Table of Contents
BATTLE OF MANDALGARH AND BANAS
- In A.D. 1442 Rana Kumbha left Chittor to invade Haraoti. Finding Mewar unprotected, the Sultan of Malwa, Sultan Mahmud Khilji, burning with a desire to take revenge and wipe off his disgrace of his defeat in A.D 1440 (Battle of Mandavgad), invaded Mewar. A battle was fought here without any decisive result.
- To retrieve this disaster, Mahmud set about preparing another army, and four years later, on 11-12 October 1446 A.D. he went towards Mandalgarh with a large army. Rana Kumbha attacked him while he was crossing the Banas River, and having defeated him drove him back to Mandu.
- Mahmud Khilji suffered defeats at the hands of Rana Kumbha and was humbled thrice. For about 10 years after these defeats, Mahmud Khilji did not venture to take offensive against Rana Kumbha.
BACKGROUND
- The ruler of Nagaur, Sultan Firuz (Firoz) Khan died around 1453-1454. He was originally a governor of the province of Nagaur, under the Delhi Sultanate. But later he thrown off his allegiance to Delhi and become independent.
- He was succeeded by his elder son Shams Khan. But his younger brother, Muja hid Khan, had an eye on the throne. Muja hid Khan defeated Shams Khan and deposed him.
- Shams Khan fled to Rana Kumbha of Mewar for shelter and sought the help against Muja hid Khan, who had occupied the throne. Rana Kumbha already had a future plan to capture Nagaur.
BACKGROUND
- Taking this as an opportunity of carrying them out Rana Kumbha agreed to place Shams Khan on the throne of Nagaur Sultanate, but on the condition that Shams Khan should accept Rana Kumbha’s supremacy by destroying a part of the battlements of the fort of that place. • Shams Khan accepted the conditions and Rana Kumbha started towards Nagaur.
BATTLE
- Rana Kumbha marched with a large army to Nagaur, defeated Mujahid, who fled towards Gujarat, and placed Shams Khan on the throne of Nagaur, and demanded of him the fulfillment of the condition.
- But Shams Khan humbly prayed to the Maharana to spare the fort, for otherwise his nobles would kill him after the Maharana was gone. He promised to demolish the battlements himself later on. The Maharana granted this prayer and returned to Mewar.
BATTLE
- No sooner, however, had Rana Kumbha reached Kumbalgarh when he got the news that Shams Khan instead of demolishing, began to strengthen the fortification of Nagaur.
- This brought Kumbha on the scene again with a large army. Shams Khan was driven out of Nagaur, which passed into Kumbha’s possession. The Maharana now demolished the fortification of Nagaur and thus carried out his long-cherished design
AFTERMATH
- Shams Khan fled to Ahmedabad, taking with him his daughter, whom he gave to Sultan Qutb-ud-din Ahmad Shah II to wife. Rana Kumbha allowed the army to approach Nagaur,inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gujarat Sultanate army, annihilating it.
- Rana Kumbha took away the treasury of Shams Khan a large store of precious stones, jewels and other valuable things. He also carried away the gates of the fort and an image of Hanuman from Nagaur, which he placed at the principal gate of the fortress of Kumbalgarh, calling it the Hanuman Pol
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