35053668-Empire-of-the-Soul-Paul-William-Roberts

‘MANY GHOST HERE’
capture Ludarva from the Ludarva Rajputs, subsequently shifting
his own capital there. He became the first Bhati to assume the title
‘rawal’. Little good it did him. He was killed soon after that in an
ambush by the Chenna Rajputs while he was out hunting.
Things quieted down for a generation, but life was never dull for
long for the Bhatis. Devraj’s grandson, Bachchraj, had to put up
with Mahmoud of Gazni. A ruthless and bloodthirsty Turko-Afghan
freebooter, Mahmoud managed to invade India no fewer than
seventeen times between AD 1000 and 1027, devastating Hindu cities
and temples from the Yamuna to the Ganges, destroying anything
and anyone that got in his way, and stealing almost everything else.
To this day, Mahmoud of Gazni’s name is synonymous with Muslim
brutality and barbarism in the minds of many Hindus. Even the
appearance of enlightened Moghuls like Akbar the Great was never
able to wipe this bloodstain from the Hindu image of Islam.
Ludarva was a trifle that just happened to be in Mahmoud’s way
while he marched toward greater treasures in the Gujarat. He
reportedly captured and sacked it in twelve hours. As always, though,
the Bhatis soon regrouped, recovered. Bachchraj was succeeded by
Dusaj, who was in turn succeeded by Vijayraj II. He seems to have
made a more useful marriage than most Bhati rulers, taking for a
wife the daughter of the Solanki ruler, Siddharaj Jai Singh of Patan.
With the marriage came also a title: ‘Gateway of the North.’ After
his death, around 1176, his son Bhojdev ascended to the throne –
there presumably was one again by now – but had to put up with his
wicked uncle, Jaisal. Another advantage still left over from his father’s
marriage was five hundred Solanki bodyguards. This force managed
to thwart Jaisal’s grab for the throne, but not for long. Jaisal quickly
formed an ad hoc alliance with the ruler of nearby Ghor, obtaining
for his efforts the use of troops that finally enabled him to storm
Ludarva, kill Bhojdev, and seize the crown for himself. In keeping
with traditional Bhati strategic know-how, Ludarva is situated on
an open plain. Having had personal experience of this shortcoming
of the city as a defensible base, Jaisal shifted his capital to a hill not
far away, founding the fort of Jaisalmer. Unfortunately, he died before
much more than a gateway for the structure had been completed.
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