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{{Short description|12th century battle in India}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| partof =
| image =
| caption =
| date = 4 February 1197
| place = Kayandra in modern [[Sirohi district]] of [[Rajasthan]]
| coordinates = {{coord|24.571|N|72.838|E|display=inline}}
| result = Ghurid victory
| territory = [[Anhilwara]] annexed by Ghurids
| combatant1 = [[Rajput|Rajput Confederacy]]
| combatant2 = [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid Empire]]
| commander1 = [[Bhima II]] [[Jayatasimha]] Dharavarsha Prahladana
| commander2 = [[Qutubuddin Aibak]] Asaduddin Arsalan Qulji Sarfuddin Muhammad Chirak Nasiruddin Hussain Jahan Pahalwan
| strength1 = Unknown
| strength2 = Unknown, outnumbered by the Rajputs
| casualties1 = 15,000-50,000
| casualties2 = Unknown
| conflict = Battle of Kasahrada (1197)
}}

The '''Battle of Kasahrada (1197)''' was fought on 4 February 1197 between the [[Ghurid|Ghurid forces]] led by their slave-lieutenant [[Qutubuddin Aibak]] and [[Rajput|Rajput forces]] led by [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]] ruler [[Bhima II]]. It was fought in the present-day state of [[Rajasthan]] at [[Kasahrada]], which is at foot of [[Mount Abu]] in the southern [[Aravali Range|Aravali hills]]. Qutubuddin forces secured a decisive victory and sacked [[Anhilwara]], thereby avenging the defeat of his master [[Muhammad of Ghor]] at the same site [[Battle of Kasahrada|two decades earlier]].

==Sources==
The synchronous account which covered the conflict between [[Qutubuddin Aibak]] and [[Bhima II]] at length came from the florid "Taj-ul-Masir" composed by [[Hasan Nizami]] who migrated from [[Khurasan]] to [[Delhi]] during Qutubuddin Aibak's reign and is the earliest source for the [[Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor|Ghurid conquests of northern Indian]] as well. The events are also described in the 16th-17th century "Tarikh-i Firishta" by [[Ferishta]], deriving from the work of Hasan Nizami, albeit there are some inconsistencies in both of these accounts.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=141-142}}

==Background==
During the last decade of the twelfth century, [[Muhammad of Ghor]] after his watershed victory in the [[Second Battle of Tarain]] - left his viceory [[Qutubuddin Aibak]] in charge of his conquests east of the river [[Indus]]. Thenceforth, Aibak captured the leading political centres of [[northern India]] along with sporadic involvement of his master.{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=168-169}}

After successfully quelling the insurrection in [[Ajmer]] in 1195 or therabouts, Aibak returned to [[Delhi]] where the tribe of [[Mer (community)|Mhers]] in coalition with the [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]] ruler [[Bhima II]] attacked and dislodged the Ghurid garrison at [[Delhi]], forcing Qutubuddin to retire rigorously to the fortified city of [[Ajmer]].{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=142}} Qutubuddin was chased by the army of Bhima in his retreat and forced him to shut inside the city walls.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=142-143}}

The news of Qutubuddin Aibak being besieged in [[Ajmer]], was conveyed to his master [[Muhammad of Ghor]] who immediately sent a relieving force from [[Khurasan]] to aid besieged Qutubuddin, as a result, the Hindu forces lifted the siege and retreated.{{sfn|Saran|1966|page=120-121}} Soonafter, Qutubuddin Aibak recapturated in January 1297 and gathered a powerful army to avenge the encroachment in his dominon and mounted an invasion of the Chaulukya kingdom. He stationed his troops at the foot of [[Mount Abu]] at Kayadhra, the same place where his master Muhammad of Ghor was routed two decades earlier.{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=171}} Aibak forces were further augmented by a large detachment sent by Muhammad from [[Ghazna]] under the command of - Asaduddin Arsalan Qulji, Jahan Pahalwan, {{sfn|Siddiqui|2010|page=45}} Sarfuddin Muhammad Chirak and Nasiruddin Hussain.{{sfn|Habib|1992|page=5-6}}

==Battle==
The account of contemporary chronicler [[Hasan Nizami]] and that of later writer [[Ferishta]] differed on the route which Qutb al-Din took to reach Kayadhara. The Chaulukya ruler Bhima fled his capital on the advance of Aibak in [[Gujarat]]. Despite this, the Chaulukya army was strengthened by timely aid from their allies, which included the contingents of Parmara ruler Dharavarsha with his sibling Prahladana{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=144}}{{efn|Taj-ul Masir identify him as Wallan which according to historian A.K. Majumdar is corruption of Prahladana}} and [[Chahamanas of Naddula|Naddula-Chahamana]] ruler [[Jayatasimha]], thus, mustered a formidable army.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=141}}

According to [[Hasan Nizami]] — Aibak forces initially were scrupled to act against the dictates of geography and fight an open-field combat, fearing the disastrous fate of Muhammad of Ghor at the same place in 1178. The Hindu forces, seeing the temptation of the Ghurid army, took the offensive and moved on to the plains for an open-field battle. In the ensuring combat, which commenced from early morning and concluded by the afternoon, the Rajput host was vanquished with great slaughter owing to the superior mobility of the Ghurid cavalry despite being outnumbered.{{sfn|Saran|1966|page=122}}{{sfn|Nizami|1970|page=173}}

==Aftermath==
The Chaulukya capital of [[Anhilwara]] was sacked by the Ghurids.{{sfn|Habib|1992|page=5}} Chronicler [[Hasan Nizami]] with his typical rhetorical flourish states that 50,000 infidels were despatched to hell by the sword of "[[Islam]]" and another 20,000 were taken as slaves, while Ferishta placed the number of slains at 15,000. The Ghurid army seized enormous booty during their sacking of the town, Nizami further mentions that the "Muslim soldiers got so much cash and jewels that each of them became a mine of wealth and sea of strength".{{sfn|Siddiqui|2010|page=45-46}} A large number of [[Hindu]] temples were also desecrated in Anhilwara.{{sfn|Saran|1966|page=121}}

According to "[[Ferishta]]" - Qutubuddin Aibak annexed Anhilwara{{efn|mentioned as Naharwal in the Persian chronicles}} and placed a strong garrison in the city under a Muslim governor. However, the account of Hasan Nizami which otherwise is lucid about the sequence of events, didn't mentioned the appointment of any governor in the Chaulukya capital. Rather, laconically, Nizami states that Qutubuddin after conquering Naharwal dispensed special robe of honour on his nobles and returned to [[Ajmer]] after receiving encomium from Muhammad of Ghor about his camapign.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=143,145}}

After Aibak left [[Gujarat]] - the Chaulukyas regained their holdings in [[Gujarat]] as Bhima was ruling Anhilwara independently in 1201 which is attested by the epigraphic evidences as well. However, the sequence of events regarding the reconquest of the Chaulukya capital by Bhima is unclear.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=145}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Habib|first=Irfan|author-link=Irfan Habib|chapter=The Formation of the Sultanate Ruling Class of the Thirteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWtuAAAAMAAJ&q=Formation+of+Sultanate+Ruling |editor=Iqtidar Alam Khan|title=Medieval India: Researches in the History of India, 1200-1750 |date=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en}}
* {{cite book |first=Asoke Kumar |last=Majumdar |title=Chaulukyas of Gujarat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffAdAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=1956 |oclc=4413150 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Nizami|first=K. A.|author-link=K. A. Nizami |chapter= Foundation of the Delhi Sultanate|editor1=Mohammad Habib |editor2=Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206-1526) |volume=5 |edition=Second |year=1970|publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180}}
* {{cite book |last=Siddiqui|first=Iqtidar Husain|title=Indo-Persian Historiography Up to the Thirteenth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJbmTL8svpwC&pg=PA40 |year=2010 |publisher=Primus Books |isbn=978-81-908918-0-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Saran|first=Paramatma|chapter=The Turkish Conquest of Northern India
|editor=R. C. Majumdar |editor-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=The Struggle for Empire |series=The History and Culture of the Indian People |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQtuAAAAMAAJ |year=1966|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |oclc=26241249 }}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Conflicts in 1197]]
[[Category:History of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:1197 in Asia]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Indian kingdoms]]
[[Category:Battles involving Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:12th-century military history]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Rajputs]]
[[Category:Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:12th century in India]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Ghurids]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Tajiks]]

Battle of Kasahrada (1197) - Revision history

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