik Nayak's subordinate commanders included Bahram Aibah,Tughluq, Mahmud Sartiah, Qarmshi, Qutta, Takli, and Tulak. This army faced the Mongols somewhere in present-dayAmroha district on 20 December 1305.[7]
The Mongols launched one or two weak attacks on the Delhi army. In the words of the Delhi chroniclerAmir Khusrau, they were "like an army of mosquitoes which tries to move against a strong wind". The Delhi army inflicted a crushing defeat upon the invaders. According to another Delhi chroniclerZiauddin Barani, Alauddin captured 20,000 horses belonging to dead Mongols after the battle was won.[7]
Alauddin organized a granddurbar (court) in Delhi to receive Malik Nayak and his victorious army. Alauddin was seated on a throne atChautra-i Subhani, and the Delhi army stood in double row, forming a long queue. According to Barani, a huge crowd gathered to see this event, leading to exorbitant increase in the price of a cup of water.[7]
The Mongol commanders Ali Beg and Tartaq, who had surrendered, were presented before Alauddin with other Mongol prisoners. According to Amir Khusrau, Alauddin ordered some of the captives to be killed, and others to be imprisoned. However, Barani states that Alauddin ordered all captives to be killed by having them trampled under elephants' feet.[7] The number of these captives was around 9,000.[10] The 16th century historianFirishta claims that the heads of 8,000 Mongols were used to build theSiri Fort commissioned by Alauddin.[7]
Amir Khusrau and another chroniclerIsami state that Alauddin spared the lives of Ali Beg and Tartaq (probably because of their high ranks). According to Amir Khusrau, one of these commanders died "without any harm being done to him", and the other was "left alone". He ambiguously adds that Alauddin "was so successful in sport that he took their lives in one game after another".[11] According to Isami, Alauddin made the two Mongol commandersAmirs (officials with high status), and also gave each of them an India-born slave girl. Two months later, Tartaq started demanding answers about the fate of his army and his belongings, in a state of drunken stupor. As a result, Alauddin ordered him to be killed. Sometime later, Ali Beg was also killed because of "the evil in his heart".[7]
HistorianPeter Jackson speculates that Ali Beg and Tartaq might have been killed when a large number of Mongols in Delhi rebelled against Alauddin, prompting the Sultan to order amassacre of all the Mongols in his empire.[12]
| Generals and officers | |
|---|---|
| Tributaries |
|
| Northern campaigns | |
| Southern campaigns |
|
| Conflicts with Mongols |
|
| Miscellaneous | |
