Ahmad Shah II's invasion of Mewar
| Gujarati Invasion of Mewar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Kingdom of Mewar | Sultanate of Gujarat | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Rana Kumbha |
Ahmad Shah II Rai Ram Chadar Malik Gadday Immad-ul-Mulk | ||||||||
Ahmad Shah II's invasion of Mewar was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Mewar and the Gujarat Sultanate. This invasion was an attempt to punish the Rana of Mewar Kumbha for defeating the Gujarati forces at Nagaur earlier.[2] Initially, Gujarat's Sultan Qutub-ud-din Ahmad Shah II besieged Abu and defeated Rao of Sirohi and marched towards Kumbhalgarh. The attack caused by Gujarat was well responded by Mewaris and their Rana who defeated Gujarat's forces at Abu and later defeated the Sultan himself at Kumbhalgarh forcing him to return to Gujarat and to drop the plans to occupy Nagaur.[3]
Background
The invasion of Timur has weakened the grip of the Delhi Sultanate over a large number of its subahs. One of them was Nagaur's ruler Firoz Khan who belonged to the family of Sultans of Gujarat. He was originally the governor of the same province under the Sultans of Delhi. He had, however, thrown off his allegiance to Delhi and become independent.[4]
Firoz Khan died in 1455 which started a succession struggle between his two sons Shams Khan and Mujhaid Khan. Initially, Shams succeeded his father but after a stiff resistance, he faced from his brother forced him to evacuate the throne and flee to Mewar for help which Rana of Mewar Kumbha agreed to give him on the condition that he would destroy the battlements of the fort of Nagaur. Maharana Kumbha invaded Nagaur and installed Shams Khan to the throne. Mujahid Khan fled to Malwa. However, Shams Khan refused to demolish part of his battlements and instead strengthened his fortifications. Enraged, Kumbha marched again. Shams fled to Ahmadabad for help, leaving his army behind. Sultan Ahmad Shah of Gujarat received him, married Shams Khan's daughter, and sent reinforcements under Malik Gadai and Raja Ramchandra. The combined Nagaur-Ahmadabad forces were completely defeated.[5] Maharana Kumbha then captured the fort of Nagaur, demolished its bastions, and took its treasures. Many Muslims were killed and others taken captive. He also seized Nagaur and the nearby territory of Sapadalaksha, but later returned the territory to the Sultan, who agreed to acknowledge Kumbha's overlordship.[6]
Gujarat invasion of Mewar
Humiliated by the defeats of his generals at the hands of Rana Kumbha, Sultan Ahmad Shah thereupon decided to take the field in person. The Maharana advanced to meet him and came to Mount Abu. Sultan too marched as the head of a large host and arrived near Mount Abu. He sent a part of his army to take the fort of Abu under his general Malik Shaban Imad-ul-Mulk and self-marched against the fortress of Kumbhalgarh.[7] Rana Kumbha who was aware of this plan came out of the fort and with a great slaughter, defeated Immad-ul-mulk and forced marched towards Kumbhalgarh.[8] Sultan in the meantime attacked Sirohi who then was paying allegiance to Mewar. Raja of Sirohi came out of his fort and tried to give a battle to the Sultan but he was defeated. However, the Sultan abstained from taking Sirohi and marched to meet Rana Kumbha.[9] He arrived at the foothill of the Kumbhalgarh fort where Immad-ul-mulk too joined him. Rana Kumbha who had reached before the Sultan, sallied out of the fortress and both sides met each other in the vicinity of Kumbhalgarh where the Sultan sustained heavy losses and returned to Gujarat completely defeated.[10][11]
Aftermath
Sultan of Gujarat Ahmad Shah II who had now been defeated by Kumbha, along with the Sultans of Malwa and Nagaur, decided to make joint efforts against Rana in the treaty of Champaner where it was decided that the southern part of Mewar contiguous to Gujarat was to be attached to Gujarat; and Mewar proper, Ajmer and Ahirwara, to Malwa. Rana on the other side was able to strengthen his position in Rajasthan and Northern Madhya Pradesh by successfully defending and expanding his kingdom on the verge of his neighbouring Sultanates.[12][13]
References
- ↑ Sarda 1917, p. 57 "In S. 1513 (A.D. 1456) Kumbha, aware of this plan, came out, attacked and "defeated Imad-ul-Mulk with great slaughter," and by forced marches reached Kumbhalgarh before the Sultan arrived there."
- ↑ Sarda 1917, p. 56 "The Sultan thereupon espoused his cause and sent a large army under Rai Ram Chandar and Malik Gadday to take back Nagor. The Maharana allowed the army to approach Nagor when he came out, and after a severe engagement, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gujrat army, annihilating it. Only remnants of it reached Ahmedabad, to carry the news of the disaster to the Sultan."
- ↑ Somani 1976, p. 136
- ↑ Sarda 1917, p. 85 "The same year (A. D. 1455) Feroz Khan, Sultan of Nagor, died. He belonged to the family of the kings of Gujrat, and was originally Governor of the province of Nagor, under the Sultans of Delhi. He had, however, thrown of his allegiance to Delhi and become independent.
- ↑ Somani 1976, pp. 134–135
- ↑ Somani 1976, p. 135
- ↑ Mankekar 1976, p. 331 "in 1443, the sultan of Gujarat made another attempt to get the better of Kumbha, this time with a two-prolonged operation: he sent one army to Abu under his commander-in-chief Malik Shaaban Imadul-Mulk, while the sultan himself led another against Kumbhalgarh."
- ↑ Sarda 1917, p. 57 "In S. 1513 (A.D. 1456) Kumbha, aware of this plan, came out, attacked and "defeated Imad-ul-Mulk with great slaughter," and by forced marches reached Kumbhalgarh before the Sultan arrived there."
- ↑ Sarda 1917, p. 57 "Ferishta, however, states (Vol. IV, page 41) that the Raja of Sirohi, who was a relation of the Maharana met the Sultan in battle but was defeated, and that the Sultan then went away towards Kumbhalgarh."
- ↑ Somani 1976, p. 149 "he Sultan at this time came to Know about the defeat of his army sent against Abu, ‘Therefore, he gave orders to call Malik Shaban back, He also detached contingents to lay waste the territory of Godawar and to demolish the temples, When he came near Kumbhalgarh, Maharana Kumbha came out from the fort and attacked the Gujrat army, ‘The Sultan failed to conquer the fort, and was compelled to retreat,"
- ↑ Majumdar, R.C (1967). History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 06, The Delhi Sultanate. Public Resource. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
- ↑ Somani 1976, p. 137 "As already stated, the Sultans of Malwa and Gujrat, the traditional enemies of Mewar, entered into an offensive alliance against Maharana Kumbha, It was agreed between them that Godawar and the south western Mewar, including Chittor, contiguous to Gujrat, were to be attached to Gujrat, while the central Mewar, Ajmer, Uparamal, Hadoti etc, to Malwa, They now decided to make simultaneous attacks."
- ↑ Sarda 1917
Bibliography
- Sarda, Har Bilas (1917). Maharana Kumbha: sovereign, soldier, scholar. University of California Libraries. Ajmer, Scottish Mission Industries co.
- Somani, Ram Vallabh (1976). History of Mewar: from earliest times to 1751 A.D. C.L. Ranka, Jaipur. p. 136.
- Mankekar, D. R. (1976). Mewar Saga: The Sisodias' Role in Indian History. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-0416-1.
- Commissariat, M. S. (1938). A History of Gujarat. Vol. I. Ahmadabad: Longmans Green & Co. Ltd.
- Chaube, J. (1975). History of Gujarat Kingdom, 1458-1537. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 978-0-88386-573-6.