[Music] after the civil wars of the mid 13th century the mongol empire was split into four independent karnas with the least known being the chagatai kanit hemmed in by the golden horde ilkhanet antiwan the only direction the chagatais could expand not at the expense of their fellow mongols was south towards the indian subcontinent at that time ruled by the delhi sultanate in this video we will look at the mongol invasions of india the delhi sultanate arose from the ruins of the gurid empire which had stretched from afghanistan to bengal upon the death of muhammad of gore in 1206 his gulams broke apart his empire and the gurid indian territory was consolidated under the long reign of ud-din iltetmish based in delhi over the next three centuries the sultanate was ruled by five separate turko afghan dynasties whose foreign policy on their northern borders came to be defined by the mongol empire relations between the delhi sultanate and mongols began in the 1220s when chingis khan himself rose to their borders chasing the khwarezmian prince jalal al-ding ming birnu son of the late khwarezm shah muhammad ii there is disagreement over why the great khan chose to halt at the borders of india but it seems that chingis simply may not have had an interest in expanding into a new unknown territory while already dealing with iran central asia and china chingis returned to the east and died while on campaign against the tangots in 1227 under the steady hand of iltaj mish the delhi sultanate came to be the most powerful state in northern india over the following decades the mongol presence on delhi's borders increased with raids into the punjab and sindh beginning in the late 1230s and 40s the delhi sultans sought to appease the mongols through diplomacy and gifts in 1241 a mongol force under bahadur tahir took lahore and moltan was captured in 1245 by the 1250s punjab was largely under mongol control sultan mahmud shah was overshadowed by his vizier and eventual successor balban who changed delhi policy on the mongols under balban the sultanate became much more aggressive retaking multan and lahore by force baoban works to fortify india's mountainous border through building forts garrisoned by afghans further balban welcomed mongol persian and central asian refugees fleeing the mongol civil wars in the 1260s and gave many of them military positions which provided the delhi sultans with knowledge of mongolian military tactics beginning in the 1260s the source of the mongol incursions into india changed with the outbreak of war between the ilkhanath and golden horde the ilkan hulugu had attacked the jochit forces who had been a part of his army many fled to southern afghanistan under their general negeta becoming a local power the ilkan and chagatai princes sought to control from then on the negederis undertook nearly annual raids into punjab balban consolidated delhi's hold on much of northern india expanded southwards and gained valuable experience with mongol tactics preventing the sultanate from being overwhelmed however in 1285 he received a great shock when his favorite son and heir the governor of lahore maltan and devapor muhammad shah was killed in a vicious mongol attack on molten balban spent the rest of his life in shock and died in 1287 succeeded by an inept grandson named cakebed to the north a major shift was happening in the mongol territory a grandson of ogdai became a major power broker and sworn enemy of kublai khan in 1282 in an effort to stabilize the khanate and assert his power kaidu appointed a descendant of chagatai dua as khan and together split the rule of central asia between them dua and his favorite son kutluk kwaja consolidated their power and in the late 1290s were able to assert control over the fearsome nega dairies with kutluk kwaja taking command of them in 1290 kaikabad was murdered and the throne was seized by the founder of the famed delhi kalgi dynasty jalal al-din khalji around 70 years old when he became sultan jalal al-din rose through the military becoming a lead general for balban and regent for his grandson kekabad before seizing power militarily he was quite capable defeating a mongol army at baram in 1292 jalal al-din khalji's reign was notable for his benevolence and generosity in addition to his military ability but this kindness made him appear weak to his ambitious nephew allahu din in 1296 allah al-din khalji killed his uncle and usurped power allah al-din khalji was cunning and ruthless and had an exceptional military ability his reign began with a large negri incursion attacking malta sindh and lahore allah al-din's commanders uluk khan and zafar khan were mobilized with a larger army than the mongols and at jiran manjur defeated them allah al-din khalji initiated a number of reforms to strengthen his control and prepare against mongol invasions his army and officers were paid in cash and the sultan had personal control over the army rather than leaving it in the hands of his emirs economic reforms were undertaken as well with high taxes up to 50 percent of each crop and efforts were made to prevent hoarding to keep prices low making it cheaper to feed his men his position was strengthened by a strong spy network and his loyal eunuch and possible lover malik kifa who secured him from court intrigues while conflict continued on and off with other mongol khanates and kaidu's energies were focused on harassing kublai's northern territories the attention of the chagatai mongols turned to india in the closing years of the 13th century india was famously wealthy and largely untouched by the mongols and was the only direction the chagatai khanate could expand that would not conflict with other mongol khanates [Music] while generally the mongol attacks on india are considered raids intended for plunder the most serious invasions which threatened the delhi sultanate occurred in duwa's reign in 1298 another mongol force was sent into india allah al-din khalji's army under uluku khan was campaigning in gujarat when the mongols attacked the commander left in delhi zafar khan was able to raise a large army and defeat the mongols once more driving them back across the border zafar khan became very popular after this victory which may have given the always suspicious sultan allah al-din concern over his loyalty in 1299 on the orders of duwakan his sons kutluk kwaja and temu buka marched with 50 to 60 000 negri and chagatai horsemen over the border the numbers of the mongols prove that this was an invasion with conquest as its purpose sources describe cutlook kwaja as bypassing villages to maximize speed intending to strike directly at the city of delhi itself while the sultanate's army was once again in gujarat at the river jimna safar khan confronted kuchlug but was defeated and forced to retreat to delhi news of the defeat of zafar khan caused thousands to abandon their homes in fear and the capital was soon flooded with refugees famine overcrowding and fear now gripped delhi all the while kush look kwaja was closing in allah al-din held a council with his generals in the city where he was advised to abandon the capital the mongols were too numerous too powerful and too close for them to stand a chance allah al-din trusted his sword however and raised what forces he could he marched out 15 miles north of delhi and met kutlukwarja at kili sources describe allah al-din as having an army of 300 000 with 2700 war elephants but modern historians give a more feasible number at around 70 000 with 700 elephants still outnumbering the 50 to sixty thousand mongols both forces deployed in the standard formation four-step armies a center and two wings the sultan took the delhi center while zafar khan commanded the right wing and ulukkan the left with elephants dispersed among the three groups like the mongols the delhi forces relied on horse arches light and heavy cavalry with much of their army experienced in the same style of warfare as the mongols [Music] zafar khan looking to avenge his defeat on the jumna led the first charge attacking the mongol left flank which broke before him zafar gave chase to drive them from the field but as he was led further away from the rest of the army he soon found that he had fallen for a faint retreat zafar was encircled the no yan tarakai leading the ambush zafar realized that he had been left to die the sultan made no effort to rescue the clearly doomed force his mistrust of his subordinates growing popularity being too great abandoned and surrounded safar gave his best until he was captured kotluk kwaja was impressed by zafar's courage and offered to let him join the mongols where surely his bravery would be appreciated even offering to make him sultan of delhi zafar khan was to the end loyal to his sultan and refused and kutluk kwaja ordered the execution of him and all of his men and elephants [Music] with this victory it seemed that kutluk kwaja was now poised to defeat allah al-din and conquer the sultanate at this point however the mongol forces retreated it seems that at some point over the course of the battle perhaps in a final struggle during the execution of zafar khan's troops that kutlokhwaja was seriously injured before he could make it back home kutluk died of his injuries the mongols had lost their prince and another invasion with little to show for it this defeat did not end the mongol invasions of india though as noyan tarakai attacked in 1303 while allah adin was returning from campaigning in chittor where his forces suffered heavy losses isolated and besieged near delhi fighting continued for two months the approaching summer heat and stalemate tested tarakai's patients and he too retreated perhaps unaware how close he came to overcoming allah al-din from 1304 until 1308 invasions were annual but now the aura of mongol invincibility in india was broken mongol armies were defeated in battle their commanders trampled to death by elephants in delhi and pillars were constructed of mongol skulls outside the city the question remains why were the mongols so ineffective in india delhi familiarity with mongol tactics was a major factor both from combat experience similar army models and the presence of mongol defectors india's hot summers were hard on the mongols and their horses impacting pasturage and limiting when the mongols attacked finally allah al-din and his generals were skilled commanders and a match for the mongol captains after kaidu's death in 1303 duwer helped organize a general peace between the mongol karnas even suggesting they put aside their differences and launch a joint attack on india however the death of duwa in 1306 led to conflict within the chagatai khanate in 1328-1329 duwa's son tamashirin undertook the final major mongol offensive into india with similar results tamashirin was briefly the changatai khan from 1331-1334 but his death and the collapse of the ilkanet in the following years put central asia into chaos and the ensuing political vacuum provided opportunities for minor warlords and claimants such as a certain barless tribesman named timur our series on the mongol empire will continue so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and have pressed the bell button we would like to express our gratitude to our patreon supporters and channel members who make the creation of our videos possible now you can also support us by buying our merchandise by the link in the description this is the kings and generals channel and we will catch you on the next one