Sangram Singh I (; 12 April 1482 – 30 January 1528), most commonly known as Rana Sanga, was the Maharana of Mewar from 24 May 1509 until his death in 1528. A member of the Sisodia dynasty, he controlled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Sindh, and Uttar Pradesh from his capital at Chittorgarh.
During his military career, Sanga was successful against several neighbouring sultanates. After the 1519 Battle of Gagron against the Malwa Sultanate, he captured much of eastern Malwa. He humbled the Sultan of Gujarat several times.: "He opened his career with fair prospects of success. From 1514-15 20 A. D. he routed the forces of Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar Shah II, from place to place 10 and is said to have gained eighteen pitched battles against the Sultans of Delhi and Malwa. In one of these he was opposed by Ibrahim Lodi in person at Ghatoli, in which the imperial forces were defeated with great slaughter, leaving a prisoner of the blood royal to grace the triumph of Chitor." Sanga also had the Khanzadas of Mewat as vassals, helping them extend their sway over modern-day Haryana. Among his victories were those against the Lodi dynasty of Delhi at Khatoli, Dholpur, and Ranthambore, enabling Sanga to capture much of the Lodi domain in southern Malwa and western Uttar Pradesh.
At its zenith in 1521, Sanga's empire stretched from Mandu (the capital of Malwa Sultanate) in the south to Peela Khal (Pilya Khal, a small rivulet near Bayana and Agra) in the northeast, to the Indus River in the west and north-west. Nearly all the Rajput chiefs owed allegiance to him.: "In V. 1478, Maharana Sanga’s power was at zenith, Nearly all the Rajputs chiefs according to Amar Kavya Vamshavali®" owed their allegiance to him." Sanga also marched against the invading forces of Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire. Despite initial success against Mughal-Afghan forces at the Battle of Bayana, he experienced a significant defeat at Khanwa (primarily due to Babur's use of gunpowder, unknown in northern India at the time).
Sanga is considered the greatest ruler of his time. Said to have won 18 battles against the sultans of Delhi, Malwa and Gujarat, he is renowned for his heroism and leadership. Sanga received more than 80 wounds in battle; he lost an eye and an arm, and one of his legs was crippled. He is considered the last independent Hindu sovereign of northern India to control extensive territory.: "Sanga was the greatest ruler of his time, He possessed undaunted courage and uncommon power of body, He had successfully measured swords against the Sultans of Malwa, Gujarat and Ibrahim Lodi, The combined forces of Malwa and Gujarat at Mandsaur, could not humble his pride. He was lacking an eye an arm and had crippled by a broken leg. At the same time he was having more than 80 honourable scars on his body. Babar trembled and hesitated to fight with him, He was a great diplomat and extended his shelter to the fugitive and dislodged chiefs. In other words, he was the last Hindu Independent Chief, of northern India, who was possessing extensive boundaries." His reign was admired by Babur, the first Mughal emperor who described him as the "greatest Indian ruler" of that time; Babur also accused him of sending an invitation to invade India, a claim that has not been widely accepted.: "That the above view is not improbable will be clear from the fact that Babur was to embark on an expedition against the ruler of Delhi whose resources in men and money were far superior to those of his own and, therefore, the issue of the proposed contest was in doubt. Under these circumstances it was in Babur’s interest to seek an alliance with greatest and most powerful enemy in India. In the second place Sanga did not at this time stand in need of an alliance with Babur who had yet to establish his reputation in India. Thirdly, the view that Sanga sent an envoy to Kabul goes against the Rajput and, in fact, Hindu habit of sitting on the fence and waiting to see as to which side won before deciding a line of action. Fourthly, unlike his usual practice Babur here gives no details of his alliance though he has elsewhere given the details of his agreements with Alam Khan Lodi and Dolat Khan Lodi .* 7 Fifthly, it will be too much to think that Babur always stated tire whole truth. Close students of Baburnama are aware how sometimes he deliberately gave wrong facts. For example, he stated more than once in positive terms that he had 12,000 men” all told in his fight against Ibrahim Lodi. Modern research”, however, has shown that he had a much larger number at the field of Panipat. And finally, it has to be noted that no other contemporary writer I-Jir.du or Muslim makes mention of Sanga’s sending an ambassador to Kabul. It is a pity that all modern writers 30 have uncritically accepted Babur’s version. ": "While in Kabul, he had dispatched emissaries at Chittor to obtain his help in creating a diversion on Ibrahim’s southern frontier." Mughal historian Abd al-Qadir Badayuni called Sanga the bravest of all Rajputs with Prithviraj Chauhan, also known as Rai Pithaura.
Early life and accession
Sanga was born to King Raimal and Queen Ratan Kunwar, a Jhala princess from Halvad. Although contemporary texts did not mention the year of his birth, they provided astrological planetary positions at the time of his birth and called them auspicious. Based on these positions, assuming other planetary positions and based on the Kumbhalgarh inscription, historian Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha calculated Sanga's birth year as 1482.
Sanga was Raimal's third son. After a struggle with his brothers Prithviraj and Jagmal, in which he lost an eye, he ascended the throne of Mewar in 1509.
Military career
Sanga defeated the sultans of Delhi, Malwa and Gujarat in eighteen battles, conquering much of present-day Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and northern Gujarat. He also controlled portions of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Amarkot. After his rise to the throne, Sanga reunited the warring clans of Rajputana through diplomacy and marriage. In his Baburnama, Babur noted the challenges he faced in India. He described Sanga as the greatest infidel king of Hindustan, with Krishnadevaraya of southern India's Vijayanagara Empire: "Sanga had recently grown so great by his audacity and sword that his kingdom included a significant portion of northern India."
According to legend, Sanga fought 100 battles and lost only one. His leg was crippled, and he received eighty wounds in war. India's Rajputs saw him as their leader against the sultanates, and he re-established Rajput rule in Malwa for the first time since the fall of the Paramara dynasty in 1305. "The early 16th century marks the rise of patriotic one-eyed chief of Mewar named as Rana Sanga who defeat several of his neighbour kingdom and establish Rajput hold on Malwa first time after fall of Parmara dynasty through series of victories over Malwa, Gujarat and Delhi Sultanate"
Sanga removed the jizya tax from the Hindus, which had been imposed by Muslim rulers. He is considered the last independent Hindu king of northern India to control significant territory, and was described in contemporary texts as "Hindu Emperor".
Invasion of Malwa
Medini Rai, a rebellious minister of the Malwa sultan, was struggling with Mahmud for the throne of Malwa and was promised aid by Rana Sanga. The combined sultanate forces of Gujarat and Malwa met the Sisodias, led by Sanga, at Gagron. The battle was a Rajput victory.
After victory in the battle and other skirmishes, Sanga captured eastern and northern Malwa and Chanderi. Rai made Chanderi his capital, and Silhaditya Tomar established himself as ruler of Raisen and the Sarangpur region. According to historian Satish Chandra, these events occurred between 1518 and 1519. After the victory and establishment of Hindu rule in eastern and northern Malwa, Sanga ordered Rai to remove the Jizya tax from the region's Hindus.
Wars against the Lodis
Sanga turned his attention towards northeastern Rajasthan, controlled by Delhi sultan Ibrahim Lodi, after conquering Malwa. Lodi, after hearing about encroachments by Sanga on his territory, prepared an army and marched against Mewar in 1517. Sanga and his army met Lodi at Khatoli on the border of Hadoti. In the ensuing battle at Khatoli, the Lodi army had serious reverses and fled; one Lodi prince was captured and imprisoned. In this battle, Sanga lost an arm and an arrow made him lame for life.
Lodi, reportedly stunned by the Rajput aggression (whose extent was unprecedented in the preceding three centuries), again moved against Mewar in 1518-19 but was defeated again in the battle of Dholpur. Lodi fought Sanga repeatedly and was defeated each time, losing his land in present-day Rajasthan; Sanga's influence extended to nearPilia Khar in Agra. According to the 16th-century text Parshvanath-Shravan-Sattavisi, Sanga defeated Lodi at Ranthambore after the Siege of Mandsaur.
Campaign in Gujarat
The three battles of Idar were fought between the armies of its two princes: Bhar Mal (supported by the Gujarat Sultanate under Muzaffar Shah II) and Rai Mal, supported by the Rajputs under Rana Sanga. The main reason for Sanga's involvement in these battles was to reinstate Rai Mal to his throne and weaken the growing power of the Gujarat Sultanate. Rai Mal, assisted by Rana Sanga, defeated Muzzafar Shah II in 1517 and retook his kingdom.
In 1520, Sanga invaded Gujarat because of the succession of the state of Idar with an army of 40,000 Rajputs supported by his three vassals. Rao Ganga Rathore of Marwar also joined him with a garrison of 8,000 Rajputs. Sanga's other allies were Rawal Udai Singh of Vagad and Rao Viram of Merta. He defeated the Muslim army of Nizam Khan and pursued them to Ahmedabad. Sanga called off his invasion 20 miles before the capital, Ahmedabad. He plundered the royal treasuries of Gujarat, destroying several mosques and building temples over them. After a series of victories, Sanga annexed Idar and appointed Raimal Rathore as a vassal to rule it.
War against the Mughals
On 21 April 1526, the Timurid king Babur invaded India for the fifth time, defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the First Battle of Panipat, and executed him. After the battle, Sanga united several Rajput clans for the first time since the Prithviraj Chauhan era, built an army of 100,000 Rajput soldiers, and advanced to Agra.
The Mughals captured Bayana's fort, which was part of Sanga's empire. In the February 1527 Battle of Bayana, he defeated Babur's Mughal forces (led by Abdul Aziz) for his final victory. He sought divine favour by forbidding liquor, breaking wine vessels and pouring the wine down a well. In the 16 March Battle of Khanwa, 37 miles (60 km) west of Agra, the Mughals were victorious due to their cannons, matchlocks and other firearms. Sanga was struck by an arrow in mid-battle and was removed, unconscious, by his brother-in law Prithviraj Kachwaha of Amber and prince Maldev Rathore. Following his victory, Babur ordered a tower of enemy skullsa practice used by Timur. According to Chandra, the objective of a tower of skulls was to record a great victory and terrorise opponents; the tactic had been used by Babur against the Afghans of Bajaur. Sanga was betrayed by Silhadi during the battle, who changed sides and joined Babur.