Muhammad of Ghor Ep50 | Battle of Andkhud 1204 | Muhammad II of Khwarazm Vs Shahab-ud-din-Ghauri

Muhammad II invaded the domains of the Ghurid Empire, and besieged Herat. Mu'izz (Sultan Shahab ud din Ghauri), however, managed to repel him from Herat and then pursued him to Khwarezm, besieging Gurganj, his capital. Muhammad desperately requested aid from the Kara-Khitan Khanate, who sent an army to aid Muhammad. Mu'izz, because of the pressure from the Kara-Khitans, was forced to relieve the siege and retreat. However, on his way to his domains in Ghur, he was defeated in Battle of Andkhud in 1204. However, Ghiyath's Turkic general Taj al-Din Yildiz seized Ghazni from the Ghurid rulers of Bamiyan, but shortly recognized the authority of Ghiyath. Ghiyath, not glad about Tajuddin controlling Ghazni, and not daring to leave Ghur unprotected, requested help from the Muhammad II. Muhammad, however, instead invaded the domains of Ghiyath, capturing Balkh and Tirmidh.[6] However, during his invasion he was captured by the Kara-Khitan Khanate. Thirteen months later, Muhammad was freed from captivity, and once again invaded the domains of Ghiyath, and captured Herat. Muhammad then invaded the Ghurid heartland of Ghur, and captured Ghiyath. Ghiyath then agreed to recognize Muhammad's authority. The Battle of Andkhud, also spelt as Battle of Andkhui was fought in 1204 on the bank of river Oxus near Andkhoy in present-day Afghanistan. It was fought between the Ghurid forces of Muhammad of Ghor against the Qara Khitai forces (as aid of Khwarazmian Empire) led by Tayangu of Taraz. The battle ended in a complete rout of the GhuridsThe Ghurids, soon after the death of Tekish of Khwarezm, invaded and annexed most of the Khorasan amidst the civil war among the successors of Tekish for the throne. However, the Ghurids conquests were recaptured by Alauddin Shah who made diplomatic overtures to make peace with the Ghurids By close of the twelfth century, the Ghurids under the rule of Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad (c. 1163–1203) and Muhammad of Ghor (c. 1173–1206) reached apogee of its glory. Muhammad of Ghor after uprooting the Ghaznavids in 1186, achieved a landscape victory in 1192, against a coalition of Rajput rulers under Prithviraja III in Taraori which opened the whole of Ganga valley which Muhammad and his slave generals pressed upon in subsequent years and reached as far as east in Lakhawati in Bengal. After their conquests in Indian subcontinent, the Ghurids embarked upon the struggle with Khwarazm Empire for the supremacy of Khorasan. Meanwhile, Tekish died in 1200 and was succeeded by his son Alauddin Shah. Taking advantage of the civil war between Alauddin and his nephew Hindu Khan for the throne, the Ghurids successfully captured Nishapur, Merv, Tus and reached right up to Gorgan and Bisṭām. Further, In Merv, the Ghurids stationed Alauddin's rival Hindu Khan on the throne. Thus, the Ghurids for a short while swept away most of the Khorasan for the first time.[4][5] However, Alauddin soon ascended to the throne in August 1200 and recaptured his territories from the Ghurids after a series of incursion which began from September 1201 and recaptured Nishapur and other Ghurid conquests including Herat.[6] Despite this success, Alauddin tried to make cordial relations with the Ghurids (possibly to get rid from Qara Khitai supremacy) and wrote a letter to them to treat him as his son and offered to marry his mother Turkan Khatun to Muhammad of Ghor. However, the overtures by Alauddin were turned down by the Ghurids and they continue to carry raids in Khorasan.Alauddin defeated the Ghurid garrison in Herat and recaptured the city. However, Muhammad drove back him from Merv and decisively defeated him east of his capital in Gurganz. Muhammad in order to give a decisive blow to the Khwazmians, besieged their capital Gurganz - possibly to completely annex their empire. Alauddin retreated, and requested aid from the Qara Khitai rulers who were themselves in hostile relations with the Ghurids after their invasion of Balkh. Thus, Qara Khitai's sent a large contingent of 40,000 soldiers under the command of Tayangu of Talas along with Qarakhanid ruler Uthman ibn Ibrahim of Samarkand and his cousion Taj al-Din Bilge Khan Many of the Ghurid soldiers start retreating although, Muhammad continue to lead the vanguard. However, he got seriously wounded by an arrow and was taken by his slave general Aibak Yogi to safety inside a castle between Merv and Balkh. A large number of Ghurid soldiers were slained who covered his retreat to the castle. According to the chronicler Hasan Nizami - "Only a few person from the army of Islam were left. The numerically superior forces of Qara Khitais and Qarakhanids eventually routed the Ghurids completely #BattleofAndkhud #shahabuddin #SultanGhori