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Home , Akbarnama, Battle of Haldighati, Fatehpur Sikri, Second Battle of Panipat

MUGHAL PERIOD:

(1556 -1605 CE)

Mughal Shield

This magnificent shield belongs to Emperor Akbar. It bears the inscription ‘Buland Ikbal Shahanshah Akbar Year A.H. 1002’. The decorations on the shield run in three circular bands around the sun in the centre .The outer band around the centre has a bold meandering pattern.

The next band has representations of the twelve Zodiac signs. The name of each sign is mentioned in the oval panel next to it.

This shield is only one of its kind and displayed in Chhatrapati Vastu Sanghralaya, Mumbai.

Jalal – ud- din Akbar, also known as Akbar ‘The Great’ was the third Mughal emperor after and . Akbar was 13 years old when he ascended the throne. At that time was the capital which he later shifted to . Akbar proclaimed the throne in the midst of a war against Sikander Shah of the Sur dynasty. Akbar was a commander of the stature who built the largest army in the history of the . The Mughal army resembled a city on the move. TWO FAMOUS BATTLES FOUGHT BY AKBAR 1. Second Battle of 2. Battle of

Battle of Panipat

During his early reign Akbar fought the battle of Panipat to reclaim his capital when he had been away to subdue the forces of Sher Shah‟s dynasty who were the biggest threats at that time. Akbar defeated Sikander Shah Suri easily but when he was away, defeated the Mughal forces in Delhi. Akbar‟s army met Hemu‟s forces in Panipat and hence started the between Akbar and Hemu. Hemu had a much bigger army compared to Akbar‟s. Akbar had been advised also not to go to war but he decided to ignore it which turned out to be a turning point in the history of the Mughal reign in . Hemu‟s army relied heavily on elephants and he was himself leading the charge atop an elephant. It is believed that Hemu was winning as he charged at the Mughals again and again to break their formation. But suddenly, he was struck in the eye by an arrow which made him unconscious. His army, fled after seeing that their commander had fallen. Hemu was taken captive and later beheaded and the Mughal reign gained a proper foothold in India.

Haldighati Battle

Haldighati is a place in where the famous battle took place between Singh of and Akbar. Akbar had sent many emissaries to the Maharana to join hands with the Mughals. Since he refused, Akbar charged his forces for battle with the Maharana. This is said to be one of the most valiant battles in history. Even though the Maharana‟s army was much smaller than Akbar‟s, with their courage and skill they fought valiantly until they had to retreat as they lost many of their men and Maharana Pratap was injured badly along with his horse „‟. So Akbar‟s army emerged victorious. The actual battle lasted for only four hours but history says that it took place for many years in a guerrilla form as the Maharana always looked for opportunities to disrupt the Mughals.

After subduing the , Akbar, moved towards, and captured it without much resistance. Finally, he captured almost whole of India and hence was rightly termed as “Akbar the Great”.

ACTIVITY

Write a short account of the Haldighati battle in your own words in your notebook and draw a sketch depicting the battle scene using your own imagination how it would have been when Maharana Pratap fought bravely even after his horse got wounded.

Can you find another similar war legend from India or any other part of the world? Give a sentence on this legend.

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AKBAR’S MANSABDARI SYSTEM

Akbar organised his army and mobility under the mansabdari system. Every officer was assigned a mansab (rank). The mansabdars were divided into 33 classes. The top three ranks were reserved for the princes and so on. People were usually appointed to a low mansab and gradually moved up based on merit. Each mansabdar required to maintain a certain number of cavalrymen and twice that number of horses. The mansabdars were remunerated well for their services and constituted the highest paid military service at that time.

Akbar‟s personal armour and sword displayed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sanghralaya, Mumbai and Museum Trust, Jodhpur, respectively.

DID YOU KNOW

Akbar had „navratnas‟ nine jewels. They were, Abul Fazl(chief advisor and author of ), Faizi (Akbar's poet laureate), Mian (singer), (a noble known for his wittiness) , Raja Todar Mal (finance minister), Raja Man Singh (trusted general of Akbar), Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana (a noble and a renowned poet), Fakir Aziao-Din and Mullah Do Piaza .

References – Chandra, Satish( 2007). History of Medieval India: 800 – 1700. Orient Black Swan http://www.mehrangarh.org/g_trea.html www.wikipedia.org www.museumindia.com http://www.islamicart.com/library/empires/india/akbar.html