| Battle of the Oxus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Chandragupta II's campaigns and Gupta–Hunnic Wars | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Transoxiana alliance
| Gupta Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown | Chandragupta II | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Hunas slaughtered[d] | unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of the Oxus took place around 400 CE, in the Southern plains of Uzbekistan during Chandragupta II's Central Asian Campaign. The battle commenced with the surprise attack of the Indian archers against the Hepthalites (who were also known as Hunas by the Indians). The battle resulted with the Chandragupta II's conquest of the Oxus along with the defeat and slaughter of the Hepthalites. He also conquered the Bactria region.
Background
editSubmission of Varahran
editAfter the (Persian) Sasanians faced defeat in the Battle of Sistan, which demorilzed the Persian contingents in present day Afghanistan. As the Gupta Army marched northwards to Kapisa, Varahran was quick to grasp the political realities and offered his submission to the Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II.[7]
Gupta cavalry's arrival by the Oxus river
editBactria was under the Huna occupation in the last quarter of the fourth century AD.[8] The sudden attack into the Oxus valley caught the Transoxiana alliance off-gaurd. The Pamir Tocharians were unable to combine with the Hunas (Hephtalites). On hearing the news of the Gupta Empire advanced, the Hephtalites resorted to a tactical retreat to the north of the Oxus River into the plains of Southern Uzbekistan. When the Gupta cavalry arrived by the Oxus river on the southern banks, they camped there. Kalidasa poetically described how the cavalry camped on the banks of the river Vankshu in the midst of saffron fields in a verse of his Raghuvamsa:
"...His horses, that had lessened their fatigues of the road by turning from side to side on the banks of the river Vankshu (Oxus), shook their shoulders to which were clung the filaments of saffron..."
Historians studied this as a description of the Gupta cavalry camping on the banks of the Oxus during Chandragupta II's expedition.[9][10]
The battle
edit
After a short rest, Chandragupta II's troopers crossed the Oxus river and launched an attack on the Hepthalite cavalry in the Uzbek plains.[12] Thus began the "Battle of the Oxus."[13][14] Under the leadership of Chandragupta Vikramaditya, the Indian archers were swift and bold to surprise the White Huns, or also known as Hunas by the Indians, were put down to great slaughter.[15]
Notes and Aftermath
edit- ^ " We may visualize this march and its effect on Kashgar in the following words of Kalidasa:
" Then (After the conquest of the Vankshu and the Kambojas) he (the Indian emperor), with his army of horses, ascended the mountain – Himavant, the father of Gauri, extending his peaks, as it were by the dust of minerals raised (by the hooves of the horses.)
The gaze (after turning around) of the lions of equal strength (or the gaze of the lion like Indian emperor), lying in dens, bespoke fearlessness even at (though there was) the army din.
The breezes rustled on among the dry leaves of birch trees, resounding of the wild bamboos, and charged with the particles of the river Ganga, refreshed him on the way..."[2]
- ^ " The Mehrauli Pillar Inscription (No.20) describes the digvijaya of a king named Candra (i.e. Candragupta II) in the first verse as stated below :
"He, on whose arm fame was inscribed by the sword, when, in battle in the Vanga countries, he kneaded (and turned) back with (his) breast the enemies who, uniting together, came against him;—he, by whom, having crossed in warfare the seven mouths of the (river) Sindhu, the Vāhlikas;—he by the breezes of whose prowess the Southern ocean is even still perfumed".
We find various readings of the name Vāhlika in literature which are : Vāhlika, Bāhlika, Vāhlīka and Bāhlīka. In our inscription (No. 20) 'Vāhilikāḥ', i.e. Bactria (modern Balkh) region on the Oxus in the northern part of Afghanistan."[3]
- ^ "The great Gupta campaign against Persians and Transoxiana alliance had proved to be a blessing in disguise to East Turkestan. Indian culture had already struck deep roots in East Turkestan post the great Mauryan expedition of Dharmavivardhana Kunala in the 3rd century BCE. This region comprising the Tarim basin (present day Xinjiang province, China) had faced the brunt of Steppe nomads for centuries. The Hepthalites had attacked the Tarim city states during their greatest movement westwards. Accounts of the Khotanese king fighting off fierce Hun raids survived up to the 7th century CE when the Chinese pilgrim traveller Xuanxang heard them at Khotan (South Tarim Basin). But the Indian campaign in the Oxus valley, forced the Hepthalites to amass all their forces towards the south western part of their empire. The distracted White Huns lessened the threat on the western frontiers of the Tarim kingdoms. This great feeling of security led to an outpouring of public festivals and royal spectacles on a grand scale."[4]
- ^ " Kalidasa describes the grim aftermath of the Hunnic defeat in the Oxus valley when the Hunnic women scarred their faces as was the ancient Eurasian custom of disfiguring the faces of the wives of deceased warriors in battle. To quote the poet:
[5]"...There (in the Vanskhu valley)... the power (of the exploits of the Indian emperor) of which was clearly seen in (the slaughter of) the husbands of the young (Huna) women (when) in the inner apartments of the camps of the Huna Kings, (these exploits of the Indian army) proved a teacher of ruddiness in their cheeks (which were self-scarred following their Huna culture)..."
The great victory in Central Asia and the conquest of the ancient Kingdom of Bahlika or Vahlika and its then rulers – the Hephtalites, is also explicitly mentioned in the Mehrauli pillar inscription that states:
" He (emperor Chandra), by whom ...the Vahlikas (or also the rulers of Vahlika region) were conquered..."[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "It is thus settled that Kālidāsa located the Hūnas conquered by Raghu on the bank of the river Vankshu or Oxus rather than the Sindhu or the Indus." Prakash, Buddha (1962). Studies in Indian History and Civilization. Shiva Lal Agarwala. p. 282.
- ^ Venkatesh Rangan (2023), p. [1]102–103.
- ^ Sharma, Tej Ram (1941), p. [2]167.
- ^ Venkatesh Rangan (2023), p. [3]98–99.
- ^ Prakash, Buddha (1962). Studies in Indian History and Civilization. Shiva Lal Agarwala. p. Chapter XIII.
- ^ Venkatesh Rangan (2023), p. [4]95.
- ^ Prakash, Buddha (1962). Studies in Indian History and Civilization. Shiva Lal Agarwala. p. Chapter XIII and Chapter XIV.
- ^ " Taking Kālidāsa to be a contemporary of Chandragupta II, we can conclude that the Hūṇas had occupied Bactria in the last quarter of the fourth century AD. " Agrawal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 240. ISBN 978-81-208-0592-7.
- ^ "The Raghuvamsa Of Kalidasa. With The Commentary Of Mallinatha by Nandargikar, Gopal Raghunath: used/Good rebound full cloth (1982) | Prabhu Book Exports". www.abebooks.co.uk. p. verse 66, Chapter XIII. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ Agrawal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 166. ISBN 978-81-208-0592-7.
- ^ *1910,0403.26
- ^ "Bharat's Military Conquests In Foreign Lands". Goodreads. p. 94-95. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "Bharat's Military Conquests In Foreign Lands". Goodreads. p. 94-95. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ Agrawal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 165. ISBN 978-81-208-0592-7.
- ^ "Bharat's Military Conquests In Foreign Lands". Goodreads. p. 94-95. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
Works cited
edit- Rangan, Venkatesh (2023). Bharat's Military Conquests In Foreign Lands.
- Agrawal, Ashwini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas.
- Tej Ram, Sharma (1978). Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions.