Medini Rai (died 20 January 1528) was a Rajput leader of eastern-Malwa. [1] He ruled much of the Malwa under the lordship of Rana Sanga, who helped him in defeating Sultan of Malwa and conquering Malwa, Chanderi was his capital. [2]
He joined the united Rajput Confederacy in the fateful Battle of Khanwa with a garrison of 20,000 Rajput soldiers and headed the left wing of Rajputs to counter Babur's right wing. [3] The conquest of Malwa shocked the court of Delhi as they were not expecting the Rajputs to invade Malwa. [4] This led to several skirmishes and battles between the Lodi Empire and the Kingdom of Mewar. Medini Rai actively helped Rana Sanga in these battles and helped him score a series of victories. Rana Sanga's influence after the war extended to Pilia Khar, a river on the outskirts of Agra. [1] [5] [6]
He assisted Rana Sanga in many campaigns against the Sultans of India. Medini Rai was later killed in the Battle of Chanderi against the Mughal emperor Babur, where he was given a chance to surrender but chose to fight and remain loyal to the Rana.
Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani.
Sangram Singh I, commonly known as Rana Sanga, was the Rana of Mewar from 1508 to 1528 CE. A member of the Sisodia dynasty, he controlled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh with his capital at Chittor. His reign was admired by several of his contemporaries, including the first Mughal Emperor Babur, who described him as the "greatest Indian ruler" of that time. The Mughal historian Abd al-Qadir Badayuni called Sanga the bravest of all Rajputs along with Prithviraj Chauhan also known as Rai Pithaura.
Chanderi, is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri, 37 km from Lalitpur, 55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 46 km from Isagarh. It is surrounded by hills southwest of the Betwa River. Chanderi is surrounded by hills, lakes and forests and is spotted with several monuments of the Bundela Rajputs. It is famous for ancient Jain Temples. Its population in 2011 was 33,081.
The Battle of Khanwa was fought at Khanwa on 16 March 1527. It was fought between the invading Timurid forces of Babur and the Rajput Confederation led by Rana Sanga for supremacy of Northern India. The battle was a major event in Medieval Indian history although Timurids won at Panipat but at the time, the sultanate at Delhi was a spent force that was long crumbling. To the contrary, Kingdom of Mewar under the able rule of Rana Sanga, had turned into one of the strongest powers of northern India. Therefore, the battle was among the most decisive battles in the Mughal conquest of northern India. It was among the earliest battles in Northern India where gunpowder was used to a great extent. The battle resulted in heavy casualties for both Timurids and Rajputs.
Raja Shiladitya Tomar, also called Silhadi Tomar, was a chieftain of northeast Malwa in the early decades of 16th century India. He become vassal of Sanga of Mewar and remain as an ally and Sanga helped him and Medini Rai in various battles and in conquering Malwa from Sultans.
The Chittorgarh, also known as Chittod Fort, is one of the largest living forts in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was the capital of Mewar and is located in the present-day city of Chittorgarh. It sprawls over a hill 180 m (590.6 ft) in height spread over an area of 280 ha above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River. The fort covers 65 historic structures, which include four palaces, 19 large temples, 20 large water bodies, 4 memorials and a few victory towers.
The Malwa Sultanate was a late medieval kingdom in the Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1401 to 1562. It was founded by Dilawar Khan, who following Timur's invasion and the disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1401, made Malwa an independent realm.
The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Guzerat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, declared independence from the Tughlaq dynasty of Delhi.
Chanderi Fort located at Chanderi in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri and 37 km from Lalitpur and about 45 km from Esagarh and 38 km from Mungoali It is located on a hill southwest of the Betwa River. Chanderi is surrounded by hills, lakes and forests and there are several monuments. Chanderi finds mention in Mahabharata. Shishupal was the king of Mahabharata period.
The history of human settlement in the western Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 100,000 years ago. Around 5000 to 2000 BCE many regions of Rajasthan belonged as the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Kalibangan is the main Indus site of Rajasthan, here fire altars have been discovered, similar to those found at Lothal.
The Kingdom of Mewar was an independent kingdom that existed in the Rajputana region of the Indian subcontinent and later became a major power in medieval India. The kingdom was initially founded and ruled by the Guhila dynasty followed by the Sisodiya Dynasty. The kingdom came to be known as the Udaipur State after it became a princely state in the nineteenth century.
Raja Hasan Khan Mewati was a Muslim Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat. The son of previous ruler Raja Alawal Khan, his dynasty had ruled Mewat State for nearly 200 years. He was a descendant of Raja Nahar Khan Mewati, who was the Wali of Mewat in 14th century.
The Mughal–Rajput wars were a series of battles between the Rajput Confederacy and the Mughal Empire. The conflicts originated with the invasion of northwestern India by the Mughal ruler Babur, to which the head of the Rajput confederacy, Rana Sanga, offered staunch resistance. The conflicts went on since 1526 for over 200 years, with the Mughals having the upper hand until the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, following which they entered a declining phase and the Rajputs gained the upper hand, with the last recorded conflict taking place in 1779.
The history of human settlement in the west Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 5,000 years ago.
The Battle of Chanderi or Siege of Chanderi took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Khanwa in which the Mughal Emperor Babur had defeated the Rajput Confederacy and firmly establish Mughal rule while crushing regrowing Rajput powers as the battle was fought for supremacy of Northern India between Rajputs and Mughals. On receiving news that Rana Sanga had renewed war preparations to renew the conflict with him, Babur decided to isolate the Rana by inflicting a military defeat on one of his vassals Medini Rai who was the ruler of Malwa. Consequently, in December 1527, taking a circumlocutious route Babur marched to the fortress of Chanderi in Malwa which was the capital of the kingdom of Malwa. Upon reaching Chanderi, on 20 January 1528, Babur offered Shamsabad to Medini Rai in exchange for Chanderi as a peace overture but the offer was rejected by Rai.
The Battle of Dholpur in today's India occurred between the Kingdom of Mewar, led by Rana Sanga, and the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, commanded by Ibrahim Lodi, culminating in a victory for Mewar.
The Battle of Gagron was fought in 1519 between Mahmud Khalji II of Malwa and Rajput Confederacy of Rana Sanga. The conflict took place in Gagron and resulted in Sanga's victory, with him taking Mahmud captive and annexing significant territory.
The Mewar–Malwa conflicts were a series of wars between the Kingdom of Mewar and the Sultanate of Malwa. The conflict erupted due to mutual territorial expansion triggered by both sides on each other. The war was fought in the modern-day regions of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The Rana branch of the Guhilas, following their successful recovery of the Rajput stronghold of Chittorgarh and the entire region of Mewar alongside Rajputana after the Battle of Singoli, embarked on an ambitious expansion at the cost of their neighbouring kingdoms. On the other side, with the invasion of Timur, the Delhi Sultanate grew weak and many of its provinces gained independence which included Malwa, adjacent to Mewar.