India: Wars and Campaigns of Ala-ud-din Khilji, 1296-1316
v.1.0 April 14, 2002

Ravi Rikhye

Taken primarily from Ishwiri Prasad’s New History of India (the Indian Press, Allahabad, 1956), this is only a preliminary attempt to sketch a list of the wars and campaigns of Ala-ud-din Khilji, the first Muslim ruler to conquer all of India. Prof. Prasad’s was one of the earliest post-colonial attempts to write Indian history from an Indian perspective.  Dates from different sources are not always in agreement        

1296	Defeats Mongols at Jullunder (1)
1297	Defeats Mongols at Delhi
1297	Conquers Gujarat (western India)
1298	His general Zafar Khan defeats invasion of Saldi
1298	Defeats Mongol horde of 200,000 led by Qutlugh Khwaja
1299	Khilji’s generals Zafar, Musrat, Alagh Khan defeat Khwaja’s third invasion of India
1299	Failed assault against Ranthambor (Rajasthan)
1301	Conquers Ranthambor
1303	Mewar Campaign, conquers Chittor (Rajasthan) (2)
1303	Targhi’s invasion of India defeated
1303-05	Conquers Malwa, Mandu, Ujjain, Chanderi, completing conquest of North India
1305	Ali Beg and Targhi’s invasion of India defeated
~1305	Invasion of Bengal fails
??	Kubak and Iqbamand’s invasion defeated, last Mongol invasion
??	Conquest of Devagiri by Ala-ud-din’s leading general, Malik Kufar (3)
1308	Campaign against Sivana, Rajasthan, successful
1309-10	Telengana Campaign
1310	Hoyasala Kingdom conquered
1311	Conquest of Jalor
1311	Conquest of Madhuri – South is now fully won
1312	Defeats revolt of Devagiri

 

 

(1)   Prasad refers to the Mongols as Mughuls. The latter term is commonly used for the great Indian dynasty founded by Babar (1526).

(2)   The endemic and suicidal warfare between the Rajput kings in the period approximately 1100-1550 permitted the Muslims to conquer India. So wrapped up in notions of their honor were these kings that they would rather bow to the Muslim invader than accept the sovereignty of one of their own and fight united. This enabled Ala-ud-din Khilji to roll up the Rajput kingdoms one by one. The conquest of Chittor is the basis for one of the most famous legends of medieval India. On hearing of the renown beauty of Queen Padmini, wife of Rana Rattan Singh, ruler of Chittor, Ala-ud-din decided to conquer the kingdom and win her. Historians have been unable to find any factual basis for the story.  In the event, facing defeat, the defenders of Chittor made one last sortie from the fort and died fighting rather than surrender, while the women, including the Queen, participated in a mass suicide by fire.    

(3)   Malik Kufar led most of Ala-ud-din’s campaigns in the conquest of India.  Supremely loyal, he was assassinated after the death of his master when he attempted to gain the throne for himself.