DELHI, 1398 – The Indian subcontinent has been irrevocably scarred by the devastating invasion led by the Central Asian conqueror, Timur Lang, also known as Tamerlane. His forces, driven by a fierce combination of religious zeal and an insatiable hunger for wealth, swept through northern India, culminating in the brutal sacking of Delhi and the near-total collapse of the already fractured Delhi Sultanate.
Timur's campaign began with his formidable army crossing the Indus River on September 30, 1398. The Sultanate, under the nominal rule of Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq, proved woefully unprepared, weakened by years of internal strife and a fragmented administration. Cities such as Tulamba and Multan quickly fell, their resistance crushed, and their populations subjected to widespread looting and destruction.
The advance toward Delhi presented a unique challenge: the Sultanate's formidable war elephants, armored with chain mail. However, Timur, a military genius, devised a cunning strategy. He deployed camels laden with burning hay, stampeding them towards the elephants. The terrified beasts turned on their own lines, sowing chaos and disarray within the Sultanate's forces.
On December 17, 1398, the inevitable confrontation occurred. Timur's army decisively defeated the Sultan's forces at the Battle of Delhi. What followed was a period of unimaginable horror for the city. Delhi was thoroughly sacked, its magnificent structures reduced to ruins, and its streets stained with the blood of countless massacres. The immense wealth that had made Delhi one of the richest cities of its time was systematically plundered.
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12 September
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