Battle of Debal

Battle of Debal
Date	643 AD
Location	Sindh
Result	Rashidun Caliphate victory
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate	Brahmin dynasty of Sindh
Commanders and leaders
Al-Mughira Abul Aas	Samah
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Debal, in 643 AD, involved a Muslim military expedition of the Rashidun Caliphate against the Brahmin dynasty of Sindh. During the reign of second Rashidun caliph Umar, the expedition had been launched by Uthman, the governor of Bahrain, around 643 AD. Debal, one of Uthman's brothers, led the campaign under the command of Al-Mughira Abul Aas.^[1]^[4]

The Battle

Regarded as the first battle of Arab Caliphate in Sindh occurred in 643 AD, there are two accounts associated with the battle. According to 9th-century historian Al-Baladhuri, the Arabs won the battle. However, the 13th-century Persian historical work Chach Nama gives a different account of this battle indicating that the leader of the Arab army was killed. On the other hand, UNESCO published work accepted the account of Al-Baladuri^[5] while several scholars like Nabi Bakhsh Baloch, Ali ibn Ḥamid Kufi Ahamad, Muhammad Ishaq also accepted the account of Al-Baladhuri. Muhammad Ishaq and other authors state that al-Mughira was alive after the battle as late as 650 AD and in that year his brother Uthman allotted a plot for him.^[6] It was confirmed through Yaqut al-Hamawi.^[7]^[8]^[9] Further there is contemporary source of Umar's era where Sebeos, the contemporary Armenian author wrote, King of Arab Umar, assembled the boats and order to navigate, going east to Fars, Sindh, Turan, Makran, Sakastan and as far as border of India. The troops burned the regions, taking a lot of booty and then reached their own place.^[10]

Aftermath

The battle paved the way for further Arabs advancement in the region.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Wynbrandt, James (2009). A Brief History of Pakistan. Infobase Publishing. pp. 42, 43. ISBN 978-0-8160-6184-6.
^ al-Baladhuri, Ahmad b Yahya (2022-11-17). History of the Arab Invasions: The Conquest of the Lands: A New Translation of al-Baladhuri's Futuh al-Buldan. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 423. ISBN 978-0-7556-3742-3.
^ Joshi, P. M. (1975). Studies in the Foreign Relations of India, from the Earliest Times to 1947: Prof. H. K. Sherwani Felicitation Volume. State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 143.
^ Mohamed Nasr. Arab In Sind. p. 83.
^ UNESCO (1998-12-31). The different aspects of islamic culture: The Individual and Society in Islam. UNESCO Publishing. p. 602. ISBN 978-92-3-102742-0.
^ Isḥāq, Muḥammad (1955). India's Contribution to the Study of Hadith Literature: A Survey of the Growth and Development of Hadith Literature in the Sub-continent of Pakistan and India from the Earliest Time Down to the Nineteenth Century, Together with the Lives and the Works of the Leading Muhaddithun of the Time. University of Dacca. pp. 12–13.
^ Kūfī, ʻAlī ibn Ḥāmid (1983). Fathnamah-i Sind: being the original record of the Arab conquest of Sind : known later by such other names as History of Dahār son of Cach, Tārikh-i-Hind wa Sind, Tārikh-i-Fath-i Sind alias Chachnāma, Minhāj al-masālik alias Chachnāma, Tārikh-i Qāsimi, or simply as Chachnāma (in Persian). Institute of Islamic History, Culture and Civilization, Islamic University. p. 37.
^ Balocu, Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu (2002). Sindh, Studies Historical. Pakistan Study Centre, University of Sindh. p. 120. ISBN 978-969-8135-13-3.
^ Islamic Culture. Islamic Culture Board. 1971. pp. 113, 250.
^ Sebeos. Sebeos' History of Armenia. Translated by Robert Bedrosian. pp. 52–53.

[Wynbrandt-1] Wynbrandt, James (2009). A Brief History of Pakistan. Infobase Publishing. pp. 42, 43. ISBN 978-0-8160-6184-6.

[2] -Baladhuri, Ahmad b Yahya (2022-11-17). History of the Arab Invasions: The Conquest of the Lands: A New Translation of al-Baladhuri's Futuh al-Buldan. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 423. ISBN 978-0-7556-3742-3.

[3] Joshi, P. M. (1975). Studies in the Foreign Relations of India, from the Earliest Times to 1947: Prof. H. K. Sherwani Felicitation Volume. State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 143.

[4] Mohamed Nasr. Arab In Sind. p. 83.

[5] UNESCO (1998-12-31). The different aspects of islamic culture: The Individual and Society in Islam. UNESCO Publishing. p. 602. ISBN 978-92-3-102742-0.

[6] Isḥāq, Muḥammad (1955). India's Contribution to the Study of Hadith Literature: A Survey of the Growth and Development of Hadith Literature in the Sub-continent of Pakistan and India from the Earliest Time Down to the Nineteenth Century, Together with the Lives and the Works of the Leading Muhaddithun of the Time. University of Dacca. pp. 12–13.

[7] Kūfī, ʻAlī ibn Ḥāmid (1983). Fathnamah-i Sind: being the original record of the Arab conquest of Sind : known later by such other names as History of Dahār son of Cach, Tārikh-i-Hind wa Sind, Tārikh-i-Fath-i Sind alias Chachnāma, Minhāj al-masālik alias Chachnāma, Tārikh-i Qāsimi, or simply as Chachnāma (in Persian). Institute of Islamic History, Culture and Civilization, Islamic University. p. 37.

[Balocu-8] Balocu, Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu (2002). Sindh, Studies Historical. Pakistan Study Centre, University of Sindh. p. 120. ISBN 978-969-8135-13-3.

[9] Islamic Culture. Islamic Culture Board. 1971. pp. 113, 250.

[10] Sebeos. Sebeos' History of Armenia. Translated by Robert Bedrosian. pp. 52–53.

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