Rana Sanga

Maharana Sangram Singh (12 April 1484 -17 March 1527) commonly known as the Rana Sanga, was the Rajput ruler of Mewar, which was located within the geographic boundaries of the present day India’s modern state of Rajasthan. He ruled between the 1509 and 1527.

A scion of the Sisodia clan of the Suryavanshi  Rajputs, Rana Sanga succeeded his father, Maharana Raimal, as the king of the Mewar in the 1509. He fought against the Mughals in the Battle of the Khanwa, which ended with the Mughal victory and died shortly thereafter on the 17 March, 1527.

Succession of Throne 

Prithiraj was subsequently banished from the fortified capital city of the Chittor; their younger brother Jaimall was elevated to the throne. Jaimall, however was ultimately slain by the indignant father of the girl he had been courting. In turn, the Prithiraj was poisoned by his brother-in-law, whom he had earlier punished for the allegedly mistreating his sister.
This resulting the crisis of the succession left the Rana Sanga to ascend their father’s throne.

War between the Rana Sanganad Babur:

After his initial gains Maharana Sanga became recognized within the north India as the principal player in the power struggle to rule northern territories of the princely India. His objectives grew in the scope – he planned to conquer the much sought after the prize of the Muslim rulers of the time, Delhi and bring the whole of India under his control.

 He crushed the Gujarat and conquered the Malwa and was now close to the Agra. It was at this juncture that he heard that the Babur had defeated and slain the Ibrahim Lodi and was now the master of the Delhi Sultanate.

Maharana Sanga believed that the Babur had the plans to leave India, from all the information he was getting it seemed that the Babur was getting ready to consolidate his newly gained northern holdings, Maharana Sangram Singh decided in the miscalculation of the Babur’s strength and the determination, to wage the war against the Mughal invader.

As the first move, he coerced Afghan fugitive princess like the Mehmud Lodi and the Hasan Khan Mewati to join him. Then he ordered the Babur to leave India. Initially he hoped to attain this by sending his vassals over Babur. Babur accepted that to rule the North India he may have to engage in the Battle with the Rana Sanga and hence had no desire for the retreat.  Babur and Silhadi hatched a plot. Silhadi, who held a large contingent of 30,000 men would join Babur’s camp at critical moment of battle and thus defeat Rana Sanga. Silhadi who went back to Chittor, told Rana that war is a must

The Rajput forces of Rana Sanga, supplemented by the contingents of Hasan Khan Mewati and the Afghan, Mehmud Lodi and Raja Medini Rai of Alwar, met Babur’s army atKhanwa near Fatehpur Sikri in 1527. The battle, which lasted for not more than 10 hours, was bitterly contested and became an exceedingly brutal affair. At a critical moment of battle, the defection of Silhadi and his contingent caused a split in the Rajput forces. Rana Sanga while trying to rebuild his front was wounded and fell unconscious from his horse. The Rajput army thought their leader was dead and fled in disorder, thus allowing the Mughals to win the day.

Rana Sanga was whisked away to safety by the Rathore contingent from Mewar and once he became conscious he learnt of the defeat. But Maharana Sanga, unwilling to admit defeat, set out once more to rebuild his military and renew war with Babur. He vowed not to set foot in Chittor till Babur was defeated by him. In 1528, he once more set out to fight Babur at Chanderi to help Medini Rai who was attacked by Babur. But he fell sick at Kalpi and died in his camp. It is believed that he was poisoned by some of his nobles who quite rightly thought his renewal of war with Babur was suicidal.

Resources:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/maharana-sangram-singh/

Razia sultan

Raziyya al-Din (1205 October 13, 1240), throne name Jalâlat ud-Dîn Raziyâ , usually referred to in the history as the Razia Sultan, was born in the Budaun and was the Sultan of Delhi from 1236 to May 1240. Razia Sultana was the only woman ruler of both the Sultanate and the Mughal period, although other women ruled from behind the scenes. Razia refused to be addressed as Sultana because it meant "wife or mistress of a sultan". She would answer only to the title "Sultan." In many people's opinions Razia had all the qualities of a great monarch.

Reign as Sultan and death 

Razia (also called Radiyya or Raziyya) succeeded her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236. Iltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman as his successor when he designated his daughter Razia as his heir apparent. Razia was the first and last women ruler of Delhi Sultanate. (According to one source, Iltumish's eldest son had initially been groomed as his successor, but had died prematurely.) But the Muslim nobility had no intention of acceding to Iltutmish's appointment of a woman as heir, and after the sultan died on Wednesday 30 April 1236, Razia's brother, Rukn ud din Firuz, was elevated to the throne instead.

Ruknuddin's reign was short. With Iltutmish's widow Shah Turkaan for all practical purposes running the government, Ruknuddin abandoned himself to the pursuit of personal pleasure and debauchery, to the outrage of the citizenry. On November 9, 1236, both Ruknuddin and his mother Shah Turkaan were assassinated after only six months in power.

With reluctance, the nobility agreed to allow Razia to reign as Sultan of Delhi. She dressed like a man and sat in open durbar. She was an efficient ruler and possessed all the qualities of a Monarch. As a child and adolescent, Razia had little contact with the women of the harem, so she had not learnt the customary behavior of women in the Muslim society that she was born into. Even before she became Sultan, she was reportedly preoccupied with the affairs of state during her father's reign. As Sultan, Razia preferred a man's tunic and headdress; and contrary to custom, she would later show her face when she rode an elephant into battle at the head of her army.

A shrewd politician, Razia managed to keep the nobles in check, while enlisting the support of the army and the populace. Her greatest accomplishment on the political front was to manipulate rebel factions into opposing each other. At that point, Razia seemed destined to become one of the most powerful rulers of the Delhi Sultanate.

But Razia miscounted the consequences that a relationship with one of her advisers, Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, an Abyssinian Siddi (Habshi) slave, would have for her reign. According to some accounts, Razia and Yaqut were lovers; other sources simply identify them as close confidants. In any case, before long she had aroused the jealousy of the Turkic nobility by the favoritism she displayed toward Yaqut, who was not a Turk, when she appointed him to be Superintendent of the Stables. Eventually, a childhood friend named Malik Altunia, the governor of Bhatinda, joined a rebellion by other provincial governors who refused to accept Razia's authority.

The battle between Razia and Altunia ensued, with the result that Yaqut was killed and Razia taken prisoner. She was incarcerated in April, 1240 at Qila Mubarak at Bathinda. While in prison, Razia Sultan was allowed to go to Hajirattan mosque to offer prayers on Fridays in a special palki. She was released in August 1240. To escape death, Razia agreed to marry Altunia. Meanwhile, Razia's brother, Muizuddin Bahram Shah, had usurped the throne. After Altunia and Razia undertook to take back the sultanate from Bahram through battle, both Razia and her husband were defeated on the 24th of Rabi' al-awwal A.H. 638 (October 1240). They fled Delhi and reached Kaithal the next day, where their remaining forces abandoned them. They both fell into the hands of Jats and were robbed and killed on the 25th of Rabi' al-awwal A.H. 638, this date corresponds to October 13, 1240. Bahram, for his part, reigned from 1240 to 1242, but would be dethroned for incompetence.

Rana Kumbha

Rana Kumbha or the Kumbhakarna Singh, died in 1468 ADwas the ruler of the Mewar, the state in the western India, between the 1433 and 1468 AD, and belonging to the Sisodia clan of the Rajputs. Rana Kumbha was the son of Rana Mokal of the Mewar by his wife Sobhagya Devi, the daughter of the Jaitmal Sankhla, the Parmara fief-holder of the Runkot in the state of the Mewar.

 Maharana Kumbha was the Vanguard of the 15th century Hindu resurgence in the northwestern India.

Maharana Kumbha- A king who never lost his battles.

It is said that Maharana Kumbha was the most powerful ruler, culture loving, an art of loving, an idol ruler, writer and a king who has never lost ant battle.

History of Maharana Kumbha:

After being overrun by the army of Alauddin khilji at the turn of 13th century,Mewar had became nsignificant. Rana Hammira is created with the casting off Muslims Yoke and establishing the second Guhila dynasty of the Chittor in 1355. Rana Hammira’s Grandson, Maharana Mokal was assassinated by the 2 borthers – Chacha and Mera in 1433. Lack of any support, however, Mera and Chacha to flee and Rana Kumbha ascended the throne of the Mewar. Rana Kumbha was ably assisted by the Ranamalla (Ranamalla) Rathore of Mandore.

In November 1442, Sultan of Malwa, Mahmud Khalji (khilji), commenced a series of attacks on the Mewar. After capturing Pangarh, Chaumuha and Machhindargarh, the Sultan camped for the rainy season. On April 26, 1443, Rana Kumbha attacked the Sultan's and he had to return in Mandu. The sultan again attacked in November 1443, and captured the kingdoms near to Mewar but didn’t attack Mewar for another 10 years. In order to commemorate his victory over the combined army of Malwa and Gujarat in 1440 AD Rana Kumbha erected Vijay stambha.

The ruler of Gujarat, Ahmad Shah and the ruler of Delhi, Muhammad Shah also cooperated with Rana Kumbha to combat the Mahmud Khalji.

Rana Kumbha was the first Hindu ruler to be given this accolade by Muslim Sultans.
The ruler of Nagaur, Firoz (Firuz) khan, died around 1453- 1454. His son shams Khan initially sought help of Maharana Kumbha against his own uncle Mujahid khan, who has usurped the throne. Shams Khan, refused to weaken his defences. Rana Kumbha angered by this and captured Khasii, Khandela Nagaur and Sakambhari in 1456.

Maharana Kumbha was able to defeat his kingdom against the attack of Qutb-Ud- din-Aibak and Mahmud Khijli and Rao Jodha.

Construction of forts by the Maharana Kumbha of Mewar:
Maharana Kumbha built 32 fortresses that formed defence of the Mewar. The chief citadel of Mewar, is the fort of Kumbhalgarh, which was built by Rana Kumbha. The chief citadel of Mewar is the highest fort in Rajasthan.

 Rana Kumbha was killed by his own son Udaysimha (Udaysingh I). His achievements, however, continue to inspire successive generations.

Resources:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/maharana-kumbha/

Rajaram Chhatrapati

Rajaram Bhonsle (24 Feb 1670-3March 1700 Sinhagad) was yonger son of the first Maratha chhatrapati Shivaji, half-brother of the second Chhatrapati Sambhaji, and took over the Maratha Empire as its third Chhatrapati after his brother’s death at the hands of the Mughal emperor , Aurangzeb in 1689. Rajaram belongs to sisodia rajput clan. His grandfather Shahaji in his letter to adil shah mention and called himself a sisodia rajput. This incident was also mentioned by his poet Jayram Pindye in his book Radhav Vilas Champu. He had a very short reign, during which he was engaged in a struggle with the Mughals.

He was brought up by his mother Soyarabai. He was declared Chhatrapati at the age of 10 (on 21 April 1680) by a faction of the court after Shivaji's death. However, Sambhaji prevailed and assumed the throne.

Siege to Jinji

Aurangzeb deputed Ghazi-ud-din Firoze Jung against the Marathas in the Deccan, and specially sent Zulfiqar Khan to capture theJingi Fort. He laid siege to it in September, 1690. After three failed attempts, it was finally captured after seven years on 8 January 1698. Rajaram, however, escaped and fled first to Vellore and later to Vishalgarh.[4] Rajaram tried to counter with a siege of the town of Berar, but was checked by PrinceBedarbakht and Zulfiqar Khan had to return.

Rajaram died of an unspecified illness in 1700 at Sinhagad near Pune in Maharashtra. Thereafter the Maratha empire suffered a power vacuum until the release of his nephew,Shahuji in 1707. In the interim, Rajaram's wife, Tarabai ruled the empire as regent for her young son, Shivaji II. Eventually, Shahuji succeeded Rajaram as the fourth Chattrapati in 1708.

Prithviraj Chauhan

Prithviraj Chauhan commonly known as the Rai Pithora (1149-1192 CE), was the Rajput king of the Chauhan dynasty, who ruled the kingdoms of the Ajmer and the Delhi in the northern India during the latter half of the 12th  century.

Prithviraj Chauhan was the last independent Hindu King, before the Hemu, to sit upon throne of the Delhi. He succeeded to throne in the 1179 CE at the age of the 13, and ruled from the twin capitals of the Ajmer and the Delhi which he received from his maternal grandfather, Arkpal or the Anangpal III of Tomara dynasty in the Delhi. He controlled much of the present day Rajasthan and the Haryana and the unified the Rajputs against the Turkic invasions.

Chauhan defeated Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191. Ghauri attacked for a second time the following year, whereupon Chauhan was defeated, captured at the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) and executed.

First Battle of Tarain 1191

In 1191, Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori captured the fortress of Bhatinda in East Punjab, leaving a garrison of 1200 men, which was located on the frontier of Prithiviraj Chauhan's domains. Prithviraj marched to Bhatinda and met his enemy at a place called Tarain (also called Taraori) near the ancient town of Thanesar. The Ghurid army initiated battle by attacking with cavalry who launched arrows at the Rajput center. The forces of Prithviraj counter-attacked from three sides and dominated the battle, pressuring the Ghurid army into a withdrawal. Meanwhile, Mu'izz al-Din was wounded in personal combat with Prithviraj's brother, Govind Tai. Prithviraj succeeded in stopping the Ghurid advance towards Hindustan in the first battle of Tarain. He did not pursue Ghori's army either not wanting to invade hostile territory or misjudging Ghori's ambition, instead electing to retake the fortress of Bhatinda.

Second Battle of Tarain 1192

In 1192, Ghori reassembled an army of 120,000 men and returned to challenge Chauhan at the Second Battle of Tarain. When he reached Lahore, he sent his envoy to demand surrender but Chauhan refused to comply. Chauhan then appealed to his fellow Rajput rulers and the aristocracy to come to his aid against Ghori.

Chauhan assembled a very large army with the aid of approximately 150 Rajput rulers and aristocrats. According to the Persian historian Firishta, it consisted of 3,000 elephants, 300,000 horsemen, and considerable infantry. The army was larger than that of Ghori. The armies met in Tarain, where Ghori delivered an ultimatum to Chauhan that he converts to Islam or be defeated. Chauhan countered with an offer that Ghori should consider a truce and be allowed to retreat with his army. Ghori decided to attack.

Ghori divided his troops into five parts and attacked in the early morning hours, sending waves of mounted archers. They retreated as the Chauhan elephant phalanx advanced. Ghori deployed four parts to attack the Rajputs on four sides, keeping a fifth part of his army in reserve. General Khande Rao of the Chauhan forces was killed. At dusk, Ghori himself led a force of 12,000 heavily armored horsemen to the centre of the Rajput line, which collapsed into confusion. Chauhan attempted to escape but was captured. The Rajput army broke ranks and fled, thereby conceding victory to Ghori. Chauhan was put to death.

Even today Afghans vent their anger by stamping on the grave of Chauhan because according to them Prithviraj had killed Ghori. 5th Descendant of Prithviraj Chauhan wasHammir Dev Chauhan ruled over Ranthambore. After his defeat in 1301 by Alauddin Khilji. His direct descendants ruled over Bhaddaiyan Raj and Mainpuri.

Resources:

http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?bookid=7212

Maharana Pratap

Rana Pratap or Pratap Singh (May 9, 1540 – January 29, 1597) was the Hindu Rajput ruler of the Mewar, the region in North-Western India in the present day state of the Rajasthan. Maharana Pratap belonged to the Sisodia clan of the Rajputs. Maharana Pratap is considered to exemplify qualities like bravery and chivalry to which the Rajputs aspire, especially in the context of his opposition to the Mughal emperor Akbar.

Maharana Pratap was born on 9th may 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan.  He was the son of Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital of the Chittor. Maharana Pratap was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar in the Sisodiya Rajput. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty five sons and he was given the title of crown prince.

In 1567, when Prince Pratap Singh was only of 27, Chittor was surrounded by Mughal Emperor Akhbar. Maharaja Udai Singh II decided to leave the Chittor and also decided to move his family to Gogunda, rather than fight with Mughals But the young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and wanted to fight with the mughals but his elder intervened and convinced him to leave the Chittor.
He never accepted Mughals as the ruler of his own country India. Just due to this reason he never bowed in front of Akbar and fought with him till his last breath.

Famous Battle Haldighati:

The famous battle – Haldighati Battle is a historical event in the history of India. Haldighati battle took place in 1576. Battle of Haldighati was fought with the 20,000 Rajputs against the army of Mughals of 80,000 men which was commanded by Raja Man Singh. Army of Maharana Pratap was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers.

Another casualty of the war was Maharana’s Pratap famous and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life to save the Maharaja. Chetak was injured in the battle of Haldighati. Just to save the life of his master, he jumped over a big canal. The brave and strong Maharana cried over the death of his faithful horse but later on he constructed a beautiful garden at that place where the Chetak had breathed last. After this Akbar himself attacked Maharana Pratap but after 6months fighting, Akbar could not defeated Maharana Pratap and went back to Delhi. In year 1584, Akbar sent another great warrior Jagannath with the huge army to Mewar. He tried relentlessly for 2 years then also he was not able to catch Rana Pratap.

In this battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratab was supported by the bhil tribes of the nearby area. This contribution of the bhil tribe in battle is still remembered till date and given an honor by the Rajputs of Mewar regimen. Also, this battle is considered to be the first milestone of the victory over Mughal emperor.

Maharana Pratap died at the age of 27 in year 1597 due to the multiple injuries in an accident. In his life the main goal of Maharana Pratap was not to surrender in the front of Mughals. Even while lying in the lap of death Maharana Pratap made his son and successors swear to maintain the eternal conflict against the Mughal Emperor.

Maharana Pratap is the great model of freedom fighter, bravery and patriotism against the Mughal ruler in India. It is just because of this brave freedom fighter, Mewar got appreciation and honor to be the only kingdom to get merged with its state in the Independent India.

Maharana Pratap lived his whole life with the courage and he never bowed down in front of any situation. He died in fighting for his own nation, for his people and importantly for his honor.

Resources:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/maharana-pratap-singh/

Ibrahim Adil Shah II

Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1556- 12 september 1627) was the king of the Sultanate of the Bijapur and the member of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Under his reign the dynasty had its greatest period as he extended its frontier as far south as the Mysore. He was the skilful administrator, artist, poet and the generous patron of the arts. He reverted to the Sunni sect of the Islam, but remained tolerant of other religions, including the Christianity. After his reign, increasing the weakness permitted Mughal encroachment and the successful revolt of the Maratha King Shivaji, who killed the Bijapur general Afzal Khan and scattered his army.

Ibrahim Adil Shah (the father of Ali Adil Shah I) had divided power between the Sunni nobles, the Habshis and the Deccanis. However, Ali Adil Shah favoured the Shi'i.
After the death of Ali Adil Shah I in 1580, the kingdom's nobles appointed Imran Ibrahim, son of Imran sayzada Tahmash Adil Shah and nephew of Ali Adil Shah I, as king. At this time, Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a nine-year old boy.

Ibrahim Adil Shah Reign:

The 5th king of the Adil Shahi dynasty is known in Indian history as Jagad guru Badshah. He tried to create cultural harmony between the Shias and the Sunnis and between Hindus and Muslims through music. He loved the art form, played musical instruments, sang and composed praises of Hindu deities Saraswati and Ganapati. He claimed that his father was the divine Ganapati and mother the Holy Saraswati. For him, the Tanpura personified learning – "Ibrahim the tanpurawala became learned due to grace of god, living in the city of Vidyanagari" (Vidyanagari is the earlier name of Bijapur.) He composed poems on his wife Chand Sultana, his Tanpura Motikhan and his elephant Atish Khan.

Ibrahim II publicly declared that all he wanted was Vidya or learning, music, and Guruseva (serving the teacher). He was a devotee of Hazrat Banda Nawaj, the Sufi saint of Gulbarga. He composed a prayer to him to bestow Vidya or learning and charitable disposition.

He founded the new township at Navraspur to give concrete shape to his idea of a musical city. He had a temple built inside the precincts of the palace that still exists.

Bijapur attracted the period's best musicians and dancers because the king was famous as a great connoisseur and patron of music.

He spoke Marathi, Dakhani, Urdu and Kannada languages fluently, and like his predecessors, employed several Hindus in top posts.

Resources:
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=OYg0wi4Pvb8C&pg=PR7&dq=Ibrahim+Adil+Shah+II&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZDoRVfTGIYWTuASyn4LIAg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Ibrahim%20Adil%20Shah%20II&f=false