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{{Short description|Maharaja of Sindh from 695 to 712}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title = [[Maharaja]]
| image =
| caption =
| succession = [[List of monarchs of Sindh|Maharaja of Sindh]]
| reign = 695 – 20 June 712
| coronation =
| predecessor = [[Chandar of Sindh|Chandar]]
| regent = Dahir
| successor = {{br list | ''Kingdom abolished'' | (annexed by the [[Umayyad Caliphate]])}}
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 663
| birth_place = [[Aror]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|712|06|20|663|||df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Sindhu River]]
| dynasty = [[Chach dynasty]]
| issue = {{ubl|[[Surya Devi]]|Premala Devi|Jodha Devi|Jaisiah|Dharsiya<ref>{{cite book|title=The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians Vol. 1|author=Dowson, E. H.; Elliot, Sir H. M.|publisher=Kitab Mahal Pvt Ltd, Delhi|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.448955/page/n205/mode/2up|page=205}}</ref>
|Fufi<ref>{{cite book|title=The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians Vol. 1|author=Dowson, E. H.; Elliot, Sir H. M.|publisher=Kitab Mahal Pvt Ltd, Delhi|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.448955/page/n205/mode/2up|page=205}}</ref>}}
| full name = Raja Dahir Sen
| father = [[Chach of Aror]]
| mother = [[Rani Suhanadi]] (former wife of Rai Sahasi)
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| spouses = {{ubl|Ladee|Rani Bai}}
}}
'''Raja Dahir''' (663 – 20 June 712<ref name="l056">{{cite web | last=Srivastava | first=Ashirbadi Lal | title=The Sultanate of Delhi | url=https://ia801403.us.archive.org/30/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.506108/2015.506108.The-Sultanate_text.pdf | year=1950 | access-date=14 January 2026}}</ref>) was the last [[Hindu]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saraswat |first=Jigar |date=11 March 2021 |title=Raja Dahir defeated Muhammad Bin Qasim and Arab troops thrice|url=https://indiandailypost.com/maharaja-dahir-king-of-sindh-who-sacrificed-his-life-fighting-for-hindustan-against-arab-invasion/ |work=Indian Daily Post |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> [[Maharaja]] of [[Sindh]] from 695 to 712.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asif |first1=Manan Ahmed |title=A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia |date=19 September 2016 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-66011-3 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4oxDQAAQBAJ&q=Raja+Dahir}}</ref> A [[Brahmin]] ruler,<ref>{{cite book |date=30 December 2021 |last1=Perera |first1=Sasanka |last2=Pathak |first2=Dev Nath |last3=Kumar |first3=Ravi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzBREAAAQBAJ&dq=sindhi+brahmin+king&pg=PA239 |access-date=29 September 2023 |title=Against the Nation: Thinking Like South Asians |page=239 |quote=Playing along the same ideological lines of trying to build a historical narrative on how Muslims fought against the cruel Hindus, it talks of how Muhammad Bin Qasim, the general of Umayyad Caliphate who fought against the last Sindhi Brahmin king called Raja Dahir. |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |isbn=9789389812336 |language=en-IN }}</ref> his kingdom was invaded in 711 by the Arab [[Umayyad Caliphate]], led by [[Muhammad bin Qasim]], where Dahir died. According to the [[Chach Nama]], the Umayyad campaign against Dahir was due to a pirate raid off the Sindh coast that resulted in gifts to the Umayyad caliph from the king of [[Serendib (old name)|Serendib]] being stolen.<ref name="persian.packhum.org">Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. Commissioners Press 1900, Section 18: "It is related that the king of Sarandeb* sent some curiosities and presents from the island of pearls, in a small fleet of boats by sea, for Hajjáj. He also sent some beautiful pearls and valuable jewels, as well as some Abyssinian male and female slaves, some pretty presents, and unparalleled rarities to the capital of the Khalífah. A number of Mussalman women also went with them with the object of visiting the Kaabah, and seeing the capital city of the Khalífahs. When they arrived in the province of Kázrún, the boat was overtaken by a storm, and drifting from the right way, floated to the coast of Debal. Here a band of robbers, of the tribe of Nagámrah, who were residents of Debal, seized all the eight boats, took possession of the rich silken clothes they contained, captured the men and women, and carried away all the valuable property and jewels." [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=12701030&ct=18]</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=MacLean|first=Derryl N.|title=Religion and Society in Arab Sind|publisher=BRILL|year=1989|isbn=9004085513}}</ref>

Raja Dahir was born in 663 into the [[Brahmin dynasty of Sindh|Brahman dynasty of Sindh]], a family deeply rooted in Hindu traditions and governance. His father, Chach of Aror, who ruled from 631 to 671, was a Brahmin who ascended to the throne after marrying the widowed Queen Suhandi. This event established the Chach dynasty, which would rule Sindh for nearly a century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Shashank |title=Raja Dahir: The Last Hindu King of Sindh (679–712 AD) |url=https://theindosphere.com/history/raja-dahir-last-hindu-king-sindh/ |website=The Indosphere|date=20 August 2024 }}</ref>

He fought three battles successfully, but was killed in the final one after being betrayed by the Buddhists who resented him during the [[Battle of Aror]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khushalani |first=Gobind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Wp6otInFcAC |title=Chachnamah Retold : An Account Of The Arab Conquest Of Sindh |date=2006 |publisher=Bibliophile South Asia |isbn=978-81-85002-68-2 |pages=127 |language=en}}</ref> He died defending his region at Sindh which took place between his dynasty and the Arabs at the banks of the [[Indus River]], near modern-day [[Nawabshah]] at the hands of the [[Arab]] general [[Muhammad bin Qasim]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garg |first=Gaṅgā Rām |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World |date=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-373-3 |language=en |quote=When Muhammad-bin-Qāsim plundered the place Arora in 712 and defeated Rājā Dāhar, who belonged to the Arorā dynasty, the [[Arora|Arorā]] people left Sind and settled in the Punjāb cities, situated on the banks of the rivers Sind, Jhelum, Cenāb and Rāvī.}}</ref>

== {{anchor|Reign as recounted in the Chach-Nama}}Reign in the ''Chach Nama'' ==
The ''[[Chach Nama]]'' is the oldest chronicle of the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab conquest]] of Sindh. It was translated into [[Persian language|Persian]] by an Arab named Muhammad Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi in 1216<ref>[[Common Era]] year is an approximation of the [[Islamic calendar]] date 613 AH.</ref> from an earlier Arabic text believed to have been written by the [[Banu Thaqif|Thaqafi]] family (relatives of [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi]]).

== {{anchor|Lead up to war with the Umayyads}}War with the Umayyads ==
{{Main|Battle of Aror}}
Throughout his reign, Maharaja Dahir had to face invasions from the Umayyad Caliphate which had grown quite powerful by that time.

According to Chachnama and the Arab historian [[Al-Baladhuri|Biladhuri]], Dahir defeated the Arabs twice in pitched battles during the twin battles of Debal in which the invading Arab commanders [[Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad|Ubaidullah]] and Budail or Bazil were killed by Sindhis under Dahir's son Jaisiah.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/classicalage03bhar |title=History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 03, The Classical Age |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |others=Public Resource |year=1970 |editor-last=Majumdar |editor-first=R.C.}}</ref><ref name="Kalichbeg 1900">{{Cite book|last=Kalichbeg|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.285133|title=The Chachnamah An Ancient History Of Sindh|date=1900}}</ref>

Jaisiah later appointed his own chief or [[Thakur (title)|Thakur]] who governed on his behalf. According to [[Chach Nama|Chachnamah]], when the news of Bazil's death was relayed to [[Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf|Hajjaj]], he became very sad and full of rage.

This led to the fateful expedition by [[Muhammad bin Qasim]]. Before the [[Battle of Aror]], Maharaja Dahir is said to have given this speech as per [[Chach Nama|Chachnama]]<ref name="Kalichbeg 1900"/>

{{Blockquote|text="I am going to meet the Arabs in open battle, and fight them as best as I can. If I crush them, my kingdom will then be put on a firm footing. But if I am killed honourably, the event will be recorded in the books of Arabia and India and will be talked about by great men. It will be heard by other kings in the world, and it will be said that Raja Dahir of Sindh sacrificed his precious life for the sake of his country, in fighting with the enemy."<ref name="pakistanspace.tripod.com">{{cite web|url=https://pakistanspace.tripod.com/khurram/dahar.htm |date=23 May 2001|title=Rajah Dahar of Sindh|author=Khurram Ali Shafique|website=Pakistanspace.com website|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref>}}

The primary reason cited in the ''Chach Nama'' for the expedition by the governor of [[Basra]], [[Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf]], against Raja Dahir, was a pirate raid off the coast of [[Debal]] resulting in gifts to the caliph from the king of [[Serendib (old name)|Serendib]] (modern [[Sri Lanka]]) being stolen.<ref name="persian.packhum.org"/> [[Med people|Meds]] (a tribe of [[Scythians]] living in Sindh) also known as [[Bawarij]] had pirated upon Sassanid shipping in the past, from the mouth of the [[Tigris]] to the Sri Lankan coast, and now they were able to prey on Arab shipping from their bases at [[Kutch]], [[Debal]] and [[Kathiawar]].

[[Image:Sindh 700ad.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Sindh in 700 CE, under the Raja's dynasty. The [[Umayyad Caliphate]] can be seen advancing upon the western frontier of the [[Indian subcontinent]].]]
Hajaj's next campaign was launched under the aegis of [[Muhammad bin Qasim]]. In 711, bin Qasim attacked at [[Debal]] and, on orders of Al-Hajjaj, freed the earlier captives and prisoners from the previous (failed) campaign. Other than this instance, the policy was generally one of enlisting and co-opting support from defectors and defeated lords and forces. From Debal, bin Qasim moved on to [[Nerun]] for supplies; the city's Buddhist governor had acknowledged it as a tributary of the [[Caliphate]] after the first campaign and capitulated to the second. Qasim's armies then captured [[Sehwan|Siwistan]] and received allegiance from several tribal chiefs and secured the surrounding regions. His combined forces captured the fort at Sisam and secured the region west of the [[Indus River]].

By enlisting the support of local tribes such as the [[Med people|Meds]] and also the support of the [[Buddhist]] rulers of [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Nerun]], Bajhra, Kaka Kolak and [[Sehwan Sharif|Siwistan]] as [[infantry]] to his predominantly-[[Cavalry|mounted]] army, Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Dahir and captured his eastern territories which were added into the [[Umayyad Caliphate]].<ref name="Asif2016">{{cite book|author=Manan Ahmed Asif|title=A Book of Conquest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4oxDQAAQBAJ|date=19 September 2016|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-66011-3|pages=8–}}</ref>

Sometime before the final battle, Dahir's vizier approached him and suggested that Dahir should take refuge with one of the friendly kings of [[Hindustan|India]]. "You should say to them, 'I am a wall between you and the Arab army. If I fall, nothing will stop your destruction at their hands.'" If that wasn't acceptable to Dahir, said the vizier, then he should at least send away his family to some safe point in [[Hindustan|India]]. Dahir refused to do either. "I cannot send away my family to security while the families of my thakurs and nobles remain here."<ref name="Asif2016"/>

Dahir then tried to prevent Qasim from crossing the Indus River, moving his forces to its eastern banks. Eventually, however, Qasim crossed the river and defeated his forces at Jitor led by Jaisiah (Dahir's son). Qasim fought Dahir at Aror (near modern [[Nawabshah]]) in 711, eventually killing him. After Dahir was killed in the Battle of Aror on the banks of the River Indus, his head was cut off from his body and sent to Hajjaj bin Yousuf. Dahir's son Jaisiah and Fufi and grandson Chach, son of another of his sons Dharsiah, continued the struggle against Muhammad bin Qasim.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians Vol. 1|author=Dowson, E. H.; Elliot, Sir H. M.|publisher=Kitab Mahal Pvt Ltd, Delhi|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.448955/page/n205/mode/2up|page=205}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Chach Nama]]
* [[Rai dynasty]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Raja Dahir's Wife Rani Bai fled to the fort of Rawar with 150,000 troops from where she challenged Muhammad Bin Qasim for the battle. Muhammad bin Qasim chased her to Rawar and ordered his miners to dig and demolish the walls of the fort until the bastions were thrown down. Rani Bai, however, finding herself encircled, surrendered and burnt herself along with other ladies.
* Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg: The Chachnamah, An Ancient History of Sind, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. Translated by from the Persian by, Commissioners Press 1900 [http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=12701030&ct=0]
* [[R. C. Majumdar]], H.C. Roychandra and Kalikinkar Ditta: [[An Advanced History of India]], Part II,
* Tareekh-Sind, By Mavlana Syed Abu Zafar Nadvi
* Wink, Andre, ''Al-Hind the Making of the Indo Islamic World'', Brill Academic Publishers, 1 January 1996, {{ISBN|90-04-09249-8}}
* Maurya, Sudheer, Sindhusuta - Historical Novel {{ISBN|978-8195444786}}
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{{History of Sindh}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Karachi}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahir}}
[[Category:7th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:8th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs|Dahir, Raja]]
[[Category:Sindhi warriors]]
[[Category:Sindhi Hindus]]
[[Category:663 births]]
[[Category:712 deaths]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Sindh]]

Dahir of Aror - Revision history

Onlinemcadegree at 22:33, 1 March 2026