Shah Jahan's Central Asian campaign
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Shah jahan's central Asian campaign[1] also known as The Indian invasion of Balkh and Badakhshan[2] was a series of battles fought between the Mughal Empire and the Khanate of Bukhara which resulted in Shah Jahan of Hindustan occupying Balkh and southern Uzbek lands temporarily, resulting in the Imperial Army plundering and sacking the region many times.[3][4]
| Shah Jahan's Conquest of Balkh | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal-Uzbek Wars | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Mughal India |
 Khanate of Bukhara | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Shah Jahan Murad Baksh Aurangzeb .svg){kind=small} Jai Singh I |
Nazar Muhammad khan | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 60,000 cavalry[7] | 120,000 Uzbek forces[8] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 5,000 men[7] | Unknown but much more[7] | ||||||||
| The combatants in bold are sovereigns | |||||||||
Backround
changeShah Jahan knew that capturing Uzbek lands and adding it to Hindustan wouldn't economically benefit the empire much.[9] However there were various other reasons for Mughals to invade Balkh and Badakhasthan, One of the primary reason was to halt the repeated Uzbek raids from Balkh into India.[10] The Khanate of Bukhara which was the kingdom holding overlordship over the Uzbek territories of Balkh and Badakhshan was going through a period of internal strife, which made it an opportune moment to invade. Addition to this, the imperialistic inclinations of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran, which too was eyeing a foothold in Central Asia, made Shah Jahan want to anticipate any incursions from them.[11] Moreover, Babur himself was born north of Balkh, in the fertile valley of Ferghana. He spent most of his life wandering the Khanates of Central Asia and Afghanistan, squandering one kingdom only to gain another. While the Mughals were Emperors of Hindustan and had been so for more than a century by Shah Jahan's time, Transoxiana was still ubiquitous in their imperial imaginings.[11]
Campaign
changeShah Jahan dispatched an army 60,000 strong under the command of Prince Murad Bakhsh.[7] The invasion was launched from Kabul and the Emperor stationed himself at Kabul to keep a close watch on it. On the face of it, Shah Jahan told Nazr Muhammad that the Mughal army will only restore order in the turkic provinces of Balkh and Badakhshan. However, Nazr Muhammad very well understood the traditional enmity between the Mughals and the Uzbek Turks. Thus decided to flee Balkh as the Mughal army closed in. Murad Bakhsh’s march had begun in June 1646, and he arrived at Balkh on 2 July. The city came under Mughal control without much resistance and the Mughal army marched in with a great show of pageantry.[7] Nazr Muhammad was pursued and driven into Khurasan. His treasury at Balkh, worth 12 million rupees, fell into Mughal hands. Although the Rajput and other main Indian Corps of the Mughal army found the terrain inhospitable and cold. They managed to secure their conquests.[7]
Aftermath
changeBalkh and Badakhasthan was captured by the Mughals.[7] Several Indian coins were minted in these central Asian turkic uzbek lands. Mughals held control over these territories for 7 years with Murad Baksh being it's governor. Mughals tried expanding further into Ferghana and other parts of Uzbekistan by besieging them and plundering few towns but retreated because of whether conditions, Also because it was too far from their capital in Delhi. When Mughals first occupied Balkh and other Uzbek lands. They issued a currency based not on the Central Asian system, but the Indian one.[7]
References
change- ↑ Gandhi, Supriya (7 January 2020), The emperor who never was, Harvard, ISBN 978-0-674-98729-6 Quote: "Shah Jahan's Central Asian campaign would now be enacted on a world stage with the Safavids and Ottomans as a suitably awed audience"
- ↑ js1925
- ↑ Sarkaar, Jadunath (1917). A Short History Of Aurangzib,1618-1707. Sterling Publishers Pvt.
- ↑ Farooqi, Munis (2017). The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504-1719. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-02217-1.
- ↑ Foltz, Richard (1996). "THE MUGHAL OCCUPATION OF BALKH 1646–1647". Journal of Islamic Studies. 7 (1): 49–61. doi:10.1093/jis/7.1.49. JSTOR 26195477.
- ↑ Beck, Sanderson (2017). The Marathas and the English Company 1707-1818. Sterling Publishers Pvt.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Bhandare, Shailendra (2020). Shah Jahan's balkh campaigns. Sterling Publishers Pvt.
- ↑ Early, Abraham (2020). Emperors of the peacock throne. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-93-5118-093-7.
- ↑ Gandhi, Supriya (7 January 2020), The emperor who never was, Harvard, ISBN 978-0-674-98729-6 Quote: "Shah Jahan and his courtiers were well aware that the economic benefits of capturing the Uzbek lands, with revenues equal to only a small portion of Indian territories, would not have offset the huge cost of the campaign."
- ↑ Gandhi, Supriya (2020). The emperor who never was. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-98729-6.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Hada, Ranvijay Singh (18 August 2020). "Balkh Campaign: An Indian Army in Central Asia". PeepulTree.