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Sangram Singh I (12 April 1482 – 30 January 1528), most commonly known as Rana Sanga, was the Maharana of Mewar from 1509 to 1528. A member of the Sisodia dynasty, he controlled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Sindh, and Uttar Pradesh with his capital at Chittorgarh.
In his military career, Sanga achieved a series of successes against several neighbouring sultanates. Following the Battle of Gagron in 1519 against the Malwa Sultanate, Sanga captured much of Malwa.
He humbled the Sultan of Gujarat on various occasions.: "He opened his career with fair prospects of success. From 1514-15 20 A. D. he routed the forces of Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar Shah II, from place to place 10 and is said to have gained eighteen pitched battles against the Sultans of Delhi and Malwa. In one of these he was opposed by Ibrahim Lodi in person at Ghatoli, in which the imperial forces were defeated with great slaughter, leaving a prisoner of the blood royal to grace the triumph of Chitor." He also reduced the Khanzadas of Mewat to his submission helping him to extend his sway over modern-day Haryana. Among his great victories were the multiple defeats inflicted upon the Lodi dynasty of Delhi at Khatoli, Dholpur, and Ranthambore enabling Sanga to capture much of the latter's domain in Malwa and Western Uttar Pradesh.At its zenith in 1521, Sangram's empire stretched from Mandu, the capital of Malwa Sultanate in the south to Peela Khal (Pilya Khal), a small rivulet near Bayana and Agra, in the northeast, to river Indus River in the west and north-west.
Nearly all the Rajput's chiefs owed their allegiance to him.: "In V. 1478, Maharana Sanga’s power was at zenith, Nearly all the Rajputs chiefs according to Amar Kavya Vamshavali®” owed their allegiance to him." He also marched against the invading forces of Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire. Despite initial success against combined Mughal-Afghan forces at the Battle of Bayana, Sanga suffered a significant defeat at Khanwa primarily due to Babur's use of gunpowder weaponry, which was unknown in northern India at the time.Sanga is hailed as the greatest ruler of his time. He was said to have gained 18 pitched battles against the of Delhi Sultanate, Malwa Sultanate and Gujarat and was renowned for his heroism and leadership. Sanga counted more than 80 wounds lacked an eye and arm and was crumpled from one leg from various engagements. He is regarded as the last independent Hindu sovereign of North India to control extensive boundaries.: "Sanga was the greatest ruler of his time, He possessed undaunted courage and uncommon power of body, He had successfully measured swords against the Sultans of Malwa, Gujarat and Ibrahim Lodi, The combined forces of Malwa and Gujarat at Mandsaur, could not humble his pride. He was lacking an eye an arm and had crippled by a broken leg. At the same time he was having more than 80 honourable scars on his body. Babar trembled and hesitated to fight with him, He was a great diplomat and extended his shelter to the fugitive and dislodged chiefs. In other words, he was the last Hindu Independent Chief, of northern India, who was possessing extensive boundaries." His reign was admired by several of his contemporaries, including the first Mughal Empire Babur, who described him as the "greatest Indian ruler" of that time while also accusing him of sending an invitation to invade India, a claim that has not been widely accepted.: "That the above view is not improbable will be clear from the fact that Babur was to embark on an expedition against the ruler of Delhi whose resources in men and money were far superior to those of his own and, therefore, the issue of the proposed contest was in doubt. Under these circumstances it was in Babur’s interest to seek an alliance with greatest and most powerful enemy in India. In the second place Sanga did not at this time stand in need of an alliance with Babur who had yet to establish his reputation in India. Thirdly, the view that Sanga sent an envoy to Kabul goes against the Rajput and, in fact, Hindu habit of sitting on the fence and waiting to see as to which side won before deciding a line of action. Fourthly, unlike his usual practice Babur here gives no details of his alliance though he has elsewhere given the details of his agreements with Alam Khan Lodi and Dolat Khan Lodi .* 7 Fifthly, it will be too much to think that Babur always stated tire whole truth. Close students of Baburnama are aware how sometimes he deliberately gave wrong facts. For example, he stated more than once in positive terms that he had 12,000 men” all told in his fight against Ibrahim Lodi. Modern research”, however, has shown that he had a much larger number at the field of Panipat. And finally, it has to be noted that no other contemporary writer I-Jir.du or Muslim makes mention of Sanga’s sending an ambassador to Kabul. It is a pity that all modern writers 30 have uncritically accepted Babur’s version. ": "While in Kabul, he had dispatched emissaries at Chittor to obtain his help in creating a diversion on Ibrahim’s southern frontier."
The Mughal historian Abd al-Qadir Badayuni called Sanga the bravest of all along with Prithviraj Chauhan also known as Rai Pithaura
Sanga was the third son of Raimal. However, due to the circumstances and after a fierce struggle with his brothers Prithviraj and Jagmal, in which he lost one of his eyes, he finally succeeded throne of Mewar in 1509.
According to legends, Sanga had fought a 100 battles and lost only once. He lost his wrist, was crippled in a leg, and counted eighty wounds on his body from the various conflicts. In his illustrious military career, Sanga defeated the Sultans of Delhi Sultanate, Malwa Sultanate and Gujarat in 18 pitched battles and expanded his domain by conquering much of present-day Rajasthan. The Rana was also able to dominate Malwa and establish overlordship over northern parts of Gujarat. The Rajputs of India looked at him as their leader against the Sultanates. He re-established Rajput rule in Malwa for the first time since the fall of the Rajput Paramara dynasty in 1305 CE. "The early 16th century marks the rise of patriotic one-eyed chief of Mewar named as Rana Sanga who defeat several of his neighbour kingdom and establish Rajput hold on Malwa first time after fall of Parmara dynasty through series of victories over Malwa, Gujarat and Delhi Sultanate"
He also removed Jizya tax from the Hindus which was earlier imposed by Muslim rulers. He is considered the last independent Hindu king of Northern India to control a significant territory and in some contemporary texts described as Hindu Emperor.
After the victory in the battle and other skirmishes aftermath Sanga captured eastern and northern Malwa along with Chanderi. Rai made Chanderi his capital, while Silhadi establish himself as master of Raisen and Sarangpur region. According to historian Satish Chandra these events took place between 1518 and 1519.
After the victory and establishing Hinduism rule in eastern and northern Malwa, Sanga ordered Rai to remove Jizya tax from Hindus of the region.
Lodi, reportedly stunned by this Rajput aggression (the extent of which was unprecedented in the preceding three centuries), once again moved against Mewar in 1518-19 but was humbled again at Battle of Dholpur. Lodi fought Sanga repeatedly, only to be defeated each time, losing his entire land in present-day Rajasthan, while Sanga's influence extended up to the striking distance of Pilia Khar in Agra.
According to a 16th-century text "Parshvanath-Shravan-Sattavisi", Rana Sanga further defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Ranthambore Fort after the Siege of Mandsaur.
In 1520, Sanga invaded Gujarat on the question of the succession of the state of Idar State, with his powerful army of 40,000 Rajputs supported by his three vassals. Rao Ganga Rathore of Marwar too joined him with a garrison of 8,000 Rajputs. The other allies of Rana were Rawal Udai Singh of Vagad and Rao Viram deva of Merta City. He defeated the Muslim army of Nizam khan and pursued them to Ahmedabad. Sanga called off his invasion 20 miles before the capital Ahmedabad. He plundered the royal treasuries of Gujarat and destroyed several mosques and built temples over them. After a series of victories, Sanga successfully annexed North Gujarat and appointed one of his vassals to rule there.
The Mughals captured Bayana fort which was part of Sanga's empire therefore a major clash took place in Bayana in February 1527 in which Mughal forces of Babur led by Abdul Aziz were defeated by Rana Sanga. The defeat of the Mughals was the last of Rana Sanga's victories. Confronting a large Hindu army, now incited religious propaganda against the Rajputs by declaring the battle as a Jihad against the Kafir. He further sought divine favour by abjuring liquor, breaking the wine vessels and pouring the wine down a well.]]In ensuring battle fought at Khanwa, 37 miles (60 km) west of Agra, on March 16. The Mughals were victorious due to their cannons, matchlocks and other firearms. Sanga was struck by an arrow in mid-battle and was removed from the battle by his brother-in law Prithviraj Kachwaha of Amber Fort along with prince Maldeo Rathore in an unconscious state. Following his victory, Babur ordered a tower of enemy skulls to be erected, a practice formulated by Timur against his adversaries, irrespective of their religious beliefs. According to Chandra, the objective of constructing a tower of skulls was not just to record a great victory, but also to terrorize opponents. Earlier, the same tactic had been used by Babur against the Bajaur massacre.
Sanga was also betrayed by Silhadi during the battle who changed sides soldiers and went over to Babur.
The victory of Mughals is seen as a landmark event in Mughal conquest of North India as the battle turned out to be more historic and eventful than Panipat because it made Babur the undisputed master of North India while crushing the threatening and reviving Rajput. According to historian Andre Wink, after the victory at Khanwa, the centre of Mughal power became Agra instead of Kabul and continued to remain so until its downfall after Ālamgir's death. According to modern historians had there not been the cannons of Babur, Sanga might have achieved a historic victory against Babur. Babur's cannons had put an end to the outdated trends in Indian warfare.
However it would be wrong to suppose that the Rajput power was crushed for ever, Babar stopped his further invasion in Rajasthan, the Rajput forces encamped at Baswa near Dausa for Sanga's treatment, soon after treatment, Sanga started preparation of another war against Babar.
After Sanga's defeat his vassal Medini Rai was defeated by Babur at Siege of Chanderi and Babur captured the capital of Rai kingdom Chanderi. Medini was offered Shamsabad instead of Chanderi as it was historically important in conquering Malwa but Rao refused the offer and chose to die fighting. The Rajput women and children committed Self-immolation to save their honour from Babur's army. Babur subsequently captured Chanderi following his victory which was earlier ruled by Rai.
The power vacuum left by Rana Sanga was filled by Rao Maldeo Rathore. He took over the role as the leading Rajput king and dominated the time period through his increased use of horsemen.
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