The Battle of Sammel, also known as the Battle of Giri-Sumel, was fought in 1544 near the villages, Giri and Sumel of the Jaitaran sub-division in the Pali district of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

between the Afghan

Sur Dynasty The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 yea ...

under

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 ...

and the

Rathore The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the "Kanauji ...

army led by the commanders Jaita and Kumpa of Rao Maldeo Rathore.

Background

Sher Shah had been secretly preparing for war with Marwar for four months. In 1543, Sher Shah set out against Marwar with a huge force of 80,000 cavalry. With an army of 50,000, Maldeo advanced to face Sher Shah's army. Sher Shah took the irregular path via Didwana (instead of Bayana), Kumpa had resisted Sher Shahs advance in Shekhawati, after which Sher Shah made sure to entrench at every stop and halted in the village of Sammel in the pargana of Jaitaran, ninety kilometers east of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

. He entrenched his army with the river Sammel in front of him as a line of defense. Maldev was surprised by the sudden arrival of his foe and led his army to Girri, which was 12 miles away from Sher Shahs camp, the scrub forest there gave protection to the Marwar army and thus both armies were well-entrenched. During this time the dispossessed rulers of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

and Merta came to the aid of Sher Shah. Maldev remained in a defensive stance during this time as he was suspicious of his barons, Maldev had recently subjugated them and was therefore cautious about attacking recklessly. Sher Shah also knew that he was in a hostile desert with limited food and water. The digging of trenches had already taken a toll on his Afghan soldiers, who were not used to the terrain. After one month of skirmishing, Sher Shah's position became critical owing to the difficulties of food supplies for his huge army. According to contemporary chroniclers writing in Persian: To resolve this situation, Sher Shah resorted to a cunning ploy. One evening, he dropped forged letters near Maldeo's camp in such a way that they were sure to be intercepted. These letters indicated, falsely, that some of Maldev's army commanders were promising assistance to Sher Shah. This caused great consternation to Maldeo, who immediately (and wrongly) suspected his commanders of disloyalty. Maldeo left for Jodhpur on 4 January 1544 with his own men, abandoning his commanders to their fate.Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Mughal Empire'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, pp. 81-2

Battle

When Maldev's loyal generals Jaita and Kumpa found out what had happened, they were worried about how they would prove their loyalty. When the king ordered withdrawal, chieftains decided that they would not leave the field even though they had only a few thousand men against an enemy force of 80,000 men,

cannons 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 dur ...

and

war elephants A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elepha ...

. Jaita said that the land they are leaving has been won and protected by their ancestors and they must not leave and flee. In the ensuing battle of Sammel, Jaita, Kumpa and other chieftains attacked Sher Shah's centre wreaking havoc in his ranks. Sher Shah reacted to the charge by sending war elephants and reinforcements under Jalal Khan. The Afghans soon used their superior numbers and guns to overpower the attack. The battle continued until the Rathores were slain to the last man. The Afghan victory was hard-won and gave birth to the famous Persian recorded quote about Sher Shah exclaiming that "for a handful of millet, I almost lost the Empire of

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

."Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). ''History of Medieval India'', Part II, New Delhi: S. Chand, , p.43 According to Satish Chandra -

Sher Shahs oft quoted remark "I had given away the country of Delhi for a handful of millets" is a tribute to the gallantry of Jaita and Kumpa and the willingness of the Rajputs to face death even in the face of impossible odds.

In the words of Tarikh-i Daudi: "Some of the chieftains such as Jaya (Jaita) and Goha (Kumpa) and others, came and attacked

, and displayed exceeding valour. Part of the Afghan army was routed, and a certain Afghan came to Sher Shah and shouted in his native tongue 'Mount for the infidels are routing your army' Sher Shah ordered his horse and was ready to retreat when news of victory was brought to the effect that his men had slain Jaita and Kumpa."Tarikh -i Daudi Farid bin Hasan Sur entitled Shir Shah fol 114

The Rathore chieftains, with a few thousand cavalry,
had decided to stay back and fight in order to prove their loyalty.
Their cavalry charge pushed the Afghans back into their own army,
causing the death of many.

Aftermath

Sher Shah emerged victorious, but several of his generals lost their lives and his army suffered heavy losses.Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II By Satish Chandra pg.80. — Sher Shahs oft quoted remark " I had given away the country of Delhi for a handful of millets" is a tribute to the gallantry of Jaita and Kumpa and the willingness of the Rajputs to face death even in the face of impossible odds. After this victory, Sher Shah's general Khawas Khan Marwat took possession of Jodhpur and occupied the territory of Marwar from

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above ...

in 1544. But by July, 1545 Maldeo reoccupied his lost territories.

References

Sources

* * Kalika Ranjan Qanungo (1965). ''Sher Shah and his times''. Orient Longmans * Mahajan, V. D. (2007). ''History of Medieval India''. New Delhi: S. Chand * Rottermund, H. K. (1998). ''A History of India''. London: Routledge.

External links