Maharana Pratap

Maharana  Pratap the Hindu Rajput ruler of Mewar. He belongs to the Sisodia clan of Rajput. Maharana pratap is considered to exemplify qualities of bravery and Chivalry to which the Rajputs aspire, especially in the context of his opposition to the Mughal emperor Akhbar. Maharana Pratap was said to be a man of strong Rajput Character. He was far more brave and chivalrous. He is the only ruler of India that didn’t give into Mughal rule.

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 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 25 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. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave the Chittor and also decided to move his family to Gogunda, rather than fighting with the Mughals But youngMaharana Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and wanted to fight with the Mughals but his elder intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor.

Maharana Pratap Singh never accepted Mughal’s 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.

Battle of Haldighati:

The famous battle – Haldighati Battle is the 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 attacked Rana Pratap but after 6 months fighting, Akbar could not defeat Maharana Pratap and went back to Delhi. In year 1584, Akbar sent another great warrior Jagannath with the large 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 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 to maintain the eternal conflict against the Mughal Emperor.

Maharana Pratap is the great example 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. He died in fighting for his own nation, for his people and importantly for his honor.

Resources:

http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/

Tamerlane

Timur, historically known as the Tamerlane (Timuur the Lame) was the Turko-Mongol conqueror and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in the Central Asia. Born into the Barlas confederation in the Transoxiana during the 1320s or 1330s, he gained control of the Western Chagatai Khanate by the 1370. From that base, he held military campaigns across the West, South and Central Asia and emerged as the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world after defeating Mamluks of the Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire, although it fragmented shortly after his death.

He is considerable the last of the great nomadic conquerors of the Eurasian steppe and his empire set the stage for the rise of the more structured and lasting gunpowder empires in the 1500s to 1600s.
Timur envisioned the restoration of the Mongol Empire of the Genghis khan. As the means of the legitimating his conquests, Timur relied on the Islamic symbol and the language, referring to himself as the Sword of the Islam during his lifetime. The army of the Timur were inclusively multi-ethnic. Timur also decisively defeated the Christian Knights Hospitaller at the Snyrna, styling himself a ghazi. By the end of his reign, Timur had also gained the complete control over the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate, I khanate, Golden Horde and even the attempted to restore the Yuan dynasty.
 Armies of Timur were throughout the Asia, Africa and Europe,sizable parts of which were laid waste by his campaigns, scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the death of the 17 million people.

He was grandfather of the Ulugh Beg who ruled the central Asia from the 1411 to 1449 and the great-great-great grandfather of the Babur founded of the Mughal Empire which ruled parts of the South Asia for the art and architecture as he interacted with the Muslim intellectuals such as  Ibn Khaldun and Hafiz-i-Abru.

Capture of Delhi:

The battle took place on 17 December 1398. Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq and Mallu Iqbal's army had war elephants armored with chain mail and poison on their tusks. With his Tatar forces afraid of the elephants, Timur ordered his men to dig a trench in front of their positions. Timur then loaded his camels with as much wood and hay as they could carry. When the war elephants charged, Timur set the hay on fire and prodded the camels with iron sticks, causing them to charge at the elephants howling in pain: Timur had understood that elephants were easily panicked. Faced with the strange spectacle of camels flying straight at them with flames leaping from their backs, the elephants turned around and stampeded back toward their own lines. Timur capitalized on the subsequent disruption in Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq's forces, securing an easy victory. Delhi was sacked and left in ruins. Before the battle for Delhi, Timur executed 100,000 captives.
The capture of the Delhi Sultanate was one of Timur's greatest victories, arguably surpassing the likes of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan because of the harsh conditions of the journey and the achievement of taking down one of the richest cities at the time. After Delhi fell to Timur's army, uprisings by its citizens against the Turkic-Mongols began to occur, causing a bloody massacre within the city walls. After three days of citizens uprising within Delhi, it was said that the city reeked of decomposing bodies of its citizens with their heads being erected like structures and the bodies left as food for the birds. Timur's invasion and destruction of Delhi continued the chaos that was still consuming India and the city would not be able to recover from the great loss it suffered for almost a century.

Just before his death, Timur designated his grandson Pir Muhammad ibn Jahangir as his successor. However, his other descendants did not abide by this wish, and spent the next fifteen years engaged in violent infighting.

Shahabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan

Shahabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan, Shah Jahan : January 1594 – 22 January 1666,  was the fifth Mughal Emperorof India. He is also known as Shah Jahan I. He ruled from 1628 until 1658. Born Prince Khurram, he was the son of EmperorJahangir and his Hindu Rajput wife, Taj Bibi Bilqis Makani.

He was chosen as successor to the throne after the death of his father in 1627. He was considered one of the greatest Mughals. His rule has been called the Golden Age and one of the most prosperous ages of Indian civilization. Like Akbar, he was eager to expand his vast empire. In 1658, he fell ill and was confined by his son and successor Aurangzeb in Agra Fort until his death in 1666.
Shah Jahan was a more orthodox Muslim than his father and grandfather. His policies towards non-Muslims were less liberal than Jahangir and Akbar.

The period of his reign was considered the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan erected many monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, built in 1632–1654 as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Shah Jahan’s name in Persian means “Ruler of World,” Despite such a boastful name however; his actual domain was limited mainly to Mughal India. His long reign from 1628 to 1658 is considered that empire’s “Golden Age.” Of all of Jahan’s numerous architectural and military achievements, his single most famous accomplishment is one of the early modern wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal.
This beautiful monument was built for Jahan’s reportedly-captivating wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Jahan imported great builders from the Ottoman and Persian empires to construct this marvel of Mughal civilization. After Jahan’s death, he too was entombed in the magnificent example of Islamic-Indian architecture.

Maharana Udai Singh II

Maharana Udai Singh II was Maharana of Mewar. Rana Udai Singh II was the founder of the city of Udaipur in present day Rajasthan state of India. Maharana Udai Singh was the 53rd ruler of the Mewar Dynasty. Maharana Udai Singh II was the fourth son of Maharana Sangram Singh or Rana Sanga and Rani Karnavati, Princess of Bundi.

Maharana Udai Singh son of Rana Sanga is famous in the Rajputana history for the two reasons; firstly for being the father of the brave son of Mewar, Rana Pratap and second, for gifting picturesque city of Udaipur to the whole world.

After the death of Rana Sangram Singh, his enemies also tried to kill Udai Singh II who was the small child at that time. Udai Singh II was rescued by his nurse Panna Dhai who replaced him with her own son and lost her son’s life for the safety of the young prince. After, when he ascended the throne, Maharana Udai singh was attacked by Akbar. At this time, he left already Chittor 9 years ago, ending up Udaipur, giving Mewar its new Capital

The most romantic city and city of lakes ‘Udaipur’ was named after its founder, who then made it his own Capital even before that Chittor was sacked by Akhbar. When Mughal forces attack Chittor, then the capital of Mewar, Rana Udai Singh II and his royal family already had left for Gogunda, making it a temporary capital untill the Udai Singh II shifted to Udaipur, making this the new capital of Mewar. After weakening of the Mughals, Rajput king recaptured Mewar but failed to win over the Chittor. Thus by this way Udaipur was saved from the Mughals influences.

Maharana Udai Singh II died in 1572 in Gogunda. Before the death of Rana Udai Singh II, he nominated his 4th son Jagmal as his successor under the influence of his queen and his Son’s mother Rani Bhattiyani. After the death of Maharaja Udai Singh, nobles of Mewar prevented Jagmal from succeeding and placed the Maharana Pratap on throne.

Resources:
http://www.eternalmewarblog.com/rulers-of-mewar/Maharana-Udai-Singh-II/

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan (September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294) born in Kublai and also known by the name of the temple Shizu. He was the fifth Khagan (great Khan) of the Mongol Empire, reigning from the 1260 to 1294 and was the founder of the Yuan dynasty in the Mongolia and the China, the division of the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan  is quite famous in Western culture, having been immortalized through the writings of Marco Polo and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as well as the epic beatdown he received from a time-travelling Brian Boitano.

Kulbai was the forth son of the Tolui (his second son with the Sorghaghtani Beki) and his grandson of the Genghis Khan. He succeeded his older brother Mongke as the Khagan in the 1260 but had to defeat his younger brother Ariq Böke in the Toluid Civil War lasting until the 1264. This was marked the beginning of the disunity in the empire. Kublai’s real power was the limited to china and the Mongolia, though as the Khagan he still had the influence in the I khanate  and to the far lesser degree in the golden Horde.

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China, Korea, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Yuan forces had overcome the last resistance of the Southern Song dynasty, and Kublai became the first non-Han Emperor to conquer all of China. He was also the only Mongol Khan after 1260 to win new conquests.

Victory in the North China:

In 1251, Kublai's eldest brother Möngke became Khan of the Mongol Empire, and Khwarizmian Mahmud Yalavach and Kublai were sent to China. Kublai received the viceroyalty over North China and moved his ordo to central Inner Mongolia. During his years as viceroy, Kublai managed his territory well, boosted the agricultural output of Henan, and increased social welfare spending after receiving Xi'an. These acts received great acclaim from the Chinese warlords and were essential to the building of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1252, Kublai criticized Mahmud Yalavach, who was never highly valued by his Chinese associates, over his cavalier execution of suspects during a judicial review, and Zhao Bi attacked him for his presumptuous attitude toward the throne. Möngke dismissed Mahmud Yalavach, which met with resistance from Chinese Confucian-trained officials.
In 1253, Kublai was ordered to attack Yunnan, and he asked the Kingdom of Dali to submit. The ruling Gao family resisted and killed Mongol envoys. The Mongols divided their forces into three. One wing rode eastward into the Sichuan basin. The second column under Subutai's son Uryankhadai took a difficult route into the mountains of western Sichuan. Kublai went south over the grasslands and met up with the first column. While Uryankhadai travelled along the lakeside from the north, Kublai took the capital city of Dali and spared the residents despite the slaying of his ambassadors. Duan Xingzhi, the last king of Dali, was appointed by Möngke Khan as the first local ruler; Duan accepted the stationing of a pacification commissioner there. After Kublai's departure, unrest broke out among certain factions. In 1255 and 1256, Duan Xingzhi was presented at court, where he offered Mengu, the Yuan Emperor Xienzhong, maps of Yunnan and counsels about the vanquishing of the tribes who had not yet surrendered. Duan then led a considerable army to serve as guides and vanguards for the Mongolian army. By the end of 1256, Uryankhadai had completely pacified Yunnan.

In 1258, Möngke put Kublai in command of the Eastern Army and summoned him to assist with an attack on Sichuan. As he was suffering from gout, Kublai was allowed to stay home, but he moved to assist Möngke anyway. Before Kublai arrived in 1259, word reached him that Möngke had died. Kublai decided to keep the death of his brother secret and continued the attack on Wuhan, near the Yangtze River. While Kublai's force besieged Wuchang, Uryankhadai joined him. The Song Dynasty minister Jia Sidao secretly approached Kublai to propose terms. He offered an annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk, in exchange for Mongol agreement to the Yangtze River as the frontier between the states. Kublai declined at first but later reached a peace agreement with Jia Sidao.

Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar the Great

Abu'l-Fath Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar, popularly known as the Akbar (14 Oct 1542- 27 Oct 1605) also famous as the Akbar the great or Akbar was the Mughal Emperor from the 1556 until his death. He was the third and the one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in the India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under the regent, Bairam Khan who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate the Mughal domains in the India. The strong personality and the successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all the Indian Subcontinent north of Godavari river. Powers of Akbar and influence however extended over the entire country because of the Mughal military, political, cultural and economic dominance. To unify the vast of the Mughal state, he establishes the centralised system of the administration throughout his empire and adopted the policy of the conciliating conquered rulers through the marriage and the diplomacy. In order to preserve the peace and order in the religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted the policies that won his the support of his non-Muslim subjects.

Mughal India developed the strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture. He was fond of literature, and created a library of over 24,000 volumes written in Sanskrit,Hindustani, Persian, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Kashmiri, staffed by many scholars, translators, artists, calligraphers, scribes, bookbinders and readers. Holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, and learning.

Akbar's reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history. During his rule, the Mughal Empire tripled in size and wealth. He created the powerful military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the sectarian tax on non-Muslims and appointing them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust and loyalty of the native subjects. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in native festivals, realizing that a stable empire depended on the co-operation and good-will of his subjects. Thus, the foundations for a multicultural empire under Mughal rule were laid during his reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir.

On the 3rd October 1605, Akbar fell ill with the attack of dysentery from which he never recovered. He is believed to have died on 27 October 1605 after which his body was buried at the mausoleum in the Sikandra, Agra.

Seventy six years later. In the 1691 the group of the austere Hindu rebels known as the Jats, rebelling against Mughal Empires robbed the gold, Silver and fine carpet with the tomb, desecrated Akbar’s mausoleum.

Resources:
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/india/p/akbarthegreatbio.htm

Rana Sanga

Maharana Sangram Singh is commonly known as the Rana Sanga. Maharana Sangram Singh was the Rajput ruler of Mewar, which was located within the geographical boundaries of the present-day India’s modern state of Rajasthan.  Maharana Sanga ruled between the 1509 & 1527.

The scion of the Sisodia clan of the Suryavanshi Rajput, Rana Sanga succeeded his father, Rana Raimal as the king of the Mewar in 1509. He fought against the Mughals in the Battle of the Khanwa, which ended with the Mughal victory and he died shortly thereafter on the March 17, 1527.
The crisis of the succession led Maharana Sangram Singh to the throne and bringing the forth other mighty warrior son of the Mewar who fought for his kingdom till the last drop of his blood.

Conquest of Malwa:

After 1st ascending to throne of his home kingdom, Mewar , then the consolidating power there, Maharana Sanga moved his army against the internally troubled neighbouring of Malwa.
Under rule of Mehmod khilji, Malwa was torn by dissension. Wary of his Rajput Wazir Medini Rai’s politically weak Mehmod sought outside the assistance from both Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi and the Bahadur AShah of the Gujarat whereas the Rai on his part, request the Rana Sanga to come to his aid. Thus began prolonged the war between the Mewar against the Muslim sultans of the North India.

Battle of Khanwa

 The battle of Khanwa was fought near the village of the Khanwa about the 60 kilometres west of the Agra on the 17 Mar, 1527. The Battle of Khanwa was the second major battle fought in the India by the 1st Mughal Emperor Babur after the Battle of Panipat. As the Mughal Empire expanded it new opponents especially in the regions around the Agra and inside the Rajputana. After defeating the Ibrahim Lodi who reunites behind the prestigious Muslim Rajput ruler Khanzada Raja Hasan Khan Mewati of Mewat.

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

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

As the first move, he coerced the Afghan princes like Mehmud Lodi and the Hasan Khan Mewati to join him. Then he ordered Babur to leave India. Initially he hoped to attain this by sending his vassal Sardar Silhadi of the Raisen as emissary. Silhadi who went to Babur’s camp was won over by Babur. Babur accepted that to rule North India he may have to engage in battle with Rana Sanga and hence had no desire for 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 battle, which lasted for not more than 10 hours, was bitterly contested and became an exceedingly brutal affair. At the 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 Marwar and once he became conscious he learnt of the defeat. But Rana 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.

It was also suggested that had it been the cannon guns of the Babur, Maharana Sanga might have achieved the historic victory.

 Rana Sanga died shortly after this battle in 1527 at the Baswa on Mewar's northern border.

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