The Battle of Rajmahal ( bn, রাজমহলের জঙ্গ) was a battle that took place between the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and the Karrani Dynasty that ruled the

Sultanate of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the domina ...

in the 16th century. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Mughals. During the battle, the last Sultan of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, Daud Khan Karrani, was captured and later executed by the Mughals.

Background

The battle of Rajmahal introduced the Mughal regime in Bengal. After the death of the last sultan of Hussain Shahi dynasty

Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah ( bn, গিয়াসউদ্দীন মাহমুদ শাহ, fa, غیاث الدین محمود شاه) was the last Sultan of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate, reigning from 1533 to 1538 CE. Th ...

in 1538, the liberated sultanate of Bengal reached its end. Despite occupying the capital city of

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

, the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, was able to hold the control for only a short period of time. The founder of the Sur Dynasty,

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

defeated Humayun in the

Battle of Chausa The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan warlord, Sher Shah Suri. It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, 10 miles southwest of Buxar in modern-day Bihar, India. Sher Shah Suri ...

and took control over Bengal. Later, the Karrani dynasty emerged in Bengal. The last ruler of the Karranis, Sultan Daud Khan Karrani refused to hail

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

and clashed with the Mughals. Daud Khan was defeated by the Mughal general

Munim Khan Munʿim Khān ( fa, ) was a Mughal general under both emperors Humayun and Akbar. He was titled ''Khān-i-Khānān'' ('Khan of Khans') when Emperor Akbar appointed him as Prime Minister of the Mughal Empire in 1560. In 1564, he became the Su ...

at the

Battle of Tukaroi The Battle of Tukaroi, also known as the Battle of Bajhaura or the Battle of Mughulmari, was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Bengal Sultanate on 3 March 1575 near the village of Tukaroi in present-day Balasore District of Odisha. It r ...

. On April 12, 1575, the Treaty of Katak concluded the malevolence between the two parties. Consequently, Daud Khan failed to hold control over

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. Only the rights of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

were left to him. The treaty however did not go on for long. Isa Khan, the chief of the Baro-Bhuians, expelled the

Mughal Navy The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

from Bengal. After the death of the Mughal general Munim Khan, Daud Khan started a campaign to conquer the lost territory. He was able to conquer North and West Bengal.

Battle

Akbar sent his genera
Khan-i-Jahan Husain Quli Beg
to conquer Bengal from Daud Khan. Daud Khan's generals were Kalapahar, Junaid and Qutlu Khan. Khan gathered about three thousand troops at

Teliagarhi Teliagarhi (also written as Teliagarih) is a village in Mandro CD block in Sahibganj subdivision of Sahibganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Teliagarhi became the main gateway for Muslim armies coming from northern India and ...

. The Afghans fought with the Mughals at Teliagarhi. In the battle, the Mughals captured Teliagarhi. The Mughals then proceeded towards

Rajmahal Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Sin ...

. Rajmahal was under siege for about four months by the Mughal general Husain Quli Beg. As an additional aid to the Mughals
Muzaffar Khan Turbati
the ruler of Bihar, came forward with five thousand

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

and supplies by sea. Although the Mughals were ahead in terms of strength, they fell into climatic problems. Then the battle took place between the combined forces of the Mughals and the Karranis in Rajmahal on 12 July 1576. Daud Khan, Junaid, Kalapahar and Qutlu Khan led the middle, left, right and front of the army respectively.

Aftermath

The Karranis were defeated in this battle. Daud Khan was captured and killed. With the fall of the Karrani dynasty, the Bengal Sultanate came to an end and Bengal became a

subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''sub ...

or province of the Mughal Empire. However, under the leadership of

Isa Khan Isa Khan (c. 1529 – September 1599) was a Muslim Rajput zamindar who was one of the Baro Bhuiyans (twelve landlords) and a Zamindar of Khizirpur in 16th-century Bengal. Throughout his reign he resisted the Mughal empire invasion. It was o ...

, the Baro-Bhuyans continued to resist the Mughals. As a result, the Mughals could not get full control over Bengal.

References

{{reflist Bengal Subah

Raj Mahal Raj Mahal is the palace of the erstwhile Maharaja of Jaipur in Jaipur, Rajasthan. History The original construction dates back to 1729 and was renovated and changed over time. In 1821 it became the official residence of the British reside ...

Rajmahal 1576 Rajmahal 1576 1576 in the Mughal Empire Military history of the Bengal Sultanate

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References