Battle of the Rahib

01The crossing

The Persian historians say that Trilochanapala, who had lost Nandana and much of the Punjab, joined the kings of the Ganga plain and took post behind the Rahib, which was deep and muddy. Mahmud’s army hesitated. Then a small party of his soldiers crossed the river on inflated skins and by swimming, attacked the Hindu camp, and the rest followed. Trilochanapala’s army broke, and the Ghaznavids took a large booty of elephants and goods.

02The end of the Shahis

Trilochanapala survived the battle but was killed soon after, in 1021 or 1022, and his son Bhimapala, the last of the line, died in 1026. Al-Biruni, no friend of Hindu kings, paid the Shahis a rare tribute: in all their grandeur, he wrote, they never slackened in the ardent desire of doing what is good and right, and they were men of noble sentiment and noble bearing. Members of the family found refuge in Kashmir.