Siege of Chittorgarh
| Siege of Chittorgarh | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal-Hindu Rajput War (1558-1578) | |||||||||
 The Mughal Emperor Akbar shoot a Rajput leader Rao Jaimal, using a matchlock. |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mughal Empire | Rajputs of Chittorgarh Fort | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Akbar Abdullah Khan Khwaja Abdul Majid Ghazi Khan Mehtar Khan Munim Khan |
Rao Jaimal† Rana Jai Singh(KIA) Rawat Patta Singh Sisodia(KIA) |
||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 80,000 men 80 cannons 95 swivel guns 800 matchlocks 5,000 war elephants |
5,000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
5,000 Rajputs 30,000 civilians inside the fort | ||||||||
Siege of Chittor, Siege of Chittorgarh. In October 1567, the Mughal forces of approximately 5,000 men led by Akbar surrounded and besieged 8,000 Rajputs in Chittorgarh Fort. Within a few months, Akbar's ranks expanded to over 70,000 men and possibly more than 80,000 troops during the late phases of the siege, which ended in a decisive victory of the Mughals.
The Rajputs began to emerge as a dominant power after the defeat of the Lodi dynasty. The Rajputs were opposed to the rise of the Mughal Empire and they often supported Akbar's fellow rivals, including Baz Bahadur. Akbar was worried as Mewar was a strong Rajput state which had give refuge to many of his enemies and proved to be a strong enemy for him in Rajputana. During his battles against the Rajputs, Akbar realized that the Rajput-controlled Chittorgarh Fort needed to be eliminated, since it was a key bastion for his foes.
Due to the constant state of war between the Rajputs and the Mughal Empire, Akbar realized the importance of and utilized the Rajput blades known as the kitar alongside the Mughal talwars in battle. Akbar also believed that war elephants were the key to military success and that a single armored elephant was equal to 500 sowars. Elephants also could travel through the densest of forests, clearing the way for Mughal sepoys, sowars and cannons. Akbar owned 5,000 well trained elephants and recorded the use of almost 40,000 across the Mughal Empire. His war elephants were trained to wrestle other elephants, attack sowars and crumble sepoy ranks. He is reputed to have replaced the tusks of some war elephants with pairs of double-curved tusk swords. War elephants were also utilized to carry out executions and crush the bodies of the Mughal Emperor's foes.
The Siege of Chittorgarh began when Akbar and his personal force of 5,000 Mughal soldiers besieged a 6-mile territory around Chittorgarh Fort. On 23 October 1567, Akbar arrived and set up his encampment. He raised the green flags of the Mughal Empire, according to Hindu accounts, and also brought large Islamic banners and emblems. His personal presence on the battlefield was a message for the Rajputs inside the fort that the siege was not a temporary affair.
...
Wikipedia