Alauddin Khalji’s first Conquest of Devagiri - 1296
The conquest of Devagiri plays a very important role in the life story of Alauddin Khalji as this was the conquest that shows us how highly ambitious Ali Gurshasp became Sultan Alauddin Khalji. This was the conquest that led to the conspiracy and murder of Jalaluddin Khalji, the founder of the Khalji dynasty.
Ali Gurshasp was the nephew, son-in-law, and minister of Jalaluddin Khalji. He was the one who the Sultan trusted completely and relied upon. This was the Sultan’s big mistake. Alauddin had scored many victories in the name of the Sultan as that of Mandawar and Malwa and hence was made the governor of Awadh and Kara by the Sultan.
Though the Sultan had an expansionist policy, he had given up the policy of aggression after becoming the Sultan. While on the other side, ambitious Alauddin had heard a lot about the wealth of Deccan and decided to gain the same. Alauddin kept his conquest of Devagiri undisclosed to his uncle because he intended to dethrone him, using the wealth he obtained.
March to Devagiri
Just before the march, Alauddin spread false news that he was about to march to Chanderi and had handed over the administration to Ala-ul-Mulkk. This was done as this raid had to be a secret since it was not just a part of the conspiracy for dethroning the Sultan but also in order to prevent the countermeasures by Hindu Kings of Deccan.
On 26 February 1296, Alauddin marched towards Chanderi with a strong cavalry of 18,000 and moved towards the Devagiri secretly and quickly, escaping the local rulers. It was when Alauddin was moving through the pass (Ghati Lajaura) that he faced resistance from Kanhan, a feudatory of the Yadava king Ramachandra. It is said that Kanhan’s army was equipped with women commanders who fought like tigresses and forced Alauddin to fall back. But Alauddin’s second charge was successful and resulted in the defeat of Kanhan’s entire force.
Alauddin’s attack on Devagiri is often considered to have happened at a fortunate time. Though Devagiri was a fortified city, these fortifications had weakened because of the policies of the Yadavas, who had not witnessed any recent attacks on their capital. At the same time, a major portion of the Yadava army was away on an expedition led by prince Simhana.
The Yadava king Ramchandra retreated to the fort while Alauddin’s forces plundered the houses and looted the people and businesses which remained undefended. Many of the Brahmins and merchants of the town were imprisoned. The army also captured 30-40 elephants and around 1,000 horses from the royal stables. Also, a rumour was spread by Allauddin that his unit of 20,000 cavalry was on the way and was about to reach Devagiri. Due to all these instances, king Ramchandra was forced to send a message to Alauddin regarding the peace treaty mentioning that it was in Alauddin’s interest as Prince Simhana could anytime reach Devagiri along with the army. As Alauddin too was in a hurry, he accepted the offer of a monetary payment in exchange of releasing all the prisoners and leaving the city
Return of Simhana
Before the treaty could be finalised, Devagiri noticed the return of the crown prince Simhana. On his return, he was advised by his father to honour the peace treaty, but he did not agree and sent the message to Alauddin for releasing all prisoners and returning all the loot. This was not considered a good decision, and angered Alauddin to hell. Alauddin left a cavalry of 100 men under Nusrat Khan and carried his entire remaining army left to fight against Simhana.
The Yadava army outnumbered the entire cavalry of Alauddin and was on the way to victory against invaders. When this came into notice of Nusrat Khan, he immediately left along with his army on the battlefield without the permission of Alauddin. This cavalry under Nusrat Khan was misinterpreted by the Yadava army with the rumoured troop of 20,000 and the latter fled the battlefield.
Now, Alauddin proceeded to the fort and laid siege. He ordered the killing of several Brahmins and merchants. The relatives of the king were taken out of the palace. Further, it was discovered that there was not enough food left for the fulfilment of any provisions. Seeking the solution, the miserable Ramachandra pleaded with Alauddin for the treaty and as Alauddin wanted to return to Kara quickly, agreed to the treaty but demanded a much higher war indemnity. The indemnity demanded is said to be so high that it even prevailed till the time of his successors. The wealth obtained by Alauddin included:
- 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
Also, Ramchandra agreed to send the revenues from the Achalpur province to Alauddin. As part of the treaty, Alauddin released the surviving prisoners and left Devagiri within 5 days.
Accession of Throne
As Alauddin returned from Devagiri, gathering an immense amount of wealth, he designed a conspiracy with the help of his brother Ulugh Khan. Jalaluddin was convinced by Ulugh Khan to proceed to Kara for meeting Alauddin and was further persuaded to fall into the trap of Alauddin by making him enter Kara without any army. Once in Kara the Sultan was murdered by his most loved nephew and son-in-law. This is regarded as one of the basest murders of history. On 03rd October 1296, Alauddin was proclaimed the Sultan of Delhi.
In this way, the conquest of Devagiri played a very important role in completing the conspiracy of accession to the throne. Alauddin Khalji used the plundered money to buy the trust of common people and establish authority.
