Siege of Kalinjar (1203)
| Siege of Kalinjar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kalinjar Fort in 1814. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ghurid Empire | Chandel Empire of Jejakabhukti | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Qutb-ud-din Aibak Iltutmish |
Paramardivarman # Ajaipala Bhardwaj  | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| unknown but huge army | unknown but small army than Ghurids | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| 50,000 Hindu male and female citizens were taken as slaves[1][2] | |||||||||
The Siege of Kalinjar (1202–1203 CE) was a important military campaign of the Ghurid Empire under the leadership of Qutb al-Din Aibak and Iltutmish against the Chandel Empire of Jejakabhukti. The Ghurids made large preparation and besieged Kalinjar fort, capital of the Chandela country with a huge army. The Chandela emperor Paramardi Varman gave stiff resistance but later retreated into the fort. Severe water shortages forced him to begin peace terms with the Ghurids, who agreed to accept tribute and withdraw. But, ruler died before the tribute was delivered. After his death, resistance continued for some time, but as the waters dried up, the general Ajayapala sought a peace treaty and surrendered the fort. As per the treaty, the Chandel Imperial family, elites, Chandela soldiers and Chandel clan withdrew safely to Ajaigarh. Thus, Kalinjar was captured on 12 April 1203, along with the seizure of considerable booty, horses, elephants, arms jewels, and 50,000 Hindu civilians were enslaved.[3][4][5]
Background
[edit]Kalanjara served as the military capital of the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti. When Prithviraja III Chauhan was killed after Second Battle of Tarain against the Ghurids in 1192 and Chahamanas (Chauhans) and the Gahadavalas were defeated, the Ghurid governor of Delhi planned to invade the Chandel Empire of Jejakabhukti and made large-scale preparations.[6] A huge force led by Qutb al-Din Aibak, and accompanied by strong generals such as Iltutmish, besieged the Chandela fort of Kalanjara in 1202.[7]
Siege
[edit]Taj-ul-Maasir, written by the Delhi chronicler Hasan Nizami, states that Parmar (Paramardivarman) initially offered stiff resistance, but then retreated into the fort.[6] Severe water shortages forced him to begin peace terms with the Ghurids and promised promised to pay a tribute, but naturally died before he could execute this agreement. His dewan Aj Deo (Ajaya-Deva) continued to resist the Ghurids after his death. But dewan was finally forced to surrender Kalinjar fort as the water reservoirs within the fort dried up during a drought. As per the treaty, the Chandel Imperial family, elites, Chandela soldiers and Chandel clan withdrew safely to Ajaigarh.[8] Taj-ul-Masir further states that after the Ghurid's victory, Kalinjar was captured on 12 April 1203, they seized considerable booty, horses, elephants, arms jewels, and 50,000 Hindu male and female civilians were enslaved. Qutb al-Din Aibak appointed Hazabbar-ud-Din Hasan Arnal as the governor of Kalanjara, and also captured Mahoba.[1]
The 16th century Muslim historian Firishta states that Paramardi varman was assassinated by his own minister, who disagreed with the king's decision to surrender to the Delhi forces.[1]
Firishta as well as Fakhruddin Mubarakshah state that the fall of Kalanjara happened in the Hijri year 599 (1202–1203 CE). According to Taj-ul-Masir, Kalanjara fell on 20th of Rajab, in the Hijri year 599, on Monday. However, this date corresponds to 12 April 1203, which was a Friday. Based on different interpretations of the historical sources, different scholars date the fall of Kalanjara to either 1202 or 1203.[9]
Aftermath
[edit]| Siege of Kalinjar 1204 CE | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Ghurid-Chandela wars | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ghurid Empire | Chandel Empire of Jejakabhukti | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Hazabbar-ud-Din Hasan Arnal † | Trailokyavarman | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown, but huge | Unknown, but lesser than Ghurids | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Massive massacre[10] | Unknown | ||||||||
The Ghurids were unable to maintain control over Kalanjara for long. In 1204 CE, the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti, led by Trailokyavarman, son of Paramardivarman, besieged Kalinjar Fort to recapture it from the Ghurid Empire. The campaign ended in a decisive Chandela victory, during which the Ghurid governor, Hazabar-ud-Din Hasan Arnal, was killed and the Ghurid garrison was destroyed in the Siege of 1204 CE. The recapture of Kalinjar ended Ghurid authority in Jejakabhukti country, restored Chandela control over their ancestral stronghold, and marked a major political and military revival under Trailokyavarman, while dealing a significant setback to Qutb al-Din Aibak's expansion in central India. The Chandelas had successfully reclaimed the very fortress that the Ghurids had triumphantly described as a “world-famous fort, strong as Alexander's walls.”[1] R.K. dikshit states that, "the Muslim historians, who gtoat over the victory of the faithful against the infidel defenders of Kālañjara in A.D. 1203, maintain a sinister silence over its subsequent loss".[11] Trailokyavarman also defeated the Ghurids in the Battle of Kakadadaha (modern-day Kakadwa) sometime before 1205.[11] His inscriptions, dated from 1205 to 1241, confirm that his empire included areas such as Lalitpur, Chattarpur State, Panna State, Ajaigarh State, and Rewah State. In 1211-1212, he conquered Rewah in Baghelkhand and likely the entire Dahala-mandala (ie. Kalachuri Kingdom) from the Kalachuri ruler Trailokyamalla.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e R. K. Dikshit 1976, p. 148.
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Tapan; Habib, Irfan; Kumar, Dharma (1982). The Cambridge Economic History of India: Volume 1, C.1200-c.1750. CUP Archive. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-521-22692-9.
- ^ Srivastava, Ashok Kumar (1972). The Life and Times of Kutb-ud-din Aibak. Govind Satish Prakashan.
- ^ Kar, Hemendra Chandra (1980). Military History of India. Firma KLM. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-8364-1588-9.
- ^ Ojha, Dhirendra Nath (1993). Aristocracy in Medieval India. Orient Publications. p. 19. ISBN 978-81-85294-05-6.
- ^ a b R. K. Dikshit 1976, p. 147.
- ^ Sisirkumar Mitra 1977, p. 126.
- ^ Nizami 1992, p. 170.
- ^ R. K. Dikshit 1976, p. 149.
- ^ R. K. Dikshit 1976, p. 159.
- ^ a b R. K. Dikshit 1976, p. 158.
Bibliography
[edit]- R. K. Dikshit (1976). The Candellas of Jejākabhukti. Abhinav. ISBN 9788170170464.
- Rezavi, Syed Ali Nadeem (2002). "The Medieval Fort of Kalinjar and Its History". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 63: 1233–1259. ISSN 2249-1937.