Raja Dahir

Raja Dahir Sen
Raja
Reign 679-712 AD
Predecessor Chandar
Born 661 AD
Alor
Died 712 AD
Bank of Indus River, Alor
Full name
Dahir Sen
House Fort of Raja Dahir, Alor
Dynasty Pushkarna Brahmin Dynasty
Father Chach
Mother Rani Suhanadi (Former wife of Rai Sahasi)
Religion Hinduism

Raja Dahir Sen (Sindhi: راجا ڏاھر‎ Sanskrit: राजा दाहिर Urdu: راجہ داہر‎) was the last Hindu ruler in Sindh and the Multan region of Punjab in modern Pakistan. He was born in Pushkarna Brahmin family. At the beginning of the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, his kingdom was conquered by Muhammad bin Qasim (an Arab general) for the Umayyad Caliphate.

Reign in the Chach Nama

The Chach Nama is the oldest chronicles of the Arab conquest of Sindh. It was translated in Persian by Muhammad Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi in 1216 CE[1] from an earlier Arabic text believed to have been written by the Thaqafi family (relatives of Muhammad bin Qasim).

Dahir's kingdom was invaded by Ramal at Kannauj. After initial loss, the enemy advanced on Aror and he allied himself with Alafi, an Arab. Alafi and his warriors (who were exiled from the Umayyad caliph) were recruited; they led Dahir's armies in repelling the invading forces, remaining as valued members of Dahir's court. In are later war with the caliphate, however, Alafi served as a military advisor but refused to take an active part in the campaign; as a result, he later obtained a pardon from the caliph.

War with the Umayyads

The primary reason cited in the Chach Nama for the expedition by the governor of Basra, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, against Raja Dahir, was a pirate raid off the coast of Debal resulting in gifts to the caliph from the king of Serendib (modern Sri Lanka) being stolen and a number of Muslim women who were also travelling using the ship were captured.[2] Meds (a tribe of Scythians living in Sindh) also known as Bawarij had pirated upon Sassanid shipping in the past, from the mouth of the Tigris to the Sri Lankan coast, in their bawarij and now were able to prey on Arab shipping from their bases at Kutch, Debal and Kathiawar.

Hajaj's next campaign was launched under the aegis of Muhammad bin Qasim. In 711 bin Qasim attacked at Debal and, on orders of Al-Hajjaj, freed the earlier captives and prisoners from the previous (failed) campaign. Other than this instance, the policy was generally one of enlisting and co-opting support from defectors and defeated lords and forces. From Debal Hajaj moved on to Nerun for supplies; the city's Buddhist governor had acknowledged it as a tributary of the Caliphate after the first campaign, and capitulated to the second. Qasim's armies then captured Siwistan (Sehwan) received allegiance from several tribal chiefs and secured the surrounding regions. His combined forces captured the fort at Sisam, and secured the region west of the Indus River.

The Chach Nama describes rule by successors of the Rai Dynasty as characterized by persecution of Buddhists, Jats and Meds from the time of Chach; a prophecy of Raja Dahir's fall encouraged defections to bin Qasim's army. Sociologist U.T. Thakur suggested a more complex dynamic: Hinduism , Buddhism and high Buddhists were descended from Bactrian migrants. The king was a Brahmin, and the majority of his advisers were from his family. The ruler of Alor (a Jat) professed Buddhism. Nonetheless, there was a sense of "ideological dualism" between them; Thakur considered this the inherent weakness exploited by the Arabs when they invaded the region.[3]

By enlisting the support of local tribes (such as the Jats, Meds and Bhuttos) and Buddhist rulers of Nerun, Bajhra, Kaka Kolak and Siwistan as infantry to his predominantly-mounted army, Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Dahir and captured his eastern territories for the Umayyad Caliphate.

Dahir then tried to prevent Qasim from crossing the Indus River, moving his forces to its eastern banks. Eventually, however, Qasim crossed and defeated forces at Jitor led by Jaisiah (Dahir's son). Qasim fought Dahir at Raor (near modern Nawabshah) in 712, killing him; Dahir's wife immolated herself (with other women in her household) in accordance with the Hindu tradition of Jauhar.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Common Era year is an approximation of the Islamic calendar date 613 AH.
  2. ↑ 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 cloths they contained, captured the men and women, and carried away all the valuable property and jewels."
  3. ↑ Sindhi Culture by U.T Thakur, Bombay 1959.

Sources

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