In 1192, the Battle of Tarain was fought between the Ghurids under Muhammad Ghori and the Rajputs under Prithviraj III during the Ghurid Conquest of India.
Why did it happen?
Following the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the sixth century, India became divided between various Rajput clans that vied for dominance in the Indian subcontinent. From 711 onwards, northwest India was subject to multiple invasions by Muslim Arabs and Turks. Between 1000 and 1030, Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India seventeen times, establishing the Ghaznavid Empire until 1186, when the Ghurids under Muhammad Ghori conquered the sultanate. Muhammad dreamed of creating a permanent empire within India and invaded the subcontinent several times between 1187 and 1190. In 1191, Muhammad was defeated by the Rajput leader Prithviraj III and badly wounded, forcing him to retreat. The following year, Muhammad and Prithviraj met each other again in battle at Tarain.
Who was involved?
The Ghurid army at Tarain numbered 52,000 cavalry. Of this number, 12,000 were heavy cavalry under Muhammad Ghori’s command, while the remainder numbered 40,000 horse archers. The heavy cavalry was positioned in the centre with 20,000 horse archers on both wings. The Rajput army at Tarain numbered 100,000 infantry, cavalry and war elephants. Medieval Indian accounts claimed the Rajputs numbered 300,000 men and 3,000 elephants, which is probably an exaggeration. Like most Indian armies during the Medieval period, the war elephants were arrayed in the vanguard, followed by the cavalry in the centre and infantry in the rear.
What happened?
At the outset of the battle, Muhammad Ghori ordered his horse archers to outflank and fire arrows into the Rajput army’s flanks and rear while avoiding hand-to-hand combat. Prithviraj III then led his vanguard of war elephants in a charge against the Ghurid centre, which feigned retreat and drew Prithviraj into a pursuit. When Muhammad judged that the Rajput army had been sufficiently worn down, he stopped his feigned retreat and charged the Rajput centre with his heavy cavalry, which threw the Rajput army into confusion. As his army disintegrated, Prithviraj dismounted from his war elephant and fled the battlefield on a horse before being captured by Ghurid forces.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Tarain was a Ghurid victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Prithviraj was executed, and the Ghurids conquered his kingdom, which stretched from Gujarat to Bengal. In 1206, however, Muhammad Ghori was assassinated, leading to the creation of the Delhi Sultanate under his commander Qutb ud-Din. The Battle of Tarain is one of India’s most decisive battles because it led to the establishment of Islamic rule in India. Northern India subsequently became dominated by the Delhi Sultanate, while various Hindu kingdoms ruled southern India. The Delhi Sultanate would exist as an independent state until its conquest by the Mughal Empire in 1526.
Bibliography
Anonymous. “Battles of Tarain 1191-92: Birth of the Delhi Sultanate.” Battles and Campaigns. Last revised December 19, 2016. www.battlesandcampaigns.wordpress.com/2016/12/19/battles-of-tarain-1191-92-birth-of-the-delhi-sultanate/
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Holmes, Richard. & Marix Evans, Martin. A Guide to Battles: Decisive Conflicts in History. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009.
Keay, John. India: A History. New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.
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