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In the first part of this article’ published in JWT’s March 2014 issue’ a narration of Arab invasion in present-day Pakistan was presented. This piece contains the Arabs’ advancement to Punjab and Kashmir along with a brief discourse on the reasons which obligated their success that has indelible marks on the lives of the inhabitants of the Subcontinent.
The Arabs in Punjab
After conquering Alwar, the 50000-strong Arab army headed towards Multan, the then capital of the Punjab. On his way, they subdued a number of other cities’ Uch Sharif being the most prominent of them. At Multan, they fought bravely and routed a big Hindu force to capture the city. Here is an excerpt from the Chach Nama:
‘He fixed his residence at Multan, with nearly 50,000 choice horsemen, as a permanent force equipped with all the necessary arms and instruments of war.’
Causes of the Arab Conquests
Many a historian is still amazed at the speed and the swiftness of the Arab forces penetrated into the territories of Punjab and Kashmir. They tried their hard to find the causes that predicated their success. A careful analysis of the events of these conquests reveals the two major causes behind their thundering victories: first, the splendid strategy of the Arabs, and, second, the blatant operational blunders on the part of Raja Dahir and his men.
1. The Splendid Arab Strategy
The Arabs adopted an excellent strategy that was devoid of any militaristic fault. Hence, their enemies could not resist. Let us discuss some major planks of their strategy:
a. Well-planned Victories
The conquest of the Sindh was not a sudden adventure; it was a well-planned operation preceded by a series of border raids’ since the time of Hazrat Umar up to the days of Walid bin Abdul Malik ‘aimed at finding necessary information of the area.
b. Making Makran the Central Base
In contrast to the previous experiences, the Arab strategists this time made Makran ‘located in the southwest of Balochistan’ as their central base for further manoeuvrings. The base was equipped with all facilities where army brigades from Basra, Kufa and Syria were stationed.
c. Sublime Preparations
The level of preparation at the time of Hajjaj was so perfect that the provision of smallest things like sowing-needles and threads was not ignored. Similarly a method of courier system was also in place whereby the communication from Sindh to Baghdad would reach within 7 days.
(The Cambridge History of India)
The Arabs always treated the peaceful local population very leniently and mercifully. They also got the natives appointed for various local jobs like policing and revenue-collection, etc. Their acts overwhelmed the local populace so much that at Multan, Arab army reached fifty thousand, but only tenth of it was the Arabs.
1. Blunders of Raja Dahir
On the other hand, Raja Dahir cannot be absolved of the responsibility for the total defeat he along with his forces had to taste on the hands of the Arabs. He, defending his soil, committed military blunders. Some of them are as follows:
(a) On hearing the arrival of the Arab army at Makran, he did not come out to stop them there. He remained in his capital waiting for them to come. He had been deluding himself that he would crush them as he did with the previous invaders.
(b) He let the Arab army cross the Indus freely ignoring the advice of the Allafi Brothers to stop them at any cost.
Post-Bin Qasim Era
After the death of Muhammad bin Qasim, the Arabs, though, kept on ruling the area now called Pakistan, but the majority of the governors appointed after Ibn Qasim could not achieve much, nor they could further expand the area of the Umayyad Caliphate. They, however, remained busy quelling the rebellions and riots caused by some Hindu warlords who had fled away during Ibn Qasim era, but now returned and reoccupied some regions of the Sindh. All this tumbling and deterioration on the part of the Arabs was for two reasons, firstly, with the emergence of many an opposition parties of the Umayyad Dynasty, the political structure of the Arab state underwent prominent changes which diverted the attention of the strategists to some other activities, thus, the process of expansion came to a halt. Secondly, the tribal feuds between the Umayyad aristocracy contributed a lot in restricting the Arab forces only to the area captured during Ibn Qasim reign. Had there not been tribal clashes, the Arab army would have advanced further and further.
