Battle of Chanderi - Historical Background, aftermath & Other Important Facts!

The battle of Chanderi was fought in 1528 between the Mughal Emperor Babur and the Rajput Confederacy. The battle occurred after the Battle of Khanwa, where Babur secured Mughal rule by defeating the Rajput Confederacy. This battle aimed at establishing Mughal supremacy in Northern India. Learning of Rana Sanga's renewed war preparations, Babur decided to weaken him by defeating his vassal, Medini Rai, ruler of Malwa. In December 1527, Babur took a circuitous route and reached Chanderi, the capital of Malwa. On January 20, 1528, he offered Shamsabad to Medini Rai in exchange for Chanderi as a peace gesture, but Rai rejected the offer.

The Battle of Chanderi is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the Medieval History subject in the Mains General Studies Paper-1 syllabus and General Studies Paper-1 of the UPSC Prelims Syllabus.

In this article, we shall study in detail the background, series of events, and aftermath of the Battle of, Chanderi for the UPSC exam.

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Battles of Chanderi : Important Facts & Figures for UPSC

The table below shows the important facts about the Battles of Chanderi..

Check out the video to learn about the Battles of Khanwa, Chanderi, and Ghagra in detail.

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Battle of Chanderi: Historical Background

Babur had a stronghold in India by this time, and his capital had moved from Kabul to Delhi. On the boundary of Malwa and Bundelkhand, Chanderi was a significant political and commercial center. Additionally, Medini Rai, the king of the Rajput kingdom, held control of it. Although Medini Rai was Rana Sanga’s closest ally and fought alongside him at the Battle of Khanwa, Medini Rai managed to escape the conflict and escape Rana Sanga’s rule.

Babur made the decision to take the kingdom, and in exchange for Shamsabad, one of the forts of Babur, he wanted the Chanderi region. The Battle of Chanderi was fought on 20 January 1528 between Rajput forces and Mughal forces under Babur. Medini Rai declined the fort offer, and on January 29, 1528, Babur captured Chanderi.

Events During the Battle of Chanderi

• Babur’s troops conquered Chanderi’s lower fort during the night, while the top fort was taken the following morning. Babur himself expressed surprise at the quick collapse of the higher fort after the final assault.
• Medini Rao planned the Jauhar ceremony, which resulted in the massacre of women and children inside the fortress.
• A small group of soldiers also gathered in Medini Rao’s residence and started killing each other one by one.
  • This sacrifice does not appear to have moved Babur, who in his autobiography mentions nothing to show admiration for the opponent.
  • Instead, he gave the order to build a tower of skulls, as he had done after Khanwa. Timur invented this tactic.

• According to Bipin Chandra, building a tower of skulls was a common way to both commemorate a significant victory and frighten adversaries. The Afghans of Bajaur had previously been the target of this strategy by Babur.

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Battle of Chanderi: Aftermath

• Although the Afghans of Eastern UP had been defeated by Babur even before, they had not yet completely accepted the Mughal rule.
• The Afghan leaders, who had sworn allegiance to Babur but were ready to withdraw if he did, still prevailed over Eastern UP. The Afghan nobles were supported by Nusrat Shah, the ruler of Bengal, who had married Ibrahim Lodi’s daughter.
• Earlier in eastern UP the Afghans had ousted the Mughal officers and reached Kannauj. After some time, Mahmud Lodi, a brother of Ibrahim Lodi, who was fighting against Babur at Khanwa, reached Bihar.
• The Afghans honoured him as their ruler, further increasing their strength under his rule. Due to all these developments, it became a threat to the Mughal emperor Babur.
• Therefore, in 1529 Babur left Agra and invaded towards East. Crossing the Ganges near Banaras, he encountered the combined forces of the Afghans and Nusrat Shah of Bengal across the Ghaghra River which gave rise to the battle of Ghagra in 1529.

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Conclusion

The battles of Khanwa, Chanderi, and Ghagra are a sequence of conflicts that highlight Mughal power, particularly Babur’s reign and the conflicts he engaged in. In order to gain dominance over Asia, he employed military intricate strategies, winning every conflict from the Battle of Panipat in 1526 to the Battle of Ghagra in 1529.

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