# Mongol invasion of India (1306)
The Mongol invasion of India in 1306 was a Chagatai Mongol raid into the [Delhi Sultanate](https://www.edgepedia.org/delhi-sultanate) sent by the khan Duwa (Dawa Khan), led by the commanders Kubak (also rendered Kopek) and Iqbalmanda, and defeated by the Khalji generals [Malik Kafur](https://www.edgepedia.org/malik-kafur) and Ghazi Malik. It was, together with the repulsion of a further raid in 1308, the last Mongol invasion of [Alauddin Khalji](https://www.edgepedia.org/alauddin-khalji)'s reign and, with Duwa's death in 1306, marked the end of the era of large-scale Mongol assaults on India.[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) • [2](https://www.msuniv.ac.in/images/distance%20education/learning%20materials/ug%20pg%202023/pg%202021/MA%20history%202021/II%20Semester%20-%20DHIM22%20-%20History%20of%20India%20712%20-1765%20A.D.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 1306, during the reign of Alauddin Khalji[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) |
| Initiator | Duwa (Dawa) Khan of the Chagatai khanate of Trans-Oxiana, who had mounted repeated campaigns from 1297[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue) |
| Mongol commanders | Kubak (Kopek) and Iqbalmanda[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) |
| Course | The army advanced up to the Ravi River, ransacking territories along the way[2](https://www.msuniv.ac.in/images/distance%20education/learning%20materials/ug%20pg%202023/pg%202021/MA%20history%202021/II%20Semester%20-%20DHIM22%20-%20History%20of%20India%20712%20-1765%20A.D.pdf) |
| Outcome | Defeated by Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik; Kubak was captured and Iqbalmanda's army was nearly exterminated[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) |
| Aftermath | Duwa Khan died in 1306, and the Chagatai khanate was too weak to invade India in the following years[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue) |
## Background: the Mongol threat to the Delhi Sultanate
Mongol pressure on the north-west of India began in the thirteenth century, when Chingiz Khan destroyed the Khwarazmian empire and chased its prince Jalaluddin Mangbarni to the banks of the Indus; Sultan [Iltutmish](https://www.edgepedia.org/iltutmish) declined to shelter the prince, unwilling to provoke the Mongol ruler.[4](https://www.hpuniv.ac.in/hpuniv/upload/uploadfiles/files/MA-iind%20sem%20222.pdf) From the 1290s the main threat came from the Chagatai khanate of Trans-Oxiana under Duwa Khan, who mounted repeated campaigns from 1297.[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue)
The invasions of Alauddin Khalji's reign (1296-1316) escalated in seriousness. In 1299 Duwa's son [Qutlugh Khwaja](https://www.edgepedia.org/qutlugh-khwaja) led a force of some 200,000 that entered the streets of Delhi itself; Alauddin met the Mongols outside the city at the battle of Kili, where his general Zafar Khan died, and the Mongols withdrew without a full battle.[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue) • [5](https://digitallylearn.com/history/mongol-invasions-conquest-of-deccan/) In 1303 a force of 120,000 returned while Alauddin was campaigning against Chittor; he fortified himself at his new capital of Siri, and after two months of daily skirmishing the Mongols retreated having gained nothing.[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue) In 1305 a fourth invasion under Ali Beg was intercepted by Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik on its way back from the Punjab, and a large number of Mongols were taken prisoner.[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf)
## The invasion of 1306
Constant Mongol attacks pressed Alauddin to seek a permanent solution. He recruited a large standing army, strengthened the frontier forts along the routes into India, and entrusted the defense of the frontier to a special unit of the army.[6](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf) • [1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) These measures improved the defense of the frontier but did not deter one more Chagatai attempt.
A second Mongol force dispatched by Duwa pushed forward as far as the Ravi in 1306, plundering the lands on its route.[2](https://www.msuniv.ac.in/images/distance%20education/learning%20materials/ug%20pg%202023/pg%202021/MA%20history%202021/II%20Semester%20-%20DHIM22%20-%20History%20of%20India%20712%20-1765%20A.D.pdf) The invasion was commanded by two leaders, Kubak and Iqbalmanda. Malik Kafur and Ghazi Malik (the governor of Dipalpur, later Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq) first inflicted a severe defeat on Kubak and captured him; they then turned on Iqbalmanda and attacked with such force that his army was almost exterminated, and he barely saved his own life.[1](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf) The engagement is cataloged in modern references as the Battle of Ravi, 1306.[7](https://waratlas.org/e/delhi-sultanate)
## Aftermath
The repulse of 1306, together with a further repulsion in 1308, ended the Mongol incursions of Alauddin's reign.[6](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf) A second reason for the Mongol reversal lay in Central Asia: Duwa Khan died in 1306, and civil war within the Chagatai khanate followed, leaving the Mongols too weak to launch an invasion of India over the next few years.[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue)
The security gained on the north-west had consequences inside India. With the Mongols no longer a power to reckon with, the Delhi Sultans extended their frontier as far as the [Salt Range](https://www.edgepedia.org/salt-range).[6](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf) The Mongol destruction of Central and [West Asia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-asia) had also driven a large-scale migration of scholars, mystics, and artisans to Delhi, transforming it into a great town of the Islamic cultural sphere.[6](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf)
The respite lasted about two decades. The last significant Mongol invasion came under [Tarmashirin](https://www.edgepedia.org/tarmashirin) in 1326-27, during the reign of [Muhammad bin Tughluq](https://www.edgepedia.org/muhammad-bin-tughluq), penetrating as far as Badaun.[6](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf) • [8](https://www.wbnsou.ac.in/online_services/SLM_UGC_DEB/UG_4YR/HISTORY/6CC-HI-07_E.pdf) After that, Delhi faced only occasional raiding bands until Timur's sack of the city in 1398, a plundering raid of a different character from the Chagatai campaigns.[3](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue)
## References
1. [History of India (TYBA Medieval India), University of Mumbai study material](https://old.mu.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TYBA-Medieval-India.pdf)
2. [History of India 712-1765 A.D., M.A. History study material, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University](https://www.msuniv.ac.in/images/distance%20education/learning%20materials/ug%20pg%202023/pg%202021/MA%20history%202021/II%20Semester%20-%20DHIM22%20-%20History%20of%20India%20712%20-1765%20A.D.pdf)
3. [Delhi Sultanate: Administration and Revenue, CivilsNotes](https://civilsnotes.in/read/history/delhi-sultanate-administration-and-revenue)
4. [Mongols and the Mameluk Sultans, Himachal Pradesh University history notes](https://www.hpuniv.ac.in/hpuniv/upload/uploadfiles/files/MA-iind%20sem%20222.pdf)
5. [Mongol Invasions and the Conquest of the Deccan, Digitally Learn](https://digitallylearn.com/history/mongol-invasions-conquest-of-deccan/)
6. [Theme I, Delhi Sultanate study material, eGyanKosh (IGNOU)](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/68904/3/Theme-I.pdf)
7. [Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526), War Atlas](https://waratlas.org/e/delhi-sultanate)
8. [History study material 6CC-HI-07, Netaji Subhas Open University](https://www.wbnsou.ac.in/online_services/SLM_UGC_DEB/UG_4YR/HISTORY/6CC-HI-07_E.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Wars, campaigns, and incidents › Wars and campaigns (whole-conflict histories) › Medieval and early modern wars › Mongol and steppe invasions*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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