Raj. History & Culture – III

Delhi Law Academy

Important Dynasties of Medieval Rajasthan (700 A.D. To 1700 A.D.)

Gurjar-Pratihars of Bhinmal

1.           Raja Nagbhatta I

•            Founder of Bhinmal branch of Pratihar.

•            Made triple alliance with Bappa Rawal and Jaisimha to defeat Arabs.

2.           Raja Watsaraj

•            First Pratihar king to occupy Kannauj.

•            He defeated Dharmapala of Gaud Dynasty and defeated by Dhruva of Rashtrakuta dynasty.

3.           Raja Nagbhatta II

•            Occupied Kannauj.

•            Defeated Dharmapala in the battle of Mudgagiri.

•            Defeated by Govinda of Rashtrakuta.

 4.          Raja Mihir Bhoj

•            Defeated Devpala of Bengal.

•            Arab traveller Suleiman visited his court in 851 A.D.

5.           Raja Yashpal

•            Last ruler of this dynasty.

•            His rule came to an end due to emerging of Gazni power.

Guhil Dynasty of Mewar

1.           Guhil

•            In 566 A.D. Guhil established this dynasty.

•            He established independent city Nagda (Udaipur).

2.           Bappa Rawal

•            Name: – Kaalbhoj

•            In 734, he defeated Maan Mori and took Chittorgarh under his control and made Nagada his capital.

•            At first, started gold coin in Rajasthan.

•            He built Eklingji Temple in Udaipur.

 3. Allat (943 A.D. to 953 A.D.)

•            Name: – Alu Rawal

•            Built Varah Temple of Ahar.

•            Married Hun Princess Hariyadevi.

•            Established bureaucracy in Mewar.

4.           Mathan Singh (1191-1211 A.D.)

•            Fought in the battle of Panipat with Prithviraj Chauhan III.

5.           Jaitra Singh (1213-1253 A.D.)

•            Fought battle of Bhutala and defeated the army of lltutmish.

•            He made Chittor his new capital.

•            His reign is called Golden Age of Medieval Mewar.

6.           Ratan Singh (1302-1303 A.D.)

•            Allauddin Khilji defeated him and he was killed.

•            After his death, his wife Padmavati committed Jauhar.

•            This was biggest Saka of Chittor and first Saka of Rajasthan.

•            Gora and Badal, two commanders showed courage during the battle.

•            In 1540 A.D. Malik Mohammed Jayasi wrote Padmavat in which he mentioned the beauty of Queen Padmavati.

Sisodias of Mewar

1.           Rana Hammir (1326-1364)

•            Fought Battle of Sugoli with Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.

•            Built the Annapurna Mata Temple of Chittorgarh Fort.

2.           Khetri Singh (1364-82)

•            He captured Zafar Khan, Sultan of Gujarat.

•            Son of Hammir

3.           Rana Lakha (1382-1421)

•            He married Hansa Bai, princess of Marwar.

•            His son Rana Choonda took the oath that not to come on the throne. Thus he is also called Bhishmapitamah of Mewar.

4.           Rana Mokal Singh (1421-33)

•            He reconstructed Samidheshwar Temple in Chittoor.

•            In 1433, he was murdered in Zilwada.

 5.          Rana Kumha (1433-68)

•            Defeated Mahmud Khilji, Sultan of Malwa, in battle of Sarangpur (Mandalgarh).

•            He erected Vijay Stambh (sign of Rajasthan police) after this victory which is 37 meters tall and 10 meter in width having 9 floors.

•            It is compared with Qutub Minar.

•            Rana Kumbha defeated the joint army of Mahmud Khilji and Qutubuddin of Gujarat in 1456.

•            Important forts built by Kumbha-

(1) Kumbhalgarh

(2) Achalgarh

(3) Basantgarh

•            Important books written by Kumbha-

(1) Rasik Priya

(2) Sudha Prabhandh

(3) Sangeet Raj

(4) Sangeet Sudha

(5) Kamaraj Ratisaar

•            He gave patronage to many scholars in his court, like

(a) Mandan

(b) Kanha Vyas

(c) Ramabai

(d) Muni Sundar Suri

•            He was a musician as well.

•            He was killed by his son Udai Singh.

6.           Rana Udai Singh (1468-73)

•            He killed his father Rana Kumbha and came to the throne.

•            Raimal, his brother, killed him and ascended the throne.

 7.          Rana Raimal (1473-1508)

•            He constructed Adhbut Shiva Temple in Chittor Fort.

8.           Rana Sanga (1508-1528)

•            In 1517 and 1519, he fought the battle of Khatoli and Bari respectively with Ibrahim Lodhi and defeated him in both the battles.

•            In 1519, he defeated MehmudKhilji in the battle of Gagron.

•            In 1527, he was defeated in the battle of Khanwa by Babur.

•            The important kings who took part in the battle of Khanwa alongside Sanga were : Maldev- Marwar, Medini Rai- Chanderi, Mahmood Lodhi (small brother of Ibrahim Lodi

•            He died at Kalpi (M.P.)

9.           Maharana Udai Singh (1537-1572)

•            Saved by Panna Dhai in the childhood

•            In 1557, fought the battle of Harmada with Haji Khan Pathan who was governor of Ajmer.

•            In 1559, he founded Udaipur and constructed Udai Sagar Lake.

•            In 1568 Akbar attacked and Jaimal and Fatta was killed

 10.       Maharana Pratap (1572-1597)

•            In 1576, He fought the battle of Haldighati with Akbar and was defeated by Akbar.  Akbar deputed Man Singh against Maharana Pratap.

•            This Battle is called as “Thermopylae of Rajasthan” by James Todd

•            His horse’s name was Chetak who was injured in this battle and later died. Chetak’s cremation is in Balicha Village.

•            In 1582, he fought Battle of Diver.

•            He died in 1597 in Chawand.

11.        Amar Singh (1597-1620)

12.        Karan Singh (1620-1628)

•            He started construction of Jagmandir Palace of Udaipur.

13.        Jagjit Singh I (1628-52)

•            He finished the construction of Jagmandir Palace of Udaipur.

•            He constructed Jagdish Temple of Udaipur.

14.        Raj Singh (1652-80)

•            He protested against Jajiya Tax by Aurangzeb

•            Supported Aurangzeb in the fight of Successor

15.        Jai Singh (1680-98)

•            He built Jaisamand Lake.

16.        Amarsingh II (1698-1710)

Rathod Dynasty of Marwar

1.           Rao Siyaji

•            He founded this dynasty.

•            In 1273, he died protecting cows in Bithu village.

2.           Rao Dhuhad

3.           Rao Chunda

•            The real founder of Rathod dynasty in Mewar.

•            He was killed in a battle with Salim Shah of Multan.

4.           Rao Jodha (1438-89)

•            He established city Jodhpur.

•            He constructed Mehrgarh Fort.

              •            His 5th son Bika established Bikaner.

5.           Rao Satal (1489-1492)

6.           Rao Suja (1492-1515)

7.           Rao Bairam Singh (1515-1515)

8.           Rao Ganga (1515-1532)

9.           Rao Maldeo (1532-1562)

•            He killed his father and ascended the throne.

•            In 1541, he defeated Jaitasi of Bikaner.

•            In 1543, he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in Battle of Sumail.

10.        Rao Chandra Sen (1562-1565)

•            He was defeated by the Mughal but still denied to form an alliance with them.

•            He is called Pratap of Marwar.

11.        Raja Udai Singh (1583-1595)

•            He established a marital relation with Mughals.

•            His daughter Mani Bai was married to Jahangir.

12.        Sawai Raja Suraj-Mal (1595-1619)

13.        Maharaja Gaj Singh (1619-1638)

14.        Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1638-1678)

•            He wrote BhasaBhusan, Anand Vilas, Prabodh Chandrodaya and AparokshaSidhanta Saar.

15.        Raja Rai Singh (1659-1659)

16.        Maharaja Ajit Singh (1679-1724)

Rathod Dynasty of Bikaner

1.           Rao Bika (1465-1504)

•            In 1465, he established Rathod dynasty in Bikaner region.

•            In 1488, established Bikaner.

2.           Rao Naroji (1504-05)

3.           Rao Lunkaran (1505-1526)

4.           Rao Jait Singh (1526-1542)

5.           Rao Kalyan Singh (1542-1571)

 6.          Raja Raj Singh I (1571-1611)

•            Akbar gave 51 Parganas to him.

•            He constructed Junagadh Fort in Bikaner.

•            He wrote ‘Rai Singh Mahotsav’.

7.           Maharaja Rao Anup Singh (1669-1698)

•            He wrote Anup Vivek’, ‘Kaam Prabodh’,’ ShraddhPrayog Chintamani’, ‘Anupodaya.’

8.           Maharaja Rao Sarup Singh (1698-1700)

9.           Maharaja Sir Rao Sadul Singh (1943-1950)

•            He was the last ruler of Bikaner and merged in present Rajasthan state and signed the instrument of accession to the dominion of India.

Kachhwaha Dynasty of Amber

1.           Prithviraj

•            He was feudal of Rana Sanga, therefore, he fought Battle with Babur in the Battle of Khanwa.

2.           Bharmal

              •            The accepted sovereignty of Akbar.

•            The first king of Rajasthan to accept sovereignty and establish a marital relation with Mughal.

3.           Bhagwantdas

•            Suppress Mirza revolt in Sarnal Battle. Thus he was given Nagada and Parcham by Akbar as the award.

•            His daughter was married to Jahangir.

4.           Maan Singh

•            He was made Subedar of Kabul, Bihar and Bengal.

•            He established Maanpur city in Bihar.

•            He established Akbarnagar city in Bengal.

•            He began the construction of forts of Amber.

•            He constructed Radha Govind Temple in Vrindavan.

5.           Mirza Raja Jai Singh (1621-1667)

•            Ruled for the maximum period in Jaipur (46 Years).

•            Shah Jahan titled him ‘Mirza Raja’.

•            On 11 June 1665, Treaty of Purandar was signed between Shivaji and Jaisingh.

              •            He constructed Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur.

6.           Sawai Jai Singh (1699-1743)

•            He saw the reign of seven Mughal Badshahs.

•            He shifted the capital from Amber to Jaipur in 1727.

•            His Purohit was ‘Pundarik Ratnagar’.

•            He performed two Ashvamedha sacrifices, once in 1734, and one in 1741.

•            He had a great interest in mathematics, architecture and astronomy.

•            He commissioned the Jantar Mantar observatories at multiple places in India, including his capital Jaipur.

•            Jai Singh also translated works by people like John Napier.

7.           Ishwari Singh (1743-1750)

•            In 1747, he defeated Madho Singh in the Battle of Rajmahal on the bank of river Banas.

•            In 1748, he was defeated by Madho Singh in the Battle of Bagaru.

•            After this defeat, he committed suicide.

Chauhan Dynasty

1.           Vasudev

•            In 551 A.D. he established Chauhan dynasty.

•            According to Bijoliya inscription, he constructed Sambhar lake.

2.           Ajayraj

•            In 1113 he established Ajmer city.

 •           He built Ajmer fort.

3.           Arnoraj

•            He constructed Anasagar Lake in Ajmer.

•            He constructed Varah Temple in Pushkar.

4.           Vigraharaj IV

•            He took away Delhi from Tomar dynasty.

•            He constructed a school later QutubuddinAibak built Dhai Din Ka Jhopda in place of this school.

5.           Prithviraj III

•            In 1182, he defeated Chandel ruler Parmarardidev in Battle of Mahoba.

•            In 1191, he defeated Mohammad Ghori in First Battle of Panipat.

•            In 1192, he was defeated by Mohammad Ghori in Second Battle of Panipat.

•            Moinuddin Chisti came to India during his reign.

•            He constructed Pithauragarh near Delhi.

•            Kaimash and Bhuvanmalla were his two ministers.

•            After the death of Prithviraj III, his son Govindraj established his rule Ranthambore.

Chauhans of Ranthambore

1.           Hammir Dev

•            In 1299, he defeated the army of Alauddin Khilji led by Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan.

•            Nusrat Khan was killed in this battle.

•            After that Allauddin Khilji raids the Ranthambore fort with his army and defeat them.

•            In 1301, first Siege of Ranthambore took place. This was the first Siege of Rajasthan.

•            He fought 17 battle in his life in which he only lost the last one.

Chauhans of Jalore

•            Founder of this branch of Chauhan was Kirtipal.

•            In inscriptions, Jalore is mentioned as Jabalipur.

•            Allauddin Khilji changed the name of Siwana to Khairabad.

Hada Chauhans of Bundi

•            In 1241, Deva Hada defeated Jait Meena and occupied Bundi.

 •           In 1354, Barsingh constructed Taragarh fort of Bundi.

•            Rao Surjan constructed Ranchhod Temple in Dwarika.

•            Budhhasingh wrote ‘Nehtarang’.

•            Maratha interference took place during the reign of Budhhasingh.

Hada Chauhans of Kota

•            In 1631, Madho Singh founded this state.

•            Mukund Singh constructed AbaliMeeni Palace in Kota.

•            Bhimsingh constructed Sawariyaji Temple in Baran.

Parmars of Abu

•            Parmar means Killer of the enemies.

•            The founder was Dhumraj but the dynasty begins from Utpalraj.

•            In 1031, Vimalshah constructed a wonderful temple of Adinatha in Abu.

•            Dharavarsha wrote a drama named ‘Parth-Parakrama-Vyayoga’ and established Prahaladanpur (Palanpur).

•            During the reign of Somsingh, son of Dharavarsha, Tejpal constructed Neminath Temple in Delwara village.

Land Revenue System in Rajasthan:

Classification of land –

  • Agriculture land: used for agricultural purposes
  • Pasture land: used for pasturage

Classification of peasants –

  • Bapidars: possessed lease letter and had ownership rights
  • Non-Bapidars: simple farmers, no ownership rights

Methods of collection of land revenue –

  • Lata: share of State was determined on the basis of actual production after threshing
  • Kunta: share of State was determine by estimation of standing crops
  • Dori: land revenue was determined on the basis of measurement of field
  • Mukta: land revenue of the entire village was determined on a lump-sum basis
  • Land revenue on Unnav land (irrigated by ponds, canals, wells) was higher as compared to Barani land (rainfed)
  • Land revenue was called by different names such as Bhog, Hasil, Lagaan

Administrative system

King

  • Head of all military, judicial and administrative powers
  • Worked in consultation with feudals, priests, conventional rules, Hindu codes of law

Pradhan

  • Second-in-command after the king
  • Known by different names in different states like Faujdar (Kota), Mukhtyar (Bikaner), Musahib (Jodhpur)

Diwan

  • In-charge of financial and revenue matters

Bakshi

  • Controller of military department

Shikdar

  • Chief police office
  • Responsible for maintenance of law and order

Khansama

  • In-charge of purchases and ration of the State

Mir Munshi

  • Looked after diplomatic correspondence in the form of:

Rukka: letters sent by the king to feudals

Kharita: letters sent by one king to another

Kiladar

  • Commandant of the fort

Dyodidar

  • Chief guard at the entrance of the fort

Mansabdari system of Mughals and Rajasthan

•            The Mansabdari system was the administrative system introduced by Akbar in Mughal Empire in 1571.

•            The word ‘Mansab’ is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position.

•            Hence, Mansabdari was a system of ranking the government officials and determined their civil & military duties, along with their renumerations.

Genesis of Mansabdari System

•            Akbar introduced Mansabdari system of administration in 1571 with the help of Shahbaz Khan.

•            However, the origin of Mansabdari system can be traced back to Mongols (Changez Khan).

•            In India, it was initially implemented by Babur & Humayun but it was Akbar who reformed and institutionalised the Mansabdari system as the basis of civil & military administration.

Mansabdari System

•            The mansabdars formed the ruling elite in the Mughal Empire.

•            Consequently, the whole nobility, the bureaucracy as well as the military hierarchy, held mansabs.

•            The recruitment and promotion of the mansabdars was in the hands of the emperor who could also dismiss them at will.

•            Mostly the recruitment of the mansabdars was made on the recommendation of the ‘mir bakshi’.

•            Under the mansabdari system, different numbers, which were multiples of ten, were used for ranking officers.

•            They were also meant for fixing the salaries and allowances of the officers.

•            During Akbar’s regime initially, the lowest rank was that of number 10 and highest that of 10,000.

•            Mansab above 5000, and later on, that of 7000, were given only to princess.

•            The highest rank of 10,000 was given exclusively to Salim, the crown prince. At a later stage, however, Akbar raised the highest rank to 12,000.

•            During Jahangir and Shahjahan’s reign, mansabs only 8000 were given to officers which princes were given mansabs upto 40,000 the later Mughals gave mansabs upto the number of 50,000.

Classification of Mansabdari system:

Broadly, there were three main classification of Mansabdars:

•            All officers below the rank of the mansab of 500 were called mansabdars,

•            The officers with the mansab from 500 to 2500 were called Amirs

 •           The officers than ranked over 2500 were called Amir-I-azam.

•            The highest rank in the army was that of Khan-i-khana.

Structure of Mansabdari system:

•            The Mansab was designated by dual representation –

  • Zat: a personal rank and
  • Sawar: a cavalry rank.

•            The Sawar ranking indicated the number of armed cavalrymen, or sawars, which each had to maintain for service in the imperial army.

•            On the basis of sawar ranks, the approximate strength of the imperial army under the effective control of the mansabdars could be readily calculated.

•            Beside soldiers, the military generals maintained horses, camels, bullock carts and beasts of burden as specified by their sawar as a part of their establishment.

Salary & Payment System

•            Based upon the details given in the Ain-i-Akbari, the mansabdars were paid either in cash (naqd) or in the form of assignments of areas of land (jagir) out of which they had the entitlement to collect the land revenue and all other taxes through an authority appointed by the emperor.

•            The revenue that was generated through their jagir was handed over to them and the same was deducted from their salary.

•            The mansabdar paid the salary of cavalrymen that he maintained out of his salary.

•            Those who received pay in cash were known as naqdi and those paid through assignments of jagirs were called jagirdars.

•            Thus the mansabdari system became an integral part of the agrarian and the jagirdari system of Mughal administration under Akbar.

•            The jagirs were by nature transferable and no mansabdar was allowed to retain the same jagir for a long period.

•           The mansab was not hereditary and it automatically lapsed after the death or dismissal of the mansabdar.

•           The son of a mansabdar, if he was granted a mansab, had to begin afresh.

Mansabdari System & Rajputs:

•            After the dismissal of Bairam Khan when Akbar took the reins of government in his hands, he decided to admit Rajputs and Shaikhzadas (Indian Muslims) in his ruling class.

•            The Emperor also entered into matrimonial relations with both the Rajputs and Indian Muslims.

•            The Kachhwahas of Ambers were the first to join Mughal service but thereafter almost all other prominent Rajput chiefs, with the exception of Sisodias of Mewar, also joined imperial service.

Kachwahas of Amber

•            Man Singh was the first Mansabdar of 7000 zats.

•            Bhagwan Das with 5000 zats enjoyed a privileged position in the Mansabdari system of Akbar.

Rathors of Marwar

•            Udai Singh (Mota Raja) was first to accept Mansab in Imperial service.

•            Soor Singh, son of Udai Singh, also served in imperial forces and even during his father life, was conferred with the title of Sawai Raja.

Rathors of Bikaner

•            Rae Singh was given title of Raja and government of Hisar by Akbar. When Maldeo was dispossessed of Jodhpur, the rich district of Nagaur was given to Rae Singh.

•            Karan, son of Rae Singh, held Mansab of 2000 and governship of Daulatabad during his father lifetime.

•            Anoop Singh who succeeded in 1674 was given Mansab of 5000 and governship of Bijapur & Aurangabad.

Hadas of Bundi

•            Rao Surjan Singh was first to accept suzerainty of Akbar.

Sisodias of Mewar

•            The Sisodia’s of Mewar were the only exception to serving under Mughal imperial service during reign of Akbar.

•            Jahangir was finally able to establish friendly relations with the Sisodias of Mewar.

•            Rana Amar Singh was exempted from personal presence and his eldest son Kunwar Karan was given the rank of 5000/5000.

•            Rana Karan Singh supported Shah Jahan, and after accession of Shah Jahan to throne, Karan Singh’s son Jagat Singh was recognised as the ruler of Mewar and was promoted to the rank of 5000/5000 and along with him five more Sisodias were also assigned ranks.

Major Landmarks in Raj History: Important Battles

738 AD :  Battle of Rajasthan

•            The Battle of Rajasthan is a battle taken place in 738 A.D., somewhere on borders on modern Sind-Rajasthan.

•            In this battle, the Gurjar-Hindu alliance defeated the Arab invaders and removed the Arab invaders and pillagers from the area east of the Indus River and protected whole India.

•            The main Indian kings who contributed to the victory over the Arabs were:

  • Gurjara-Pratihara King Nagabhata I
  • Jayasimha Varman of the Rashtrakuta Empire
  • Bappa Rawal of Kingdom of Mewar

Background:    .            

•            By the end of 7th century A.D Islam had become a powerful religion and Arabs a power force. Muhammad ibn Qasim captured Iran & Afghanistan. His successor, Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al- Murri, led a large army into the Hindustan region in early 730 CE. Dividing this force into two he plundered several cities in southern Rajasthan, western Malwa, and Gujarat.

•            Realizing the power of Arab forces, Pratihara king, Nagabhata appealed for showing a united front with Jayasimha Varman of the Rashtrakuta Empire.

•            Jayasimha acknowledged and sent his son Avanijanashraya Pulakesi to support Nagabhata.

•            The two forces, united with the already fighting Rajput forces under Bappa Rawal, at the border of Rajasthan.

The final battle of Rajasthan & Result:

•            The battle was fought between 5,000-6,000 Rajput-Gurjar Infantry and cavalry facing more than 30,000 Arabs.

•            The Rajputs under Bappa Rawal managed to kill the Arab leader Emir Junaid during the war.

•            In the words of the Arab chronicler Suleiman, “a place of refuge to which the Muslims might flee was not to be found.”

•            The Arabs took a long time to recover from their defeat.

•            Junayd’s successor Tamim ibn Zaid al-Utbi organized fresh campaigns against Rajasthan but failed to get hold of any territories.

•            Thus, the triple alliance of Indian Kingdoms saved Hindustan from Arab invaders, at-least for next 200 years.

1191/1192 AD : Battle of Tarain l, ll

•            The Battles of Tarain, also known as the Battles of Taraori, were series of two battles fought in 1191 and 1192 A.D between Prithviraj Chauhan III of Ajmer and Ghurid ruler Mu’izz al-Din Muhammad or Mohd. Ghori.

•            The battles were fought near the town of Tarain (Taraori), near Thanesar in present-day Haryana.

Background of Battle of Tarain

•            By 1182 A.D. the whole of Sindh was captured by Mohd Ghori. His conquest of Punjab and further inroads into northern India made the contest between him and the Rajput’s inevitable.

•            In 1186 he attacked Punjab, and defeated Khusru Malik and added Malik’s empire to his dominions. Ghori returned back to Ghanzi to help his brother, only to return in 1191.

The first Battle of Tarain (1191)

•            In 1191, Ghori proceeded towards India through the Khyber Pass and captured a fortress of Bathinda. This brought him on north-western frontier of Prithviraj Chauhan’s kingdom.

•            Realising their grave situation, the Hindu princes of north India formed a confederacy under the command of Prithiviraj Chauhan. Prithviraj’s army, led by his vassal prince Govind Rai marched on to Bhatinda and met his enemy at a place called Tarain (also called Taraori).

•            Ghori was wounded in personal battle with Govind Rai and so Ghori’s army retreated, giving victory to Prithviraj Chauhan. However, Prithviraj did not pursue Ghori’s army, not wanting to invade hostile territory or misjudging Ghori’s ambition, instead electing to retake the fortress of Bhatinda.

•            Alternatively, it has also been mentioned that, Ghori’s army surrendered and Muhammad was made prisoner. Muhammad of Ghor begged for mercy and Prithviraj pardoned him.

•            Hence, Prithviraj Chauhan won the First Battle of Tarain, held in 1191.

After the First Battle:

•            Ghori return to Ghazni, and started preparations to avenge the defeat.

•            When he reached Lahore, he sent his envoy to Prithviraj to demand his submission, but the Chauhan ruler refused to comply.

The Second Battle of Tarain (1192)

•            In 1192, Ghori challenged Prithviraj and a battle ensued at the same place (Tarain). Both Ghori and Prithviraj increased their army’s strength.

•            But Ghori changed his tactics as he did not want to engage in melee combat with the disciplined Rajput warriors.

•            He divided his huge troop into 5 parts and four units were sent to attack the Rajput flanks and rear. Hoping for Rajput attack, Ghori ordered his fifth unit to fast retreat.

•            As Ghori expected, the Rajput’s charged the fleeing Ghurid unit. The Ghurids then sent a fresh cavalry unit of 12,000 and they managed to throw back the Rajput advance.

•            Ghori won the second Battle of Tarain.

Regarding, fate of Prithiviraj after second battle, two stories emerge.

•            The first story says that Prithivraj Chauhan was captured in the battle field and executed.

The Second Story:

•            The second story, the more famous one in Rajasthan, is based on poem written by Prithviraj’s court poet Chandbardai. The story says that Mohammad Ghori attacked Prithviraj Chauhan unfairly at night, defeated his armies and captured him. Later Chauhan was taken to Ghor and presented in the court. Ghori ordered Prithvi to lower his eyes to which Prithvi retorted that the eyelids of Rajputs are lowered only on his death. Feeling insulted, Ghori blinded the Rajput king.

•            Chandbardai entered the court of Mahmud of Ghori in a disguise. Chand Bardai told Ghori that Prithviraj was a very skilled archer, and he could take aim based only on sound, and did not even need to look at his target. Ghori disdained to believe this and asked for the display.

•            Sighting opportunity, Chandbardai recited in a poetic stanza the location where Ghori sat. The stanza are:

“Char bans, chaubis gaj, angul ashta praman,

Ta upar sultan hai, chuke mat Chauhan.”

(Four measures ahead of you and twenty four yards away as measured with eight finger measurement, is seated the Sultan. Do not miss him now, Chauhan).

•            Getting the direction and location, Prithviraj shot his arrow through Ghori and killed him.

Consequences of Second Battle of Tarain on India:

•            The second battle of Tarain was a decisive battle. It was a major disaster for the Rajputs and their political prestige suffered a serious setback.

•            In 1193, Ghori’s general Qutub-Din Aibak, took over Ajmer and soon established Ghurid control in northern and central India.

•            Further, in 1194, Battle of Chandwar took place, in which Aibak defeated Gadhvala ruler Jayachandra. In conclusion, the Battles of Tarain and Chandawar laid the foundation for establishment of Turkish rule in India.

•            Bakhtiyar Khilji extended the domain of empire to Bihar destroying Universities of Nalanda & Vikramshila in the process. Later in 1202, his army completed the occupation of Hindustan by taking the province of Bengal.

Causes for the failure of Hindu kingdoms:

•            The most important cause for the downfall of Hindu Kingdoms was that the lack unity. They were divided by factions and Rajput Kingdoms were engaged in eternal mutual conflicts.

•            It was the result of these conflicts that Jai Chandra did not help Prithvi Raj Chauhan in putting up a united front against invaders.

•            Secondly, the military methods of Indian Kingdoms were also out of date and inferior to those of Muslims.

•            Indians continued to rely on elephants while the Muslims possessed quick-moving cavalry.

•            More importantly, Ghori had spent the time carefully planning his campaign and his tactics proved a major winner in war.

1295: First Jauhar of Jaisalmer

•            The first Jauhar of Jaisalmer occurred in year 1294, when Allauddin Khilji, attacked Jaisalmer and laid a siege for almost eight years.

Background of Battle:

•            Rawal Jaitsi ascended the throne of Jaisalmer in 1276. The tribute of Tat’ha and Multan, consisting of fifteen hundred horses and fifteen hundred mules laden with treasure and valuables, was at Bekhar in progress to Allaudin Khilji at Delhi. The sons of Jaitsi, raided and captured the caravan.

•            The king was outraged when the news reached him and ordered an expedition against Jaisalmer.

Siege of Jaisalmer:

•            Preparing for the war, Rawal Jaitsi sent the children, elderly and sick to refuge into the interior of the desert.

•            He build up a massive store of food within the fort, while destroyed the country around the capital, laying waste miles of area and made many towns desolate.

•            Alauddin laid siege to the fort. According to local ballads, the Bhatis defended the fort for almost 8 years during which the forces left outside of the walls occupied themselves attacking the supply lines of the Khilji’s troops.

•            During the siege, Rawal Jaitsi died and was succeeded by his son Mulraj II.

•            By 1294 the besiegers had received sufficient reinforcements that they were able to impose a complete blockage of the fort which soon exhausted the Bhati’s ammunition and food.

First Jauhar of Jaisalmer:

•            By 1294, ammunition and food had exhausted in Bhati camp and facing certain defeat, queens were informed.

•            24,000 females from infancy to old age surrendered their lives. The men, 3800, in number then threw open the gates of the fort and advanced to their death.

•            The Saka took place in 1295 A.D. Khilji’s army kept possession of castle for two years and at length blocked up gateways and then dismantled and abandoned the place.

•            The place remained deserted for long as Bhatis had neither the means to repair nor men left to defend it.

1301: Siege of Ranthambore

•            In 1301, Aluddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, laid siege of Ranthambore. A second battle of Ranthambore followed, in which Alluddin defeated Hammir Deo.

Siege of Ranthambore:

•            In 1299, the first battle of Ranthambore took place, in which, Hammir Deo defeated forces of Alauddin Khilji, led by Ulugh Khan & Nusrat Khan.

•            Khilji was taken aback by this defeat and to avenge laid a long siege in 1301. Hammir Deo was very well prepared, but Khilji resorted to diplomacy by taking advantage of dissatisfaction and treachery.

•            Hammir’s generals Ratipal and Ranmal, who were sent to the Khilji camp to negotiate, took bribe and joined Khilji’s camp.

•            Ultimately war was declared. Hammir Deo died in the war. Consequently, Ranthambore fell on July 10, 1301.

1303: First Jauhar of Chittorgarh

•            In 1303, Alauddin Khilji laid siege of Chittor. In the following battle, Rana Ratan Singh of Chittor died fighting & Rani Padmini committed Jauhar.

•            The event is remembered as First Jauhar of Chittor.

•            Years later in 1540, Malik Mohd. Jayasi wrote Padmavat on this Jauhar.

Background of Siege of Chittor:

•            Rawal Ratan Singh, ruled Chittorgarh during start of 14th Century. Raghav-Chetan, a musician in Ratan Singh’s court was fired from his post for his evil deeds.

•            He turned against and reached Alauddin Court in Delhi, where he incited Allauddin against Chittor using description of Rani Padmini’s beauty. Alauddin marched to Chittor.

Gora-Badal

•            Desperate to have a look at the legendary beauty of Padmini, he sent word of positive relation to King Rawal Ratan Singh. The Rana, out of politeness, allowed the Khilji to view Padmini through a set of mirrors. But this viewing of Padmini further fired Khilji’s desire to possess her.

•            After the viewing, as a gesture of courtesy, when the Rana accompanied the Sultan to the outer gate, he was treacherously captured.

•            Khilji conveyed to the queen that the Rana would be released only if she agreed to join his harem.

•            Rani Padmini, informed about this situation to Uncle Gora & his nephew Badal, who devised a scheme for liberation of their prince without hazarding her life or fame. A word was sent to Khilji camp that Rani Padmini would be sent, but only in a manner befitting that of Queen which was surrounded by her females and handmaids and litters (containers with some material). Seven hundred covered litters proceeded to the camp and each of these litters was borne by six-armed soldiers disguised as litter-potter.

•            Half an hour meeting was granted between Prince and departing Rani Padmini. When Rani Padmini’s Palki, occupied by Gora, reached Ratan Singh, he informed him of the arrangement to make him escape. Immediately, Gora & Badal, along with the Rajput warriors started havoc in the camp. Alauddin was saved because of the tight security; Ratan Singh was safely returned to fort.

Rani Padmini’s Jauhar:

•            Sultan Alauddin was furious and ordered his army to storm Chittor. But his army could not break into the fort. Then, Ala-ud-din decided to laid siege to the fort. The siege was a long drawn one and gradually supplied within the fort were depleted.

•            Finally King Ratan Singh, gave orders that the Rajputs would open the gates and fight to finish with the besieging troops.

•            With their men-folk going into the unequal struggle with the Sultan’s army in which they were sure to perish, Rani Padmini along with other womenfolk women of Chittor committed Jauhar. Khilji won the battle of August 26, 1303.

Result of Battle:

•            Alauddin remained in Chittor for few days, after which, he delivered the charge of fort and city to Maldeo, the chief of Jalore, whom he had conquered and enrolled among his vassals.

1308: Battle of Siwana

•            Siwana is a Tehsil in Barmer district, located 151 km from Barmer city.

•            Battle of Siwana happened in 1308 when Malik Kamaluddin, a general of Alauddin Khilji defeated Sheetal deo of Siwana.

Battle of Siwana:

•            In 1308, forces of Alauddin Khilji besieged the fort, the people led by Sutal Deo (Sheetal Deo) mounted a heroic defence but could not prevent from falling.

•            Later, in the period 1318-20, Luntiga Chauhan stormed the fort of Siwana and slaughtered its Muslim garrison. No future sultan of Delhi tried to recover this fort.

•            To commemorate this historic event, an annual fair called as the Kalyan Singh Ka Mela is held within the precincts of the fort in the month of Shravan (July-Aug).

1310-14: Battle of Jalore

•            Allauddin captured Ranthombore (1301AD) defeating Hammir Deo in the Siege of Ranthambore and Chittorgarh (1303 AD) by defeating Rana Rattan Singh through the Siege of Chittorgarh . He conquered the Fort of Mandsore in 1305 AD.

•            In 1311, Allauddin Khilji defeated Rao Kanhad Dev in Battle of Jalore.

Background of Battle of Jalore:

•            Kanhad-De-Prabandh, written by Padmanabha, provides the details regarding battle of Jalore. It is said that Firoza, a daughter-princess of Allauddin Khilji fell in love with Viram Dev, son of Kanhad Dev Songara, who was on attendance at the court of Khilji in place of his father. The Sultan called up on Kanhad Dev, and put up the marriage proposal. Considering the situation at hand, Kanhad Dev agreed to the marriage and on pretext of making marriage arrangements left for Jalore.

•            However, the marriage was never unacceptable and on reaching Jalore, Kanhad Dev started preparing for Battle.

•            Meanwhile, Allauddin had raised an expedition against Gujarat. In 1298, Khilji’s Mongol general Ulugh Khan asked permission of Kanhad Dev to march through Jalore to conquer Gujarat. Kanhad Dev refused permission and Ulugh Khan had to take a longer route to Gujarat. In 1299 Khilji’s army sacked the Somnath temple and broke the Shiva lingam that had been worshipped there. He was carrying the broken pieces back to Delhi. When this news reached Kanhad Dev, he was moved and decided to fight for his belief and religion.

•            Prince Viram Dev Sonigra, son of Kanhad Dev organized the attack to free the captured men, women and children. The broken pieces of the Shiva lingam were recovered and 20,000 Hindu prisoners were freed.

The Battle of Jalore:

•            The action of Songara father & son, enraged Allauddin Khilji and he attacked Jalore with a huge force of 50,000 men. Kanhad Dev with an army of 5,000 men defended Jalore and on going through the Kanhad-De-Prabandh it appears that Jalore resisted the invasion for 3-4 years before it fell.

•            An insider at Jalore fort was bribed by Allauddin and he let the back door open to facilitate the entry of enemy troops of Turks. Rao Kanhad Dev with son Viram Dev fought bravely and sacrificed their lives for their country.

Result of Battle of Jalore:

•            Alauddin Khilji plundered the city and enslaved the populace.

•            Mal Dev Songra, the younger brother of Kanhad Dev was the only survivor and rewarded by Sultan and was appointed as the governor of Chittor, Jalore continued to remain under the sultanate until sultanate was overthrown.

1437: Battle of Sarangpur

Rana Kumbha, son of Rana Mokal, became the ruler of Chittorgarh in 1433. Rana Kumbha fought three battles with Mahmud Khilji, Sultan of Mandu:

•            Battle of Sarangpur

•            Battle of Mandalgarh

•            Battle of Banas

In all three battles, Rana Kumbha inflicted defeat to Sultan of Mandu.

Battle of Sarangpur:

•            Mahpa Panwar who was one of the assassins of Kumbha’s father, Rana Mokal, was sheltered by the Mahmud Khilji, Sultan of Mandu. Rana Kumbha demanded surrender of refugee from Mahmud Khlji but he refused. This initiated hostilities between Mewar & Mandu and Rana Kumbha advanced to attack Mandu.

•            In 1437 A.D, the two armies met at Sarangpur in which the Sultan’s army was utterly routed. Mahpa Panwar escaped to Gujarat and Rana Kumbha captured Sultan Mahmud Khilji and brought him captive to Chittorgarh.

•            He remained a prisoner in Chittorgarh for a period of six months, after which he was liberated without ransom, by Rana Kumbha.

•            Rana Kumbha built the great Vijay Stambha (Tower of Victory) in the fortress of Chittorgarh to commemorate this victory.

•            Ahmad Shah (ruler of Gujarat), and Muhammad Shah (ruler of Delhi) cooperated with Rana Kumbha in his combat against Mahmud Khalji. During this period, the Sultans of Delhi and Gujarat conferred on Rana Kumbha – the title of Hindu-surtana (Hindu Sultan ). Rana Kumbha was the first Hindu ruler to be given this accolade by the Muslim Sultans.

1442/46: Battle of Mandalgarh & Banas

Hadoti Expedition of Rana Kumbha:

•            After the release, Mahmud Khilji was restored as Sultan of Mandu, however, he nurtured the desire to take revenge and wipe off his disgrace of his defeat.

•            An opportunity came in 1442 A.D, when Rana Kumbha left Chittorgarh for an expedition against Hadoti. Finding Mewar unprotected, Mahmud Khilji invaded Mewar.

Battle of Mandalgarh:

•            The Sultan arrived at Kumbhalmer and prepared to destroy the temple of Bana Mata in Kelwara. A Rajput chieftain named Deep Singh successfully opposed the Sultan for seven days.

•            On the seventh day, Deep Singh was killed and the temple fell into the hands of the  Sultan.

•            He razed it to the ground and burned the stone image that was kept in the temple. Flushed with success, Khilji advanced to attack Rana Kumbha, leaving a part of his army to take the fortress of Chittorgarh.

•            When information reached Rana Kumbha, he left Hadoti to return to his dominions and confronted Sultan’s army near Mandalgarh.

•            A battle ensued at Mandalgarh in which Kumbha defeated Sultan and he fled towards Mandu.

Battle of Banas:

•            In 1446 A.D, Mahmud Khilji made another attempt to retrieve the disaster and marched towards Mandalgarh with a large army.

•            On October 11-12,1446, Rana Kumbha attacked Mahmud Khilji, while he was crossing the Banas River.

•            Mahmud Khilji was again defeated in the battle and again fled to Mandu.

Result of the three battles:

•            For about 10 years after these defeats, Mahmud Khilji did not venture to take offensive against Rana Kumbha.

1518: Battle of Khatoli

•            In 1518, Rana Sanga, ruler of Mewar defeated Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi Sultanate in battle of Khatoli.

Background of Battle of Khatoli:

•            In 1517, Ibrahim Lodi became the Sultan of Delhi after death of his father Sikander Lodi. By this time, Rana Sanga had extended his kingdom of Mewar right up to western Uttar Pradesh and threatened to attack Agra.

•            When news of Rana Sanga’s encroachments reached upon sultan, he prepared an army and marched against Mewar.

Battle of Khatoli:

•            In 1517, the armies of Mewar & Sultanate met near the village of Khatoli, situated on the borders of Hadoti (Haraoti).

•            Lodi’s army could not stand the onslaught of the Rajputs and was defeated after a fight lasting just two pahars (5 hours). Ibrahim Lodi was taken prisoner by Rana Sanga.

Result of Battle:

•            Ibrahim Lodi was held prisoner by Rana Sanga and was released after a few days on payment of a ransom.

•            There was a rebellion by Islam Khan against Lodi which occupied his immediate attention.

•            However, he carefully nursed his desire to avenge Maharana Sanga for the defeat in Battle of Khatoli.

1527: Battle of Khanwa

•            The Battle of Khanwa was fought near the village of Khanwa, about 60 km west of Agra, on March 17, 1527, between the invading forces of the first Mughal Emperor Babur and the Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga of Mewar.

•            Rana Sanga was defeated and the victory consolidated the rule of Mughal dynasty in India.

Background of Battle of Khanwa:

•            In 1526, invading forces of Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in Battle of Panipat and brought down Lodi Empire.

•            Rana Sanga thought that like his ancestor Timur, Babur would also withdraw from Delhi and Agra after seizing the treasures of these cities. But once he realized that Babur intended to stay on in India, Sanga proceeded to build a grand coalition which would either force Babur out of India or else confine him to Punjab.

•            In retaliation, Prince Humayun was recalled from campaigns in Eastern India and military detachments were then sent by Babur for the conquest of Dholpur, Gwaliar, and Bayana, strong forts forming the outer boundaries of Agra.

Battle of Khanwa:

•            The commanders of Dholpur and Gwaliar surrendered their forts to Babur but Nizam Khan, the commander of Bayana opened negotiations with both Babur and Rana Sanga.

•            Babur’s initial military detachment to Bayana was also defeated and dispersed by Rana Sanga’s forces. However, subsequently, Bayana surrendered to Babur.

Rajput-Afghan Alliance:

•            Rana Sanga succeeded in building a grand military alliance against Babur.

•            The forces of Mewar were joined by those from Hadoti, Jalore, Sirohi, Dungarpur, Dhundhar, and Amber.

•            Additionally, Mahmud Lodi, the younger son of Sikandar Lodi, whom the Afghans had proclaimed their new Sultan also joined the alliance with a force of 10,000 Afghans under him.

The Battle:

•            Babur after due examination prepared a strong offensive-defensive formation. Rana Sanga, on the other hand, continued fighting in the traditional way.

•            Once the advance of the Rajputs and their Afghan allies had been contained, Babur’s flanking tactic came into play.

•            Despite putting up a gallant fight, Rana Sanga and his allies suffered a disastrous defeat.

Consequences:

•            The battle of Khanwa demonstrated Babur’s superior generalship and organizational skills.

•            Rana Sanga managed to evade capture and escape to Chittor, but died shortly after on 30th January 1528.

1535: Second Jauhar of Chittor

•            In 1535, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat laid siege to Chittorgarh.

•            This invasion of Chittor resulted in Second Jauhar & Saka in history of Chittor and ensued a series of battles that led to overthrow of Gujarat Sultanate.

Background of Invasion of Chittor:

•            Rana Sanga was injured in Battle of Khanwa in 1527 and died in 1528 poisoned by his own people.

•            He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Rana Ratan Singh, who was assassinated in 1531. Ratan Singh was succeeded by his brother Rana Vikramaditya Singh.

•            Udai Singh, the fourth son of Rana Sanga and Rani Karnavati (she was princess of Bundi) was still an infant.

•            Bahadur Shah became the sultan of Gujrat Sultanate in 1526 and started expanding his territory. He captured Malwa (1531) and Raisen (1532).

The Battle:

•            Continuing the conquest, Bahadur Shah laid siege to the fort of Chittor. Vikramaditya was the ruler of Chittorgarh at that time. The Rajputs made an appeal to Humayun for help with Rani Karnavati sending a Rakhi to Humayun.

•            The emperor accepted the appeal, gave up his campaign in Bengal and immediately moved towards Rajasthan. However, help from Humayun did not reach on time and sighting the last day of Chittor, young Udai Singh was sent to Bundi for safety.

•            This was the second of the three Jauhars performed at Chittor. During the Siege and storm thirty-two thousand Rajputs were slain.

•            Bahadur Shah was victorious, but was not able to confront the Mughal canons and was advised by one Rumi Khan of his army to not to confront the Mughal army. This victorious Gujarat army confided itself into a camp and the soldiers inside got starved, as the Mughal enemy cut their supplies.

•            In the dead of the night, Bahadur shah fled the scene and his army immediately dispersed in all directions. Humayun, all of a sudden found himself in undisputed possession of the camp.

Consequence:

•            The Mughal ruler, Humayun did not stop at expelling Bahadur Shah from Chiitorgarh and marched to capture Mandu and invaded the Sultanate of Gujarat.

•            Bahadur Shah ran from place to place from Mandu to Champner, Cambay and finally to Goa. By that time, the entire Malwa and Gujarat had come under Humayun.

•            Humayun appointed his brother Askari as the governor of Gujarat. But, Askari proved incompetent and Bahadur Shah took the full advantage and captured Gujarat.

1544: Battle of Sammel

•            In 1544, near the villages Giri and Sumel of the Jaitaran sub-division in Pali district, the armies of Sher Shah Suri and Rajputs led by Rao Maldeo Rathore, king of Marwar fought the Battle of Sammel, also known as the Battle of Giri-Sumel.

•            Sher Shah Suri won the battle and his general Khawas Khan Marwat took possession of Jodhpur and occupied the territory of Marwar from Ajmer to Mount Abu.

Battle of Sammel: The background

•            In 1543, Sher Shah set out against Marwar with a huge force of 80,000 cavalry. Maldeo allowed him to advance and formed an army of 50,000 Rajputs to oppose him.

•            The judgement and caution exercised by Maldeo was so great that Sher Shah Suri was forced to fortify his camp at every step.

•            Eventually, Sher Shah halted in the village of Sammel in the pargana of Jaitaran, ninety kilometers east of Jodhpur.

Battle of Sammel:

•            For one month the armies lay in sight of each-other, however, with every passing day Sher Shah’s position became critical owing to the difficulties of food supplies for his huge army.

•            To resolve this situation, Sher Shah resorted to a cunning ploy. One evening, he dropped forged letters near Maldeo’s camp in such a way that they were sure to be intercepted. These letters indicated, falsely, that some of Maldeo’s army commanders were providing assistance to Sher Shah.

•            This caused suspicions in the camp and Maldeo suspected his commanders of disloyalty. Hence, Maldeo left for Jodhpur on 4 January 1544. with his own men, abandoning his commanders to their fate.

•            Even after Maldeo ordered withdrawal, his generals especially Pachain, Jaita and Kumpa decided to stay and fight in order to prove their loyalty. Heading an army of about 12,000 men they attacked Sher Shah Suri’s camp of 80,000 men and routed a large part of the Afghan army.

•            His general Khawas Khan Marwat was sucessful in slaying Jaita and Kumpa but not before Sher Shah had learnt about the valour and gallantry of Rajput commanders.

•            Sher Shah emerged victorious in the battle but suffered heavy losses in the battle and is said to have exclaimed “he had nearly lost the empire of Hindustan for a handful of Bajra”.

Consequences of Battle of Sammel:

•            Sher Shah Suri defeated Rao Maldeo in battle of Sammel and his general Khawas Khan Marwat took possession of Jodhpur and occupied the territory of Marwar from Ajmer to Mount Abu in 1544.

•            But by July 1555 Maldeo reoccupied his lost territories.

1567: Third Jauhar of Chittorgarh

•            In 1567, extending his campaign against Rajputana, Akbar laid siege to the fort of Chittorgarh.

•            Through their valour & sacrifice in defence of the fort, Jaimal & Patta became synonymous with house of Chittor.

•            The battle witnessed the third Jauhar of Chittorgarh & massacre that Abkar ordered after the victory.

Background:

•            The Mughal engagement with Marwar during the period of 1556-66, gave Rana Udai Singh free hand to strengthen his power and position.

•            In 1562, Jaimal was ousted from Merta, at orders of emperor Akbar. Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar gave refugee to Jaimal and was given jagir of Bednore, along with position in his court.

•            In 1563, after defeat at hands of Akbar, Baz Bahadur of Malwa also fled to Chittor. Rana Udai Singh gave refuge to Baz Bahadur at utmost displeasure to Akbar.

•            After handling the rebellions of the Mirzas and the Uzbek nobles in 1567, Akbar turned his eyes towards the prestigious kingdom of Mewar.

Siege of Chittorrgarh 1567

•            Akbar marched towards fort of Chittor and laid siege. Rana Udai Singh was compelled to quit and escaped the seige, giving the responsibility of defence to Jaimal of Merta.

•            The imperial sappers were able to reach the walls of Chittorgarh fort after 58 days of siege.

•            Finally, on the night of 22 February 1568, the Mughals were able to breach the walls at several locations simultaneously to begin a coordinated assault.

•            In the ensuing battle, Akbar was able to kill the Rajput commander, Jaimal, with a musket shot.

•            The fatal Jauhar (third Jauhar of Chittor) was commanded, 8,000 Rajput soldiers ate their last beera together and prepared for Saka, while women folk prepared for Jauhar.

•            The Mughal army killed all the Rajputs who walked out the fort. Akbar entered Chittorgarh and massacred around 30,000 of its inhabitants.

Consequences:

•            The fort of Chittor was assigned to Khwaja Abdul Majid Asaf Khan. However, Udai Singh II, found refugee with Gohil in the forests of Rajpipili & Girwa in Aravalli. He continued to remain at large until his death four years later. Akbar did not stop at Chittor and started marching towards the fort of Ranthambore.

•            However, Akbar acknowledged the bravery & courage of Jaimal & Putta and erected statutes of Rao Jaimal and Patta, mounted on a pair of black marble elephants, outside one of the gates of Fatehpur Sikri, Agra. Sometime later the statutes were moved to the Delhi Gate at the Red Fort, where they are still.

•            The conquest of Chittor was quite significant for Akbar as soon after this victory almost all important states of Rajputana such as Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Bundi, Sirohi and Dungarpur accepted the overlordship of Akbar.

1576: Battle of Haldighati

•            The Battle of Haldighati was a battle fought on 18th June 1576 between Maharana Pratap and the Mughal emperor Akbar’s forces.

•            While technically the Mughals won the battle, it was a futile victory as they failed to capture Pratap, who continued the war and was able to take back most of the lost areas.

Background of Battle of Haldighati

•            After losing Chittor in siege of 1567, Udai Singh took refuge in forest of Rajpipili.

•            In 1572, Rana Udai Singh died and after a brief war of succession Rana Pratap succeeded as the ruler of Mewar at Gogunda.

•            Akbar dispatched a series of diplomatic embassies to Pratap, asking the Rajput king to become his vassal.

•            In 1572, the first emissary sent was Jalal Khan Qurchi. He failed to convince Pratap to accept the overlordship of the Mughals and returned disappointed.

•            Next in June 1573, Raja Man Singh of Amer was sent by Akbar. Although he was courteously received by Rana Pratap but he also failed to convince him.

•            In Oct. 1573, Akbar made another attempt and dispatched Raja Bhagwant Das, the Kachhwaha chief and the leading Rajput noble at the Mughal court. Bhagwant Das was more successful than his predecessors. Pratap agreed to send his son Amar Singh(Umra) to Mughal court. But Pratap did not agree to personal presence at the Mughal court, which was, deemed unsatisfactory by Akbar.

•            A final emissary, Todar Mai, was also sent to Mewar but returned without any favourable outcome.

With all diplomatic options having no result, war was getting inevitable.

Battle of Haldighati

•            Akbar deputed Raja Man Singh against Maharana Pratap, who had set up the capital at Kumbhalgarh from Gogunda. Raja Man Singh setup his base at Mandalgarh. On 18th of June 1576, three hours after the sunrise the battle commenced at Haldighati, around 23 kms north of Gogunda.

•            Rana Pratap was assisted by Hakim Khan Sur of Suri dynasty, Bhim Singh of Dodia, Ramdas Rathor (son of Jaimal, who defended Chittor), Bida Mana and his clansmen of Jhala.

•            However, the forces of Rana of Mewar were outnumbered against the Imperial Mughal forces and the Mughal forces defeated Rana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati.

•            Rana Pratap however, escaped from the battlefield and took shelter at Koliyari, a hilly town in the west of Gogunda.

Consequences of Battle of Haldighati

•            The loss in battle of Haldighati was followed by capture of castles of Gogunda, Kumbhalgarh & Udaipur by Mughals. However, the Rana was still at large in Aravallis and vowed to continue his struggle for independence.

•            By 1579, focus of Mughals shifted to other parts of the empire and seizing opportunities one by one, Maharana Pratap was able to recover much of the lost territory in the western parts of his kingdom.

•            Chittor, however, continued to be under Mughal control.

Trivia: Battle of Haldighati

•            When tide of the battle shifted and Rana Pratap found himself wounded by arrow and spear, Bida Jhala seized the royal umbrella from his commander and charged at the Mughals, claiming to be the Rana himself.

•            His sacrifice, and that of 350 other soldiers who stayed behind and fought to buy time, allowed their Rana and the remnants of their army to escape.          

1582: Battle of Dewair

•            In 1582, on the occasion of Dashehra (Vijaydashmi), Maharana Pratap attacked Dewair.

•            In the consequential battle of Dewair the Mughals were defeated resulting in the flight of the Mughal soldiers, surrender of about 36,000 Mughal soldiers & the closing of all t   he 36 Mughal posts in Mewar.

Background of Battle of Dewair

•            Following the Battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap was left with 7,000 soldiers and Mughals captured Kumbhalgarh, Gogunda, Udaipur & Chappan.

•            In such conditions, Pratap changed his strategy from open warfare to guerrilla warfare and did not allow Mughals to settle.

•            To suppress Pratap, Akbar had to send 6 massive military campaigns consisting not less than 1,00,000 soldiers each time.

  • 1577: Bhagwandas, Mansing alongwith Sayed Hashim, Sayed Kashim, Shahbaz Khan
  • 1578: Shabaz Khan alongwith Kazi Khan Badkashi, Mansing, Bhagwandas
  • 1579: Again Shabaz Khan (Third time attacked Mewar)
  • 1580: Rahim Khankhna (Ajmer) and others

However, each of these were unsuccessful in capturing Pratap.

•            When Maharana was facing shortage of funds, his minister Bhamashah, whose family held the office for ages, placed at Pratap’s disposal their accumulated wealth, which with other resources, is stated to have been equivalent to maintenance of 25,000 men for 12 years.

•            Thus name of Bhamashah got preserved as saviour of Mewar. With such help from Bhamashah, Maharana was able to arrange a new army of 40,000 soldiers and planned a major attack.

Battle of Dewair

In 1582, on the occasion of Dashehra, Maharana Pratap motivated his soldiers to fight back and make Mewar independent once again.

•            Mewar army was divided under two groups: One under Maharana Pratap and other under Kunwar Amar Singh & Battle of Dewair was fought.

•            Col. Tod has famously remarked on Maharana Pratap’s battles from Haldighati till Dewair into “Huldighat (Haldighati) is the Thermopylae of Mewar ; the field of Deweir(Dewair) her Marathon” comparing the courage, determination, undaunted heroism, inflexible fortitude of Maharana Pratap to Spartans famous of their fight against the Persian empire.

Consequence of Battle of Dewair

•            Maharana Pratap secured the decisive victory in Battle of Dewair and it resulted in permanent closure of 36 Mughal check posts in Mewar.

•            Additionally, close to 36,000 Mughal soldiers surrendered.

•            Akbar continued to send his campaign against Pratap, but as before, all were unsuccessful.

  • 1584: Jagannath Kachchawa and others.
  • After disappointment from Shabaz Khan, and other chieftains like Man Singh and Bhagwandas for third time, Akbar himself arrived in Mewar to suppress Maharana Pratap.
  • But after trying relentlessly for 6 months, returned to Agra.

1658: Battle of Dharmatpur

•            The Battle of Dharmatpur was fought on 15 April 1658 on the banks of river Narmada, around 20 kilometers from Ujjain.

•            Aurangzeb defeated Maharaja Jaswant Singh.

Background of the Battle of Dharmatpur

•            On 6 May 1638, Jaswant Singh succeeded his father on his death by special decree of the Emperor Shah Jahan. In 1658, when Shah Jahan fell ill, Price Dara was the elder son and preferred choice.

•            However, there was a rebellion and Rajputs were tasked with crushing it. Raja Jai Singh of Amber was commanded to oppose Prince Shuja & Jawant Singh was entrusted to quash the designs of Aurangzeb.

•            Jaswant Singh marched from Agra, united with other contingents of Rajputs and the imperial guard force of the emperor. Jaswant Singh marched towards Narmada & camped at Dharmatpur, around 20 Kms from Ujjain.

Battle of Dharmatpur

•            French traveller Bernier gives a vivid account of battle of Dharmatpur. Jaswant Singh had a chance to attack & defeat Aurangzeb but he purposely gave time to Aurangzeb & allowed prince Murad with his army to join Aurangzeb.

•            His desire was to defeat both the Mughal princes at once. Additionally, this delay allowed Aurangzeb to win over the Mughal General, Kasim Khan, who was sent by Shah Jahan to help Jaswant Singh and Kasim Khan defected as soon as the war started.

•            Jaswant Singh along with support of Mukund Singh Hara of Kota and Bundi, Dayal Das Jhala, Arjun Gaur of Rajgarh in Ajmer and Rana Ratan Singh Rathore of Ratlam decided to fight the unequal battle. The Rajput army of 8000 was reduced to 600 and finally the unequal contest ended and Jaswant Singh was forced to retreat. Aurangzeb named the place of victory Fatehabad.

Consequences of Battle of Dharmatpur

•            On retreat of Jaswant Singh, Aurangzeb marched into the capital of Malwa. A small battle took place at Jajow village, in which rajputs were overpowered, Dara was driven from regency the aged emperor deposed.

Trivia: Battle of Dharmatpur

•            It is said that when Jaswant Singh returned to the fort, the queen refused to open doors. Queen offered him food in wooden utensils. He could not understand the reason behind this behaviour as he always ate with silver utensils. “I have offered you food in wooden utensils as noise of silver utensils could scare you off,” came the sarcastic explanation from the queen.

•            This gave Jaswant Singh the determination & he started preparing for a fresh clash with his opponent.