Battle of Kannauj

Battle of Kannauj
Date	17 May 1540
Location	Kannauj, Mughal Empire
Result	Sur victory
Belligerents
Sur Empire	Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sher Shah Suri	Humayun ; Bairam Khan (POW); Askari ; Hindal ; Haidar Beg
Strength
Disputed; 30,000 (Ahmad); 15,000 (Ali Khan); or 5,000 men (Ahmad)	Disputed; 100,000 horsemen (Ahmad); 40,000–50,000 (Ali Khan); Abundant artillery

Last updated January 05, 2025

The Battle of Kannauj took place at Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India between Sher Shah Suri and Humayun on 17 May 1540. This battle is also known as the battle of Bilgram, where Humayun was defeated.^[1]^[2]

Background

On 26 June 1539, the army led by Sher Shah Suri destroyed the Mughal forces which were led by Humayun at the Battle of Chausa. Mughal Emperor Humayun fled the incident jumping in the Ganges and saved his life somehow. Losing at the battle of Chausa, Humayun came back to Agra asking for assistance of his brothers to challenge Sher Shah Suri again. One of his brothers Hindal Mirza assured Humayun to support with his army. But Humayun’s other brother named Kamran Mirza did not agree to send his army while Humayun was commanding, because Kamran Mirza wanted to take control of the throne himself. Afterwards, Kamran could not manage to take control of the power from his brother Humayun and moved to Lahore taking his army with him. Yet Humayun gathered quite sufficient forces to fight against Sher Shah Suri.^[8] Sher Khan declared himself Sultan with the victory in the battle of Chausa. He gained more power and prestige and took the title Sher Shah while Humayun and his brothers were misspending their time with futile arguments.^[9]

Battle

Following his defeat, Humayun returned to Agra, and restored order after disturbances from his brother, Hindal Mirza. Humayun mobilized a large force, and advanced with his army, while Sher Shah mobilized his army as well, although being numerically inferior. Humayun met Sher Shah at Kannauj, with both armies mirroring each other across the Ganges river. Humayun crossed the river and began skirmishing with Sher Shah's army. Amidst the fighting, Humayun's army saw many nobles hiding their insignia to prevent them from being recognized by the Afghans, with many nobles also fleeing from the battle. The Mughal army was defeated, which led to Humayun fleeing to Sindh.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Aftermath

Humayun became almost a fugitive after the battle of Kannauj. He and his brothers reached Agra safely but they could not stay there because Sher Shah chased them with his forces. He did not even get to Lahore when he heard about losing Delhi and Agra to Sher Shah. Sher Shah became the Emperor of Delhi and cemented the beginning of the Sur Empire. Humayun met his brothers in Lahore but they could not gather a force to fight Sher Khan because they all had different personal interests. Kamran became concerned with the safety of Punjab and Afghanistan and Hindal wanted to take control of Sindh. After the battle of Kannauj, Humayun spent the next 15 years of his life in exile.^[13]

Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, writing in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, attributed the defeat of Humayun's army to the unsound judgment and lack of foresight of his emirs, who he believed were hardly worthy of the title at all. Having been present at the battle, he derided the Mughal forces as being severely hindered by the promotion of unqualified, worthless individuals to positions of high military authority.^[14]

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References

↑ Sarkar, J.M. Belal Hossain (2012). History of Indian Subcontinent. Hasan Book House. p. 17.
↑ "Battle of Bilgram (1540)". Indian Express. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
1 2 3 Ahmad 1931, p. 72.
1 2 Ali Khan 1925, p. 40.
↑ Ahmad, Nizamu'ddin (1931). 223. Tabaqat-i-Akbari. Vol. 2. pp. 71–72.
↑ The Cambridge Shorter History of India. CUP Archive. p. 332.
↑ Ali Khan, Zulfiqar (1925). Sher Shah Suri, Emperor of India. Civil and Military Gazette Press. p. 12.
↑ "Battle of Kanauj". Indian Contents. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
↑ "Battle of Bilgram". History for Exam. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
↑ Ali Khan 1925, p. 34-36.
↑ Chandra, Satish (2007). History of Medieval India: 800-1700. Orient BlackSwan. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-81-250-3226-7. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
↑ Mehta, J. L. Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 169. ISBN 978-81-207-1015-3. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
↑ "History". Government of Uttar Pradesh’s Portal. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
↑ Anooshahr, Ali (30 October 2014). "Mughals, Mongols, and Mongrels: The Challenge of Aristocracy and the Rise of the Mughal State in the Tarikh-i Rashidi". Journal of Early Modern History. 18 (6): 559–577. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342420. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

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[1] Sarkar, J.M. Belal Hossain (2012). History of Indian Subcontinent. Hasan Book House. p. 17.

[2] "Battle of Bilgram (1540)". Indian Express. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

[FOOTNOTEAhmad193172-3] 1 2 3 Ahmad 1931, p. 72.

[FOOTNOTEAli_Khan192540-4] 1 2 Ali Khan 1925, p. 40.

[5] Ahmad, Nizamu'ddin (1931). 223. Tabaqat-i-Akbari. Vol. 2. pp. 71–72.

[6] The Cambridge Shorter History of India. CUP Archive. p. 332.

[7] Ali Khan, Zulfiqar (1925). Sher Shah Suri, Emperor of India. Civil and Military Gazette Press. p. 12.

[8] "Battle of Kanauj". Indian Contents. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

[9] "Battle of Bilgram". History for Exam. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

[FOOTNOTEAli_Khan192534-36-10] Ali Khan 1925, p. 34-36.

[11] Chandra, Satish (2007). History of Medieval India: 800-1700. Orient BlackSwan. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-81-250-3226-7. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.

[12] Mehta, J. L. Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 169. ISBN 978-81-207-1015-3. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2024.

[13] "History". Government of Uttar Pradesh’s Portal. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

[Anooshahr2014-14] Anooshahr, Ali (30 October 2014). "Mughals, Mongols, and Mongrels: The Challenge of Aristocracy and the Rise of the Mughal State in the Tarikh-i Rashidi". Journal of Early Modern History. 18 (6): 559–577. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342420. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

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