Alauddin Khalji's raid on Devagiri

Alauddin Khalji was a nephew and a son-in-law of Jalaluddin Khalji, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. At that time, he was the governor of a province within the Sultanate and lived in the provincial capital Kara. The Yadava kingdom was located to the south of the Sultanate, in the Deccan region. The Paramara and the Chandela kingdoms, which separated the Delhi Sultanate and the Yadava kingdom, had declined in power. Alauddin wanted to usurp the power from Jalaluddin and had decided to plunder other kingdoms to raise money towards this objective. During his 1293 raid on Bhilsa, he had come to know about the immense wealth of the Yadava capital of Devagiri.[1]

Over the next few years, he made preparations to attack Devagiri. He intended to complete the raid secretly and in a very short time, to avoid suspicion of Sultan Jalaluddin and to prevent any countermeasures by the Hindu kingdoms of Deccan.[2] Therefore, he spread the false news that he was marching to Chanderi. He handed over the administration of Kara to Ala-ul-Mulk (the uncle of Ziauddin Barani), who sent fabricated news about Alauddin's movements to Jalaluddin.[3]

On 26 February 1296, Alauddin left Kara with an 8000-strong cavalry.[3] He marched to Chanderi, and then secretly moved to Bhilsa. Next, he crossed the Vindhya range, and reached Achalpur. Until this point, Alauddin had moved quickly to prevent any attacks from the local rulers of central India. However, at Achalpur, he allowed his troops to rest for two days to prepare for the raid. To avoid any attacks, he spread the news that he was a discontented nobleman who had come to seek asylum after rebelling against Jalaluddin.[2]

From Achalpur, Alauddin marched to Devagiri via a pass known as Ghati Lajaura (or Lasaura). At this pass, Alauddin faced resistance from Kanhan, a feudatory of the Yadava king Ramachandra.[2] According to the 14th-century historian Isami, Kanhan's army included two women commanders who fought like "tigresses", and forced Alauddin to fall back. However, Alauddin's second charge was successful and resulted in a complete rout of Kanhan's forces.Ramdev Ray, the King of Devagiri, was enjoying the prosperity of his kingdom. The people were happy with their lives. The King and his subjects remained blissfully oblivious to the danger looming in from the north. The forces of Jalaluddin Khilji led by his son-in-law and nephew Allauddin Khilji were on a rampage looting and destroying everything in their path. One after another the Hindu kingdoms were getting destroyed. The Sultanate forces greedily swallowing everything in their path. Temples destroyed, villages and cities looted, women kidnapped and raped, all in the name of Allah. The Sultanate hordes marched on with the battle cry of Allah-ho-Akbar.

The fame of Devagiri’s riches and prosperity reached Allauddin’s ears. With just a force of 8000 of his Afghan soldiers, he marched towards Devagiri. The news of his approach reached Raja Ramdev Ray. Hitherto oblivious to the Sultanate danger, the Raja was rudely awakened from his slumber. With the crown prince Shankar Dev away with the army, Ramdev had only an army of 4000 at his service to defend Devagiri against the onslaught of Allauddin Khilji. Utter lack of preparation in front of such grave danger.

The forces of Allauddin Khilji made their way to Devagiri swiftly destroying everything in their path. Ramadev Ray marched against Allauddin’s forces. But Ramdev’s army was no match to the disciplined and barbarous hordes of Allauddin. Ramdev’s forces made a hasty retreat to the fort of Devagiri, leaving the city of Devagiri at the mercy of Allauddin’s murderous army. The city was soon painted red with the blood of its innocent citizens. The cries of women and young girls filled the air as Allaudin’s men took them forcibly. Temples were razed to ground. Ramadev watched helplessly as Allaudin Khilji and his army conducted the rape of Devagiri.

Khilji laid a seige to the fort of Devagiri. Surrounded by the enemy Ramdev Ray watched helplessly as resources within the fort continued to deplete. The crafty and cunning Khilji spread the rumor that this was only the advance force of the Sultan’s army. Ramdev Ray shuddered at the thought of the approaching massive army of the Sultan. With food and resources within the fort on the verge of exhaustion, Ramdev Ray surrendered uncondtionally to Khilji. Khilji demanded exhoribant amount as ransom and tribute from the Raja, to which the Raja agreed. [4]

Devagiri was a fortified city, but it was largely unprotected when Alauddin reached there. The fortifications had weakened because of complacency of the Yadavas, who had not faced any recent attacks on their capital.[5] The major portion of the Yadava army was away on an expedition led by the crown prince Simhana.[6] In addition, the fort was short on provisions. The old Yadava king Ramachandra retreated to the fort, which was located on the top of a hill. Alauddin's army plundered houses and businesses in the lower part of the city, which had been left undefended. The invaders imprisoned the prominent merchants and Brahmins of the city. They also captured 30-40 elephants and around 1,000 horses from the royal stables.[7]

Meanwhile, Alauddin spread a rumour that his force was only the vanguard of a 20,000-strong cavalry, which would shortly reach Devagiri. Under these circumstances, Ramchandra realized that he would not be able to withstand a siege. Therefore, he sent messengers to Alauddin, warning him that Simhana would arrive with the Yadava army anytime, and it would be in Alauddin's best interests to agree to a peace treaty. Alauddin wanted to return to Kara quickly, in order to keep his march a secret. Therefore, he accepted Ramachandra's offer of a monetary payment, and in exchange, promised to release all prisoners and leave the city within a fortnight.[8]

However, before the treaty could be realized, Simhana returned to Devagiri. When he arrived near Devagiri, Ramachandra sent him a message advising him to honour the peace treaty, as the invading army was very powerful. However, Simhana ignored his father's advice, and sent a message to Alauddin, asking the invader to return all the loot and retreat. According to the 16th-century historian Firishta, this message angered Alauddin so much that he blackened the faces of Simhana's messengers, and paraded them in his camp.[8]

Alauddin left a 1000-strong cavalry under Nusrat Khan in the city and led the rest of his men to fight against Simhana. The Yadava army, which outnumbered Alauddin's force, overcame the invaders in the initial part of the battle. When Nusrat Khan received this news, he left the city without waiting for Alauddin's order and led his army to the battlefield. The Yadavas mistook his contingent for the rumored 20,000-strong cavalry and fled from the battlefield in panic.[9]

Alauddin then returned to the fort and laid a siege. He ordered several Brahmin and merchant prisoners to be killed, and paraded close relatives and nobles of Ramachandra in front of the fort. At first, Ramachandra considered seeking assistance from the neighbouring Hindu kings. However, it was soon discovered that the fort did not have sufficient food provisions: the Yadavas had bought inside the fort around 2,000-3,000 bags left by panicked merchants when Alauddin's army first reached the city. They had assumed that these bags contained grain, but it was discovered that they contained only salt.[9]

A dejected Ramachandra then pleaded with Alauddin for a peace treaty. Alauddin, who wanted to return to Kara quickly, agreed to a truce.[9] This time, he demanded a much larger sum as war indemnity. According to the 14th-century chronicler Ziauddin Barani, the wealth obtained by Alauddin during this raid was so much that even after being squandered by Alauddin's successors, a large part of it remained till the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the 1350s. According to the 16th-century historian Firishta, the wealth obtained by Alauddin included:[10]

• 600 mann of gold
• 1,000 mann of silver
• 7 mann of pearls
• 2 mann of precious stones including rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and emeralds
• 4,000 pieces of silk and other items

In addition, Ramachandra agreed to send the revenues from the Achalpur province to Alauddin.[10] As part of the treaty, Alauddin released the surviving prisoners. He left Devagiri five days after he had entered the city.[11]

Alauddin's raid was the first successful Muslim invasion of Deccan.[12][4] Instead of surrendering the loot from Devagiri to Sultan Jalaluddin, Alauddin took it to his residence in Kara. Later, he invited Jalaluddin to Kara and killed him there. He then proclaimed himself as the new Sultan.[13] In the 1300s, when Ramachandra stopped sending yearly tributes to Delhi, Alauddin sent a large army to subdue him. This second expedition to Devagiri resulted in Ramachandra becoming a vassal to Alauddin.[14]

Alauddin married Ramachandra's daughter Jhatyapali, who was the mother of his son and successor Shihabuddin Omar and Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah.[15] Historian Kishori Saran Lal believes that Ramachandra gave his daughter to Alauddin after the 1296 raid,[16] but historian Satish Chandra states that this probably happened after the second expedition.[17]