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

Firoz Shah Tughlaq

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq  (1309 – September 20, 1388) was a Turkic Muslimruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. He was the son of the Hindu princess of Dipalpur. His father's name was Rajab (the younger brother of Ghazi Malik) who had the title Sipahsalar. Sultan Feroze Shah Tughlaq succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death from the fatal illness, but due to widespread unrest Sultan Feroze Shah Tughlaq's realm was much smaller than Muhammad's. Sultan Feroze Shah Tughlaq was forced by rebellions to concede virtual independence to Bengal and other provinces.

Rule:

When ascended to the throne of Delhi, Firoz was a man of 45 years. Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. At his succession after the death of Muhammad Tughlaq, he faced many rebellions, including in Bengal, Gujarat and Warangal. Nonetheless he worked to improve the infrastructure of the empire building canals, rest-houses and hospitals, creating and refurbishing reservoirs and digging wells. He founded several cities, including Jaunpur, Firozpur and Hissar-Firoza. In the mid 1350s he developed the city near Delhi, calling it Firozabad. Most of that city was destroyed as subsequent rulers dismantled its buildings and reused the spolia as building materials, and the rest was subsumed as New Delhi grew.

Moderation:

Feroz Tughlak had not contributed much to expansion of the territories in the empire, which he inherited. In 1360 he invaded Jajnagar to destroy the Jagannath Puri temple. In 1326 AD he met with success in his expedition to Sindh, before this he had led an invasion to Nagarkot with an idea to destroy the Jwalamukhi temples. The Sultan was not tolerant towards people with different religions. Feroz Tughluq also introduced reforms in the field of irrigation and also constructed buildings with architectural skill. He reformed the currency system. After him the dynasty began to disintegrate. The last Tughluq ruler Mahmud Nasir-uddin ruled from 1395-1413 AD. The invasion of Mongol ruler Timur in1398 A.D. sealed the fate of the Tughluq dynasty.

Legacy

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq's death led to a war of succession coupled with nobles rebelling to set up independent states. His lenient attitude had strengthened the nobles, thus weakening the Sultan's position. His successor Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq II could not control the slaves or the nobles. The army had become weak. Slowly the empire shrank in size. Ten years after his death, Timur's invasion devastated Delhi.

Resources:
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=8XnaL7zPXPUC&pg=PA67&dq=Firoz+Shah+Tughlaq&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yDkRVb_4HM-XuASMtoBQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Firoz%20Shah%20Tughlaq&f=false

Aurangzeb

                                                     
Abdul Muzaffar Muhi –ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb, (14 october 1618 -3 March 1707) popularly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir was the 6th Mughal Emperor and ruled over the most of the Indian Subcontinent. He reign lasted for 49 years from the 1658 until his death in 1707.
Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he ruled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100–150 million subjects.

Aurangzeb's policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign. Rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and army. He was a strong and effective ruler, but following his death the expansionary period of the Mughal Empire came to an end, and centralized control of the empire declined rapidly.
Aurangzeb was known to be of a more austere nature than his predecessors. Being religious he encouraged Islamic calligraphy. His reign also saw the building of the Lahore badshahi Mosque, and Bibi ka Maqbara in Aurangabad.

Death and Legacy

By 1689, almost all of Southern India was a part of the Mughal Empire and after the conquest of Golconda; Aurangzeb may have been the richest and most powerful man alive. Mughals victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 3.2 million square kilometres, with a population estimated as being between 100 million and 150 million. But this supremacy was short-lived.

Aurangzeb's vast imperial campaigns against rebellion-affected areas of the Mughal Empire caused his opponents to exaggerate the "importance" of their rebellions. The results of his campaigns were made worse by the incompetence of his regional Nawabs.

Muslim views regarding Aurangzeb vary. Most Muslim historians believe that Aurangzeb was the last powerful ruler of an empire inevitably on the verge of decline. The major rebellions organized by the Sikhs and the Marathas had deep roots in the remote regions of the Mughal Empire.

 Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb considered the royal treasury to be held in trust for the citizens of his empire. He made caps and copied the Quran to earn money for his use. He did not use the royal treasury for personal expenses or extravagant building projects excepting perhaps the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, which for 313 years was the world's largest mosque. Aurangzeb constructed a small marble mosque known as the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in the Red Fort complex in Delhi. However, his constant warfare, especially with the Marathas, drove his empire to the brink of bankruptcy just as much as the wasteful personal spending and opulence of his predecessors. Aurangzeb knew he would not return to the throne after his final campaign against the Marathas in 1706, in which he was joined by newly emerging commanders in the Mughal army such as Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha,Saadat Ali Khan and Asaf Jah I, and Daud Khan.

Even when ill and dying, Aurangzeb made sure that the populace knew he was still alive, for if they had thought otherwise then the turmoil of another war of succession was likely. He died in Ahmednagar on 20 February 1707 at the age of 88, having outlived many of his children. His modest open-air grave in Khuldabad expresses his deep devotion to his Islamic beliefs.

Resources:
https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/Aurang.html