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The Battle of Panipat may refer to the three important battles fought at Panipat, India: First Battle of Panipat (1526), fought between the Mughals under Babur and Ibrahim Lodi (Delhi Sultanate) Second Battle of Panipat (1556), fought between Hemchandra Vikramaditya (Sur Empire) and the Mughals under Akbar.
- Overview
- First Battle of Panipat (1526)
- Second and Third Battles of Panipat (1556, 1761)
Battles of Panipat, (1526, 1556, 1761), three military engagements, important in the history of northern India, fought at Panipat, a level plain suitable for cavalry movements, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Delhi.
An overwhelmingly outnumbered Mughal force prevailed at Panipat. This was due to the resourcefulness of its commander, Babur, demonstrated in his use of field fortifications and his instinctive sense of the value of the firepower of gunpowder. The victory enabled him to lay the foundations for the Indian Mughal Empire.
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A descendant of Timur, Babur became a refugee at the age of twelve when the Uzbeks seized Samarkand in 1494. At age fifteen he was back with his own warband. He laid siege to his home city, but without success. Undaunted, he headed south into Afghanistan. Capturing Kabul in 1504, he made it his base for raids into Central Asia’s Transoxania region. Increasingly, however, he found himself tempted by the unimaginable wealth of India. In the years that followed, he mounted a series of incursions into the Punjab.
These territories had for three centuries belonged to a Muslim empire, the Delhi sultanate. Although its prestige had been badly damaged by Timur’s triumph of 1398, it remained a powerful presence in northern India. At this time, the sultanate was under the control of an Afghan elite. A capricious and divisive ruler, Sultan Ibrahim Lodi had alienated many of his nobles. It was indeed a local lord in Hindustan who, in 1523, invited Babur to undertake a full-scale invasion.
Although he clearly was attracted by the idea of invasion, Babur was in no hurry. His army numbered only 10,000 men, so he made sure that they were well equipped and superbly trained before committing to his assault on Hindustan. He took the time to train them in the use of gunpowder weapons, while making sure their skills in traditional steppe warfare were not neglected. Only at the end of 1525 did he embark on his invasion.
The Mughal Empire’s expansion, stalled after the death of its founder Babur in 1530, began anew under Babur’s grandson, Akbar. Fighting on a field that had proved so propitious for his grandfather, the young Akbar won a vital victory over the powerful Hindu ruler, Hemu.
Babur’s son Humayun had encountered serious setbacks, even losing his kingdom after it was conquered by the Pashtun warlord Sher Shah Suri in 1540. Rebuilding his forces in exile, he eventually took back his realms fifteen years later, leaving his son and successor, Akbar, with a great empire.
To the east of Akbar’s realms, the Suri general Hemu had set himself up as a strongman ruler; calling himself a king, he built a powerbase in Bengal. Aged just thirteen, Akbar seemed singularly ill-equipped to cope with this threat. However, he had rare gifts—and the support of his guardian, the accomplished general Bairam Khan. Hemu had unstoppable momentum, it seemed—having already taken Agra and the strategic fortress of Tughlaqabad, in October 1556 he captured Delhi. Too late to save the city, Akbar’s army let it go and stopped on the plains to the north, at Panipat.
On 5 November 1556, the scene was set for the Second Battle of Panipat. Repeated elephant charges failed to break the resolve of the outnumbered Mughal soldiers. An inspiring figure, Hemu led from the front, perched high up on an elephant, an important talisman for his troops. He was also a tempting target for the Mughal archers, and initially they showered him with shafts to no avail, so impregnable was the headto-foot armor he was wearing. Eventually, though, one arrow found its way in through an eye-slit and killed him. Seeing their leader fall, the Hindus broke and fled.
The third battle (Jan. 14, 1761) ended the Maratha attempt to succeed the Mughals as rulers of India and marked the virtual end of the Mughal empire. The Maratha army, under the Bhao Sahib, uncle of the peshwa (chief minister), was trapped and destroyed by the Afghan chief Aḥmad Shah Durrānī.
Following the decline of the Mughal Empire after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the Maratha Confederacy had expanded rapidly, threatening the Afghan Durrani Empire, ruled by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Ahmad declared a jihad and launched a campaign that captured large parts of the Punjab. The Marathas responded by raising a large army, under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau, and recaptured Delhi. Ahmad’s campaign was aimed at starving the Maratha army of its supplies. At the same time, he led an army of 40,000 into the south to trap the Maratha army in the Punjab.
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Confederacy and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) north of Delhi.
- 14 January 1761
- Durrani victory [1]
Nov 16, 2020 · Learn about the three battles of Panipat that shaped the history of India, from the Mughal Empire to the Maratha Empire. Find out the dates, background, military force, tactics, result and significance of each battle.
The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526 was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in North India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate .
Aug 9, 2019 · Learn how Babur, a Central Asian conqueror, defeated the Delhi Sultanate in 1526 with his artillery and tactics. Discover the impact of this battle on the Mughal Empire and India's history.
Jan 30, 2024 · The First Battle of Panipat on 21 April 1526 marked the onset of the Mughal Empire in India, ending the Delhi Sultanate. It was notable for its early use of gunpowder firearms and field artillery, introduced by the invading Mughal forces led by Babur.
