The Battle of Bayana or the Siege of Bayana was a military conflict between the

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Confederacy under

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (IAST: Rāṇā Saṅgrāma Siṃha; c. 1482 – 1528 CE), popularly known as Rana Sanga or Maharana Sanga, was an Indian ruler from the Sisodia dynasty. He ruled Mewar, the traditional territory of Guhilas (Sisodias) in presen ...

on one side and

Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...

of Bayana under Nizam Khan and

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

advance guard, led by Abdul Aziz on other side.

Background

Babur's advance towards

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and Sanga's expansion towards

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

made war inevitable between the two kings. Babur's hostility towards Sanga is mentioned in his memoirs, in one instance he accuses Rana Sanga of destroying Muslim control over 200 towns and displacing their ruling families. After his victory against the

Lodi Empire The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when h ...

, Babur wanted control of Bayana, which was an important fort to defend Agra against Sangas advance. The fort of Bayana was under Afghan chieftain Nizam Khan. By Babur's order, Ustad Ali Khan cast a monstrous cannon to bombard Bayana and other forts. Babur sent 2500 men along with Afghans under Nizam Khan's brother Alam Khan to take the fort of Bayana but numerical superior Nizam Khan sallied forth from the fort and defeated the mughal army and routed them. Since Rana Sanga was moving towards Babur, time was key and hence Babur called for announcement of Jihad against infidel Rana and asked the Afghan chieftains of Bayana,

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the famous Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur prin ...

and

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

to join him in the holy war. Most of the Afghan chieftains along with Nizam Khan of Bayana accepted Babur's proposal of accepting Jagir since they knew they did not stand chance against the military power of Rana and hence allied with Babur.

Battle and aftermath

Sanga besieged the fortress of Bayana in an organized manner. Sanga divided his army in four parts and put his trusted nobles in front. An attempt by the garrison to sally forth and fight ended in rout of besieged army and several officers of distinction were killed or wounded. The besieged lost morale and surrendered the fort to Rana. Babur sent an army under Abdul Aziz to prevent Rana from advancing, but the Mughals were defeated and scattered by the Rajputs under Rana Sanga. The defeat at Bayana further demoralised the Mughal forces and allowed Rana Sanga to safely march towards Khanwa (thirty-seven kilometres west of Agra), leading to the Battle of Khanwa. Historian G.N. Sharma notes that: "Though Babur and the Mughal historians have not attached much importance to the battle of Bayana, it stands out as a last great triumph in the chequered career of Rana Sanga in whose hands now lay the forts of Chittor, Ranthambore, Kandar and Bayana, the key points of central Hindustan. The short and sharp encounters that the Mughals had to face at the hands of the Rajputs on this occasion, in which they had been severely handled sent a thrill of terror and discouragement in the Mughal army."

References

{{coord missing, Rajasthan

Bayana Bayana is a historical town and the headquarters of Bayana tehsil in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan in India. Hindaun City is nearest city of Bayana - 33 km. It was the site of famous Important Battle of Bayana in 1527 between the Rajput ...

Mewar History of Rajasthan

1527 in India