Siege of Mandsaur explained

Conflict:	Siege of Mandsaur
Partof:	Mewar–Gujarat wars
Date:	January 1521 A.D.
Place:	Mandsaur, Borders of Mewar, India
Combatant1:	Rajput Confederation Kingdom of Mewar Tomars of Malwa
Combatant2:	Gujarat Sultanate Malwa Sultanate
Commander1:	Rana Sanga Silhadi Ajja Jhala Haridas Kesaria Medini Rai Ashok Mal
Commander2:	Sultan Muzaffar Shah II Nizam-ul-Mulk Malik Ayaz Taj Khan Shuja-ul-Mulk
Strength1:	80,000 to 100,000 Rajputs.
Strength2:	140,000 to 160,000 Muslims
Result:	Rajput victory

The siege of Mandsaur was a siege laid by Rajput Confederacy forces under Rana Sanga against Gujarat Sultanate and Malwa Sultanate. The Sultan of Gujarat left Muhammadabad (modern day Champaner) and returned to his capital after Rana Sanga had returned to Mewar after his campaign in Gujarat. He was grieved to see his treasuries looted and his palace destroyed and began to think of avenging his defeat. He set about preparing a large army, doubled the pay of the soldiers, and gave them a year's salary in advance.

Siege

After a skirmish between 200 horsemen under Shuja ul-Mulk and others, and some Rajputs in the hills, the Sultan's army advanced and invested the fort of Mandsaur in Malwa, then in the Maharana's possession. The governor of the fort, Ashok Mal, was killed but the fort did not fall. The Maharana left Chitor with a Gallant army estimated around 80,000 to 100,000 Rajputs and arrived at the village of Nandsa, 12 kos (~ 24 miles) from Mandsaur.In the meantime, Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Malwa arrived from Mandu to assist the Gujarat forces to repay the debt he owed to Muzaffar Shah II. The siege was pressed but no progress made. Sanga was joined by his trusted Vassals Medini Rai (then ruler of Malwa) and Raja Silhadi, the Tomar Rajput Chief of Raisen and Sarangpur with 15,000 Rajput forces each. Ajaz and Qawan-I-Mulk both tried to take Mandsaur fort but failed. Rana Sanga also failed to deliver a decisive victory and thus both sides sued for peace.

Aftermath

Rana Sanga also agreed to sue for peace because the Afghans under Ibrahim Lodi invaded and attacked Ranthambore. The 16th-century text "Parshvanath-Shravan-Sattavisi", says that Rana Sanga further defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Ranthambore after the Siege of Mandsaur.^[1]

Bibliography

Book: Chaube, J.. History of Gujarat Kingdom, 1458-1537. 1975. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. 978-0-88386-573-6 . en.

Notes and References

Book: Hooja, Rima . A History of Rajasthan . 2006 . Rupa & Company . 978-81-291-0890-6 . en. the joint forces tried to take Mandsaur but failed. On his part, Sanga could not post a decisive victory over his opponents either. Sultan Ibrahim Lodi's bid to annex Ranthambore and Ajmer to the Delhi Sultanate led Rana Sanga to make peace with the sultan of Gujarat...Rana Sanga inflicted a defeat on Ibrahim Lodi when the latter attacked Ranthambore..