Battle of Panipat

There have been three Battles of Panipat:

Second Battle of Panipat

The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556, between the forces of Hemu, the Hindu ruler of north India from Delhi, and the army of Akbar. It was a decisive victory for Akbar's generals Khan Zaman I and Bairam Khan.

Background

On January 24, 1556, the Mughal Emperor Humayun died in Delhi and was succeeded by his son, Akbar. Akbar was only thirteen years old. On February 14, 1556, Akbar was enthroned at Kalanaur, in Punjab. At this time, Mughal rule was confined to Kabul, Kandahar, parts of the Delhi region and Punjab. Akbar had been campaigning at Kabul with his guardian, Bairam Khan.

Hemu had become the ruler of North India after he defeated Akbar's army in the Battle of Delhi in 1556. Earlier Hemu had acted as Prime Minister-cum-Chief of Army of Afghan ruler Adil Shah. He was a Hindu from Rewari in present day Haryana. Hemu had won 22 battles as Prime Minister-cum-Chief of Army during 1553-1556, from Punjab to Bengal. At the time of Humayun's death in January 1556, Hemu had just quelled a rebellion in Bengal, killing the Bengal ruler Muhammad Shah in the war. When he heard of Humayun's death, he told his commanders he would seize the Delhi throne for himself. He then launched an open rebellion, winning battles throughout northern India. When he attacked Agra, the commander of Akbar's forces there fled without fighting. Hemu gained control of Etawah, Kalpi, and Agra provinces, comprising present day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. At Gwalior, Hemu consolidated his army by recruiting more Hindus.

Third Battle of Panipat

The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Delhi between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and the forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh. Militarily, the battle pitted the French origin artillery and cavalry of the Marathas against the heavy cavalry and mounted artillery (zamburak and jizail) of the Afghans and Rohillas led by Ahmad Shah Abdali and Najib-ud-Daulah, both ethnic Afghans (the former is also known as Ahmad Shah Abdali). The battle is considered one of the largest and most eventful fought in the 18th century, and has perhaps the largest number of fatalities in a single day reported in a classic formation battle between two armies.

Panipat

Panipat  pronunciation  (Hindi: पानीपत) is an ancient and historic city in Haryana, India. It is 90 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The battles fought at the city in 1526, 1556 and 1761 were turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of Weaver". The first verse of the Bhagavad Gita is possibly referring to Panipat as 'Dharmakshetra'.

History

According to the legend, Panipat was one of the five cities (prasthas) founded by the Pandava brothers during the times of the Mahabharata; its historic name being Pandavaprastha (Sanskrit: पाण्डवप्रस्थ, lit. city of Pandavas) Panipat was the scene of three pivotal battles in the Indian history. Panipat is first recorded in the Mahabharata as one of the five villages that the Pandavas demanded from Duryodhana. The five villages are the "panch pat"