This article has been written for Easy History by Natalie Mallat. Natalie’s own work can be found at: https://bibliotecanatalie.com/
Introduction:
When the Abbasid Caliph Al Mansur founded Baghdad, the Capital of the Arab Empire was, for the first time, directly linked by water with the Arabian Sea through the water system of the Tigris and the Euphrates to the Arabian Gulf. The period between the 7th century and the 10th century was the Golden Age of the Indo-Arab trade between India and the Arab World. The Medieval Arab writers and travellers tell interesting stories of India and its kings. Almost all of them mentioned kings and kingdoms in the North or South of the country. The details in this article are from the accounts of Suleyman the Merchant, Al Idrisi, Al Masudi, Abu Zayd, Al Yaqubi, Ibn al Faqih, Ibn Khurdadhbeh, Abul Fida, Al Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal.
Kings of India Through Arab Eyes:
Arab accounts describe the splendour and resplendence of the Kings of India in great detail. They spoke of earrings made of precious stones set in gold and highly expensive collars adorned with precious stones that were red or green in colour. The pearls were the most expensive and exquisite that money could buy. Most Indian Kings did not veil their women and both the native and foreign men attending the Indian court were allowed to see them.
Medieval Indian Kings were fond of elephants and so eager to possess them that they paid large sums. Arab chronicles described the elephants as nine cubits in height and in some places, they even reached eleven cubits. Succession to the throne in India was before the age of 40. This was usually held by ceremonies. The royalty and high offices were most of the time limited to descendants of one family. The Kings never appeared in public unless there was an occasion related to state affairs as they regarded this disrespectful to their image. Arabs mentioned that India had women rulers as well.
A Lost Kingdom of Medieval India:
Balhara is a Southern Indian Kingdom that Arabs gave repeated reference to. At least ten writers through 5 centuries wrote accounts that mention this Kingdom. The Arabic form of Balhara could be the Sanskrit Vallabharaja which means ‘Supreme King’. The Arab writers noted that Balhara meant ‘King of Kings’ and that the King of Balhara was the greatest King of Al Hind.
This king was immensely rich. He had a ring with the following words inscribed:
He who befriends you for a purpose will turn away after its completion – .من ودك لأمر ولى مع انقطاعه
He wore a gold crown on his head and his robes were woven with gold. He loved to ride on horseback. Every year, he visited the Hindu Temple on foot and returned to his residence riding a horse. Once a week, the King went out attended only by women, one hundred in number. He marched at their head. These women had dresses made with gold embroidery adorned with beautiful jewels. They wore bracelets of gold and silver on their hands and feet and their hair slid on their back.
No sovereigns in Al Sindh or Al Hind honoured the Arabs and Muslims as the Kings of Balhara did. They were the most affectionate and they possessed a great love for them. Suleyman the Merchant said that the people of the Balhara country believed that the longevity of their sovereigns (a long period of almost 50 years) was due to their love for the Arabs and their just treatment of Muslims. Islam was flourishing in the Balhara kingdom and the Kings generously allowed mosques to be built where prayer was regularly performed.
The Arab accounts located the vast territories of the Kingdom of the Balhara from the coast of the sea comprising the country called Kamkam and extending by land as far as China. Al Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal described Balhara as extensive, stretching from Kanbaya to Saymur (modern Chaul, south of Mumbai). The Capital of Balhara was a great metropolis. The distance from the capital sea of Balhara to the sea was measured by Al Masudi as 80 parasangs (Each parasang has 8 miles). Balhara was a well-populated commercial centre and its lands were fertile. Mankir, a great centre in Medieval India, submitted to the King of Balhara. Its inhabitants spoke the Kiriyya language.
Although the neighbouring kingdoms were at war with Balhara, their Kings remained superior. Some of these had territories in the mountains such as the Ray, ruler of Qashmir, and the King of Tafan while others held possession of the land and sea. At some distance from Balhara was the territory of Ba’urah ruled by the King of Qannawj, an enemy of the king of Balhara. This Indian Kingdom had four armies each of seven hundred thousand men. The army of the North fought the King of Multan and his allies. The army of the South had to defend the territories against the King of Balhara.
Balhara had great military strength. Its troops and war elephants were beyond numbers (Abu Al Faraj said Balhara had 60,000 elephants. Al Idrisi mentioned that the numerous elephants were the chief strength of the Balhara army). Since most of the dominions were mountainous, the army consisted mostly of infantry. Medieval India had many soldiers who were mostly volunteers. They were not paid by the king but willingly went to the service at their own expense. Suleyman the Merchant contrasted this to the Arabs, Chinese, and the Kings of Balhara who paid allowances to the soldiers. When Al Masudi visited Kanbaya in 915 AD (303 AH), he spoke fondly of the Balhara Viceroy. Baniya, the Brahman was reigning there on behalf of the sovereign of Mankir. He loved to enter into discussions with the Muslim visitors to his city as well as those of other faiths.
The Kings of India and China held the Emperor of the Arabs as the most respected and powerful king of all kings and the most wealthy and glorious of all. He was the head of a great religion and there is no religion to surpass it. After the Abbasid Caliph came the Chinese Emperor and Indian monarchs. The King of Balhara was named the most illustrious and the greatest of the Indian rulers. The people of Al Hind acknowledge his superiority. All other kings of Al Hind, though each is independent, saw the Balhara as the most glorious of them all.
Sources:
- Nainar, S. M. H. Arab Geographers’ Knowledge of Southern India: The knowledge of India possessed by Arab geographers down to the 14th century AD with special reference to southern India
- Kunhali, V. (1975). Advent of Islam in Kerela: Special Features. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 36, 326-337.
Leave a Reply