Aurangzeb's invasion of Mewar
| Aurangzeb's Invasion of Mewar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal-Rajput Wars and Rathore rebellion (1679–1707) | |||||||
 Deobari Camp of Aurangzeb during his invasion on Mewar in 1680 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Mewar Kingdom of Marwar |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Raj Singh I Durgadas Rathore Prince Jai Singh Prince Bhim Singh Pratap Singh Jhala Rawat Udaibhan Amar Singh Chauhan Gopinath Rathore Dayaldas Singh Sabal Singh Purawat Sanwaldas Mertiya Rathore Vikramaditya Solanki |
Aurangzeb Bahadur Shah I Prince Akbar Prince Azam Shah Bahadur Khan Hassan Ali Khan Yaktaz Khan Hussain Ali Khan Barha Shujaat Khan Salabat Khan Mukhtar Khan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
20,000 Calvary 25,000 infantry 1000 elephants |
30,000 Calvary 40,000 infantry 1200 elephants | ||||||
Aurangzeb's invasion of Mewar was an unsuccessful military expedition led by Aurangzeb against Raj Singh of Mewar inorder to capture Ajit Singh, resulting in defeat of the Mughal army by the Sisodia-Rathore army.[1][2][3]
Background[edit]
Mughal-Rajput relations started declining after the death of Jaswant Singh in 1678. Aurangzeb imposed Jaziya on Hindus which was opposed by Rana Raj Singh.[4] Aurangzeb occupied Jodhpur completely after Jaswant Singh's death. Aurangzeb refused to accept Ajit Singh as Jaswant Singh's successor. Durgadas Rathore wrote a letter to Raj Singh inorder to save young Ajit Singh's life.[5] Raj Singh accepted to provide shelter to Ajit Singh and his mother. Aurangzeb wrote multiple letters to Raj Singh but he didn't reply to any. Raj Singh had challenged Aurangzeb's power by providing shelter to Ajit Singh. Rana assigned the Jagir of Kelwa to Rathores.[6]
Preparations by Aurangzeb[edit]
Aurangzeb dispatched Tahawar Khan on October 27, 1679 to make Ajit Singh captive, but the Mughal forces were badly defeated near Desuri Pass who retreated back to Ajmer.[7]
On Nov 30, 1679 Aurangzeb left Ajmer and encamped his base at Deori. He ordered Prince Muazzam (Bahadur Shah I) to reach Ujjain immediately from Deccan, and Prince Muhammed Azam who was posted in Bengal to reach Mewar with his army. Prince Muazzam, Prince Muhammad Azam, Prince Akbar, Muhammad Amir Khan, Hussain Ali Khan, Hassan Ali Khan, Sujaat khan, Salabat Khan and Mukhtar Khan reached with their armies at Ajmer.[3]
Till December 16, Aurangzeb moved his camp from Deori to Mandal where Azam joined him with his army.[3]
Preparations by Maharana[edit]
Maharana Raj Singh after hearing about the advancements Aurangzeb made around Mewar, Maharana organised a council with his 16 Samants. Raj Singh moved his treasure and family from Udaipur to Nathdwara. Maharana posted Dayaldas Singhvi at Mangdalgarh, Sanwaldas Mertia at hilly traits of Badnor, Jhala Pratap Singh at Chirawa, Sabal Singh Purawat along with Chundawats at Rajnagar, Rathore Gopinath and Solanki Vikramaditya at Debari, Rawat Udaibhan and Amar Singh Chauhan at an outpost of Udaipur and Rajkunwar Jai Singh was posted at Basad territory.[7] Maharana ordered Rajkunwar Bhim Singh to carry out depredations in Northern Gujarat.[3]
Battle[edit]
Aurangazeb left Mandal on 3rd January 1680 towards Udaipur. Aurangzeb reached Debari next day and killed Gopinath Rathore along with his soldiers and occupied Debari. On January 6 1680, Prince Muhammed Azam and Bahadur Khan were sent to visit Udaipur. Other two Mughal officers Ruhilla Khan and Yakataz Khan were ordered to demolish Jagdish temple, which was guarded by 20 Rajput soldiers.[8] Mughal lost good amount of soldiers at Jagdish temple while all the 20 Rajput soldiers were Martyred. Mughal army could only disfigure some Idols at Jagdish Temple. Hassan Ali Khan picked 7000 soldiers and started his campaign towards Udaipur but got lost in the hills. A strong army under Prince Azam, Bahadur Khan and Yaktaz Khan were sent to help Hassan Khan.[3]
After a few day stay at Deobari, Aurangzeb moved towards Udai Sagar where 3 temples were destroyed. Aurangzeb gave the command of army to prince Akbar (12,000 soldiers) and returned to Ajmer on 22nd March 1680.[1]
After the retirement of Aurangzeb, Rajputs started harrassing the Mughal army by using Guerrilla warfare.[9] Sarangwas Mertiya laid a siege on the fort of Badnor and defeated the Mughal army under Ruhilla Khan. Rajputs made regular night raids on Mughal camps. Jhala Pratap Singh gained a great success against the Prince Akbar near Girwa, where he killed multiple Mughal soldiers and captured 2 elephants from the Mughal army, which he presented to Rana Raj Singh. Akbar failed to justify his position against Rajputs and was insulted for his humiliating defeat. Prince Azam was given the command of the army on 26th June. Jai Singh made a surprise attack on Chittorgarh which was occupied by Mughals and massacred a large number of Mughal soldiers.[9] Prince Azam too got defeated by Rawat Rukmangad and Udaibhan in the Mountains of Raj Samudra in July 1680.[1]
Casualties[edit]
Although the Mughal invasion failed, but they destroyed many temples around Mewar. 63 temples were destroyed in Chittorgarh by Aurangzeb, and 173 in Udaipur.[8] Bhim Singh who was sent to Northern Gujarat destroyed more than 300 mosques and collected a sum of 2 lakhs from Ahmednagar.[7][10]
Aftermath[edit]
Prince Akbar faced insults from his father Aurangzeb after the humiliating defeat at Mewar. Akbar revolted against Aurangzeb with the help of Rathores. Rathores in Marwar revolted against Aurangzeb and captured the city of Merta.[2]
After the death of Rana Raj Singh, Aurangzeb wrote letters to Rana Jai Singh to establish peace between Mughals and Mewar.[2][8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Mankekar, D. R. (1976). Mewar Saga: The Sisodias' Role in Indian History. Vikas Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-7069-0416-1.
- ^ a b c Hooja, Rima (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa & Company. ISBN 978-81-291-0890-6.
- ^ a b c d e Sharma, Gopi Nath (1954). Mewar & the Mughal Emperors (1526-1707 A.D.). S.L. Agarwala.
- ^ Hallissey, Robert C. (1977). The Rajput Rebellion Against Aurangzeb: A Study of the Mughal Empire in Seventeenth-century India. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-0222-2.
- ^ Sharma, Sri Ram (2008-09-30). Maharana Raj Singh and His Times. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-2398-3.
- ^ Bhargava, Visheshwar Sarup (1966). Marwar and the Mughal Emperors (A. D. 1526-1748). Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 978-81-215-0400-3.
- ^ a b c Somānī, Rāmavallabha (1976). History of Mewar, from Earliest Times to 1751 A.D. Mateshwari Publications.
- ^ a b c Prasad, Ishwari (1996). The Life and Times of Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7024-756-2.
- ^ a b Majumdar, R. C. (2020). an advanced history of Rajasthan. Trinity Press. pp. 494–497.
The Rathors, thrown into confusion and dismay by the death of their chief, failed to present any united national resistance. ... Jodhpur was offered to Ajit on condition of his turning a Muslim. This extraordinary proposal hurt the feelings of the Rathors. ... Rajputs carried on a guerrilla warfare and fell on the Mughal outposts with so much courage that 'the command of the outposts went a-begging, captain after captain declining the dangerous honour and offering excuses'. The Rajputs surprised the Mughal army under Prince Akbar in May 1680 and carried off its provisions. Reduced to starvation the Mughal army stood "motionless through fear", as Prince Akbar complained. ... Under the able leadership of Durgadas, the Rathors ceaselessly carried on a guerrilla warfare and harassed the Mughal outposts so that the Mughal officers were compelled to pay chauth.
- ^ Powers, Janet M. (2008-11-30). Kites over the Mango Tree: Restoring Harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-35158-7.