Battle of Chach

Battle of Chach, was fought in 1008 AD between the Ghaznavid army of Sultan Mahmud bin Sebuktigin (Mahmud of Ghazni) and the Hindu Shahi army of Anandapala, near Mirpur, resulting in the latter's defeat. This left the north Indian region vulnerable to further invasions.[1]

Battle of Chach
Date 1008 AD Location Near Mirpur Result decisive Ghaznavid victory
Belligerents
Ghaznavid	Kabul Shahi
Commanders and leaders
Mahmud of Ghazni	Anandapala
Strength
13,000+	30,000+

Background

King Jaipal had already died in the Battle of Peshawar in 1001 AD and Anandpal, the son of Jaipal, was filled with fury to avenge the death of his father. He called upon the nearby friendly rulers to send their contingents as this war had need of better organization keeping in view of consequent attacks on the nearby regimes. Forces from Ajmer, Kalingar, Kanauj, and other allies joined the Anandpal's force.[2][3]

Battle

The massive army of the allied forces held the Ghaznavids at the bank of Indus River. The invaders faced huge resistance at a place near Hazro called Chachhak or Chachh. The role of a local tribe was very significant in this battle because it managed to annihilate a huge cavalry force of Ghaznavids who were fighting as the vanguard. The tribe was known to be the Gakhar tribe. When the allied forces were moving forward to engage the enemy, the latter threw big fireballs at the elephants which frenzied them and caused them to crush their own troops, turning it into a victory for the invaders. Consequently, the rest of India came under Muslim rule for almost 400 years. Ghazni won the battle and Anandpal had to cede the territory and its treasures.[4][5]

Aftermath

The victory paved the way for Ghazni to raid India seventeen times during which he plundered small tribes before moving on to larger regimes and temples for treasures and women. He desecrated all the monuments that unsettled him and attacked holy cities like Thaneshwar, Mathura, etc. On his seventeenth raid on Somnath Temple, he amassed as much loot as he did in his past sixteen raids altogether.[5]

See also

• Hindu Shahi
• Janjua
• History of Peshawar
• Pre-Ghaznavid history of Punjab

References

1. "The Drubbing at the fields of Panipat". cbkwgl. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
2. Hasan, Prof M. (1995-01-01). History of Islam. Adam Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 9788174350190.
3. Punjab District Gazetteers: Ibbetson series, 1883-1884]. Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government. 1883-01-01.
4. "p.20-1. Punjabi Musalmans". www.forgottenbooks.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
5. Gazetteer of the Dera Ghazi Khan District: 1883. 1883-01-01.