Advent of Islam in South Asia.

The last Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), completely changed the intellectual
outlook of Arabia. Within a span of 23 years he transformed the barbarous and impious Arabs
into a civilized and religious nation. During his life and also after his death, Muslims took the
message of Islam to every corner of the world and within a few years Muslims became the super
power of the era.
Trade relations between Arabia and the Sub-continent dated back to ancient times in the reign of
Hazrat Umar (RA). The Arab came in to close contact with the local people and due to their fair
dealings, the local got impressed from them and embraced Islam. Kirnig Noor was the first
Indian ruler who embraced Islam.
However, it was the Muslim conquests in Persia, including the provinces of Kirman (city in Iran)
and Makran (semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran), which brought the
Arabs face to face with the then ruler of Sindh, who had allied with the ruler of Makran against
the Muslims.
During the reign of the great Umayyad Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik, Hajjaj bin Yousaf was
appointed as the governor of the Eastern Provinces. At that time, Raja Dahir, a Brahman, ruled
Sindh. Sindhi pirates, protected by Dahir, were active on the coastal areas and whenever they got
a chance, they plundered the ships passing by Deabul.
During those times, some Muslim traders living in Ceylon died and the ruler of Ceylon sent their
widows and orphans back to Baghdad. They made their journey by sea. The King of Ceylon also
sent many valuable presents for Walid and Hajjaj. As the eight-ship caravan passed by the
seaport of Deabul, Sindhi pirates looted it and took the women and children prisoner. When
news of this attack reached Hajjaj, he demanded that Dahir return the Muslim captives and the
looted items. He also demanded that the culprits be punished. Dahir replied that he had no
control over the pirates and was, therefore, powerless to rebuke them. On this Hajjaj decided to
invade Sindh. Two small expeditions sent by him failed to accomplish their goal. Thus, in order
to free the prisoners and to punish the guilty party, Hajjaj decided to undertake a huge offensive
against Dahir, who was patronizing the pirates.
It was at this point that the historic Arab invasion of Sind took place under the commander of
Muhammad bin Qasim ath-Thaqafi with a better organized and equipped than previous. He
succeeded on Deabul and the fortified city fell to him in October 711. And within some two and
half years it resulted in the fall of the vast kingdom of Sind. Bin Qasim continued to take control
over major city of Brahmanabad, ancient city of Multan and extended up to the borders of the
kingdom of Kashmir, the farthest frontier of Dahir’s kingdom in north. He was forwarding for
the Kannauj but was recalled by the new Caliph Suleman bin Abdul Malik.
Muhamad bin Qasim was thus the first Muslim commander to have entered Sindh as a
conqueror. He very wisely devised his strategy of controlling the conquered land with the
assistance of the local people. He accepted all the social classes in Sindh, the Brahmins were
allowed to enjoy their preeminent position. He allowed the Hindu subjects to practice and
profess their religion freely.
He introduced Islam as a faith and a system in Sindh. The Islamic laws were declared as supreme
law. He instituted the office of Sadrul-i-Imam al Ajall to interpret the Islamic laws and elevated
Musa Bin Tai to this office, who was proved to be a merciful and an efficient Governor of Sindh.
Sindhi written scripts had been inculcated with the Arabic written scripts. He also promulgated
wise enactments and treated people with kindness and justice. He extended the right of Dhimmis
(protected class) to the Hindus who were required to pay Jizya (tax-poll). Muhammad bin Qasim
therefore, established the first Muslim Empire in the sub-continent and made Sindh Dar-ul-Islam
so, that’s why Sindh is known as Bab-ul-Islam.
His principles helped to spread Islam very swiftly. Even it is astonishing that he advanced
towards Brahmanabad, Aror and Multan with 50,000 cavalries whereas he came from Sindh with
only 17000 men and many of these were killed during the numerous battles. It indicates he
conquered the heart of the locals too.
The Ghaznavid Sultanate (997–1030)
Initial contact between Islam and South Asia came via sea routes, but more sustained contact
came though land routes. When Abbasid rule became weak, Turkic slave-soldiers (mamluks)
governing outlying territories asserted independence as sultans, beginning with the sultanate of
Ghazna in 962.
Mahmud of Ghazna succeeded his father Subuktigin in 997. He was the Sultan of Ghazni. This
sultanate ruled from 998-1030.
Between the year 1000 to 1026 Mahmud of Ghazna carried out nearly 17 expeditions. He also
added religious dimension to his invasion of India. He destroyed the temples of Somnath,
Kangra, Mathura and Jwalamukhi to earn the nickname of Idol Breaker.
He expanded westward into Khorasan and eastward into Punjab, establishing Lahore as a frontier
garrison town.
Attracted by his munificence and encouragement, many outstanding scholars settled in Ghazna,
among them Al-Bīrūnī, the mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and Sanskrit scholar,
and Ferdowsī, the Persian author of the great epic poem Shāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”).  He
died in 1030.
Shahab Uddin Muhammad Ghauri (1150-1206)
After Mahmud of Ghazni the next invader in India was Muhammad Ghauri, known by the royal
title of Muizzuddin Muhammad Bin Sam. He belonged to the Ghorid dynasty which replaced the
Ghaznavids in Afghanistan. He assisted his elder brother Ghiyas-ud-din and remained a loyal
subordinate until his death in 1202 and became the ruler of his empire and ruled until his
assassination in 1206. His dynasty is known as Ghauri because his family belonged to the
territory of Ghor in Afghanistan.
 He attacked Multan in 1175 and captured Peshawar in 1179. In 1181, he attacked Lahore.
 He fought the first battle of Tarain in 1191 against Raja Prithviraj Chauhan; the most
powerful raja of India.
  In the second battle of Tarain, in 1192 Ghauri defeated raja Prithviraj and the victory
paved the way for Ghauri to push Muslim rule further in India
He practiced the Sunni faith of Islam and was the one who truly established Islamic supremacy
in the Indian subcontinent. He had no son to succeed him as a ruler but had Turkish slaves. After
his assassination in 1206, his Empire was divided amongst his slaves. His most famous slave
Qutb-ud-Din Aibek established Sultanate of Delhi and became Sultan.
The Sultanates of Delhi
The Delhi Sultanates were a series of five different dynasties that ruled northern India between
1206 and 1526.
The Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290)
Also known as slave dynasty. Qutub-ud-Din Aybak founded the Mamluk Dynasty in
1206. Qutub-ud-din Aybak who ruled from 1206 to 1210. He established his capital at two
places, first at Lahore and then shifted it to Delhi. He could rule for a very short time as he died
in an accident in 1210. He was succeeded by his son Aram Shah but due to his incompetence, he
was defeated in just one year by Iltumish.
Iltumish ruled from 1211 to 1236. Under his strong governance, the slave dynasty was able to
find a strong footing and establish itself as an important kingdom. The army was organized
efficiently under Iltumish and he also introduced a coin currency known as Tanka. After ruling
successfully for a period of 25 years, he died, but nominated his daughter Raziya Sultan as the
heir to the throne. She was an able ruler, but since she was a woman, she faced stern opposition
from nobles who got her murdered.
The last effective emperor of the slave dynasty was Ghiyas uddin Balban. He ruled from 1266 to
1286. During his reign, the administration was strengthened and he paid much attention to
governance in his empire. The army was trained effectively to use weapons and the production of
arms and other war weaponry was at its peak. This is what helped them fight against the
Mongols. Balban’s court was one of the finest during the Sultanate period, and it was a platform
for poets and artists.
His death marked the end of the Slave Dynasty for his successor was weak and was soon
overthrown by Jalal-ud-din Khalji who founded the next dynasty of the Sultanate period, the
Khalji dynasty. He died in 1286 and after him the slave dynasty collapsed.
The Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320)
On June 13, 1290, Malik Firuz ascended the throne of Delhi as Jalal-ud-din Firuz Khalji. He took
advantage of the political vacuum that was created due to the incompetence of the successors of
Balban.
Khaljis were basically Central Asians but had lived in Afghanistan for so long that they had
become different from the Turks in terms of customs and manners. Thus the coming of Khaljis to
power was more than a dynastic change. As majority of the Muslim population of Delhi was
Turk, the arrival of a Khalji ruler was not much welcomed. Yet Jalal-ud-din managed to win the
hearts of the people through his mildness and generosity. He retained most of the officers
holding key positions in the Slave Dynasty.
His own nephew and son-in-law Sultan Alauddin Khalji, killed Sultan Jalal-ud-din and took over
as the new ruler. From 1296 to 1316 Alauddin Khalji dominated the Delhi sultanate with many
courageous achievements. Ala-ud-din re-organized the market so that there were fixed prices
which were affordable, he developed warehousing facilities to ensure ready stock of goods, the
government entered the business of transportation and provided facilities for the swift movement
of goods. Alauddin’s reign is marked by innovative administrative and revenue reforms, market
control regulations and a whirlwind period of conquests. It is considered the golden period of the
Khalji rule. He died on January 1316 due to an acute health condition.
The third and last ruler of the Khalji dynasty in India was Sultan Qutb-ud-Din Mubarak Shah
(1316-1320). He was the weakest ruler of all and during his reign, all taxes and penalties were
abolished. He released all prisoners of war who were captured after waging gruesome battles. He
was ultimately murdered by Khusru Khan and this ended the Khalji dynasty in India.
The Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1388)
The Tughlaq dynasty was a Turkic dynasty of Delhi sultanate, whose reign started in 1321
in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq. The
Tughlaqs provided three competent rulers-Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and
Firuz Shah Tughlaq.
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq strengthened the defence of the North-Western frontier in order to check
the Mongol invasions. He founded the city of Tughlaqabad. On returning from Bengal, he died in
1325, from the collapse of a wooden pavilion. According to some historians, he died because of
the conspiracy hatched by his son Jauna Khan because the pavilion was constructed by the royal
architect. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (1325-1351) also known as Jauna Khan succeeded his father
in 1325 under the title of Muhammad- bin-Tughlaq. He was the most learned scholars of his
time. He knew both Arabic and Persian and had comprehensive knowledge of philosophy,
astronomy, logic, mathematics and physical science. Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388). He
ascended to the throne at the age of forty-six. He established a charity bureau called Diwan-i-
Khairat for the help of poor persons. A charitable hospital called Darul-Shafa was set up at
Delhi was free medicine and diet was supplied. He also saved India from the attacks of Mongols.
Sayyad Dynasty (1414-1451)
Sultan Syed Khizar khan established the Syed dynasty after the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled till
the defeat of the Lodhi dynasty. Syed Dynasty was the fourth line of the Delhi Sultanate.
This family is considered to be the descendant of Holy Prophet SAW. Due to the frequent
invasions of Timur, the Central leadership of the Delhi Sultanate was totally defeated. After this,
in a turbulent time, when there was no central power, Sayyid expanded his power in Delhi.
Mubarak Shah was the son of Khizar Khan. He came to the throne in 1421. He was a man of
great vision, but the nobles were against him and kept revolting. Muhammad Shah was a nephew
of Mubarak Shah. He ruled from 1434-1443.  In 1451, Alam Shah left power in favor of Baholol
Lodi and went to Badayun himself.
The Lodhi Dynasty (1451-1526)
The Lodhi Dynasty under the Delhi Sultanate was the first Afghan Pashtun Dynasty in India who
ruled from1451 to 1526.
Baholol Lodhi (1451-1489). He was the founder of the Lodhi dynasty. He tried to restore the
greatness of the Delhi sultanate, hence conquered territories surrounding Delhi. The most
successful war was against Mahmud Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur.

Sikandar Lodhi (1489-1517). He was the ablest of the three Lodhi rulers. He conquered Bihar
and Raja of Tirhut and concluded a friendship treaty with the Alauddin Hussain Shah of
Bengal. He transferred his capital from Delhi to Agra, a city which was founded by him. 

Ibrahim Lodhi (1517-1526). Sikandar Lodhi was succeeded simultaneously by his two sons
Ibrahim on the throne of Agra and Jalal on the throne of Jaunpur. Later, Ibrahim killed Jalal and
succeeded his father. In the first battle of Panipat 1526, Babur defeated Ibrahim and killed him.
He became the master of Delhi and Agra. This puts an end to the Sultanate and the rise of
Mughal dynasty in India.