Tamerlane returned to Samarkand in 1396 and turned his gaze to India. Outwardly, there was no particular reason for the invasion of India. Samarkand was safe. Tamerlane had many worries and was already an elderly person (especially by the standards of that time). However, the Iron Lamer went to fight again. And India was his target.
The need to punish the "infidels" was officially declared - the sultans of Delhi showed too much tolerance towards their subjects - "pagans". It is possible that Timur was driven by ambition and the desire to fight for the sake of the war itself. However, in this case, it would be more appropriate to send the swords of the Iron Army to the West, where the earlier work remained unfinished, and the situation became more and more complicated. Knowingly returning from India in 1399, Timur immediately began a "seven-year" campaign to Iran. Or Khromets just wanted to plunder a rich country. And the spies reported on the internal difficulties of Delhi, which should have made the campaign successful.
In addition, it is worth considering that Timur followed the principle - “there can be one sovereign on earth, as there is only one God in Heaven”. This principle was followed by other great rulers before Timur and after him. He could not look calmly at the Muslim-Indian Empire. Moreover, the Delhi Sultanate was in decline at that time. The Tuglakid dynasty, which initially controlled almost the entire subcontinent, by the time of Timur's invasion, had lost most of its possessions. The dean seceded in 1347, Bengal in 1358, Jaunpur in 1394, Gujerat in 1396. The weak Sultan Mahmud Shah II sat in Delhi. The rest of the state was torn apart by turmoil. However, the Delhi Sultanate was famous for its untold riches, which had no equal in the world.
Timur defeats the Sultan of Delhi
Hike
The idea of going to India was not popular in Timur's empire. The bulk of the nobility was tired of wars, and wanted to enjoy the fruits of previous victories, and not get involved in a campaign in a distant southern country. The warriors did not like the climate of India, where "it was hot as hell." The military leaders believed that the climate of India was only suitable for short-term raids in order to seize prey, and not for a long campaign with the aim of deep invasion. In addition, the Delhi empire enjoyed the authority of its former glory and did not want to get involved with a potentially powerful enemy. This annoyed Timur, but he did not abandon his plan.
The military movement began in 1398. Khromets sent his grandson Pir-Muhammad with 30 thousand. army to Multan. Initially, this campaign was well within the framework of the classic raids. The Indians are already accustomed to the fact that steppe people periodically invade Central Asia, plunder the border areas and leave. Pir-Muhammad could not take the fortress for a long time and conquered it only in May. Timur sent another corps there, headed by another grandson, Mohammed-Sultan. He was supposed to operate in the southern part of the Himalayas, in the direction of Lahore.
The troops of Timur proper began to move through Termez to Samangan. Having overcome the Hindu Kush in the Baghlan region, the army of the Iron Lame passed Andarab. The first victims of the campaign were the Nuristani infidels (“infidels”). “Towers were erected from the heads of the infidels,” says the Timurid historian Sharafaddin Yazdi. Interestingly, Kafiristan-Nuristan maintained its ancient faith in an aggressive environment until the end of the 19th century. Only then, tired of persecution, the entire population converted to Islam, for which the area received the name "Nuristan" - "the countries of those who (finally) received light." The mountaineers did not have any wealth. They posed no threat. However, Timur forced the army to storm the mountains, climb rocks, and wade through wild gorges. There is no apparent reason for this. It is possible that this was one of the whims of the cruel emir, who wanted to look like a defender of the "true faith."
On August 15, 1398, a military council was convened in Kabul, where they officially announced the start of the campaign. Then, during October, the rivers Ravi and Biakh were forced. The armies of Tamerlane and his grandson Pir-Muhammad united, although the latter lost almost all of his horses (they died due to illness). On October 13, Timur's army took Talmina, on the 21st - Shahnavaz, where a lot of booty was captured. The famous pyramids of human heads were built in this city. In early November, reinforcements approached the emir, and the fortresses of Ajudan and Bitnir fell, where pyramids of thousands of corpses also grew.
The ferocious troops of Timur literally devastated the captured areas. An avalanche of violence fell on India, sweeping everything out of its way. Robberies and murders have become commonplace. Thousands of people were taken into slavery. Timur defended only the Islamic clergy. Only the Rajputs, a special ethno-estate group of warriors, could provide worthy resistance to the terrible enemy. They were led by Rai Dul Chand. The Rajputs fought to the death, but they lacked Timur's military experience. When Timur's warriors broke into their fortress, the townspeople began to set fire to their houses and rushed into the fire (in the event of an enemy attack, when the situation seemed hopeless, the Rajputs practiced mass suicide). The men killed their own wives and children and then killed themselves. About ten thousand people, many of whom were wounded, were surrounded, but refused to surrender and all fell in battle. Knowing what true courage is, Timur was delighted. However, he ordered to wipe the fortress off the face of the earth. At the same time, he spared the enemy leader and presented him with a sword and a robe as a sign of respect.
On December 13, the troops of the Iron Lame approached Delhi. Here Tamerlane was met by the army of Sultan Mahmud. The warriors of Tamerlane first met a huge army of elephants. Some researchers estimate the number of elephants in the Indian army at 120, others at several hundred. In addition, the Delhi army was armed with "fire pots" - incendiary grenades stuffed with resin, and rockets with iron tips that exploded when they hit the ground.
Initially, Timur, faced with an unknown enemy, chose defensive tactics. Trenches were dug, earthen ramparts were poured, the soldiers took refuge behind large shields. Timur decided to show military cunning, showing the enemy his indecision, or he wanted to test the strength of the enemy by giving him the initiative. However, the enemy was in no hurry to attack. It was impossible to sit on the defensive endlessly, it corrupted the troops. In addition, Timur's commanders pointed out to him the danger in the rear - there were thousands of prisoners in the army. At the decisive moment of the battle, they could rebel and influence the course of the battle. Timur ordered all prisoners to be put to death and threatened that he would personally kill everyone who disobeys him out of greed or pity. The order was completed in an hour. It is possible that Timur himself came up with this cruel but effective move. The huge live prey weighed on the army. Many believed that there was already enough prey, the campaign was successful, and it was possible to turn around without engaging in battle with a strong and unknown enemy. Now the warriors needed new slaves. Drunk with blood, the warriors rushed into battle.
Following custom, Timur turned to astrologers. They announced that the day was unfavorable (apparently, they themselves were afraid of the battle). Lamen disregarded their advice. "God is with us! - he exclaimed and moved the troops forward. The battle took place on December 17, 1398, in the Jamma river, near Panipat. The battle went on with varying degrees of success. To stop the attack of the elephants - these living battle towers, Timur ordered to dig a ditch and throw metal spikes into it. However, this did not stop the Delhi warriors, and the elephants made large gaps in the battle formations of Timur's army. Then Timur's warriors sent camels (or buffaloes) loaded with burning tow, scraps bales and branches of coniferous trees at the elephants. Crazed by the fire, the animals scared off a significant number of elephants, which rushed back, crushing their owners. However, the victory point was put by the cavalry of Timur (as in his time the cavalry of Alexander the Great). Timur's cavalry finally broke the enemy line. As Timur himself said: “Victory is a woman. It is not always given, and one must be able to master it."
The defeated sultan fled to Gujarat. On December 19, Timur's army occupied one of the most beautiful and greatest cities of that time without a fight. Timur, at the request of local Muslim nobles, who promised a huge ransom, set up guards around the wealthy neighborhoods. However, this did not save the inhabitants of the city. Intoxicated by violence and looting, marauders destroyed one block after another, and the resistance of local residents who tried to defend themselves in some places only increased their rage. The marauders called for reinforcements and attacked the Delhi with redoubled fury. Delhi was destroyed and plundered, the inhabitants were largely massacred, and Tamerlane pretended that this happened without his consent. He said, "I didn't want that." True, according to his custom, he tried to save the lives of the clergy, skilled artisans, scientists. After the pogrom of Delhi, the army literally bathed in gold and jewelry. There was no such innumerable wealth accumulated by many generations in Khorezm, Horde, Persia and Herat. Any warrior could boast of sacks of gold, gems, items made of precious metals, etc. Behind each ordinary warrior, 100-150 slaves trailed. Thus, if Timur initially set the plunder of India as the main task, then he achieved his goal.
After spending half a month in Delhi, Timur moved to the Ganges. On the way, he met no resistance. Everyone scattered in horror. The civilian population was robbed, killed, raped, taxed and taken into slavery. This was no longer a war, but a massacre. The strongest fortress in India - Myrtle - surrendered without a fight on January 1, 1399. The townspeople were massacred. Muslims did not like the Hindu custom of requiring women to commit suicide after the death of their husbands. The Turks crossed the Ganges River, where a decisive battle with Raja Kun was to take place, but his army did not even enter the battle and fled in chaos.
On March 2, 1399, all the huge booty went to Samarkand by caravan routes, according to the chroniclers, it was transported by “thousands of camels”. Ninety captured elephants were carrying stones from Indian quarries for the construction of a mosque in Samarkand. The army itself resembled a migrating people who led herds of animals, women and children with them. The Iron Army, which became famous throughout the East for the speed of its transitions, now barely made 7 km a day. On April 15, Timur crossed the Syrdarya and arrived in Kesh. Immediately upon his return from India, Tamerlane began preparations for a large seven-year march to the West.
Timur's Indian campaign
