In the siege of Ranthambore, on 8 February 1568, Akbar led a massive

Mughal Army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...

of over 50,000 men and besieged Ranthambore Fort. Akbar had become emboldened after his victories at the Battle of Thanesar and the siege of Chittorgarh and only Ranthambore Fort remained unconquered.

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

believed that Ranthambore Fort was a major threat to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

because it housed great Hada

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s who considered themselves sworn enemies of the Mughals. Akbar had first decided to besiege Ranthambore Fort in the year 1558, but decided instead to capture

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

, northern

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

, and Jaunpur.

Background

After successful Mughal victories around

and the fall of Akbar's most notorious enemies during the siege of Chittorgarh, Akbar decided to capture Ranthambore Fort, which was considered the strongest fortress in

and widely believed to be impregnable. The

s in Ranthambore Fort were under the command of Rao Surjan Hada, of the Hada clan of Bundi. Ranthambore was the capital of Bundi state. Rao Surjan Hada was greatly demoralized by Akbar's victory during the siege of Chittorgarh but initially refused to surrender.

Siege

1569-Akbar directing the attack against Rai Surjan Hada at Ranthambhor Fort

The siege of Ranthambore began on 8 February 1568, an elite Mughal force of 5,000 captured an 8-mile circumference around Ranthambore Fort. Akbar then led an army of more than 30,000 Mughals bringing along with themselves some of the largest cannons ever built in the

. Akbars ranks expanded to over 70,000 within weeks of the siege.

set up the Red imperial tent in front of the hill that led to the gateway into Ranthambore Fort. Akbar then armed his camp with massive cannons, three of which were more than 15 ft long. Akbar then ordered his men to capture three nearby rocky outcrops, Akbar then placed cannon batteries on those positions. it was from these three positions that

bombarded Ranthambore Fort, which was perched on top of a steep rock cliff. As the siege continued Akbar placed even bigger

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s and high velocity

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

on the two rocky outcrops facing Ranthambore Fort. Akbar also ordered his men to begin constructing ''sabats'', or covered ways, in order to allow the army to move nearer to the enemy. Within weeks the ''sabats'' allowed Akbar's men to gain control of areas just underneath the steep slope of Ranthambore Fort. The Mughals built prefabricated walls to protect their gains around the fort and then placed highly accurate narrow barreled long-

s that were about 20–25 ft in length. The long-cannons and volley guns that were effectively utilized during the siege were known to have been designed by the prestigious inventor Fathullah Shirazi. As a result of such close bombardment flames began to shoot out from the buildings within the fort's walls and the sky was black with smoke, even

war elephant A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...

s within the fort went rogue. It was during this stage that Akbar personally massed soldiers near the gates of the fort and was ready to advance on the fort. Finally on 21 March 1568, Rao Surjan Hada opened the gate of Ranthambore Fort and allowed the

to enter after he collected statues of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deities from the temples and personally welcomed

into Ranthambore Fort. Akbar then invited Rao Surjan Hada to his imperial camp and in the evening of that very day Rao Surjan Hada, the ruler of Ranthambhor, submitted to the

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

, after a fiercely fought campaign of immense strategic importance to the expansion of the

. Akbar then seated on a throne under a canopy, when Rao Surjan Hada bowed in submission before him.Painting - Rao Surjan Hada making Submission to Akbar - Victoria & Albert Museum - Search the Collections
/ref> Mehtar Khan was then appointed by

to be the commander of the Mughal garrison at Ranthambore Fort after Rao Surjan Hada was sent to Bundi.

Aftermath

1569-The imperial army besieges Ranathambhor fort-Akbarnama

After being besieged for more than a month Rai Surjan Hada and his

s eventually surrendered Ranthambore Fort, which was considered to be impregnable.

References

{{Mughal Empire, state=expanded Ranthambore Ranthambore Ranthambore History of Rajasthan 1568 in India 16th century in the Mughal Empire