Battle of Amroha

Amroha is one of the 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Situated in northern Uttar Pradesh, it is located in west of the Moradabad town. It meets the boundaries of District of Bijnor on its North while on the east and south-east lies the Moradabad District. Towards the south it has Badau District while the River Ganges flows in its West. On the other side of the River Ganges lie the districts of Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The district of Amroha was earlier known as the Jyotiba Phule Nagar.

Amroha as the Center of Battleground

Location of Amroha has played a pivotal role in history. It was here the able generals of Alauddin Khalji confronted the Mongol general when they advanced towards the central India coming from Punjab in the famous Battle of Amroha.

Brief History of Amroha

Amroha has been one of the oldest cities in the world with its traces of human civilization going beyond 2400 years. Raja Amarjoda of the Bansi Dynasty is believed to have founded the town in around 479 BC. The Tarik-i-Amroha provides us much important information about the history and the Battle of Amorha. It was a Rajput Kingdom from 676 to 1141 AD. Mahmud of Ghazni devastated the town with his attack in 1093 AD and marked the beginning of the Delhi Sultanate period during which the Battle of Amroha was fought here.

Alauddin Khilaji’s reign

Amroha became an important centre of power during Alauddin Khaliji’s reign. Alauddin Khalji punished Khizr Khan here by forcefully extending his stay with Hisamuddin. Amroha served as the battleground for the famous Battle of Amroha. Malik Tughlaq and Malik Kafur, the able generals of Alaudding Khilji confronted the Mongols here.

On 20th December 1305 the Battle of Amroha was fought. The Mongols advanced towards Indians for invasion but were crushed mid way by the army of the Delhi Sultanate. India’s North-West border had witnessed many such attacks by the Mongols in the past. Alauddin Khalji, an able ruler had been working on fortification of his northern borders for long. He had fortified his forts that lied along the borders and had deployed large garrisons there. Khalji had heavily armed the forts there, trained the army specializing to handle the attacks, under the command of an able governor. He was given the task of securing and managing the borders. Even after such massive preparations, the Mongols lead by Ali Beg and Tartaq arrived from Punjab and marched towards Amroha. The Mongolian army came downwards from the Himalayas and plundered everything that came in between.

The Mongols had an encounter with Khalji’s army in Amroha. Alauddin had sent two of his strongest generals Gazi Malik and Malik Kafur to teach the Mongols a lesson. Khalji’s army followed the Mongols till the Central Asia and taken them with a surprised attack. The Mongols were defeated and the booties were captured from them. Kabuk along with other Mongol generals was presented before the Sultan at the Siri Fort of Delhi. An irate Khalji ordered death sentence for the generals along with the other prisoners. They were executed by trampling them under elephants and their heads were hung on the walls of the Siri Fort.