Al-Hakam ibn Awana (Arabic: الحكم بن عوانة الكلبي) was the Umayyad governor of Sindh in 731–740.[1] He was appointed by Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik after the death of the governor Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi, Al-Hakam restored order to Sindh and Kush and built secure fortifications at al-Mahfuzah and al-Mansur, and proceeded to retake lands previously conquered by al-Junayd.
Al-Hakam ibn Awana | |
---|---|
![]() Coinage of al-Hakam bin Awana al-Kalbi, Umayyad governor of Sindh | |
Umayyad Governor of Sindh | |
In office 731–740 | |
Appointed by | Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik |
Preceded by | Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi |
Personal details | |
Died | 740 |
Nationality | Umayyad |
Occupation | Governor |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Arab sources do not mention details of the campaigns, but recorded Indian sources mentioned some victories over the Arab forces also they have mentioned about the kings who were defeated by Arabs in the battles. The Navsari inscription of Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin state that the Arabs had advanced up to Navsari after defeating the rulers of the Saindhava, Kachchhelas, Saurashtra, Chávoṭakas, Mauryas, the Gurjara, and other.[2]
Plates of the Chalukyas dated 120-21/738-39 prove that some time shortly before, the Muslims had plundered the Saindhava of Bhumilka in West Kathiawar, the Kachchellas of kutch, the Maitrakas of Saurashtra, the Chavda of South Rajasthan, and the Mauryas of Chitor, This list strongly resembles that of the territories conquered by al-Junayd a dozen years earlier and subsequently lost. Since these conquests had been lost under Tamim Zayd, and since the Muslims had again reached the southeastern corner of Gujarat by 121/739, we must conclude that al-Hakam or his lieutenants had indeed reconquered all these territories.[3]
References
edit- ^ Wink, André. Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Volume 1: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th–11th Centuries. 3rd ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996. ISBN 90-04-09249-8
- ^ Diwakar, Ranganath Ramachandra (1968). Karnataka Through the Ages: From Prehistoric Times to the Day of the Independence of India. Literary and Cultural Development Department] Government of Mysore. p. 267.
- ^ Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (28 June 1994). The End of the Jihâd State: The Reign of Hishām Ibn ʿAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. State University of New York Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7914-9683-1.