Early Rulers of Mewar and their Fights with the Arabs
By M. L. Mathur
Summary
The article examines the early rulers of Mewar and their conflicts with Arab forces, focusing primarily on Bappa’s son Khumman I and his successor Khumman II. The author argues that Khumman I, who ascended the throne of Mewar in 754 A.D., fought and routed Arab raiders from Sindh around the middle of the 8th century, specifically between 754 A.D. and 758 A.D., rather than Khumman II who ruled later between 813 A.D. and 830 A.D. The article attributes to Khumman I the glory of repelling the Arab general Hasham, son of Amr al-Taghlabi, who was sent by Caliph al-Mansur. This conclusion is supported by the Prabandhakosa, a Jain text composed by Sekhar Suri in 1348 A.D., and corroborated by the Muslim chronicle Futuh al-Buldan. The Prabandhakosa also mentions that Govindraj I, also known as Govindaraja I or Govindaraja II and identified as Giivaka I, defeated the Sultan and fought the Arabs. The Hansot Copper Plate and the Prithvirajvijaya-Mahakavya further confirm Govindraj I’s status as a feudatory of the Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhatta I. The article also discusses the vassalage of Mewar under the Gurjara Pratiharas of Kanauj, noting that rulers like Khumman I, Bhartrpatta I, and Singh were feudatories of kings such as Nagabhatta I and Nagabhatta II. The Gwalior Prasasti is cited as evidence of Nagabhatta II’s victories over the Arabs, referred to as Turuskas. The author addresses the traditions about Khumman II’s clash with the Arabs, as narrated in the Khumman Raso, and argues that this refers to the campaign of the Abbaside Caliph Al-Mamun’s governor of Sindh, Bashar, in the 1st quarter of the 9th century. The article concludes that Arab expeditions into western India, led by figures like Hasham and Musa, were consistently repulsed by coalitions of Rajput rulers, including Khumman I, Govindraj I, and Nagabhatta II. The main sources discussed include Rajput annals, bardic traditions, the Prabandhakosa, the Prithvirajvijaya-Mahakavya, the Hansot Copper Plate, the Gwalior Prasasti, and Muslim chronicles such as Futuh al-Buldan.
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Conclusion
This article demonstrates that the early rulers of Mewar, particularly Khumman I, actively participated in repelling Arab invasions from Sindh during the mid-eighth century. By critically analyzing traditional Rajput records alongside Muslim chronicles such as *Fatuh-us-Salatin*, the study establishes a coalition of regional kings, including the Guhilots of Mewar and the Chahamanas of Sambhar, successfully checked Arab forces led by Hasham. It further clarifies that Khumman I, not his later descendant Khumman II, was the ruler who fought these early incursions, a distinction often overlooked by earlier historians like Col. Tod. The findings underscore the political subordination of Mewar to the Gurjara Pratihara empire while highlighting its martial significance. Ultimately, this neglected episode reveals a robust, coordinated regional resistance that prevented Arab forces from establishing a permanent foothold in mainland Hindustan during this period.