Battle of Kili
| Battle of Kili | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mongol invasion of Central Asia | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mongol Empire | Delhi Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Qutlugh Khwaja Hiljak |
Alauddin Khilji Zafar Khan |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 200.000 | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Heavy | Heavy, Zafar Khan KIA | ||||||||
In 1296 Alauddin Khilji took the throne of Delhi after the death of his uncle. He was supported by Ulugh Khan (his brother) and his general Zafar Khan.
The Chagatai Khanate controlled Central Asia, and its leader since the 1280s was Duwa Khan who was second in command of Kaidu Khan. Duwa was active in Afghanistan, and attempted to extend Mongol rule into India. Negudari governor Abdullah, who was a son of Chagatai Khan's great grandson, invaded Punjab with his force in 1292, but their advance guard under Ulghu was defeated and taken prisoner by the Khalji Sultan. Around 4000 Mongol soldiers who surrendered converted to Islam. The suburb they lived in was appropriately named Mughalpura. Chagatai tumens were beaten by the Delhi Sultanate several times in 1296-1297. The Mongols thereafter repeatedly invaded northern India. On at least two occasions, they came in strength.
The troop strength of Chagatai Khanate was estimated to be as many as 200.000. The Mongol leader was Qutlugh Khwaja, a descendant of Genghis Khan. 'Ala al-Din personally commanded the Delhi army, with Zafar Khan commanding the army's right wing and Ulugh Khan commanding the left.
'Alauddin brought his army to the outskirts of Kili. Zafar Khan on the Indian right mounted an attack against the Mongol left flank, which successfully drove them from the field. At first it appeared that the Mongol left had been routed, but since the main body of the Indian army had made only a token demonstration, the Mongol left was able to regroup and reinforce their forces. Zafar's forces were surrounded by the reinvigorated Mongols. Qutlugh offered Zafar an opportunity to surrender his forces, but he refused and was killed in the subsequent fighting. Alauddin's army was ultimately successful in defeating Chagatai Khanate, however.
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