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Mughal–Rajput wars

1526–1779 conflicts in India

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Through Mughal Empire, Babur and Akbar

LabMughal EmpireLabThe Mughal EmpireLab · Class 8–12Akbar's Mughal Administration

The primary reason of the war was the expansionist policy of Mughal Empire which was opposed by some Rajput rulers. Maldeo was the most powerful ruler in Rajputana when Akbar started his expansion in mainland India. Maldeo had recently defeated the Mewar led alliance at Harmoda and conquered the foritified city of Merta. However Maldeo found it hard to recover from his losses suffered against Sher Shah Suri and the continuous battles that he had to continue in order to recover his lost lands. He was also isolated by his fellow neighbouring rulers due to his aggressive expansion. When the Mughal emperor invaded, Maldeo soon started losing his lands against the imperial armies. He lost Nagaur and Ajmer in 1557 and Jaitaran in 1558. In 1562 Akbar conquered Merta and Parbatsar as well. Akbar's "Rajput Policy" also started after these conquests. He gave the Rajputs a choice to either surrender and become Mughal vassals or face invasions and lose their lands. Some sources indicate that Maldeo had sent his son Chandrasen in 1562 to negotiate with Akbar however these negotiations failed due to Maldeo refusing to personally submit to Akbar. The Mughal emperor wanted to vassalize Maldeo but the rebellion of Mirza Sharf-ud-din saved Maldeo and allowed him to rule Marwar until his death in 1562. The Kingdom of Mewar refused to bend the knee due to its foremost place among both Hindu and Rajput states. The situation continued till reign of Aurangzeb, whose rigorous anti-Hindu policy united Kingdom of Mewar and Marwar and later the Kingdom of Amber too. After which Rajput Kingdoms started exploiting the weak position of Mughal emperors after the death of Aurangzeb and made themselves masters of Malwa and Gujarat, which later brought them in conflict with Maratha Confederacy.

History and phases

Under Babur

In 1526, when Babur invaded Hindustan, his forces faced a stiff resistance from Rana Sanga in the Battle of Bayana, but defeated Rana in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. Emperor Babur died of natural causes in 1530. The hostility between Rajput Confederacy and the Mughal Empire still continued.

Under Akbar

Babur's grandson Emperor Akbar faced heavy resistance from Rana Udai Singh II and Maharana Pratap. But the Mughal Army under Akbar achieved numerous victories against the Rajput army. Most prominently in 1576 Akbar achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Haldighati led by Man Singh I, a Rajput general of the Mughal Empire. The victory led to tremendous gains for the Mughal Empire. Subsequently, Mughals and Rajputs established a peaceful relation with Emperor Akbar accepting many Rajput leaders into Mughal court and giving them top political positions. Chandrasen Rathore led a rebellion for two decades against Akbar, but a large portion of Rajputs accepted Akbar's authority due to his religious tolerance achieving peace and harmony.

Under Aurangzeb

The peace established during the time of Emperor Akbar was broken by the religious intolerant policies of his great-grandson Aurangzeb. In 1679, the States of Mewar and Marwar rebelled against Aurangzeb. While a peace treaty was signed with Mewar after a year, war with Marwar went on until the death of Aurangzeb and concluded when the Rathore forces were finally able to capture Marwar following Aurangzeb's death which led to a succession war and the eventual decline of the Mughal Empire.

Chhatrasal the Raja of Panna rebelled against Aurangzeb, and later formed his own kingdom on Bundelkhand in the 1720s many years after the death of Aurangzeb during which time the Mughal Empire entered a declining phase.

During the decline of the Mughal Empire

Since the time of Emperor Aurangzeb his hardline Islamism policies isolated his non-Muslim allies and the power of the Mughal Military had greatly diminished by the time of his death in 1707 and his subsequent successors were generally incompetent rulers. Shortly after Aurangzeb's death, during the Rajput rebellion of 1708–10, the now weakened Mughals were forced to accept a humiliating peace treaty with the Rajput Rajas. The Rajputs forced the Mughals to make them governors of Malwa, Sindh and Gujarat In later years the declining Mughal Empire tried to collect taxes in Rajputana during the late 18th century, however they were met with resistance in every town and village they went, leading to unsuccessful invasions by the Mughal forces. These campaigns affected the Mughal Empire financially and caused arrears and the disbanding of large amounts of troops. The Mughal capital itself was affected during these conflicts, leaving only a few retainers to guard the palace and man the artillery.

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