Mughal–Rajput Wars

The Mughal–Rajput Wars were a series of battles fought between the Rajput Confederacy and the Mughal Empire which started with the Timurid ruler Babur's invasion of northwestern India and the head of the Rajput confederacy Rana Sanga's resistance to it. In 1526, when Babur invaded Hindustan, he faced stiff resistance from Rana Sanga in the Battle of Bayana, but defeated Rana in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. The wars were, however, continued by the Rajput states,[2] also by the descendants of both Rana Sanga and Babur. Babur's grandson Akbar faced heavy resistance from Rana Udai Singh II and Rana Pratap; Jahangir was opposed by Rana Amar Singh.[3] Similarly Aurangzeb was opposed by Rana Raj Singh and his son Rana Jai Singh.[4]

Mughal–Rajput Wars
Date1526–1779
Location
Modern day Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand
Result
  • Expansion of Mughal influence in Northern India after Khanwa.
  • Many Rajput nobles joined the Mughal court during Akbar's reign and gained influence in Mughal politics.
  • Major rebellions during Aurangzeb's reign, and after his death, Rajputs had a stream of success, regaining their independence.
Belligerents
Mughal Empire Rajput Confederation
Commanders and leaders
Babur
Humayun
Akbar
Jahangir
Shah Jahan
Aurangzeb
Bahadur Shah I
Farrukhsiyar		 Rana Sanga
Medini Rai
Prithviraj Singh I
Maldeo Rathore
Udai Singh II
Pratap Singh I
Chandrasen Rathore
Amar Singh I
Durgadas Rathore
Raj Singh I
Sangram Singh II
Raja Ajit Singh
Jai Singh
Sawai Jai Singh[1]

Chandrasen Rathore defended his kingdom for nearly two decades against relentless attacks from the Mughal Empire. The Mughals were not able to establish their direct rule in Marwar while Chandrasen was alive.[5]

In 1679, the States of Mewar and Marwar rebelled against Aurangzeb. While a peace treaty was signed with Mewar after a year, war with Marwar went on until the death of Aurangzeb and concluded with the capture of Marwar by Rathore forces after Aurangzeb's death.

During the Rajput rebellion of 1708–10, the Mughals were forced to accept a humiliating peace treaty with the Rajput Rajas.[6] The Rajputs forced the Mughals to make them governors of Malwa, Sindh and Gujarat.

Durgadas Rathore fought the Mughals for 30 years, until Ajit Singh was made the Raja of Marwar[7] who became so influential in Mughal politics that he challenged the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar by making an alliance with the Sayyid brothers. On 28 February 1719 Farrukhsiyar was deposed by Ajit Singh.[8]

The Mughals tried to collect taxes in Rajputana during the late 18th century, however they were met with resistance in every town and village, leading to invasions by the Mughal generals. The most powerful Mughal generals had been reduced to a state of beggary after their campaigns in Rajputana during the 1750s. Salabat Khan had spent 60 lakhs against the Rajputs but could only extort 5 lakhs. Similarly Zulfiqar Jang, who had a strong political presence and troops, had ruined himself from the Rajput expedition. These campaigns affected the Mughal Empire financially and caused arrears and the disbanding of large amounts of troops. The Mughal capital itself was affected, leaving only a few retainers to guard the palace and man the artillery.[9]

Battles
Rana Sanga led the Rajput army and besieged the fortress of Bayana held by the Afghans under Nizam Khan in February 1527. Babur sent a Mughal contingent under Abdil Aziz, which was defeated by Rana Sanga.[10][11]
The Rajput Confederacy under Rana Sanga was defeated by Babur in 1527. This was the largest battle ever between the Mughals and the Rajputs involving a total of more than 150,000 soldiers.[12]
Babur besieged and captured Chanderi Fort in Malwa and its ruler Medini Rai was defeated and killed.
  • Siege of Bikaner
Rao Jaitsi of Bikaner successfully defended his capital and defeated a Mughal army under Kamran, brother of Mughal emperor Humayun.[13]
Akbar led the Mughal army in besieging the famed Chittorgarh fort in 1567, which was then under the command of Jaimal Rathore and Patta Singh Sisodia, commanders of Udai Singh. The siege went on for four months, with the fortress walls being breached after the death of Jaimal, ensuring that the Mughals emerged victorious.[14]
Rao Surjan Hada had to surrender Ranthambore Fort to Akbar after the latter successfully put the fort under siege.
The Mughal army under the command of Man Singh defeated Maharana Pratap's Mewari army in the field of Haldighati in 1576. But it was a futile victory as the Mughals could not expel Maharana from Mewar (The north western part only remained under him and he also could not keep Gogunda very long).[15][16]
The first battle of Dewair took place in 1582 between armies of Maharana Pratap and the Mughal garrison of Dewair. Pratap's army defeated the Mughal army in this battle.
Both Amar Singh I and Asaf Khan claimed victory in an indecisive battle. III in 1606
  • Rajput War (1679–1707) – A war between the Rathores and the Mughals that lasted for almost 30 years.
    • Battle of Khanana (1681–1687) – Rathore rebels under Veer Durgadas Rathore defeated Mughal force. This battle resulted in major victory for Rathores. Kumpawat rathores captured Siwana town from Mughals. Mughal Commander Purdil Khan was killed in this battle.[17]
    • Battle of Ajmer (1690) – Veer Durgadas Rathore defeated Safi khan.
    • Battle of Jodhpur (1707) – Veer Durgadas Rathore took advantage of the disturbances following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 to seize Jodhpur and eventually evict the occupying Mughal force out of Marwar.[18]
  • Rajput Rebellion 1708-1710[19]
    • July 1708 – Jai Singh and Ajit Singh storm Amber and Jodhpur and retake their capitals from the Mughal garrisons.[20]
    • 4–7 October 1708 – Battle of Kama – Ajit Singh Kachwaha, the Rajput zamindar of Kama defeated the combined armies of Mughal and Jats. The Mughal-Jat army numbered 18,000 while the Kachwahas had 10,000 horsemen. After a bitter fight the Mughal Fauzdar Raza Bahadur was killed and the injured Churaman retreated to Thun.
    • October 1708 – Sayyid Hussain Barha of Mewat and Churaman Jat defeated near Sambhar by the Rathore–Kachhwaha army. Barha shot dead with his two brothers.[1]
    • January 1710 – Mir Khan of Narnaul with 7000 Mughal troops and Churaman Jat with 6000 Jats effectively checked by Gaj Singh Naruka at Javli.[1]
    • 24 March 1710 – Battle of Tonk – Muhammad Khan of Tonk defeated by the Rathor–Kachwaha army.[1]
  • Battle of Bandanwara
Sangram Singh II of Mewar along with other Rajput chiefs defeated the imperial Mughal army[21]
The Shekhawati Rajputs defeated a Mughal force under Mitrasen Ahir, Peero Khan and Kale Khan. After heavy losses Peero Khan died and Mitra Sen fled.[22]
  • Siege of Kanud
A small garrison of 400 Rajputs under the ailing Nawal Singh Shekhawat repelled Mughal attacks until Nawal died from his illness. The mughals negotiated with the Rajputs and exchanged Kanud fort for other villages, which were given to Nawal's widow.[23]
Devi Singh Shekhawat defeated the imperial army under Murtaza Khan Bhadech.[22]

References
  1. Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C. 1503-1938. Orient Blackswan. p. 162. ISBN 9788125003335.
  2. The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3, pp. 322, 323
  3. Pant 2012, p. 129.
  4. Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 183. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  5. Bose, Melia Belli (2015). Royal Umbrellas of Stone: Memory, Politics, and Public Identity in Rajput Funerary Art. BRILL. p. 150. ISBN 978-9-00430-056-9.
  6. The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3, p. 322
  7. Dodwell, Henry Herbert (1928). The Cambridge History of India. pp. 248–252, 281. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  8. Irvine p. 390
  9. Sarkar, Jadunath (1964). Fall Of The Mughal Empire Vol. 1. pp. 216, 223.
  10. Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. p. 33. ISBN 978-81-241-1066-9. Babur sent a detachment to Bayana which was defeated and scattered by the Ranas forces. Baburs forces was already demoralised, hearing news of the valour of the Rajputs and the formidable force they had collected.
  11. Hooja, Rima (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa. p. 454. ISBN 9788129115010. From Baburs memoirs we learn that Sanga's success against the Mughal advance guard commanded by Abdul Aziz and other forces at Bayana, severely demoralised the fighting spirit of Baburs troops encamped near Sikri.
  12. Barua, Pradeep (2005). The State at War in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8032-1344-9.
  13. Hooja, Rima (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa and company. p. 541. ISBN 9788129108906.
  14. Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. Har-Anand Publications. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-81-241-1066-9.
  15. "MILITARY HISTORY OF INDIA : SARKAR, JADUNATH : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  16. Singh, Kesri (2002). Maharana Pratap: The Hero of Haldighati. Books Treasure. pp. 18–35.
  17. Jones, Kenneth W.; Hallissey, Robert C. (December 1978). "The Rajput Rebellion Against Aurangzeb, A Study of the Mughal Empire in Seventeenth-Century India". Military Affairs. 42 (4): 218. doi:10.2307/1986509. ISSN 0026-3931. JSTOR 1986509.
  18. H., Dodwell, Henry Herbert. Dodwell, H. (1929). The Cambridge history of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 304. OCLC 1120895318.
  19. Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). Raghubīra Siṃha (ed.). A history of Jaipur: c. 1503–1938 (Rev. ed.). Hyderabad: Orient Longman. ISBN 81-250-0333-9. OCLC 312542101.
  20. Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938. Orient Blackswan. p. 162. ISBN 9788125003335.
  21. History of Mewar, p. 324
  22. Hooja, Rima (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa and company. p. 694. ISBN 9788129115010. in a pitched battle at Mandan, both sides suffered heavily. Peero Khan died and Mitra Sen fled the field, leaving the Shekhawat chiefs victorious....Battle of Khatu–Shyamji. This last occurred when Murtaza Khan Bhadech was sent into Shekhawati to collect revenue arrears.....Devi Singh of Sikar defeated the intruder.
  23. Gupta, Bakshi, R.K., S.R (2008). Rajasthan Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. pp. 215–216. The Rajputs however made a long and desperate defence.....400 men of the garrison made a sortie and attacked the trenches of Mitra sen Ahir, inflicting a hundred casualties.....Nawal Singh Shekhawat, who was severely ill within the fort...and died.
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