Timur’s Invasion and the Aftermath in Haryana | HPSC Preparation: All subjects - HPSC (Haryana) PDF Download

Timur’s invasion and the conditions of Haryana

• Timur's invasion of India was primarily a raid meant for plundering and destruction, with a well-planned schedule. The Zafarnama describes how Timur's army was ordered to confiscate food wherever they could find it, resulting in the invasion of cities, setting homes ablaze, capturing people, and looting anything of value. The attack spared only religious scholars and Saiyyids, as they were exempted from harm.
• With a powerful army of 92,000 horsemen, Timur crossed the Indus on September 21, 1398, and quickly conquered most of Punjab. He then marched into Rajasthan and ravaged the Bikaner region before moving into Haryana through the valley of Ghaggar in November of that year. According to Sharfuddin, Timur's historian, the state of Haryana at that time was dire.
• According to Timur's historian Sharfuddin, during his Indian expedition, he observed that the Hindus, or common peasantry, were in power in the vicinity of Delhi, while Haryana was plagued by widespread theft, making it difficult for caravans to travel through the region. The Jats were strong and assertive throughout the area, and people from Samana, Kaithal, and Asand burned their own homes and moved towards Delhi.
• Timur had the intention to loot Delhi during his invasion of India. To achieve this objective, he was careful in choosing his path and avoided large cities, focusing instead on small towns and villages where his troops could easily find provisions.

Timur's invasion of Haryana

• Timur entered the region of Haryana through Bhatnir after a difficult battle with the Rajputs. His first stop in Haryana was at Kinar-i-Hauz-i-ab, currently known as Anna Kai Chhamb, where he and his exhausted soldiers rested for a day. 
• The next day, on November 15, they marched towards Sarsuti (Sirsa) via Firozabad. Timur's strategy was to avoid large cities and focus on smaller towns and villages where they could easily find provisions for his army.
• The people of Sirsa, who were known for pig farming, resisted Timur's invasion and fought fiercely. Adil Farrash, one of Timur's most capable generals, was killed in the battle. Eventually, the people of Sirsa were overwhelmed by the superior cavalry of Timur's army, and many of them were killed. 
• After capturing Sirsa, Timur's army marched towards Fatehabad, which surrendered without any fight. The majority of the people fled to the nearby forests to save themselves, while their possessions and livestock were taken by Timur's army. The remaining inhabitants were killed by the invaders.
• Timur's forces proceeded to besiege the forts of Rajab and Ahruni. While the Ahirs at Ahruni initially resisted, they were eventually outnumbered by Timur's forces, resulting in the death of thousands of them, and the capture of many more. The town was ultimately destroyed by fire.
• Timur’s next destination after Ahruni was Tohana, which was inhabited by the Jats. According to Yazdi, they had resorted to robbery as their primary occupation. 
• The Jats initially resisted but eventually fled, resulting in the death of around 200 of them and the capture of several others. The attack on Tohana was led by Tokal Bahadur and Maulana Nasiruddin. Many of the Jats and Ahirs took refuge in the sugar cane jungles of Tohana, indicating that the Ghaggar valley was fertile during Timur’s time.
• After passing through the Ghaggar Valley, Timur arrived at Samana. At some point during his journey, he was joined by his commanders Mahmud and Rustam, along with their troops, whom he had left behind during his march from Kabul to India. 
• The Jats, who were described as a strong and populous race that were a nuisance to travelers and merchants, offered fierce resistance in the Samana region. Despite being outnumbered and inferior in warfare compared to Timur's forces from Central Asia, they fought bravely and made great sacrifices in their attempt to protect their land.

Timur's Conquest of North India

• Timur and his army reached Kaithal after passing through Pul-Kopla and Pul-Bakran. They plundered and massacred the people there before moving on to Asandh, where they destroyed all the villages on the way. The people of Asandh, who were fire worshippers, were already scared of the invaders, and they fled to Delhi after destroying their own homes. 
• Timur's forces then reached Tughlaqpur fort and Salwan before arriving at Panipat on December 3. The people of Panipat had already deserted the place as per imperial instructions, and Timur freely plundered the town, taking 160,000 mounds of wheat from there. 
• The plundering expeditions were successful because the inhabitants of Fatehabad, Kaithal, Samana, Asandh, and Panipat fled to Delhi in panic and not further east into various parts of the doab. Timur and his army next halted at the village Palla on the Yamuna (or possibly a branch of it), where they collected provisions for their men and fodder for horses and cattle. 
• Finally, they attacked Delhi, the imperial capital, and defeated its ruler Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah on December 16, 1398.

Consequences of Timur's invasion on Haryana

• The invasion of Timur, although it lasted for a short duration of about a month, had disastrous consequences on the people of Haryana. The invasion shattered the people's faith in the administration's ability to protect their lives and property against foreign invasion. 
• Despite their efforts to resist and obstruct Timur's march to Delhi, the people of Haryana could not hold their own against the well-equipped Central Asian army without imperial help. 
• The only recourse left to them was to lay down their lives in hundreds and thousands. This highlighted the weakness of the central authority and fueled widespread discontent among the people.

Aftermath of Timur's Invasion

• After Timur's departure, many opportunistic individuals emerged and took control of whatever land they could. Daulat Khan held Haryana at this time, but he was later defeated by Khizr Khan, whom Timur had appointed as the administrator of his conquered territory, near Fatehabad. 
• Khizr Khan then distributed his newly acquired land to his supporters, with Qiwam Khan receiving Hisar-Firuzah. Sultan Mahmud, who still held Rohtak, laid siege to Hisar-Firuzah and successfully took control of it from Qiwam Khan. 
• In 1410, Khizr Khan retaliated by laying siege to Rohtak for six months and forcing Sultan Mahmud's officer, Malik Idri, to surrender. This successful military action significantly increased Khizr Khan's military reputation, and he went on to occupy most of Haryana, including Narnaul and Jhajjar, which he had previously recovered from Bahadur Nadir. 
• After Sultan Mahmud's death in 1412, Khizr Khan began his struggle with Daulat Khan for the capture of Delhi, ultimately succeeding by defeating his formidable rival and imprisoning him in the fort at Hisar-Firuzah. Khizr Khan then ascended to the throne of Delhi in 1414 and became the founder of a new dynasty known as the Saiyyids.