The Arabs had been the carriers of Indian trade to Europe for centuries. After their conversion to Islam, they cast their eyes on the fabulous wealth of India while also growing eager to propagate their new religion there — yet the opportunity to invade Sind came only at the beginning of the 8th century. This article examines the historical background, causes, course, and consequences of the Arab conquest of Sind, an important episode marking the earliest sustained contact between the Islamic world and the Indian subcontinent, for UPSC History Optional aspirants.
- The widespread political instability in India following the death of Harshavardhana had once again inspired foreign powers to attack and enter the subcontinent.
- After the rise of Islam, and having successfully established it in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Persia, the Arabs cast a covetous eye on Sind.
- The Arabs invaded India by conquering Sind in 712–14 CE. The campaign was led by Muhammad bin Qasim.
- He landed at Debal, near the mouth of the Indus river, and advanced as far as Multan; after overthrowing the local ruler Dahir, Arab rule was established in the region.
Main Historical Source
Chachnama
- The Chachnama, written in Arabic by an anonymous author, is the most authentic primary source discovered so far on the history of the indigenous ruling dynasty of Sind on the eve of the Arab invasion of 711–12 CE.
- The book gives a brief account of the Sudra dynasty of Sind; on the death of its last ruler, Rai Sahasi II, the throne was usurped by his Brahman minister, Chach, in the 7th century.
- His son and successor Dahir ascended the throne around 708 CE; it was he who faced the Arab onslaught on Sind and perished in the struggle, along with his entire family.
Factors Responsible for the Arab Conquest of Sind
Propagation of Islam
- The propagation of Islam was one of the key factors behind the Arab invasion of Sind.
- After the spread of Islam in Egypt and Syria, the Caliph Walid I of Damascus permitted the Arabs to proceed with their Indian mission.
- The followers of Islam were also strongly opposed to the idolatry practised by the Hindus of India, and thought the despoiling of “idolaters” would be a legitimate means of gain.
Wealth of India
- India was known across the world for her fabulous wealth and splendour.
- Like other invaders of the past, this wealth tempted the Arabs to seize it.
Political Condition of India
- The prevailing political condition of India was also a major factor behind the Arab invasion of Sind.
- There was mutual rivalry and constant warfare among the kings of India’s petty provinces.
- Dahir, the ruler of Sind, was unpopular and disliked by many of his own subjects — a weakness the Arabs took full advantage of.
Immediate Cause
- The immediate cause of the Arab invasion of Sind was the looting of eight Arab ships, which carried gifts and treasures sent by the king of Ceylon to the Caliph, at the port of Debal, near Sind.
- Some historians believe the ships were also carrying beautiful women and valuable articles intended for the khalifa.
- This unlawful act of piracy was strongly protested by Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq, who demanded compensation from Dahir, king of Sind.
- Dahir refused Hajjaj’s demand, claiming he had no control over pirates — a response that infuriated Hajjaj, who decided to send military expeditions against Sind, obtaining the Caliph’s permission to do so.
- However, the first two expeditions sent by Hajjaj against Sind were beaten back by Dahir.
- Enraged by these repeated failures, Hajjaj sent his nephew and son-in-law, Imaduddin Muhammad bin Qasim, at the head of a huge army to Sind — Muhammad bin Qasim was an able and young commander-in-chief.
Conquest
Fall of Debal
- Muhammad bin Qasim led his army towards Debal, a famous seaport where the Arabs’ ships had been looted by pirates.
- A nephew of Dahir was governor of Debal. It is said that a treacherous Brahmin deserted the fortress and revealed to Qasim all the secrets of its defence.
- Debal was captured, yielding a huge booty along with a large number of women, followed by massacre and forced conversion.
- Dahir, who had prior information of the Arab attack, did not act on it at all.
Fall of Nirun
- Flushed with success, Muhammad bin Qasim marched towards Nirun, then under the charge of Dahir’s son, Jai Sindh.
- As the Arabs approached, Jai Sindh fled after handing over the fort to a priest, and Qasim captured it without a fight.
- It is said that Nirun fell due to the treachery of some Buddhist citizens.
- Whatever the actual cause, Dahir took the matter lightly and made no attempt to check the Arabs’ further advance.
Fall of Sehwan
- After capturing Debal and Nirun, Muhammad bin Qasim marched against Sehwan, a town under the charge of Dahir’s cousin, Bajhra.
- The town was mostly inhabited by the merchant class and priests.
- Bajhra could not defend the town against the Arabian attack and fled in panic; Sehwan fell owing to its poor defence.
Fall of Sisam and Victory over the Jats
- Sisam met the same fate as Sehwan. It was the capital of the Jats of Budhiya, ruled by Kaka, a Jat king who had given shelter to Bajhra after his flight from Sehwan.
- Muhammad bin Qasim defeated the Jats, and Bajhra and his followers were killed.
- Even after all this, Dahir did not raise a finger to check the invader.
- Muhammad bin Qasim then reached the river Mihran, where he was detained for several months, as most of the horses in his army had died of scurvy and he had to wait for fresh reinforcements from home.
- Dahir could have taken full advantage of this opportunity to attack and destroy the Arabs, but he remained inactive, failing even to check them as they crossed the river Mihran.
- Dahir was probably confident of defeating his enemy in a single decisive encounter, and for this reason waited for them at Rawar, on the bank of the Indus.
The Battle of Rawar
- Dahir, the powerful king of Sind, awaited the Arab invader with a huge army of 50,000 swordsmen, horsemen, and war-elephants at a place called Rawar.
- Both armies began fighting on 20th June, 712 CE, in a serious and severe battle.
- Dahir was a great warrior, fighting with great spirit and leading his army from the front — mounted on an elephant, he attacked the enemy with great courage and valour.
- Dahir fought heroically and laid down his life after two days of bloody battle.
- His widow, Queen Ranibai, refused to surrender the fort of Rawar, fighting the invader to the bitter end; she performed jauhar along with other besieged women of the fort.
- Muhammad bin Qasim emerged victorious, though it took him nearly eight months to acquire full control over Sind, as his army faced tough resistance from local people in many other towns and strongholds, including Alor and Brahmanabad.
Occupation of Multan
- After conquering Sind, Muhammad bin Qasim marched towards Multan, a major city in the upper Indus basin.
- Along the way, he encountered tough resistance from the local population but overpowered them.
- On reaching Multan, he found the city strongly fortified and its people in full revolt. Fortunately for him, a traitor revealed the source of the city’s water supply.
- Muhammad bin Qasim cut off this supply, and the people of Multan, after fighting bravely against the Arabs, finally surrendered. Thus the city fell to the invader in 713 CE; the Arabs massacred and plundered it.
- Women and children were taken captive, and a large quantity of gold was collected by the Arabs — so much gold, in fact, that they named the city the “city of gold.”
- After completing his mission in Sind and Multan, Muhammad bin Qasim was planning to advance further into the interior of India, but his life came to a tragic end: he was put to death on the orders of the Caliph, the religious head of the Islamic world.
Causes of Arab Success in Sind
- Sind had a heterogeneous population, consisting of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Jats, Meds, and others — with little cohesion among them, as Dahir’s subjects lacked unity at a social level, they could not unite for the cause of their motherland at the time of the Arab invasion.
Unpopularity of Dahir
- Dahir was disliked by sections of his subjects, being proud and arrogant, and above all, the son of a usurper.
- Dahir’s father had murdered his own king and married the widowed queen; as the son of a usurper, Dahir was thus disliked by the people.
- Dahir also had enmity with his cousins over the throne, which had pushed the kingdom to the brink of civil war.
- Furthermore, Dahir’s governors functioned as semi-independent princes and did not cooperate with him during the crisis.
- Because of his personal temperament, Dahir was also disliked by many of his subjects, a number of whom were non-Hindus — owing to this unpopularity, he did not secure the support of his own people during the foreign invasion.
Betrayal and Treachery
- Betrayal and treachery contributed significantly to Arab success.
- Debal fell because a Brahmin traitor exposed its defensive secrets; at Nirun, the Buddhists played a treacherous role by siding with the invader.
- At Multan, a traitor informed the invaders of the source of the city’s water supply.
Poverty and Backwardness
- Sind was a poor, backward kingdom with a sparse population and limited resources, making it impossible for Dahir to finance a large army or wage a protracted war — this weakness also tempted the Arabs to invade.
Isolation of Sind
- The isolation of Sind from the rest of India was also a factor in the Arabs’ success.
- Although powerful dynasties, such as the Pratiharas of Malwa and Kanauj, existed at the time, none came to Sind’s aid.
- None of them took notice of, or cared about, this incident, which marked the beginning of Muslim rule in India.
Religious Enthusiasm of the Arabs
- The Arabs, inspired by their new religion, had become fanatical, believing themselves to be the forces of God, engaged in a mission to destroy the faiths of “infidels” and spread the blessings of Islam; they were also driven by a strong sense of patriotism.
- Indians, by contrast, had no comparable religious enthusiasm or patriotism, maintaining instead an indifferent, tolerant, and cosmopolitan attitude towards other faiths and peoples.
Strong Army
- The Arab army, under Muhammad bin Qasim, was superior to that of Sind under Dahir, both in strength and technique, and was also better equipped.
- Dahir’s army at Rawar was nearly equal in number to that of the invaders, but very poorly equipped, since most of his soldiers had been hastily recruited on the eve of war and lacked sufficient military training — a major cause of Dahir’s defeat.
Responsibility of Dahir
- Dahir himself was largely responsible for the Arab success, owing to his initial lethargy and poor judgement.
- He remained inactive while Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Debal, Nirun, and Sehwan one after another, and remained inactive even as Muhammad crossed the Mihran to enter Rawar.
- It was foolish of Dahir to hope he could finish off the enemy in a single decisive stroke at Rawar.
- At Rawar itself, Dahir committed a further blunder by fighting as an ordinary soldier rather than commanding his army as its leader — and died as a result.
Impact of the Advent of the Arabs in India
Political Impact
- Politically, the Arab advent was of little lasting significance, as Arab rule remained confined to a small area and lasted only a brief period, leaving the general political conditions of northern India largely unaffected.
- According to Stanley Lane-Poole: “The Arab conquest of Sind was only an episode in the history of India and of Islam — a triumph without results.”
- Wolseley Haig writes: “It was a mere episode in the history of India, and affected only a small portion of the fringe of that vast country.”
- After the death of Muhammad bin Qasim, the Arabs made no further significant inroads into India; their rule, lasting only about one and a half centuries, remained confined to Sind.
- Some administrative policies of the Arab rulers in Sind nonetheless influenced later medieval Indian rulers — for example, the imposition of jizya on non-Muslims.
- Some historians also note that many Indian rulers failed to fight against the Arabs, which later made it easier for Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghori to raid the country.
- The actual foundation of Muslim rule in India was laid much later by the Turkish Muslims.
- According to Prof. Habibullah: “The Arab was not destined to raise Islam to be a political force in India; politically, the Sind affair led to a dead end. The Indian powers also did almost nothing to drive them out of Sind. Hence the Arab invasion of Sind is regarded as an episode.”
Economic Impact
- Economically, the Arabs enriched the region, promoting methods of desert cultivation, camel breeding, and leather tanning and manufacturing.
- The Arabs developed international trade, introduced a new currency, and promoted urban life along with its associated institutions.
- They also opened up communication with other Islamic regions, initiating direct trade and business with Islamic countries.
- The Arabs undertook town planning according to the crops suited to a given area, setting up business accordingly, which improved the economic conditions of the Sind region.
- For trade, horses and camels were brought in from other areas, later becoming the primary means of carrying goods from Sind to other countries.
Social Impact
- Arab rule in Sind led to the spread of Islam in the region, bringing about demographic changes.
- The conquest of Sind gave Muslims a strong foothold in the Indian subcontinent, while also demonstrating a degree of tolerance between the two religions.
Cultural Impact
- Arab rule in Sind led to the mingling of two essentially different cultures, and Arab culture was itself enriched by Hindu culture and civilisation.
- The Arabs enriched the Sindhi language and developed its script.
- They also assimilated Indian influences in astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and literature.
- Several Indian texts on these subjects were translated from Sanskrit into Arabic — for example, the Surya Siddhanta, Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and the Panchatantra were all translated into Arabic.
- Many Indian scholars, such as Bhala, Manaka, and Bazigar, were invited to Baghdad; the Indian physician Dhana served as chief medical officer there.
- Indian architects were similarly invited to build mosques and buildings in Baghdad.
- The Arab astronomer Abu Mashar came to Benares to study astronomy there for ten years.
- Sind also proved helpful in the spread of Sufism.
- These cultural contacts proved far more enduring than Arab political control.
- Even after the Arabs lost Sind, cultural links were maintained by the Abbasid Caliphs and by later Indian rulers, such as the Pratiharas of western India.
- Such contacts paved the way for further fruitful interaction in the succeeding period — for example, the work of Alberuni, who wrote the Kitab al-Hind, itself the outcome of these continued cultural interactions.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the real significance of the Arab advent in India lay in the cultural sphere, which laid important foundations for the later flowering of Indo-Islamic culture. While the Arab conquest of Sind produced little lasting political change, its economic, social, and above all cultural consequences — from the translation of Sanskrit works into Arabic to the enduring exchange of scholars between India and Baghdad — mark it as a significant, if often understated, episode in India’s civilisational history, and an important topic for UPSC History Optional preparation.
