First Battle of Panipat
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| First Battle of Panipat | |||||||||
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| Part of Mughal conquests | |||||||||
 The battle of Panipat and the death of Sultan Ibrāhīm | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mughal dynasty | Delhi Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Babur | Ibrahim Lodi † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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12,000[1] soldiers [2][3] 15–20 field guns[1] |
20,000 regular cavalry[3] 20,000 irregular cavalry[3] 30,000 infantry armed with swords, pikes, bows and bamboo rods[3][2] 1,000 war elephants [4] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown |
20,000 killed in battle[5] thousands killed while retreating[5] | ||||||||
  Battle of Panipat Location within South Asia  Battle of Panipat Battle of Panipat (Haryana) | |||||||||
The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526[6] was fought between the invading forces of Babur against Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi, in North India. Babur's forces, employing gunpowder firearms and field artillery, defeated Lodi. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder arms on the Indian subcontinent. The victory marked the beginning of Mughal rule in India.
Background
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In 1504, Babur succeeded his late uncle Ulugh Beg II by force of arms, taking control of the latter's kingdom based around Kabul and Ghazni. Opposed by Muhammad Shaybani to the northwest, Babur sought to expand his kingdom to the southeast, into Punjab, the land of the five rivers. By 1519, he had reach the Chenab River.[8]
At that time, most of North India was part of the Delhi Sultanate, under rule of Ibrahim Lodi of the Lodi dynasty. However, Ibrahim was locked in a power struggle with his relatives and ministers. Daulat Khan Lodi, Governor of Punjab, offered to defect to Babur.[9] Babur started for Lahore, in 1524 but found that Daulat had been driven out by forces sent by Ibrahim.[10] The Lodi army marched out to engage Babur and was routed.[10] Babur also took control of Sailkot, Kalanaur and Dipalpur before returning to Kabul. He placed Dipalpur under control of Alam Khan, a rebel uncle of Ibrahim.[11]
At the end of 1525, Babur was to return to northern India, crossing the Indus in December. After securing his conquest of Punjab, Babur advanced toward Delhi. It was at Panipat he was to meet and engage a much larger army assembled by Ibrahim.[12]
Battle
[edit]Hearing of the size of Ibrahim's army, Babur secured his right flank against the city of Panipat, while digging a trench covered with tree branches to secure his left flank. In the centre, he placed 700 bullock carts tied together with ropes. Between every two carts, there were breastworks for his match-lock (तोड़ेदार) men. Babur also ensured that there was enough space for his soldiers to rest their guns and fire. Babur referred to this method as the "Ottoman device" due to its previous use by the Ottomans during the Battle of Chaldiran.[13]
When Ibrahim's army arrived, he found the approach to Babur's army too narrow to attack. While Ibrahim redeployed his forces to allow for the narrower front, Babur quickly took advantage of the situation to flank (tulghuma) the Lodi army.[2] Many of Ibrahim's troops were unable to get into action and fled when the battle turned against them.[1] Ibrahim Lodi was killed while trying to retreat and beheaded. 20,000 Lodi soldiers were killed in battle.[2]
Advantage of cannons in the battle
[edit]Babur's guns proved decisive in battle, firstly because Ibrahim lacked any field artillery, but also because the sound of the cannons frightened Ibrahim's war elephants, causing them to trample his men.[1]
Aftermath
[edit]Ibrahim Lodi died on the field of battle along with 20,000 of his troops. The battle of Panipat was militarily a decisive victory for the Timurids. Politically it gained Babur new lands, and initiated a new phase of his establishment of the long-lasting Mughal Empire in the heart of the Indian subcontinent, an empire that lasted for over 300 years.[14]
See also
[edit]- Battle of Hisar Firoza
- Battle of Khanwa
- Second Battle of Panipat
- Third Battle of Panipat
- Battle of Ghaghra
- Wagon fort
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Watts 2011, p. 707.
- ^ a b c d Chandra 2009, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d Jadunath Sarkar, Military history of India, p. 50.
- ^ "Battles of Panipat | Summary | Britannica".
- ^ a b Jadunath Sarkar, Military history of India, p. 52.
- ^ Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (2023). بابرنامه (Baburnama) [Original Chagatai Turkic]. The Baburnama Project.
- ^ Chandra 2009, pp. 27–31.
- ^ Mahajan 1980, p. 429.
- ^ Chaurasia 2002, pp. 89–90.
- ^ a b Chandra 2009, p. 27.
- ^ Chandra 2009, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Chandra 2009, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Chandra 2009, p. 29.
- ^ Chandra 2009, pp. 30–31.
Sources
[edit]- Butalia, Romesh C. (1998). The Evolution of the Artillery in India: From the Battle of Plassey to the Revolt of 1857. Allied Publishing Limited.
- Chandra, Satish (2009). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals, Part II. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 9788124110669.
- Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of medieval India : from 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publisher.
- Davis, Paul K. (1999). 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present. Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-57607-075-1.
- Eraly, Abraham (2007). Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-93-5118-093-7.
- Mahajan, V.D. (1980). History of medieval India (10th ed.). S. Chand.
- Watts, Tim J. (2011). "Battles of Panipat". In Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed.). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
- Government of Haryana (11 June 2010). "First Battle of Panipat (1526) | Panipat, Haryana". Government of Haryana. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
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