Battle of Bajaur (1519)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Bajaur massacre or Battle of Bajaur was a military conflict waged by
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
against the tribes inhibiting Bajaur region, on 6–7 January 1519. Babur, a
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...
(and later
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
) ruler from
Fergana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km fr ...
(in present-day
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
) who captured
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
in
1504 __NOTOC__ Year 1504 (MDIV) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, u ...
, launched this assault with the purpose of solidifying his authority in the
Kabulistan Kabulistan (Pashto: کابلستان) is a historical regional name referring to the territory that is centered on present-day Kabul Province of Afghanistan. In many Greek and Latin sources, particularly editions of Ptolemy's ''Geography'', the ...
. It took place in
Bajaur Bajaur District ( ps, باجوړ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, then during restructuring that merged ...
, located in present-day
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
on the border with
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. After capturing the Fort of Bajaur, Babur massacred at least 3,000 Bajauri Pashtuns, and set up a tower of their skulls, charging them of being "false to Islam."


Background

From 1515-19,
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
enjoyed a relatively calm period when he returned to
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
in the aftermath of his defeat at the
Battle of Ghazdewan The Battle of Ghazdewan occurred near the city of Ghijduvan, what is now Uzbekistan in November 1512 AD between Safavid army and Uzbek army. Prelude After Babur's defeat at the Battle of Kul Malek, he requested assistance from Biram Khan ...
and loss of
Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
to the
Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara (or Khanate of Bukhoro) ( fa, , Khānāt-e Bokhārā; ) was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1500 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its ...
. But all that came to an end, when he had reached the eastern-end of Kabulistan region. He had to conciliate and give autonomy to
Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
in order to maintain peace.A History of India Under the Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur, Báber and Humáyun By William Erskine;Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans,1854; Public Domain According to Babur's ''
Baburnama The ''Bāburnāma'' ( chg, ; literally: ''"History of Babur"'' or ''"Letters of Babur"''; alternatively known as ''Tuzk-e Babri'') is the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great- ...
'', the people of Bajaur, Kunar, Nur Gal, and
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
were following pagan customs, although they were Muslims. Babur claimed that the people of these areas commonly said that when a woman died and was laid on a
bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...
, then if she had not been a wrongdoer, she would give the bearers of the bier a sudden shake, resulting in her corpse falling to the ground; but if she had been a wrongdoer, the bier would not move. Babur further claimed that Haidar Ali Gaberi, the Swati Jahangiri Sultan of Bajaur, did not weep or
lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...
when his mother died, but instead said: "Go! lay her on the bier! if she move not, I will have her burned." When she was lad on the bier, the desired movement occurred, and only then Haidar Ali Bajauri put on black and lamented for his mother.


Massacre

On 7 January 1519, Babur wrote: "As the ''Bajauris'' were rebels and at enmity with the people of Islam, and as, by reason of the heathenish and hostile customs prevailing in their midst, the very name of Islam was rooted out from their tribe, they were put to general massacre and their wives and children were made captive. At a guess more than 3,000 men went to their death; as the fight did not reach to the eastern side of the fort, a few got away there. "The fort taken, we entered and inspected it. On the walls, in houses, streets and alleys, the dead lay, in what numbers! Comers and goers to and fro were passing over the bodies. Returning from our inspection, we sat down in the Bajaur sultan’s ultan Haidar Ali Bajauriresidence. The country of Bajaur we bestowed on Khwāja Kalān, assigning a large number of braves to reinforce him. At the Evening Prayer we went back to camp." On 8 January, Babur wrote: "Marching at dawn, we dismounted by the spring of Bābā Qarā in the valley of Bajaur. At Khwāja Kalān’s request the prisoners remaining were pardoned their offences, reunited to their wives and children, and given leave to go, but several sultans and of the most stubborn were made to reach their doom of death. Some heads of sultans and of others were sent to
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
with the news of success; some also to
Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
,
Qunduz Qunduz (Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethni ...
(Kunduz), and
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
with the letters-of-victory. Shah Mansur Yusufzai,—he was with us as an envoy from his tribe,— was an eye-witness of the victory and general massacre. We allowed him to leave after putting a coat (''tūn'') on him and after writing orders with threats to the
Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
." On 11 January, Babur wrote: "With mind easy about the important affairs of the Bajaur fort, we marched, on Tuesday, one ''kuroh'' (2 m.) down the valley of Bajaur and ordered that a tower of
heads A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...
should be set up on the rising-ground."


Aftermath

As part of a peace treaty with
Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
Pashtuns, Babur married
Bibi Mubarika Bibi Mubarika Yusufzai ( ps, بيبي مبارکه یوسفزۍ;) was the Empress consort of the Mughal Empire. She was the fifth wife of Emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal emperor. She is frequently mentioned in ...
, daughter of Yusufzai chief Shah Mansur, on 30 January 1519. Mubarika played an important role in the establishment of friendly relations of Yusufzai Pashtun chiefs with Babur, who later founded the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
after defeating Pashtun Sultan
Ibrahim Lodi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (or Lodhi) (Pashto: ابراهیم خان لودي), (1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan Lodi. He was the last ruler of th ...
at the Battle of Panipat in 1526.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Bajaur (1519) Conflicts in 1519 Battles involving the Timurid Empire 1519 in Asia Babur