Siege of Chittorgarh (1567–1568)

The Mughals had always been wary of the kingdoms of Rajasthan. Besides being a centre of power, the Rajput dominions also hindered access to both Gujarat and its prosperous seaports as well as Malwa. To control either of these regions, the Mughal emperor needed to arrive at an understanding with the Rajputs. Local rulers such as Raja Bharmal of Amber had already submitted to Akbar in 1562. Mewar, the most powerful and prominent of the Rajput states, however, had not. While Udai Singh, the Rana of Mewar was open to accepting Mughal suzerainty and paying a tribute, he was not prepared to lower his head in obedience to Akbar as, according to Abu'l-Fazl, "none of his ancestors had bowed down and kissed the ground". Furthermore, the Rana had also vexed Akbar when he first granted asylum to Baz Bahadur of Malwa and later, to the Mirzas of Sambhal.[10]

After handling the rebellions of the Mirzas and the Uzbek nobles in 1567, Akbar turned his eyes towards Rajasthan and its prestigious kingdom of Mewar.[11]

Before Akbar besieged the fort in October 1567, Udai Singh called a meeting of his ministers, umraos and leading citizens on how to overcome the threat of Akbar's invasion. Most of his nobles and ministers advised him to leave Chittor along with the royal family and retire to Western belt of Mewar to continue the struggle in future. The decision was not well received by Mewar family and Prince Pratap sternly objected the decision. However with pressure from his ministers and citizens of Mewar, Udai Singh left the fort with 7-8,000 Rajputs under command of Jaimal and Patta. He further called around 1000 musketeers from Kalpi to assist them and strengthened the fort by ample provision of food supply.

Initially, the Mughals tried to attack the fortress directly but the citadel was so sturdy that the only options available to the Mughals were to either starve out the occupants of the fort or to somehow reach the walls and sap beneath them.[13] After initial aggressive attempts at reaching the wall failed, Akbar ordered a complement of 5,000 expert builders, stonemasons, and carpenters to construct sabats (approach trenches) and mines to reach the walls.[13] Two mines and one sabat were constructed after significant casualties while three batteries bombarded the fort. A large siege cannon was also cast to breach the walls once the sabat reached the objective.[1]

Fifty-eight days after the siege began, the imperial sappers finally reached the walls of Chittorgarh. The two mines were exploded and the walls were breached at the cost of 200 of the assault force. But the defenders soon sealed the opening. Akbar then steadily brought his siege cannon closer to the walls under the cover of the sabat. Finally, on the night of 22 February 1568, the Mughals were able to breach the walls at several locations simultaneously to begin a coordinated assault. In the ensuing battle, Akbar was able to kill the Rajput commander, Jaimal, with a musket shot. His death shattered the morale of the defenders who considered the day lost.[1]

After sacking the fortress on 23 February 1568, Akbar in afternoon ordered a brutual masscare of around 30,000 unarmed civillians who according to Abu-Fazl hardly took a part in the siege. He further wrote that Akbar ordered a complete destruction of all towers, heraths and temples in Chittor including famous Eklingji temple which Mewar family worshipped from centuries and breaking the idol into pieces. In words of Abu-Fazl the mass killing continued till the next afternoon and all streets of Chittor were filled with dead bodies of civilians.

Akbar stayed at Chittorgarh for three days before leaving for the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, as he had vowed to go to the shrine if he won the siege. Chittor was made Sarkar of Mughal domain and put under charge of Asaf Khan.[14]

However, Udai Singh II, the Rana of Mewar, continued to remain at large until his death four years later.[15] His son Pratap Singh lost the Battle of Haldighati.[16] Though losing the entire Mewar until 1582, through guerilla warfare, he managed to regain western Mewar until his death.[17] In 1615 Amar Singh I, the son of Pratap Singh, accepted Mughal suzerainty and a year later Jahangir, as a goodwill gesture, allowed him entry in Chittor Fort under the condition that it will never be repaired, as it might be used a bastion for future rebellions.[18]

• Paintings depicting the siege
• 
  The left panel of painting by Miskina (and Bhura) shows a mine exploding a section of the fortified wall of Chittorgarh and accidentally killing friendly forces.
• 
  The right panel of the same composition by Miskina (and Sarwan) from the Akbarnama, c. 1590 – c. 1595.
• 
  Akbar shoots the Rajput commander, Jaimal, using a matchlock, Akbarnama, 1590–1595.
• 
  The jauhar of Rajput women at Chittorgarh, Akbarnama, 1590–1595.

The Sacking of Chittor was part of Sony television series Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap based on life of Maharana Pratap. The series depicted the besieging of fort in over twenty episodes tittled as Chittor par Sankat.[19]

• Siege of Ranthambore
• Battle of Haldighati
• Siege of Chittorgarh (1303)

• Sarkar, Jadunath (1994) [1984]. A History of Jaipur: c. 1503–1938. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125003335: (completed by Sarkar in 1940){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II (Revised ed.). Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 9788124110669.
• de la Garza, Andrew (2016). The Mughal Empire at War: Babur, Akbar and the Indian Military Revolution, 1500-1605. Routledge. ISBN 9781317245315.
• Richards, John F. (1995) [1993]. The Mughal empire. New Cambridge history of India. Vol. 5. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521566032.
• "Chittaurgarh Fort". asi.nic.in. Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 28 July 2017.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siege of Chittorgarh.

• Akbarnama by the Mughal-era historian Abu'l-Fazl