Delhi 1398 AD

[Duncan Head]

Battle: Delhi, AD 1398

Timurid Emirate (Amir Timur "The Lame") vs Delhi Sultanate (Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq)

Background
Timur invaded northern India in 1398. Timurid sources claim he wished to lead a religious war against the infidel, but the opportunity to gain loot from a weakened Delhi Sultanate was no doubt a major factor. His forces moved through north-west India defeating local opposition and capturing fortified places, including the city of Multan. Near Delhi he encountered the army of the Indo-Turkish Muslim Delhi Sultanate.

Numbers
Delhi Sultanate 10-12,000 cavalry, 40,000 infantry, 120-125 elephants;
Timurids 72-100,000 men, mostly cavalry

Sources
1. The Zafar-Náma by Sharaf-ud-dín 'Ali Yazdí;
2. The Malfúzát-i Tímúrí or Túzak-i Tímúrí, by either Timur, or Abū Ṭāleb Ḥosaynī ʿArīzī;
3. The Tabaqat-i-Baburi by Zain Khan;
4. The bondage and travels of Johann Schiltberger;
5. Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403-1406 by Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo

Source 1:
Zafar-Náma by Sharaf-ud-dín 'Ali Yazdi.

Zafar-Náma (The Book of Victory) is one of the main sources for the reign of Timur. It was written in the 1420s, partly based on an earlier work of the same title by Nizam ad-Dīn Shami (not apparently available in English). The translation is from Elliott and Dowson, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; online at Packard Humanities Institute's Persian Literature in Translation site.

Translation
In the month of Rajab, AH 800 (March 1398 AD), nearly corresponding to the year of the Leopard, he began his march towards Hindustán, with an army as numerous as the leaves of the trees ...

... On the following day (2nd of Rabi II/12 December 1398) he determined to pay a visit to the palace of Jahán-numáí. He set out with 700 men clad in armour, and passing the river Jumna he carefully examined the palace. ... At this juncture Mallú Khán was descried with 4,000 horse, 5,000 infantry, and twenty-seven elephants issuing from the groves near the city. They drew near, and Tímúr passed over the river to his camp. The advance-guard of the army, 300 men, under the command of Saiyid Khwája and Mubáshar met and attacked them, leading them to the side of the river where a warm conflict took place. Tímúr ordered Súnjak Bahádur and Alláh-dád to support Saiyid Khwája. They crossed the river with the utmost celerity, and joining their comrades they attacked the enemy with showers of arrows. When the enemy saw the boldness and vigour of their assailants, they could not hold their ground, but broke and fled at the first charge. Saiyid Khwája pursued and killed many of them. In the flight a war elephant fell down and died; an incident from which wise men drew an augury of victory.
....
On the same day (3rd Rabí II/December 13) Tímúr resolved upon marching to Delhí, and setting off after mid-day prayer he encamped on the banks of the Jumna. The astrologers and soothsayers disputed with each other as to whether the stars and presages were favourable. Tímúr placed no reliance on their predictions, but put his trust in God, without whose pleasure nothing happens. Next morning, after prayers, he took the holy book and opened it for a fál. The verse which came out was favourable to his enterprise. Trusting in this omen he crossed the river Jumna, and encamped on the other side on the 5th Rabi'u-s sání (December 15). The soldiers by way of precaution entrenched their camp, which was near a little hill called Pushta-bihálí, and they fenced it in with branches of trees and palisades. In front of the ditch they fastened buffalos together by their feet and necks, and inside the fence they raised penthouses (khamhá).

On the 7th Rabi'u-s sání (December 17) Tímúr settled the array of his army. Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír, Amír Yádgár Birlás, and others, were placed over the right wing. Prince Sultán Husain, Prince Khalíl Sultán, Amír Jahán Sháh, and others, had command of the left wing. The vanguard was placed under the command of Prince Rustam, Amír Shaikh Núruddín, and others. Tímúr himself commanded the centre. In this order, full of spirits and courage, the soldiers marched to the battle field.

The enemy also came out in battle array. The centre was under Sultán Mahmúd, grandson of Sultán Fíroz Sháh, and Mallú Khán. The right was commanded by Taghí Khán, Mír Alí Hauja, and others, and the left by Malik Mu'ínuddín, Malik Hání, and others. The enemy's army consisted of 12,000 veteran horsemen and 40,000 infantry, with all the appliances of war. Thus they advanced to the field of battle. The enemy's great reliance was on his enormous war elephants, 120 in number. They were covered with armour, and on their backs was a kind of litter or cage, in which crossbowmen and discus-throwers were concealed. Sharp poisoned points were fastened firmly to their tusks. Rocket-men (takhsh-afgan) and grenade-throwers (ra'd-andáz) marched by their sides.

Although the army of Tímúr was weak compared with this Indian army, still his soldiers did not rate their enemy very highly. But although they had fought in many a battle, and overthrown many an enemy, they had never before encountered elephants. They had heard by report that the bodies of these elephants were so hard that no weapon would pierce them; that they could tear up strong trees with the wind (bád) of their trunks; that they could knock down strong houses with the pressure of their sides; and that in battle they could lift horse and horseman from the ground with their dragon-like trunk and raise them in the air. Exaggerations like these had raised apprehensions in the hearts of the soldiers. When Tímúr proceeded to appoint the places for the various officers of the Court, he, in his princely kindness, asked the learned doctors of the Law who accompanied the army in this invasion where he should place them. They, terrified with the stories they had heard of the elephants, answered: "In the same place as the ladies and women."

When Tímúr perceived this terror and alarm of his followers, to allay their fears he directed that they should fix palisades, and dig a trench in front of the army. In front of these he ordered buffalos to be placed side by side, and fastened firmly together by the neck and feet with leather thongs. He had strong iron claws made and given to the infantry, who were ordered to throw them on the ground in front of the elephants. Mauláná Shahábuddín Jámí has celebrated these devices in one of his odes. Heaven was always favourable to Tímúr, and now gave him success without using any of these stratagems. He had on horseback ascended an eminence between the two armies, and examined all around. When he saw the opposing forces he alighted from his horse, and turning the face of supplication to heaven he offered his prayers, and begged for victory over his enemy. It was not long before a sign was given of the acceptance of this prayer. While Tímúr was offering his prayer to heaven, it came into the minds of Amír Shaikh Núruddín, and the other officers in command of the vanguard, that if Tímúr sent a reinforcement to the right wing and to the advance guard it would be a sure presage of victory. When Tímúr had finished his prayer, he sent Sultán 'Ali Tawáchí and others from the centre to the support of the right wing, and another party to the support of the van-guard. These movements cheered up the spirits and strengthened the courage of the men. They drew their swords and rushed fearlessly on the enemy. The elephants of mighty form and craven spirit ran off, and Tímúr thus obtained the victory.

The vanguard under Súnjak Bahádur and other officers, when they saw the enemy advancing against the right wing, placed themselves in ambush, and when the advance-guard of the enemy had passed by, they rushed out in their rear with swords drawn and arms uplifted, and in one charge killed more than 500 of them. On the right wing the Prince Pír Muhammad having advanced his men charged the enemy. He was supported by Amír Sulaimán Sháh, and aided by fortune he used his swords upon the elephants. The men of the right wing with one accord advanced against the left of the enemy, which placed its reliance on the bravery of Taghí Khán, and drove it back as far as the Hauz-i Kháss, which is a wide and deep well, one of the works of Fíroz Sháh. The left wing, under Prince Sultán Husain and others, charged with such force and bravery the enemy's right wing under Malik Mu'ínuddín, that it was broken, and Amír Jahán Sháh pursued its scattered fugitives to the very gates of Delhí. The centre of the enemy supported by the elephants advanced to attack in good order, but Prince Rustam and his coadjutors met them and made a stout resis­tance. The various officers brought their men into action and cut their way to the elephants. They killed the drivers, wounded the trunks of the animals with swords and arrows, and despatched them.

The soldiers of India fought bravely for their lives, but the frail insect cannot contend with the raging wind, nor the feeble deer against the fierce lion, so they were compelled to take to flight. Sultán Mahmúd Khán, Mallú Khán, and those who fled with them, entered the city and closed the gates. Prince Khalíl Sultán, of the right wing, notwithstanding his youth, attacked one of the monster elephants, cut down his driver, and led the animal, as a husbandman drives a buffalo in the plough, to Tímúr.

When by the favour of God the enemy was defeated and put to flight, Tímúr advanced to the gate of Dehlí. He carefully examined the walls and bastions of that noble city, and then returned to the Hauz-i Kháss. This is a reservoir constructed by Sultán Fíroz Sháh ...

After their defeat, Sultán Mahmúd and Mallú Khán went to Dehlí and repented of the course they had pursued and of the rashness they had displayed. But repentance after a disaster is of no avail. No resource but flight was left. So in the darkness of the night Sultán Mahmúd left the city by the gate of Hauz-rání and Mallú Khán by the Baraka gate, both of which are to the south of the Jahánpanáh. They fled into the desert. When Tímúr was informed of their flight he sent Amír Sa'íd and other officers in pursuit of them. These officers captured many fugitives and secured a large booty. They also made prisoners of Mallú Khán's sons, Saif Khán entitled Malik Sharfuddín, and Khudá-dád. On the same evening orders were given to Allah-dád and other officers to take possession of the gates of the city and to prevent the escape of any one.

On the 8th Rabi'u-s sání (December 18), Tímúr hoisted his victorious flag on the walls of Delhí ...


Source 2:
Malfúzát-i Tímúrí (The Autobiography of Tímúr), attributed to Timur; edited, or in fact written, by Abū Ṭāleb Ḥosaynī ʿArīzī.

This source is problematic because its real authorship, and hence value, is unclear. The scholar Abū Ṭāleb Ḥosaynī presented this Persian work to Timur's descendant, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in the 17th century. Ḥosaynī claimed that he had found an original autobiography, written by Timur himself in his native Chagatai Turkish language, in a library in Yemen, and had translated the book into Persian. Since the "original" manuscript never turned up, and Arabian Yemen seems an unlikely home for a Central Asian Turkish manuscript, most scholars believe that the Malfúzát was Ḥosaynī's own work, based on earlier sources such as the two Zafar-Námas. See for instance the Encyclopaedia Iranica's and Wikipedia's takes on the subject. However other writers are inclined to accept it as genuinely Timurid: see Csiky or Habib.

The Malfúzát's account is in general much the same as Yazdí's, so regardless of its authenticity, it does not add very much to the first source given here; but there are some differences in detail.

Translation again from Elliott and Dowson, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; online at Packard Humanities Institute's Persian Literature in Translation site.

Translation
The History of my expedition against Hindustan

About this time there arose in my heart the desire to lead an expedition against the infidels, and to become a ghází; for it had reached my ears that the slayer of infidels is a ghází, and if he is slain he becomes a martyr. It was on this account that I formed this resolution, but I was undetermined in my mind whether I should direct my expedition against the infidels of China or against the infidels and polytheists of India. ...

Some of the nobles said in reply that Sultán Mahmúd Subuktigín conquered the country of Hindustán with 30,000 horse, and established his own servants as rulers of that region, and carried off many thousand loads of gold and silver and jewels from that country, besides subjecting it to a regular tribute, and is our amír inferior to Sultán Mahmúd? No; thanks to Almighty God, to-day a 100,000 valiant Tátár horsemen wait at the stirrup of our amír; if he determines upon this expedition Almighty God will give him victory ...
...
It now occurred to me that I would cross over the Jumna with a small party of horse to examine the palace of Jahán-numá, and to reconnoitre the ground on which a battle might be fought. So I took an escort of 700 horsemen clad in armour and went off. ... My scouts now brought me information that Mallú Khán with 4,000 horsemen in armour, 5,000 infantry, and twenty-seven fierce war elephants fully accoutred, had come out of the gardens of the city and had drawn up his array. I left Saiyid Khwájah and Mubashar Bahádur with 300 brave Turk horsemen on grey horses (sufaid sawár i Turk) in the Jahán-numá and withdrew towards my camp. Mallú Khán advanced boldly towards Jahán-numá and Saiyid Khwájah and Mubashar went forth to meet him. A conflict ensued, and my men fought valiantly. Immediately I heard of the action I sent Súnjak Bahádur and Amír Alláhdád with two regiments (kushún) to their support. As soon as practicable, they assailed the enemy with arrows and then charged them. At the second and third charge the enemy was defeated and fled towards Dehlí in disorder. Many fell under the swords and arrows of my men. When the men fled, an extraordinary incident occurred: one of the great war elephants, called Bengálís, fell down and died. When I heard of it I declared it to be a good omen. My victorious troops pursued the enemy to the vicinity of the city, and then returned to present themselves at my tent. I congratulated them on their victory and praised their conduct. Next day, Friday the 3rd of the month (December 13), I left the fort of Loní and marched to a position opposite to Jahán-numá where I encamped. The officers who had been sent out foraging brought in large quantities of grain and spoil.

... I gave orders that one man out of every ten should be told off to guard the property, and cattle and horses, which had been captured in the invasion; all the other soldiers were to march with me. At the time of mid-day prayer the signal was given for the march, and I proceeded to the spot selected for crossing the Jumna, and there encamped. ...

On the 5th of Rabi'u-l ákhir (December 15). I passed the Jumna by a ford, and pitched my tents on the (other) side of the river. I gave orders to the amírs and other officers to station their men as close as possible round my tent; and I also directed that the ground round the camp should be parcelled out among them, and that each one should have a deep ditch dug in front of his allotment. All the soldiers, great and small, assembled en masse to dig the ditch. In two watches of the day the ditch round the whole camp was complete. I rode round to inspect it, and I ordered that the trees in the vicinity should be cut down, and brought within the ditch; that their branches should be formed into a strong abatis, and that in some places planks should be set up.

It had been constantly dinned into the ears of my soldiers that the chief reliance of the armies of Hindustán was on their mighty elephants; that these animals, in complete armour, marched into battle in front of their forces, and that arrows and swords were of no use against them; that in height and bulk they were like small mountains, and their strength was such that at a given signal they could tear up great trees and knock down strongly built walls; that in the battle-field they could take up the horse and his rider with their trunks and hurl them into the air. Some of the soldiers, in the doubt natural to man, brought some little of what they had heard to my attention, so when I assigned their respective positions to the princes and amírs of the right and left wing and of the centre, I enquired of the learned and good men that accompanied my army ... where they would like to be placed in the day of battle. They had been with me in many campaigns, and had witnessed many a great battle, but the stories about the elephants of India had so affected them that they instantly replied that they would like to be placed with the ladies while the battle was in progress. So to allay the apprehensions of this class of men I gave orders that all the buffalos which had been taken and placed with the baggage should be brought up; I then had their heads and necks fastened to their legs, and placed the animals inside the abatis.

Defeat of Sultán Mahmúd of Delhí

I gave orders for the camp to be carefully guarded all night to prevent a nocturnal surprise by the enemy, and the night was passed with the caution and care which are necessary in war. When the morn of victory dawned I said my prayers in the congregation, and after I had discharged that duty I gave directions for the drums and other warlike instruments to be sounded. The princes, amírs and núyans armed themselves completely and marched with their respective forces in regular order. I mounted my horse and rode forth to marshal my array. When I had arranged my right and left wings I placed the right wing under the command of Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír, Amír Yádgár Birlás, etc. The left wing I put under the command of Prince Sultán Husain, Prince Khalíl Sultán, Amír Jahán Sháh, etc. The advance-guard I placed under Prince Rustam, Amír Shaikh Núruddín, etc. I took my own place with the centre. When all the forces were arrayed I ordered the advance-guard to go forward and obtain some knowledge of the enemy. One of the advance-guard captured a man belonging to the enemy's van and brought him in to me. When I enquired about the position of the enemy, he told me that Sultán Mahmúd had drawn up his army with the intention of fighting. His right wing was commanded by Mu'ínuddín, Malik Hádí, and other officers. His left wing was under Taghí Khán, Mír 'Alí, and others. The Sultán had taken up his own position with the centre, and had appointed a body of troops to act as rearguard. His whole force amounted to 10,000 veteran horse, and 40,000 warlike infantry. He had also 125 elephants covered with armour. Most of them carried howdahs in which were throwers of grenades (r'ad-andaz), fireworks (átash báz), and rockets (takhsh-andáz). Thus they came up to battle.

The enemy's forces now made their appearance, and for better reconnoitring their order I rode to the top of a little hill which was hard by. There I carefully scrutinized their array, and I said to myself that with the favour of God I would defeat them and gain a victory. I alighted from my horse on the top of that hill and performed my devotions. I bowed my head to the ground and besought the Almighty for victory. As I did this I perceived signs that my prayers were heard. When I had finished, I mounted my horse in the full assurance of God's assistance. I returned to the centre and took up my position under the Imperial standard. I then gave orders for 'Alí Sultán Tawáchí, Altún Bakhshí, etc., to march with their regiments to strengthen the right wing. I also commanded the other officers to proceed with their men to the support of the vanguard. It so happened that just at the same time Amír Yádgár Birlás and Sulaimán Sháh, who were with the right wing, and Amír Shaikh Núru-d dín and Amír Sháh Malik, who were with the advance guard, had conceived the idea and had observed to each other that they should look upon any reinforcement received from the centre as a presage of victory. It was just then that the Almighty put it into my mind to send them assistance.

The two armies now confronted each other, the drums were beaten on both sides, shouts and cries were raised, a trembling fell upon that field, and a great noise was heard. At this time Súnjak Bahádur, Saiyid Khwájá, Alláh-dád, and others, separated from the advance-guard, and when they perceived that Sultán Mahmúd's forces had drawn near, they moved off to the right, and getting secretly behind the enemy's advance-guard as it came on unsuspecting, they rushed from their ambush, and falling upon them in the rear, sword in hand, they scattered them as hungry lions scatter a flock of sheep, and killed 600 of them in this one charge. Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír, who commanded the right wing, moved forward his own forces, and with Amír Sulaimán Sháh and his regiments of brave cavalry, fell upon the left wing of the enemy and poured down upon it a shower of arrows. They fell boldly upon this division of the enemy, which was commanded by Taghí Khán; and Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír with great courage and determination attacked one of the fierce elephants and cut off its trunk with his sword, so that the severed part fell upon the ground. My brave soldiers pressing like furious elephants upon this wing of the enemy compelled it to take flight.

The left wing of my army, under Prince Sultán Husain, Amír Jahán Sháh, Amír Ghiyásu-d dín, and other amírs, bravely attacked the enemy's right wing, which was commanded by Malik Mu'ínu-d dín and Malik Hádí. They so pressed it with the trenchant sword and piercing arrows that they compelled the enemy to break and fly. Jahán Sháh pursued them, and attacked them again and again until they reached the gates of the city (of Delhí).

Simultaneously, Sultán Mahmúd, with Mallú Khán and the army of the centre, with its officers and soldiers more numerous than ants or locusts, and with its strong war elephants, made its attack upon (my centre). Prince Rustam, Amír Shaikh Núruddín, etc., met it with a brave and resolute resistance. While they were thus engaged, Daulat Tímúr Tawáchí, Mangalí Khwája, and other amírs came up with their respective forces and assaulted the enemy. I now gave the order to a party of brave fellows who were in attendance upon me, and they cut their way to the sides of the amírs, who were fighting in the front of the battle. They brought the elephant drivers to the ground with their arrows and killed them. Then they attacked and wounded the elephants with their swords. The soldiers of Sultán Mahmúd and Mallú Khán showed no lack of courage, but bore themselves manfully in the fight, still they could not withstand the successive assaults of my soldiers. Seeing their own plight and that of the soldiers and elephants around them, their courage fell, and they took to flight. Sultán Mahmúd and Mallú Khán reached the city with a thousand difficulties, and shut themselves up close in the fortifications.

Prince Khalíl Sultán captured one of the famous elephants of Sultán Mahmúd, having brought down its driver with an arrow. He brought the animal to me, and I embraced the lad, and gave him some fine presents, for he was only fifteen years old though he had exhibited such courage and manliness.

The whole of Sultán Mahmúd's army was defeated; part was slain, and part had found refuge in the fort, and I, exalted with victory, marched towards the fort. When I reached its gates I carefully reconnoitred its towers and walls, and then returned to the side of the Hauz-i kháss. .... When I had pitched my camp here, the princes and amírs and nuyáns, and all the generals and officers, came to wait upon me to pay their respects and offer their congratulations on this great victory.


Source 3:
Tabaqat-i-Baburi by Zain Khan Khwafi.
An account of the invasion of India in 1526 by Timur's descendant Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire. The author was a close attendant of Babur himself, and writing only a few years after the events. He compares Babur's victory over the last Sultan of Delhi favourably with the similar triumph of his ancestor, arguing that Timur had the easier task.

The translation used is Zain Khan's Tabaqat-i-Baburi, trans. Sayed Hasan Askari (Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli, Delhi, 1982).

Translation
Let it not be concealed that the army of the Solomon-like king (Babur) in the fight against Sultan Ibrahim about which the narrative is being resumed now, was extremely inferior in number to that of Timur in the fight against the ruler of Delhi, and that the army of Sultan Ibrahim ... was very much superior in number to the forces of Mallu Khan and Sultan Mahmud, for the length of the army wings directed against them (Babur's forces) covered a distance of six farsakhs ... What is recounted by the men of war and combat is the fact that every 10,000 men, at the time of advancing, covered one farsakh of ground; but the first row of the army of his illustrious Majesty (Timur), at that time, consisted of seventy-two thousand of horses and soldiers and the breadth of the ground covered by servants and dependants was ten karohs. The enemy opposed to him had ten thousand horses and one hundred and twenty elephants.


Source 4:
The bondage and travels of Johann Schiltberger

In full, The bondage and travels of Johann Schiltberger, a native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396-1427 translated from the Heidelberg MS by Commander J. Buchan Telfer, R.N. (London, Hakluyt Society, 1879), Chapter 16.

Schiltberger was a Bavarian soldier who enlisted in Sigismund of Hungary's crusade against the Ottoman Turks. He was captured at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396 and taken into service by the Turkish sultan, only to be captured again by Timur when he defeated the Ottomans at Ankara in 1402. He remained in the service of Timur and his successors for over 20 years before escaping. Schiltberger was therefore not an eye-witness of the battle of Delhi, but had plenty of opportunity to hear the stories of Timurid veterans.

Translation
When the time came, he went into Lesser India with four hundred thousand men, and crossed a desert of twenty days' journey  ....

He stopped with his people in the plain, near the wooded mountain, and sent word to the king of the country: "Mirttemirgilden", that is as much as to say, "Give up thyself, the lord Tamerlin is come". When the king received the message, he sent word to tell him that he would settle with him with the sword. Then he marched against Tamerlin with four hundred thousand men, and with four hundred elephants trained for war; upon each elephant was a turret, in each of which were at least ten armed men. When Tamerlin heard of this, he advanced with his people to meet him; in the meantime the king placed the elephants in the front, and when they engaged, Tamerlin might easily have conquered ; but he could not overcome the king, because his horses were afraid of the elephants and would not advance.

This went on from morning until mid-day, so that Tamerlin retired and had his counsellors to consult, how the king and his elephants were to be overcome? One named Suleymanschach advised, that camels should be taken and wood fastened on them, and when the elephants advanced, the wood should be ignited, and the camels driven up against the elephants; thus would they be subdued by the fire and the cries of the camels, because the elephants are afraid of fire. Then Tamerlin took twenty thousand camels and prepared them as above described, and the king came with his elephants in front. Tamerlin went to meet him, and drove the camels up against the elephants, the wood on them being on fire. The camels cried out, and when the elephants saw the fire and heard the great cries, they took to flight, so that none could hold them. When Tamerlin saw this, he pursued them with all his force, and of the elephants many were killed.

When the king saw this, he went back into his capital. Tamerlin followed him up and besieged the city for ten days. In the meantime the king agreed with him, to give him two zentner of gold of India, which is better than the gold of Arabia, and he also gave him many precious stones, and promised to lend him thirty thousand men whenever he might want them; and so they were reconciled with each other. The king remained in his kingdom, and Tamerlin returned to his country, and took with him one hundred elephants and the riches the king had given him.


Source 5:
Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403-1406 by Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo

Clavijo wrote an account of the Castilian embassy to Samarkand, which was cut short by Timur's death in November 1404. Like Schiltberger, therefore, he was not an eye-witness of the battle, but would have been able to talk to those who were.

The translation is by Guy le Strange.

Translation
According to what we heard later the chief and capital city of India is Delhi, and the lord thereof did battle against Timur when some time since he invaded that country. The king of India then possessed an immense army and besides warriors there were over fifty war elephants, fully armed and such as are called tuskers. At the first battle Timur suffered defeat at the hands of the king of India by reason of the charge of these same elephants. On the morrow however Timur returned to give battle and this time he had marshalled a squadron of camels; these he sent forward each bearing a load of dry grass to oppose the elephants. No sooner had the fight begun than fire was set to these loads of inflammable stuff when the camels all in flames did so terrify the elephants that all took to flight. It appears that the elephant especially fears fire, and the reason given is that his eyes are exceedingly small.


Commentary

Delhi numbers
We can probably discount Schiltberger's 400,000 men and 400 elephants; and at the other extreme, Clavijo's 50 elephants is rather low. But the Timurid sources are close to agreement: 40,000 infantry, 10 or 12,000 cavalry, and 120 or 125 elephants.

What may not at first be obvious is how low these figures are. Muhammad bin Tughluq (Sultan 1324-1351), the founder of Mahmud Shah's dynasty, is credited with as many as 370,000 cavalry in total, and could field 80,000 together in a single army (Kaushik Roy, Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia p.47). After his reign the available numbers fell, but even Mahmud's predecessor Muhammad Shah commanded 30,000 cavalry when he ascended the throne, soon rising to 50,000 (ibid. p.50). That Mahmud could raise only 10-12,000 cavalry to defend the capital must have been a shocking state of affairs. To Timur's stated motives for invading India - religion, wealth and glory - should probably be added the weakness of the opposition that he had to face.

Timurid numbers
Since Yazdi says that "the army of Tímúr was weak compared with this Indian army", we might expect to see smaller numbers in the sources. In fact, what figures we are given suggest considerable Timurid numerical superiority. The perceived "weakness" of the Timurids may mostly have been a result of their nervousness about the enemy elephants. Ḥosaynī refers to 100,000 Tartar cavalry - though this is given as a statement of available resources rather than directly saying that he took this many with him - and Zain Khan specifically says that Timur had 72,000 men in the front line (though his interest is clearly in making Timur's force look bigger than Babur's).

Modern authors give similarly large figures, some quite precise. Elliot and Dowson in their introduction to Ḥosaynī say that "Timur himself crossed the Indus with a cavalry numbering 90,000", Kaushik Roy in Warfare in pre-British India goes with 100,000 but in Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia (p.50) says 84,000. I do not know the source for either this figure or Elliot and Dowson's. The great majority of these men will have been cavalry - though they were not all cavalry, as some writers imply, since Yazdi clearly mentions infantry laying the caltrops.

It looks as if - discounting the elephants - Timur had odds of between 3:2 and 2:1 in his favour, and in terms of cavalry alone, he had six to ten times as many horsemen as the enemy.

The first battle
The sources agree that there was a preliminary action preceding the main one. Yazdi and Hosayni describe it was a clash between relatively small forces, a few days before the main battle, which the Timurids won handily, either at the first charge (Yazdi) or after a few charges (Hosayni). The European travellers seem to have the chronology confused - Clavijo says the first clash was the day before the main battle , while Schiltberger could be read as implying that the main battle was later in the same day as the first. Both of them, however, described Timur as being defeated, or at least as having the worst of it, and claim that the problem of the elephants in the first battle was countered by the stratagem of the camels in the main fight. Since even the Timurid chroniclers describe their men's fear of the elephants on the eve of the main battle, with field fortifications being erected as a counter, we may believe that the first encounter with the elephants made a big impression - even if one solitary elephant was killed - and we may suspect that Timur's chroniclers may have exaggerated the decisiveness of the victory in this initial clash, and that when recounted with hindsight to Schiltberger and Clavijo it seemed a much more dangerous encounter.

Timur's devices
Timur and his army made use of several devices which we do not always associate with the fluid, mobile cavalry warfare of the steppes:

(1) The fortified camp. In fact many steppe armies fortified their camps, if only with wagon-laagers, and Timur had many non-combatants and much loot to protect. The camp was entrenched with a ditch and palisades or abatis, and according to Yazdi even with towers.

(2) The buffalos. A ditch was dug, and a line of buffalo tethered together in front of it as a living barrier. It is not entirely clear where this line of buffalos was placed. Yazdi first suggests that they were in front of the camp ditch - "The soldiers by way of precaution entrenched their camp ...  and they fenced it in with branches of trees and palisades. In front of the ditch they fastened buffalos together by their feet and necks, and inside the fence they raised penthouses"; he then mentions them a second time, implying that there a second ditch was dug, this time not around the camp but in front of the army: "to allay their fears he directed that they should fix palisades, and dig a trench in front of the army. In front of these he ordered buffalos to be placed side by side, and fastened firmly together by the neck and feet with leather thongs". Hosayni follows the first version: "I gave orders that all the buffalos which had been taken and placed with the baggage should be brought up; I then had their heads and necks fastened to their legs, and placed the animals inside the abatis".

(3) The caltrops. Yazdi says that Timur "had strong iron claws made" - made? on the day of battle? "and given to the infantry, who were ordered to throw them on the ground in front of the elephants".

Of course, according to Yazdi, "Heaven ... gave him success without using any of these stratagems". But:

(4) The camels. Both the European travellers give us the story that in the main battle, to deal with the elephants that had caused such problems in the first clash, Timur assembled many camels, loaded them with inflammable material, set light to the loads and drove the camels at the elephants. (Note that they do not, at least in the translations I have seen, suggest that the camels pulled carts loaded with incendiaries as given in some army lists.) The Timurid chroniclers make no mention of this ruse, which might be thought to detract from Timur's glorious victory.

[Patrick Waterson]

Impressive presentation and analysis, Duncan.  Sets an excellent standard.

[aligern]

Yes indeed an excellent presentation of the battle. I particularly like the conclusion that Timur got there the fastest with the mostest.
Roy

[Chris]

Interesting reading.

An early contender (dare I suggest "dark horse" candidate) for Battle Day 2019?

Chris

[Chuck the Grey]

Interesting reading.

An early contender (dare I suggest "dark horse" candidate) for Battle Day 2019?

Chris

I was thinking the same thing, Chris. It definitely would be something completely different.