Battle of Kannauj

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The Battle of Kannauj took place at Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India between Sher Shah Suri and Humayun on May 17, 1540. This battle is also known as the battle of Bilgram, Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle.[1][2]

Background[]

On 26 June 1539, the army led by Sher Shah Suri destroyed the Mughal forces which were led by Humayun at the Battle of Chausa. Mughal Emperor Humayun fled the incident jumping in the Ganges and saved his life somehow. Losing at the battle of Chausa, Humayun came back to Agra asking for assistance of his brothers to challenge Sher Shah Suri again. One of his brothers Hindal Mirza assured Humayun to support with his army. But Humayun’s other brother named Kamran Mirza did not agree to send his army while Humayun was commanding, because Kamran Mirza wanted to take control of the throne himself. Afterwards, Kamran could not manage to take control of the power from his brother Humayun and moved to Lahore taking his army with him. Yet Humayun gathered quite sufficient forces to fight against Sher Shah Suri.[3] Sher Khan declared himself Sultan with the victory in the battle of Chausa. He gained more power and prestige and took the title Sher Shah while Humayun and his brothers were misspending their time with futile arguments.[4]

Battle[]

Humayun went to face Sher Shah again at the battlefield of Kannauj taking two brothers Askari Mirza and Hindal Mirza with him. These two groups fought each other on May 17th, 1540. Humayun’s artillery could not prove its potential, besides Humayun’s repetition of tactical errors and taking wrong decisions (the decisions he made during the battle of Chausa) made him a loser once again. Sher Shah defeated the Mughal force for the second time in the battle of Kannauj. Again, Humayun along with his brothers fled the battlefield to save their lives and went back to Agra.

Aftermath[]

Humayun became almost a fugitive after the battle of Kannauj. He and his brothers reached Agra safely but they could not stay there because Sher Shah chased them with his forces. He did not even get to Lahore when he heard about losing Delhi and Agra to Sher Shah. Sher Shah became the sultan of Agra and Delhi. Humayun met his brothers in Lahore but they could not gather a force to fight Sher Khan because they all had different personal interests. Kamran became concerned with the safety of Punjab and Afghanistan and Hindal wanted to take control of Sindh. After the battle of Kannauj, Humayun spent the next 15 years of his life in exile.[5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Sarkar, J.M. Belal Hossain (2012). History of Indian Subcontinent. Hasan Book House. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Battle of Bilgram (1540)". Indian Express. 2 November 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Battle of Kanauj". Indian Contents. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "Battle of Bilgram". History for Exam. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "History". Government of Uttar Pradesh’s Portal. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
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