Dahir of Aror

Dahir of Aror
Maharaja of Sindh
3rd and last Maharaja of Brahmin dynasty of Sindh
Reign695–712 CE
PredecessorChandar
SuccessorKingdom abolished
(annexed by the Umayyad Caliphate)
RegentDahir
Born663 CE
Aror, Chacha dynasty
Died712 CE (aged 49)
Sindhu River, Chacha dynasty
Spouses•Ladee
•Rani Bai
Issue
Names
Raja Dahir Sen
DynastyBrahmin dynasty of Sindh
FatherChach
MotherRani Suhanadi (former wife of Rai Sahasi)
ReligionHinduism

Raja Dahir (663 – 712 CE) was the last Hindu[1] ruler of Sindh (in present-day Pakistan).[2] A Brahmin ruler,[3] his kingdom was invaded in 711 CE by the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, led by Muhammad bin Qasim, where Dahir died while defending his kingdom. According to the Chachnama, the Umayyad campaign against Dahir was due to a pirate raid off the coast of the Sindhi coast that resulted in gifts to the Umayyad caliph from the king of Serendib (Old name of Sri Lanka) being stolen.[4][5]

He fought 2 to 3 battles successfully but was killed at the Battle of Aror[6] while 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.[7]

  1. ^ Saraswat, Jigar (11 March 2021). "Raja Dahir defeated Muhammad Bin Qasim and Arab troops thrice". Indian Daily Post. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. ^ Asif, Manan Ahmed (19 September 2016). A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia. Harvard University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-674-66011-3.
  3. ^ Perera, Sasanka; Pathak, Dev Nath; Kumar, Ravi (30 December 2021). Against the Nation: Thinking Like South Asians. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 239. ISBN 9789389812336. Retrieved 29 September 2023. 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.
  4. ^ 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." [1]
  5. ^ MacLean, Derryl N. (1989). Religion and Society in Arab Sind. BRILL. ISBN 9004085513.
  6. ^ Khushalani, Gobind (2006). Chachnamah Retold : An Account Of The Arab Conquest Of Sindh. Bibliophile South Asia. p. 127. ISBN 978-81-85002-68-2.
  7. ^ Garg, Gaṅgā Rām (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-373-3. When Muhammad-bin-Qāsim plundered the place Arora in 712 and defeated Rājā Dāhar, who belonged to the Arorā dynasty, the Arorā people left Sind and settled in the Punjāb cities, situated on the banks of the rivers Sind, Jhelum, Cenāb and Rāvī.