Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent

A series of military campaigns by Muslim-ruled powers that established political control over parts of the Indian subcontinent, beginning with the Arab conquest of Sindh in the eighth century.

Connect

Umayyad Caliphate: An Islamic caliphate that ruled from 661 to 750 and expanded across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Central Asia. Its eastern governors authorized the campaign that brought Sindh under Arab rule.
Delhi Sultanate: A succession of Muslim-ruled dynasties that governed much of northern India from Delhi between 1206 and 1526. It turned Ghurid military gains into a long-lived political order.
Muhammad of Ghor: A Ghurid ruler whose late twelfth-century campaigns extended his power into northern India. His victories at Tarain opened the route to Ghurid rule in the Indo-Gangetic plain.
Battle of Plassey: A 1757 battle in Bengal that helped establish the East India Company’s political power. It marks the rise of European colonial conquest, distinct from earlier Muslim-ruled expansions.
Muhammad ibn Qasim: An Umayyad commander who conquered Sindh in 711–712. His campaign established the first lasting Muslim-ruled territory in the subcontinent.
Mamluk dynasty of Delhi: The first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, ruling from 1206 to 1290. Its rulers consolidated territories held by former Ghurid commanders.
Qutb al-Din Aibak: A former Ghurid commander who founded the Delhi Sultanate’s Mamluk dynasty in 1206. He converted a military governorship into an independent sultanate.
Maratha Empire: A South Asian power that grew from the seventeenth century and challenged Mughal authority. Its rise shows how regional powers reversed or resisted imperial expansion.
Raja Dahir: The Hindu ruler of Sindh defeated by Muhammad ibn Qasim’s forces in 712. His defeat ended the independence of the kingdom targeted by the Arab expedition.
Iltutmish: A Delhi Sultan who ruled from 1211 to 1236 and strengthened the early sultanate. He secured Delhi’s authority over rival commanders and provincial territories.