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List of battles in Rajasthan

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Battle of Haldighati, fought between Man Singh and Maharana Pratap.

Several significant battles are recorded to have taken place in what is now known as Rajasthan.

Against the Arabs

Against the Ghurids

During the Sultanates of Delhi, Gujarat and Malwa

During the Mughal Empire

  • Battle of Ajmer (1559) - Akbar's general Qasim Khan annexed Ajmer from Maldeo Rathore.[31]
  • Battle of Merta (1562) - Akbar with the help of Rajas from Bikaner and Amer defeated Rao Chandra Sen and captured Merta.
  • First Mughal Invasion of Marwar (1562-1583) - Akbar invaded Marwar and occupied Jodhpur. The ruler Rao Chandra Sen continued his struggle until his death in 1581 after which Marwar submitted to Mughal rule in 1583.[32]
  • Siege of Chittorgarh (1567) – Akbar defeated Rao Jaimal and Patta (Udai Singh II escaped with his family to Udaipur)
  • Siege of Ranthambore (1568) - A successful siege by Akbar causes the Rajput leader Rao Surjan Hada to surrender Ranthambore Fort.
  • Siege of Siwana (1572) - In 1572 the powerful fort of Siwana which served as Rao Chandrasens capital was captured by the Mughals after a siege of 8 months.[33]
  • Battle of Haldighati (1576) – Maharana Pratap defeated by Akbar.
  • Battle of Dewair (1582) - Maharana Pratap fought against Akbar's Mughals army and defeated them 36,000 mughals surrendered.
  • Battle of Dewair (1606) - Fought in a valley 40 km from Kumbalgarh. Rana Amar Singh defeated and killed Sultan Khan, the Mughal prince Muhammad Parviz fled from the battlefield with his commander Asaf Khan.[34][35]
  • Second Mughal Invasion of Marwar (1679-1707) - Aurangzeb took Marwar under his direct control after the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The Rathore army under Durgadas Rathore carried out a relentless struggle against the occupying forces. In 1707 after the death of Aurangzeb, Durgadas defeated the local Mughal force and reoccupied Jodhpur and their lost territories.[36]
  • Battle of Udaipur (1680) - Aurangzeb attacked Mewar and plundered Udaipur, the citizens were safely escorted to the aravalli hills by Rana Raj Singh but 63 temples in and around Udaipur were plundered and many villages were burned down by Aurangzeb's general Taj Khan. The Mughal army was eventually starved out of Mewar because of the scorched earth techniques and guerrilla warfare used by the Rana. Aurangzeb after a failed campaign left Mewar to his son Akbar and retreated to Ajmer.[37]
  • Battle of Aravalli hills (1680) - In the second half of 1680, after several months of such setbacks, Aurangzeb decided on an all-out offensive. Niccolao Manucci, an Italian gunner in the Mughal army, says: "for this campaign, Aurangzeb put in pledge the whole of his kingdom." Three separate armies, under Aurangzeb's sons Akbar, Azam and Muazzam, penetrated the Aravalli hills from different directions. However, their artillery lost its effectiveness while being dragged around the rugged hills and both Azam and Muazzam were defeated by the Rajputs under Durgadas Rathore and Rana Raj Singh.[38]
  • Battle of Jodhpur (1707) - 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.[39]
  • Annexation of Amer (January 1708) - Bahadur Shah I marched with a large army and annexed Amer without a war. Raja Jai Singh was forced to retreat with his army. Amber was named Mominabad by the Mughal emperor.[40]
  • Battle of Merta (February 1708) - Bahadur Shah I's general Mihrab Khan defeated Ajit Singh of Marwar. The Mughal emperor was advised to stay in Ajmer as the Mughals were wary of the guerrilla tactics of Durgadas. Ajit Singh however went against the advice of Durgadas Rathore and directly confronted the large Mughal army. The Mughals bombarded the Rathor horsemen with cannons and rockets and forced them to retreat after heavy losses. Jodhpur was once again occupied by the Mughals. Ajit Singh received "special robes of honour" and a jewelled scarf from the Emperor for his bravery shown in battle.[41]
  • Rajput Rebellion (September 1708-10) - The three Rajput Raja's of Amber, Udaipur and Jodhpur made a joint resistance to the Mughals. The Rajputs first expelled the commandants of Jodhpur and Bayana and recovered Amer by a night attack. They next killed Sayyid Hussain Khan Barha in the battle of Sambhar (1709). Raja Ajit Singh also attacked Ajmer and forced its governor to pay tribute. Sayyid Hidayatullah, the governor of Ranthambore was also defeated, bringing a danger to the Mughal capital itself. Bahadur Shah I, then in the Deccan was forced to patch up a truce with the Rajput Rajas (1710).[42]
  • Battle of Kama (1708) (October 4–7, 1708) - Ajit Singh Kachwaha, the Rajput zamindar of Kama defeated the combined armies of Mughals and Jats. The Mughal-Jat army numbered 18,000 while the Kachwahas had 10,000 horsemen. After a bitter fight the Mughal faujdar Raza Bahadur was killed and the Jat leader Churaman was forced to flee to Thun.[43][44][45]
  • Jai Singh II's campaign against the Jats (1718-1722) - The Jats under Churaman had been actively looting and plundering in the Agra district due to which the Mughals had to close the roads to Delhi and Agra for the safety of the traders. In 1718 Sawai Jai Singh II was appointed by the Mughal emperor to destroy the Jat stronghold of Thun. Jai Singh surrounded the fort and was about to breach it when the Sayyid brothers, who were rivals of the Jaipur raja, made a separate peace with the Jats on behalf of the emperor. Jai Singh was forced to withdraw in disgust. Two years later Churaman died and his son Mokham Singh succeeded him. Mokhams first step as a ruler was to imprison his cousin Badan Singh. Badan asked for help from Sawai Jai Singh II. Jai Singh readily set upon Thun and captured it after a six-month siege. Mokham was forced to flee and Badan Singh was made the Raja of Deeg on the condition that he pays tribute.[46]

Post-Mughal rule

  • Battle of Gangwana (1741) - 1,000 Rathor cavaliers of Bhakt Singh fought a combined army of a 100,000 men consisting of Mughals, Kachwahas, Chauhans, Jadauns, Sisodias and Jats. In this battle Bhakt Singh was defeated but his cavalry charge killed and injured thousands of his foes. Sir Jadunath Sarkar quotes that - "the battle front was like tigers upon a flock of sheep". According to Harcharandas more than 12,000 men were slain in the battlefield.[47][48][49]
  • Battle of Rajmahal (1747) - Ishvari Singh of Jaipur defeated a coalition of armies led by Jagat Singh of Mewar.[50]
  • Battle of Bagru (1748) - Madho Singh I defeated Ishvari Singh.[51]
  • Battle of Raona (1750) - The Mughal Empire invaded Marwar but were repelled by the armies of Raja Ram singh Rathore and Ishwari Singh Kachwaha.[52]
  • Battle of Luniawas (1750)- Bhakt Singh challenged his nephew Ram Singh for the throne of Marwar. Ram Singh hired a large contingent of Afghan and Baloch Musketeers from Sindh to defeat his uncle, he further formed a powerful army in Jodhpur and appointed Sher Singh Rathor, a veteran general of Marwar to defeat the usurper. At first Ram Singhs general Sher Singh Rathor pushed Bhakt Singh 4 miles back and almost forced him to retreat, 2000 Rathors of Bhakt Singh fell in the battle with 9 Rathor nobles and Bhakt Singh was severely injured by spear and bullet wounds, but Bhakt Singh made a fierce counterattack which killed Sher Singh and most of Ram Singhs commanders making the battle a costly victory for Bhakt Singh.[53][54]
  • Battle of Ajmer (1752) - On May 1752 Jayapa Sindhia and Ram Singh attacked Ajmer, sacked it and massacred the populace. Upon learning of the invasion, Bhakt Singh marched with his army and camped 8 miles away from Ajmer. He waited till July and then attacked Jayappa. Bhakt Singh blocked the surrounding paths and placed his guns on a hill, he then bombarded the Marathas, upon receiving heavy casualties, the Marathas fled along with the army of Ram Singh.[55]
  • Battle of Kumher (1754) - Suraj Mal Jat ruler of Bharatpur defeated the combined armies of Marathas and Mughals.
  • Siege of forts of Barwara and Tonk (1757) - Peshwa Raghunath Rao and Malhar Rao Holkar laid siege on the forts of Barwara and Tonk. They were defeated by the Rajput garrison of these forts under Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh.
  • Battle of Kakor (1759) - The Rajput forces of Madho Singh of Jaipur defeated and repulsed the Holkar forces of Malhar Rao Holkar led by the veteran Gangadhar Tantiya in present day Kakor, Uniara, Tonk district, Rajasthan.[56]
  • Battle of Mangrol (1761) - Madho Singh of Jaipur fought Malhar Rao Holkar. The Jaipur army had 10,000 men while the Holkar army had 6,000 men from Indore and 3,000 men supplied by the Rao of Kota. After a 2-day battle the Jaipur army was completely destroyed. However Malhar Rao was not able to plunder Dhundhar for long as he was recalled to Bundelkhand because of rebellions and threats of invasion by Shuja-Ud-Daula of Awadh.[57]
  • Battle of Maonda and Mandholi (1767) - Jaipur forces defeat the forces of Bharatpur.[58]
  • Battle of Kama (1768) - Madho Singh I invaded Bharatpur at the head of 16,000 men where he defeated jat leader Jawahar Singh again on 29 February 1768.[59][60]
  • Battle of Tunga or Battle of Lalsot (1787) - Combined forces of Jaipur and Jodhpur Vs Maratha forces of Mahadaji Shinde. The bloody three-day battle at Tunga ended in a stale-mate.[61]
  • Battle of Patan (1790) - The Battle of Patan was fought on 20 June 1790 between the Scindias of Gwalior and the Kachwahas of Jaipur, and resulted decisive victory of Maratha forces.
  • Battle of Merta (1790) - Marathas under Mahadaji Shinde defeated the army of Maharaja Vijay Singh.
  • Battle of Fatehpur (1799) - The Battle of Fatehpur was fought in March 1799 between the Maratha Kingdom of Gwalior supported by General George Thomas and the Rajput Kingdom of Jaipur under Sawai Pratap Singh and Rora Ram Ji Khawas which resulted in a decisive Jaipur victory.[62]
  • Battle of Malpura (1800) - Marathas under Daulat Rao Sindhia defeated Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh.[63]
  • Siege of Mehrangarh (1806) - Man Singh of Marwar defeated the armies of Jaipur, Mewar and Bikaner so comprehensively that Jagat Singh of Jaipur had to pay a sum of Rs. 2,00,000 to secure his safe passage. In honour of Man Singhs victory over Jaipur the Jai Pol, or victory gate was built in the fort in 1808.
  • Battle of Auwa (8 September 1857) - Kushal singh Rathore, a noble of Jodhpur joined the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British Empire, around 5,000 Rajputs of Pali joined him. The British asked raja Takht Singh to deal with him, however most of the Rathore nobles refused to fight with a fellow clansmen for foreigners. Kushal Singh thus defeated a force of local levies raised by Raja Takht Singh of Jodhpur.[64]
  • Siege of Auwa (1857-1858) - Kushal Singh killed captain Mason and hung his head on his fort gate for insulting him, he then defeated a British army of 2,000 men under brigadier Lawrence. Another army of 30,000 men under colonel Holmes forced Kushal Singh to retreat to his fort in Auwa. Holmes besieged the Auwa fort and breached it after 6 months of siege. Kushal Singh was able to escape to Udaipur. Auwa was then confiscated by the British until the death of Kushal Singh in 1864.[65]

References

  1. ^ R. C. Majumdar 1977, p. 298-299
  2. ^ Asoke Kumar Majumdar 1956, pp. 131–132.
  3. ^ Dasharatha Sharma 1959, p. 138.
  4. ^ R. B. Singh 1964, p. 259.
  5. ^ a b c d Sen 1999, p. 336.
  6. ^ Beny & Matheson, p. 149.
  7. ^ Maheshwari, Hiralal (1980). History of Rajasthani Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 17.
  8. ^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  9. ^ R. C. Majumdar, ed. (1960). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi Sultante (2nd ed.). Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 70.
  10. ^ "Rajput Victories in Indian History".
  11. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 36.
  12. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 5.
  13. ^ A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books.
  14. ^ Har Bilas Sarda "Maharana Kumbha: sovereign, soldier, scholar" pg 47
  15. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 4.
  16. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 30.
  17. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 18.
  18. ^ A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 116–117
  19. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 9.
  20. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 11.
  21. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 12.
  22. ^ Rajasthan through the ages vol 5, pg 12.
  23. ^ Indian States a biographical, sustainable and administrative survey by jw solomon
  24. ^ The Hindupat, the Last Great Leader of the Rajput Race. 1918. Reprint. London pg 84-86
  25. ^ Satish Chandra 2006 p=33
  26. ^ Rajasthan pg.70 by Dharmpal
  27. ^ Tarikh -i Daudi Farid bin Hasan Sur entitled Shir Shah fol 114
  28. ^ Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). History of Medieval India, Part II, New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81-219-0364-5, p.43
  29. ^ Akbarnama II pg 72
  30. ^ Jodhpur Khyat pg 76
  31. ^ Akbarnama II pg 46
  32. ^ Studies in Mughal History pg 91 by Ashwini Agrawal
  33. ^ Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II pg-120, by Satish Chandra
  34. ^ Rajsamand (2001), District Gazetteers, Rajasthan, p. 35, The battle of Dewar was fought in a valley of Arvali about 40 km north -east of Kumbhalgarh. ... Prince Amar Singh fought valiantly and pierced through Sultan Khan and the horse he was riding.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  35. ^ A military history of medieval India, 2003, p. 530, Prince Pravez and Asaf Khan led an army of 20,000 horse which fought a battle against Rana Amar Singh at Dewar
  36. ^ The Cambridge History of India pg 248-304
  37. ^ Maharana Raj Singh and His Times By Ram Sharma
  38. ^ Storia do Mogor By Niccolao Manucci
  39. ^ Cambridge history of India pg. 304
  40. ^ Irvine, p. 47.
  41. ^ Irvine, p. 48.
  42. ^ The Cambridge History of India, Volume 3 pg 322
  43. ^ AKhbarat, Kartik Sudi 5, Samvat, 1765 (7 October 1708) quoted by U.N. Sharma, Itihas, I, 215, 212-215
  44. ^ Kamwar, II, 315
  45. ^ Dwivedi 2003, p. 61
  46. ^ https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/text.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_081.gif
  47. ^ A History of Jaipur pg-200 by Jadunath Sarkar
  48. ^ Fall of the Mughal Empire pg-139-140 by Jadunath Sarkar
  49. ^ Harcharandas in Chahar Gulzar 377b-379b
  50. ^ Rajasthan Through the Ages pg 182
  51. ^ Rajasthan through the Ages vol 4 pg.188
  52. ^ Rajasthan through the Ages vol 4 pg.189
  53. ^ Rajasthan through the Ages vol 4 pg.196
  54. ^ Fall Of The Mughal Empire- Vol. I (4Th Edn.), Volume 1, By Jadunath Sarkar pg.159
  55. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (2007). Fall of the Mughal Empire Vol 2. Orient BlackSwan; First edition. p. 102.
  56. ^ Thirty decisive battles of Jaipur - Rao Bahadur Thakur Narendra Singh, Mansabdar of Jobner, Education Minister, Jaipur State - Pg 204
  57. ^ Rajasthan Through the Ages By R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi pg.202-204
  58. ^ History of Jaipur by Jadunath Sarkar pg. 256
  59. ^ The Rajputana gazetteers - 1880
  60. ^ History of Jaipur by Jadunath Sarkar pg. 256
  61. ^ Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Supported by the Rajput rulers of Jodhpur and Udaipur, Partab Singh of Jaipur took a massive force southeast against Marathas under Mahadji Sindhia. When his Mughal cavalry under Mohammad Beg and his nephew Ismail Beg Hamadani defected, Sindhia was defeated in a bloody three-day battle at Tunga, near Lalsot. Greenwood Press. p. 565. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  62. ^ History of Jaipur by Jadunath Sarkar pg. 355
  63. ^ A history of Jaipur pg 310 by Jadunath Sarkar
  64. ^ The Central India Campaign. "Khushial Singh the Thakur of Awah who was in rebellion against the British. On 8 September the Legion defeated a force of Jodhpur's loyal Raja's local levies."
  65. ^ Political Awakening and Indian Freedom Movement with Special Reference to Rajasthan pg 28-35
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