Invasion of Kadar and Daud Khan:
Just after the enthronement of Alauddin he had to face a Mongol invasion in 1296-97 a.d. Under the leadership of Kadar Khan, they crossed Indus and started plundering the nearby place of Lahore.
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Zafar Khan and Ulugh Khan checked their advancement and defeated the Mongols near Jalandhar in a bloody encounter. About 20,000 Mongols were killed or badly wounded and large number of them were arrested and killed. Their women and children were made slaves.
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Just after this raid Daud Khan or Deva Khan, the ruler of Transexiana, made fierce attack on India in order to establish his control over Punjab and Sindh. Ulugh Khan was sent against this army. He defeated the Mongols and compelled them to flee India. Many Mongols were slaughtered and a great number of them were imprisoned. Amir Daud went back disappointed and dejected.
Invasion of Saldi:
Daud Khan was very much pained by his defeat and wanted to avenge it. Next year in 1299 a.d. he sent a vast and powerful army under the command of Saldi. They established their authority over Sivistan. Alauddin Khalji again sent Zafar Khan against the Mongols. He showed extraordinary valour against the Mongols and arrested the leader of the campaign, Saldi, and his brother along with thousands of Mongol soldiers. He brought them all to Delhi duly chained along with their women and children.
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The Sultan and his brother Ulugh Khan-did not feel happy on the success of Zafar Khan; rather they became jealous of him and wanted to get rid of him, but the change in the political situation prevented them from doing so for the time being.
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Birani has also written, “The victory inspired awe of Zafar Khan in every heart and the Sultan also looked askance at him in consequence of his fearlessness, generalship, intrepidity which showed that a Rustam had been born in India.”
Invasion of Qntlugh Khwaja:
In 1299 a.d. the Mongols again appeared on the frontier of India. Dava Khan’s son Qutlugh Khwaja was their leader and he had a big force of 2,00,000 soldiers with him. This conquest was made not to plunder the wealth of India but ‘to avenge the death of Saldi and to occupy the throne of Delhi.
They crossed the Indus and advanced towards Delhi so rapidly that the wardens of the north-west frontier could not check them. On their way to Delhi they did not plunder the villages nor did they destroy the fortresses. However, out of fear of the Mongols and their cruelties the people began to gather in Delhi in order to save their lives.
Barani has written about it, “Great anxiety prevailed in Delhi, and the people of the neighbouring villages took refuge within its walls. The old fortifications had not been kept in repair, and terror prevailed such as never before had been seen or heard of. All men, great and small, were in dismay.
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Such a concourse had crowded into the city that the streets and markets and mosques could not contain them. Everything became very dear. The roads were stopped against caravans and merchants, and distress fell upon the people.”
Aiauddin at once summoned a meeting of his counsellors who advised him to fight a defensive war against the Mongols and to avoid the risk of open battle but Alauddin did not agree with them and spoke to his commanders, “How could he hold the sovereignty of Delhi if he shuddered to encounter the invaders? What would his contemporaries and those adversaries who had marched two thousand kos to fight him will say, when he hid himself behind a camel’s back? And, what verdict posterity would pronounce on him? How could he dare to show his face to anybody, or even enter the royal harem if he was guilty of cowardice and endeavoured to repel the Mongols with diplomacy and negotiations? Come what may, I am bent upon marching tomorrow to the plain of Kili where I propose joining in battle with Qutlugh Khwaja.” Thus he marched to face the challenge of the enemies in the open plain of Kili.
Both the armies stood before each other in battle array. Alauddin himself commanded the centre with Nusrat Khan while Zafar Khan and Ulugh Khan were holding charge of right and left wings respectively. Soon a fierco battle began between both the armies.
Zafai Khan and his son Diler Khan made a furious attack on the Mougols and forced them to run away. Zafar Khan, out of sheer enthusiasm chased the Mongols upto eighteen kos but his retreat proved fatal and he was killed by the Mongols whose number was ten times more than his horsemen.
However, Zafar Khan fought against them very valiantly and terrorized the Mongols before his death. Historians hold different opinions about the death of Zafar Khan. Some believe that Alauddin and his brother Ulugh Khan were responsible for his untimely death as they did not send reinforcements for his help in time. But Dr. J. L. Mehta writtes, “As a matter of fact, Zafar Khan had committed a serious tactical mistake in chasing a part of the routed foe without a parallel movement from the centre and the left wing of the imperial troops.
The Sultan, who was in supreme command of the imperial army at the moment, had not permitted his generals to put their own battle lines in disarray ; therefore, Zafar Khan out of his misplaced enthusiasm and emotional nature, defied the supreme command, dashed through the enemy zone without coordination of efforts with his colleagues and brought peril upon himself. Alauddin Khalji was, therefore, not responsible for the sad end of Zafar Khan’s life.”
As the Mongols had realized the power and resources of the royal army, on the very night they retreated without any more fighting. Qutulugh Khwaja, however, could not reach his home town. He died on the way to Transoxiana due to illness.
Thus victor Alauddin returned to Delhi after repulsing the Mongol invasion and getting rid of Zafar Khan whose bravery had created stir not only among the Mongols but also in the heart of his master. If the cattle of the Mongols refused to drink they used to comment, “have they seen Zafar Khan?”
Targhi’s Invasion:
The Mongols did not reinvade India upto 1303 a.d. First, they were very much terrified of their successive defeats and secondly, Dava Khan, the ruler of Transoxiatia, remained busy with some other Central Asian problems. Alauddin Khalji utilized this time in resfreng- thening his forces and invading Ranthambhor. He was busy in the siege of Chittor when he heard the news of the appearance of the Mongols again. Malik Kafur had already gone to Warangal with selected soldiers.
However, Alauddin continued the siege of Chittor and himself immediately returned to Delhi. He was very much perturbed to see the large number of Mongol soldiers. Seeing his position quite weak in comparison to the Mongols, he took shelter in the fort of Siri and started defensive war. The Mongols continued their siege for about forty days but after this when Alauddin was on the verge of surrender, one night, taking their army off, they went back all of a sudden.
Although the terror was over and the Mongols had retreated but it awoke Alauddin from slumber and he decided to check their advancement effectively. He strengthened the fortifications at the north-west frontier, repaired the old forts and got some new ones built at strategic places. Alauddin reorganized his army and some new recruitment was made to face the Mongols in future.
Invasion of All Beg, Tartaq and Targhi. The incessant defeats of the Mongols did not dishearten them, rather their defeats added fuel to the flame of revenge among them and they again attacked India with a vast army of about 5,00,000 soldiers.
They plundered Lahore and crossing the foothills of the Shivaliks reached Amroha. Targhi was killed somewhere on the Sutlej. Alauddin’s commanders, Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik, defeated the Mongols on 30th December 1305 a.d Ali Beg and Tartaq were arrested along with many of their supporters and families. Most of them were beheaded but women and children ware made slaves.
Invasion of Kubak and Iqbalmand:
In spite of repeated tremendous losses, Dava Khan still expected victory against the Sultan’s forces. In 1306 a.d. he sent anothpr vast army to invade India under the leadership of Kubak and Iqbalmand. The Mongol army advanced from two different sides. Kubak advanced towards Ravi from the north and Iqbalmand advancing from the south reached Nagor.
First, Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik defeated and arrested Kubak on the bank of river Ravi and after this they advanced towards Nagor and defeated Iqbalmand who escaped alive anyhow. Most of the Mongol army perished in this conflict. Only three thousand soldiers survived. Their women and children were made slaves. It marked an end of the Mongol invasion on India, and owing to the terror of the royal forces, the fancy for coming to Hindustan vanished from their hearts.
Barani mentions about three more invasions after the attack of Iqbalmand but Amir Khusrau has not quoted them. Since Khusrau was the contemporary of Alauddin, his description must be more reliable than that of Barani. In 1306 a. d. with the death of Dava Khan, the Mongols were engrossed in internal conflict and Alauddin strengthened his north-west frontier; hence we can accept that no invasion of the Mongols occurred after Iqbalmand.
Dr. A. L. Srivastava also remarks that after, 1308 a d. the Mongols dared not put hindrance in the reign of Alauddin and the country remained free from their invasion upto the time of Qutbuddin Mubarakshah.