Draft:Twin Battles of Debal

  • Comment: Please provide page numbers for the references other than the first. Flemmish Nietzsche (talk) 06:08, 29 July 2024 (UTC)


Twin Battles of Debal were fought between the Brahmin dynasty of Sindh under Raja Dahir of Aror and the Umayyad Caliphate in 708-711. In Debal, two pitched battles were fought between the Sindhi forces and Umayyad forces.

Twin Battles of Debal
Part of Umayyad campaigns in India

Brahmin dynasty under Raja Dahir in 700 AD
DateFirst Battle: 708-711(possibly)
Second Battle: 711 AD
Location
Result Brahmin dynasty victory[1]
Territorial
changes
Umayyads fails to capture Debal and Sindh
Belligerents
Brahmin dynasty Umayyad Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Raja Dahir
Jaisiah
Budail or Bazil [2]
Strength
4000 cavalry (in the first battle)[1] 3000 infantry (possibly, in the first battle)
Casualties and losses
Unknown

Unknown but heavy

  • A number of Arab soldiers taken as prisoners[3]

Background

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The Arab Muslim forces of Umayyad Caliphate continuing their conquests and expansion to spread Islam, looked to the Sindh (Now, in Pakistan) after the conquest of Afghanistan and Persian conquest. The caliph appointed a commander, Bazil to conquer the Sindh region from the Brahmin dynasty under Raja Dahir.[citation needed]

According to the Chachnama, the Umayyad campaign against Dahir was due to a pirate raid off the coast of the Sindhi coast that resulted in gifts to the Umayyad caliph from the king of Serendib (Old name of Sri Lanka) being stolen.[4][5]

Battles

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According to Chachnamah wrote by Ali Kufi[6], Raja Dahir of Sindh defeated the Umayyad Arabs twice in pitched battles took place between 708-711 AD in Debal where the Arab commander, Budail or Bazil was killed in action by the Sindhi forces of Brahmin dynasty under the command of Jaisiah, the son of Dahir.[1]

Maharaja Dahir fought 2 to 3 battles against the Arabs and emerged victorious in the battles. He was killed in action in the Battle of Aror[7] while defending his kingdom in 711 AD.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kalichbeg (1900). "The Chachnamah An Ancient History Of Sindh". p. 71.
  2. ^ Majumdar, R.C., ed. (1970). "History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 03, The Classical Age". Public Resource. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
  3. ^ R. C. Majumdar. The History and Culture of the Indian People.
  4. ^ Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. Commissioners Press 1900, Section 18: "It is related that the king of Sarandeb* sent some curiosities and presents from the island of pearls, in a small fleet of boats by sea, for Hajjáj. He also sent some beautiful pearls and valuable jewels, as well as some Abyssinian male and female slaves, some pretty presents, and unparalleled rarities to the capital of the Khalífah. A number of Mussalman women also went with them with the object of visiting the Kaabah, and seeing the capital city of the Khalífahs. When they arrived in the province of Kázrún, the boat was overtaken by a storm, and drifting from the right way, floated to the coast of Debal. Here a band of robbers, of the tribe of Nagámrah, who were residents of Debal, seized all the eight boats, took possession of the rich silken clothes they contained, captured the men and women, and carried away all the valuable property and jewels." [1]
  5. ^ MacLean, Derryl N. (1989). Religion and Society in Arab Sind. BRILL. ISBN 9004085513.
  6. ^ Ahmad Asif, Manan (19 September 2016). A Book of Conquest: the Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674972438.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ Kushalana, Gobind (2006). Chachnama Retold: An Account of The Arab Conquest of Sindh (in Indic (English)). Bibliophile South Asia, 2006. ISBN 9788185002682.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)