Siege of Bhatner fort
Part of Timurid conquests and invasions and Campaigns of Timur
Date17 December 1398
Location
Hanumangarh, India
Result Timurid Empire victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Timurid Empire Delhi Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Timur
Pir Muhammad		 Dul Chand [3]
(Governer of bhatner) †
Strength
Almost 10,000[4] Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown 10,000 during the battle[3]

The Sack of Bhatner Fort (1398) was an siege led by Timurid Empire in (1398) during the Invasion of Dehli. Timur laid siege on Bhatner Fort with an army of 10,000 troops against the Muslims and Rajputs of Rajasthan. It took place on 23 November 1398 in Rajasthan and ended with a Timurid victory.[4]

Background

Timur eyed Delhi, knowing about the wealth of India. Timur had begun preparations and mobilization for his next campaign. While Timur had no intention of ruling over India or interest in an Indian Empire, he coveted its wealth. He launched an invasion of Dehli against the ruling Tughlaq Empire In India.[5]

Invasion of India

Timur entered India in 1398 with the intention of ousting the Hindu monarchs and authorities. He also thought that Delhi's Muslim sultans were being highly supportive of their Hindu subjects. From Samarkand he embarked on his journey. He crossed the river Sindh and headed toward Punjab. That day was September 24, 1398. Numerous towns and villages were demolished. There were mass killings. Timur and his army advanced forward unchecked. Timur's grandson Pir Muhammad had begun his journey to India before this invasion. He had taken control over the cities of Multan and Uch and most of its citizens as prisoner. Timur was then joined by Pir Muhammad.[1]

In 1398, Timur gathered an army of over 90,000 to invade India. On 30 September 1398 Timur crossed the Indus River and reached Tulamba where he sacked the city and massacred its inhabitants. In October he reached Multan and captured the city. Most of his invasions faced almost no resistance, as they were already weakened and had not mobilized properly. During campaign Amir Timur killed 1,000,000 Indians.[5][6]

Siege

His invasion was initially unopposed as most of the Indian nobles conceded without a fight. However, he did stumble across resistance from the united army of Rajputs and Muslims at Bhatner under the command of Rajput King Dul chand.The region of Bhatner was under the mandate of Dul Chand a Hindu ruler who was believed to be a valiant fighter and was known for his audacious spirit throughout the region.The fort of Bhatner was guarded mostly by Rajputs who gave a tough battle to Timur. The ruler of the defense i.e. Dul Chand also gave shelter to the rebellious nobles of Pir Muhammad. This further infuriated timur who wanted to punish the mutineers severely.

Dulachand strongly opposed Timur but when attacked, he considered surrendering after a stiff resistance, the fort surrendered and the mutineers were made slaves did not even spare the women and children. Due to this act of barbarism, Dul Chand’s son and brother then decided to fight till their last breath. He was locked outside the walls of Bhatner by his brother and was later killed by Timur. The garrison then fought and made a strong stand, but were slaughtered to the last man. Bhatner was looted and burned.[1][3]

Aftermath

After Timur annihilated the governor of the Bhatner fort, the fort and the city were razed to the ground. He and his men marched on, crossing the Indus River on their way to reach Delhi. Timur would reach as far as Yamuna and the sultan of Delhi wouldn't make any effort to stop the invaders’ advance until they crossed Yamuna. While on his march towards Delhi, Timur was opposed by the Jat peasantry, who looted caravans and then disappeared into the forests, Timur had 2,000 Jats killed and took many prisoners.[4][7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Timur invades India". mapsofindia. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Timur's Invasion of India | History Unravelled". historyunravelled.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13. Timur's invasion was unopposed as most of the Indian nobility surrendered without a fight.
  3. 1 2 3 "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  4. 1 2 3 Saunders, J. J. (2023-07-07), "The Turkish rehearsal for the Mongol conquests", The History of the Mongol Conquests, London: Routledge, pp. 16–29, ISBN 978-1-003-40809-3, retrieved 2023-11-16
  5. 1 2 "Timur's Invasion of India | History Unravelled". historyunravelled.com. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  6. ↑ "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13. After the battle, it is believed that there were about 1,00,000 prisoners in the camp of Timur. Later he ordered to execute every single one of them. He proclaimed that every noble who had a Hindu prisoner should be put to death by any means.
  7. ↑ "Timur Invasion of Delhi(1399): Darkest phase of Indian History - Dharmayudh". dharmayudh.com. Retrieved 2024-01-13. From here Tamerlane marched towards the throne of Delhi via Panipat. Before reaching Delhi Timur also massacred around 2000 Jats and enslaved their families too.
  8. ↑ "CHAPTER EIGHT REFERENCES". Xenophon. 13 January 2024.

29°35′11″N 74°19′31″E / 29.5863°N 74.3254°E / 29.5863; 74.3254

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