Were the people of the Deccan the most powerful people in South Asian History

[Shark2]

when invaders come they dont get free pass to highway 444 straight to Deccan, they had to fight the local tribes from Afghanistan to Punjab before going further inland....Afghanistan, Punjab, frontiers (KPK) were the tribal societies and never submitted to dynesties, they would fight the invaders making them weaker, so invader mostly returned half way with whatever they can get their hands on.

Greeks, Arabs, Scythians and Turks easily ruled the major part of Afghanistan and Pakistan for thousands of years and were only defeated in what is modern India. The Arabs and Scythians tried to invade the Deccan but were defeated by the Chalukya and Satavahana Dynasties of the Deccan. Even the Turks struggled in the Deccan and were several
times defeated by the Vijayanagar Empire. All these invaders used Afghanistan and Pakistan as a base to invade India.

 

[Bang Galore]

when invaders come they dont get free pass to highway 444 straight to Deccan, they had to fight the local tribes from Afghanistan to Punjab before going further inland....Afghanistan, Punjab, frontiers (KPK) were the tribal societies and never submitted to dynesties, they would fight the invaders making them weaker, so invader mostly returned half way with whatever they can get their hands on.

Punjab? Most invaders, once they got through Peshawar were only challenged in & around Panipat. It's why you hear of no great wars in the Punjab, not much resistance seems to have been offered . Even Chingis Khan came all the way to the banks of the Indus before returning spooked on seeing a rhinoceros. I'm afraid history does not back your argument.

 

[xyxmt]

Greeks, Arabs, Scythians and Turks easily ruled the major part of Afghanistan and Pakistan for thousands of years and were only defeated in what is modern India. The Arabs and Scythians tried to invade the Deccan but were defeated by the Chalukya and Satavahana Dynasties of the Deccan. Even the Turks struggled in the Deccan and were several
times defeated by the Vijayanagar Empire. All these invaders used Afghanistan and Pakistan as a base to invade India.

how many miles between; from lets say where Pakistani border is (where greek, arabs, turks ruled without any trouble or poor fighting skills and their willingness to submit to rulers) to Deccan?

Punjab? Most invaders, once they got through Peshawar were only challenged in & around Panipat. It's why you hear of no great wars in the Punjab, not much resistance seems to have been offered . Even Chingis Khan came all the way to the banks of the Indus before returning spooked on seeing a rhinoceros. I'm afraid history does not back your argument.

no great wars with tribes, read history of American independance wars, romans, Arabs....frontiers dont fight great wars. they give you small wounds by thousands, they make you tired and busy. Tribes have no aspirations other than let them cultivate their lands.

 

[Shark2]

how many miles between; from lets say where Pakistani border is (where greek, arabs, turks ruled without any trouble or poor fighting skills and their willingness to submit to rulers) to Deccan?

Its not as far away as you think. For example in the 8th century the Arabs conquered Pakistan and Afghanistan and established several military bases like Sindh. From Sindh they conquered the major part of Gujarat and then attempted to invade the Deccan but they were defeated by the Chalukya Dynasty. Later the Arabs were even driven out of Gujarat by the Chalukya Dynasty and they fled to Sindh.

 

[Bang Galore]

no great wars with tribes, read history of American independance wars, romans, Arabs....frontiers dont fight great wars. they give you small wounds by thousands, they make you tired and busy. Tribes have no aspirations other than let them cultivate their lands.

Punjab is the frontier?

 

[xyxmt]

Punjab is the frontier?

not Indian Punjab but large part of Pakistani Punjab was

 

[Srinivas]

not Indian Punjab but large part of Pakistani Punjab was

Depends on the terrain in which the kingdom is located.

Mountainous areas are tough to conquer, since natives can hide and resort to guerilla tactics. It is difficult to get the grip over that territory.

Plains are easier to conquer, Punjab is located in plains sandwiched between great empires in Delhi and Mountainous tribes on the other side. The kingdoms like in the Sindh and Punjab do not have the military might in the past because of limited resources nor they have defended their territories successfully when invaders attacked . Reason why invaders made pacts with the natives of punjab plains and marched on to Panipat to conquer Delhi.

Deccan is an inland and has sea routes which offers some advantageous against invaders.

Based on the terrain and resources the kingdom's might is defined. The culture and will to defend defines the warrior tradition of that kingdom.

Generally agriculture based civilizations in plains are very vulnerable to the invaders who are hunter gatherers.

 

[wiseone2]

I had always wished Cholas could have joined hands with other empires (even single handedly if possible) took on the foreign invaders by sending its soldiers when it was at its highest under me and my son's Rajendra's tenure ?

it is all about military technology. unless Indians embraced outside world and adopted the latest practice India would be conquered sooner or later.

Look at what happened to China

 

[Shark2]

Depends on the terrain in which the kingdom is located.

Mountainous areas are tough to conquer, since natives can hide and resort to guerilla tactics. It is difficult to get the grip over that territory.

Plains are easier to conquer, Punjab is located in plains sandwiched between great empires in Delhi and Mountainous tribes on the other side. The kingdoms like in the Sindh and Punjab do not have the military might in the past because of limited resources nor they have defended their territories successfully when invaders attacked . Reason why invaders made pacts with the natives of punjab plains and marched on to Panipat to conquer Delhi.

Deccan is an inland and has sea routes which offers some advantageous against invaders.

Based on the terrain and resources the kingdom's might is defined. The culture and will to defend defines the warrior tradition of that kingdom.

Generally agriculture based civilizations in plains are very vulnerable to the invaders who are hunter gatherers.

The main reason why the Deccan and southern India did so well and why Pakistan was mostly ruled
by foreign invaders is the lack of any great Kingdoms in Pakistan during ancient and medieval
period. Pakistan was dominated by tribal people during ancient period.
In the Deccan major Dynasties were already established during ancient period.