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This is a vast topic, covering an entire millennium of Indian history, and an almost bewildering array of states. The list of Islamic dynasties given here has twenty eight entries, some of which lasted for centuries.
The first two chapters briefly look at the broader picture, the place of Islamic powers and Muslims in India. The Clash of Military Traditions chapter looks at the two influences on the early Muslim armies in India – the largely infantry based Arab armies and the cavalry based Sasanians.
The main part of the book splits the period into five topics. We start with the conquests of the Caliphate, where India was a border frontier of the Islamic world. We get some interesting details on the armies involved in this period. Next comes a period of relative stability, where the eastern provinces remained fairly static, but with plenty of raiding. Here fewer details of the armies are known.
The third of these chapters looks at the conquest of northern India, initially led by Mahmud of Ghazni. Here we know more about the armies, not least because features of the Ghaznavid army were recommended to other rules. This chapter also covers the Ghurids, expanded across northern India.
The fourth and fifth of these chapters overlap in time, and cover different parts of India. The fourth looks at the Delhi and Bengal Sultanates, and the period where Muslim rule spread across all of the north of India. The Delhi Sultanate was notable for its multi-cultural army, which we see containing Turks, Afghans, Africans, Hindu and Mongol soldiers. However this army was supported by an impressive central administration, which included sizable military factories. The fifth of these chapters looks at the states that emerged in southern India as the Delhi Sultanate declined, and which ended up on the front line between the Muslim and Hindu ruled parts of India.
This book can only ever provide an overview of the topic, but it does give a good introduction to this vast subject, combining enough background history to provide context with the details of the armies involved.
Chapters
Islamic Dynasties in Medieval India
Cultural Exchange in Medieval India
A Clash of Military Traditions
The Caliphates’ Indian Frontier, c.650-800
The Indo-Islamic Provinces, c.800-950
Ghaznavids and Ghurids, c.950-1225
The Delhi and Bengal Sultanates, c.1200-1525
The Deccan and Southern Sultanates, c.1350-1525
Author: David Nicolle
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 48
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2023