Abraham Eraly - The Age of Wrath - A History of the Delhi Sultanate

Timur thought over these diverse views of his nobles and princes, and finally decided to invade India. ‘My object in the invasion of Hindustan,’ he told the assembled nobles, ‘is to lead an expedition against the infidels, so that … we may convert to the true faith the people of that country, and purify the land itself of the filth of infidelity and polytheism, and we may overthrow their temples and idols and become ghazis and mujahids .’

This was Timur’s declared primary objective for invading India, but he also sought material rewards, the loot of the legendary riches of India, which no doubt was the primary motive of his soldiers. ‘My principal object in coming to Hindustan, and in undergoing all this toil and hardship, has been to accomplish two things,’ he candidly stated once in the midst of his Indian campaign. ‘The first was to wage war against the infidels … and by this religious warfare to acquire some claim to reward in the life to come. The other was a worldly object, that the army of Islam might gain something by plundering the wealth and valuables of the infidels. Plunder in war is as lawful as their mothers’ milk to Muslims who wage war for their faith.’ He would, he decided, invade India, slaughter its infidels, plunder the land, and return home. He would not settle in India.

ONCE THE DECISION to invade India was made, matters moved fast. Timur then mustered a huge army by bringing together contingents from the various provinces of his empire, and in the summer of 1398, ‘in the auspicious month of Rajab,’ he set out from Samarkand for India. ‘I placed my foot in the stirrup at a lucky moment, and quitting my capital Samarkand, directed my course towards Hindustan,’ he writes.

Timur crossed the Indus on 24 September 1398, and swept towards Delhi. Most Indian rulers and their armies, as well as the common people, fled on the approach of Timur, as they would before a wildfire, though there were also a few instances of Rajputs engaging in desperate battles after performing the awesome rite of jauhar. ‘Many of the Rajputs placed their wives and children in their houses and burned them, then they rushed into the battle and were killed,’ writes Timur. ‘Such was the terror inspired by him (Timur) that Muslims and Hindus fled before him, some to the mountains, some to the deserts, some to the waves of the rivers, and some to Delhi,’ observes Sirhindi. And when Timur closed in on Delhi, the people in the surrounding areas fled pell-mell to the city for refuge — they ‘set fire to their houses and fled with their children and property and effects towards Delhi, so that the whole country was deserted,’ notes Timur. Even strong forts were abandoned without a fight.

Timur’s passage through India was marked by incredible savagery. ‘I commanded my troops … to kill all men, to make prisoners women and children, and to plunder and lay waste all their property,’ he writes. ‘I directed towers to be built of the [severed] heads of those obstinate unbelievers … In the course of one hour the heads of ten thousand infidels were cut off. The sword of Islam was washed with the blood of infidels.’ Typically, his order to a foraying contingent he sent to the environs of Delhi was ‘to plunder and destroy and kill everyone whom they met.’ Among the captives only the lives of Muslims were spared. ‘I gave orders that Muslim prisoners should be separated and saved, but the infidels should all be despatched to hell with the proselytising sword.’

This ferocity was an essential part of Timur’s military tactic, to inspirit his soldiers with bloodlust, and to terrify the enemy and make them flee. Religious fervour was another key factor in the invincibility of Timur’s army in India, and so was its lust for plunder. ‘When the soldiers gave up killing the infidels, they secured great plunder in goods and valuables, prisoners and cattle … The plunder exceeded all calculation,’ Timur records. Yet another reason for the success of Mongols was Timur’s clear understanding of battle psychology, that victory and defeat depended as much on the spirit of soldiers as on the strength of arms. And he knew how to rouse the martial spirit of his soldiers, and how to dispirit the enemy. ‘I ordered my warriors to shout their battle-cry aloud, and drums and other instruments to be sounded,’ Timur states about the commencement of a battle. ‘The noise reverberated through the hills, and filled the hearts of the infidels with dismay and trembling, so that they wavered.’ And while the enemy thus turned timorous, Timur’s own soldiers became charged up, and they, ‘spurring their horses, shouting their war-cry, and brandishing their swords, fell upon the forces of the enemy like hungry lions upon a flock of sheep.’

But more than all these — religious fervour, animal ferocity and lust for plunder — the reason for Timur’s success was that he was a brilliant military commander and an exceptionally clever tactician, who came up with an innovative solution to every military problem he faced. A potent combination of caution and daring marked Timur’s campaigns, and he took care to formulate his military tactics only after carefully analysing all the information about the military potential of the enemy provided by his spies. He also used spies to spread disinformation among the enemy, to weaken their morale with exaggerated stories about the size and fierceness of the Mongol army.

TIMUR NEVER TOOK unnecessary risks. ‘I gave orders that the officers and soldiers of my army should put on their armour, and that every man should remain in his proper regiment and place, in perfect readiness,’ he says about the precautions he took while advancing on Delhi. And on his preparations for the battle of Delhi he states: ‘I gave orders for the camp to be carefully guarded all night to prevent a nocturnal surprise by the enemy, and the night was passed with the caution and care which are necessary in war.’ He also took care to rein in the impetuosity of his soldiers, to prevent them from plunging into dangerous situations.

As a good general, Timur took excellent care of his soldiers, and they in turn were fiercely loyal to him. And he treated them all equitably. Sometimes he even redistributed the plunder among them, so that all his men gained evenly from the battle, as victory was the result of their collective effort. ‘As some [soldiers] had obtained much and others little, I had it all fairly divided,’ he states about what he did after a battle. Similarly, after another battle he ‘directed that those who had captured many [cattle] should give a few to those soldiers who had got no share. Through this order, every man, small and great, strong and weak, obtained a share of the spoil.’ If any division of his army got only little booty during a battle, Timur took care to place that division in the next battle in a position where it could collect more booty.

Timur often sought the advice of astrologers in difficult situations, but relied more on his own judgement in making decisions, which were at times against the advice of astrologers. Equally, he depended on divine favour. ‘In all matters, small and great, I placed my reliance on the favour and kindness of god, and I knew that victory and conquest, defeat and flight, are each ordained by him,’ he states. ‘So I placed no reliance on the words of astrologers and stargazers, but besought the giver of victory to favour my arms.’ Rather than heed the predictions of astrologers, Timur sought divine guidance for his actions in the omens he found in the Koran by opening it at random. He considered god to be the giver of victory in battles, and always took care to get off his horse at the end of a battle and prostrate himself on the ground to render his thanks to god for giving him victory.