Subcontinent · 1191, 1192

Battles of Tarain

Ghori lost here in 1191 and came back the next year to win. Delhi fell, and in 1206 his general Qutb al-Din Aibak founded the Delhi Sultanate.

The site of the battle on the 1190 map. Shaded: Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, Ayyubid Sultanate, 1192, Crusader territory left in 1192.

Key facts

When: 1191, 1192
Where: Near Thanesar, Haryana, India
Sides: Ghurid Sultanate vs Prithviraj Chauhan and allies
Commanders: Muhammad Ghori vs Prithviraj Chauhan
Result: Ghurid victory
Type: Subcontinent
Chapter: 4. Al-Andalus and the Subcontinent

Who led it

Muhammad Ghoric. 1149 to 1206
Lost to Prithviraj Chauhan at Tarain in 1191, came back to win in 1192, and laid the foundation of Muslim rule in Delhi.

The wider picture: The Crusades and Salahuddin

The Seljuk win at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to the Turks, and Byzantium asked Europe for help. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099. Zengi, his son Nur al-Din and then Salahuddin rebuilt Muslim unity, and Salahuddin won back Jerusalem in October 1187, three months after Hattin.

See the 1190 map Read chapter 4

More subcontinent battles

All 7 indian subcontinent battles · Battle explorer

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