India has long been the target of invaders seeking to plunder the subcontinent’s riches,
its northwestern borders serving as a highway for many a Central Asian warlord.
Those invaders had different goals and got different results – some of them conquering,
some just looted and retreated, some were rebuked, but never before had India faced
someone like Timur – the man who wasn’t from the line of Chinggis, but probably was
Great Khan’s worthiest successor.
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After crushing Toqtamish and razing the cities of the Golden Horde, Timur returned to Samarkand
in 1396, where he detained ambassadors from the Ming Dynasty, and welcomed a pretender
to the throne of the Northern Yuan.
By then, rumour had reached Timur of the weakness within the Delhi Sultanate.
As we covered in a previous video, the Delhi Sultans, especially Alauddin Khalji, had successfully
repelled repeated Mongolian attacks in the later thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.
On Alauddin’s death in 1316, he was succeeded by a young son with his vizier, Malik Kafur,
acting as regent.
Kafur was quickly murdered and Alauddin’s son deposed by a brother, Mubarak Shah.
Mubarak Shah ruled for only four years before he was murdered by his vizier in 1320, ending
Delhi’s Khalji Dynasty.
The usurper was quickly overthrown by one of Alauddin Khalji’s generals, Ghiyas al-Din
Tughluq.
Sources of the period indicate Ghiyas al-Din was of nomadic background, possibly Mongol
or Neguderi, who had entered the Sultanate during the reign of Alauddin Khalji’s uncle.
The long reigns of his successors, Muhammad Tughluq and Firuz Shah, were stable, but saw
the slow decline of Delhi’s power, and permanent losses of Bengal and of the Deccan.
The end of Firuz Shah’s reign, in particular, saw the emergence of new factions when illness
incapacitated him in his final years, such as his small army of slaves, and a scheming
vizier who tried to turn the Sultan against his only surviving son, Prince Muhammad.
After Firuz’ Shah’s death in 1388, the Delhi court exploded into political infighting.
Firuz Shah’s grandson was killed a few months after becoming Sultan, and another grandson
was appointed in his stead.
Prince Muhammad made three attempts to take the capital before finally gaining entry,
killing his father’s slaves and expelling the reigning Sultan in late 1390.
For all his efforts, Muhammad died four years later in January 1394.
His son Humayun followed him to the throne, and then to the grave in March, in turn succeeded
by Humayun’s ten-year-old brother, Mahmud Shah.
His ascension was countered by rival nobles installing their own Sultan in Firuzabad later
that year.
Two brothers emerged as the lead figures of the Sultanate during Mahmud Shah’s reign:
Sarang Khan, and his brother, Mallu Iqbal Khan, who fought against the other powerbrokers
for control of the Sultanate and the two Sultans.
Throughout this decade of political conflict, from 1388 until 1398, the power of the Delhi
Sultan declined precipitously.
The young Sultans were essentially puppets, their influence barely extending beyond the
walls of Delhi and Firuzabad.
While lords across India still maintained nominal allegiance, they achieved de facto
independence in this vacuum of central authority.
In 1398, Mallu Iqbal Khan swept away his rivals and secured his hold on Delhi and Mahmud Shah.
While Timur claimed he invaded India to punish idolaters, his actual intent was little more
than to loot the decaying Sultanate.
One of Timur’s grandsons, Pir Muhammad, was given territory on the borders of Punjab,
and was encouraged to raid.
In December 1397 Pir Muhammad invaded, defeating Mallu Iqbal’s brother and investing Multan.
The city was stoutly defended, and Pir Muhammad requested aid from his grandfather.
Only too eager to comply, Timur left Samarkand in March 1398 with perhaps 92,000 men, largely
Turkic troops, crossing the Indus River in September, where he split his army in two,
with a large force under Amir Suleiman reinforcing Pir Muhammad, while Timur proceeded to Depalpur.
As Timur marched through India, local rulers submitted to him.
Cities and villages were sacked as he marched, and in late October Pir Muhammad reunited
with his grandfather.
Depalpur had submitted to Pir Muhammad’s forces, but rose up, killed their appointed
governor, and abandoned the town before taking refuge in the fortress of Bhatnir.
Timur sent the main force under Amir Shah Malik and Daulat Timur Tawachi towards Delhi,
while Timur took 10,000 horsemen to punish those within Bhatner.
Considered impregnable, Bhatner was a Rajput stronghold commanded by Rao Daljit, giving
shelter to Hindu and Muslim alike fleeing the conqueror.
Timur’s sudden arrival in early November surprised them, and Timur massacred everyone
outside the gates.
Ladders were assembled, and Timur’s men took the outer walls.
Despite fierce resistance, Rao Daljit knew they lacked the defenders to stall Timur,
and sent an envoy to discuss terms.
Timur withdrew his forces, and on the 8th of November Timur gladly took Daljit’s gifts
and his surrender- then ordered the arrest of refugees from Depalpur, killing 500 of
them, and enslaving women and children.
Rao Daljit’s cousin still within the fortress closed the gates.
For this, Rao Daljit was put to death, and the fortress was once again assaulted.
Wives and children were killed by husbands and fathers to prevent them from falling into
Timurid hands.
The remaining Hindu and Muslim defenders stood side-by-side against Timur’s men.
All were killed, and the fortress was destroyed.
Timur then continued towards Delhi, sacking, burning, and massacring as he went, caring
little if the victims were Hindus or Muslims.
He reunited with the rest of the army at the Khagar river by the end of November.
Timur did not advance directly to Delhi, instead crossing the Jumna river on the 8th of December,
taking the forts along the fords of the Jumna to secure his rear and drive more refugees
into Delhi, straining the city’s resources and filling the population with fear.
Timur did not want a long siege of Delhi, desiring a field battle.
While scouting out possible sites around the city on the 11th of December with 700 men,
Timur was surprised by a sudden attack by Delhi’s chief defender, Mallu Iqbal.
The larger Delhi army forced Timur to retreat, and he had to leave 300 Turks to hold the
ground until reinforcements arrived.
Mallu Iqbal returned to Delhi, but within Timur’s camp the 50,000 prisoners had gotten
too excited at the prospects of rescue.
Fearing they could become a threat in his rear come the final battle, on December 12th
Timur ordered the massacre of his Indian prisoners.
On the 14th, Timur moved into the plains near the hill of Pusht-i-Bihali.
Timur chose the ground carefully and made his preparations, and the foe he faced was
not his equal.
The Sultan barely exercised power beyond Delhi, and in a far cry from the armies the Khaljis,
could raise only 10,000 cavalry, 40,000 infantry and 125 elephants.
No help would be coming for the young Sultan and Mallu Iqbal from any corner, and neither
could match the experience of Timur and his men.
On December 16th, the armies lined up, both in a crescent formation.
Timur’s right wing was commanded by his grandson Pir Muhammad, while the old conqueror
led the centre, and his vanguard was under Prince Rustam.
In the Delhi force, Sultan Mahmud and Mallu Iqbal were both in the centre, with a line
of armoured elephants, with poisoned spikes along their tusks, before them, with a few
grenade throwers mixed among them, and an advance guard of 600 infront to screen them.
The young Sultan anticipated his elephants would be the key to his victory.
Battle was launched with the beating of war drums.
Various divisions of Timur’s force advanced, striking all along the Delhi army, trying
to draw units into feigned retreats.
This also prevented the elephants charging with combined support of the main army.
Under cover of the small divisions, the Timurid vanguard moved to the right, then wheeled
about and struck the flank of Delhi’s advance guard, destroying it.
The Timurid right under Pir Muhammad charged the Delhi left, forcing it back- this was
repeated by the Timurid left, which forced their opposing wing right to the gates of
Delhi.
Sultan Mahmud and Mallu Iqbal held the centre, and were able to charge the Timurid vanguard.
Yet, they were checked, the Timurids having built essentially large caltrops to injure
the elephants.
The Delhi centre fought on, surrounded, until evening, when they began to flee in the darkness.
Timur pursued them right up to the city gates, but did not want to be caught in a trap in
narrow city streets at night, and withdrew.
In the night, Sultan Mahmud and Mallu Iqbal only narrowly escaped Timurid riders, and
the next day Timur accepted the surrender of the remaining notables of Delhi.
Timur granted amnesty to the city and had the khutba read in his name, sending messages
of his victory, alongside captured elephants, across his empire.
Initially, only small groups of soldiers were allowed into the city, as guards for leading
Timurids wishing to see the city’s sights and to collect the ransom.
However, quarrels broke out between soldiers and the citizens, and looting began, first
on a small scale.
The following day, this turned into thousands of soldiers rushing into the city to take
what they could, and over the next few days the city was sacked.
Prisoners, precious stones, and fabrics were all carried out of the city.
Though Timur insisted he did not order the plunder, when news reached him that people
were resisting and were held up within the Jama’ Masjid, he ordered his generals to
kill them on the 21st.
The entire city was now left to the depredations of Timur’s entire army for the next week,
killing and burning whoever was left within.
By the time Timur left on the 31st of December, 1398, Delhi was left a smoldering ruin; the
poor souls who had survived the assault were left with famine and disease, and it would
be 15 years before Delhi again had a stable government.
Timur had no interest in building an empire in India, and soon news reached him of the
expansion of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid towards Timurid territory.
Timur knew a showdown between them was coming and so do you, so make sure you are subscribed
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