The Siege of Ranthambore by Alauddin Khalji
Ranthambore was one of the most powerful forts of medieval India and was presumed to be an indestructible fort. It was in 1301, that Alauddin Khalji conquered the small but powerful kingdom of Ranthambore (then Ranastambhapura). During this time, it was ruled by Chahamanas (Chauhans) and the ruler was Hammiradeva.
Jalaluddin Khalji, the predecessor of Alauddin, had made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Ranthambore in 1291. The main reason for Alauddin's attack on Ranthambore was the grant of asylum by Chahamanas to Mongol fugitives who were responsible for ‘Jalore mutiny’. Hammiradeva had refused the requests to either kill those rebels or hand them over to the Delhi Sultanate, resulting in a full-fledged attack on his kingdom. This was among the few conquests in which Alauddin Khalji himself had to take control of operations.
History and Background
In 1299, Delhi Sultanate noticed the successful conquest of Gujarat under the leadership of Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan. As the army returned to Delhi after the conquest, a mutiny arose against the generals by some of the Mongol soldiers, who had recently converted to Islam (referred to as Neo-Muslims). The mutiny was held at Jalore. The mutiny was crushed, rebels harshly punished, and the army returned to Delhi. Two rebel Mongol leaders - Muhammad Shah and Kabhru were successful in escaping along with some of their followers, taking refuge under the Hammiradeva of Ranthambore.
Ulugh Khan, who was the governor of Bayana (modern Bharatpur), a kingdom near Ranthambore sent messengers to Hammiradeva requesting to either kill the Mongol fugitives or return them to the Delhi Sultanate as a friendly ruler. He also threatened Hammiradeva to wage a war if the request was not granted. Though Hammiradeva was repeatedly advised by his ministers to consider the request or the kingdom could be in great threat, he refused. He replied to Ulugh Khan that no conflict was desired by his side, but he was not ready to give up the refugees who sought his asylum. Also, if the war would be necessary, he would be ready.
When Alauddin learned about the situation and reply, he dispatched an army led by the best of his commander – Ulugh Khan. Ulugh Khan was among the best of the commanders and had represented his planning and strategy of war in the conquest of Gujarat, and represented it again in the siege of Ranthambore.
According to the records, Hammiradeva was engaged in a religious ceremony, and that’s why the army reached the Banas River without any opposition. At the edge of the Banas River, Ulugh Khan and his army were challenged by Bhimasimha, the minister of Hammiradeva. Bhimasimha, on the advice of another minister Dharmasimha, launched a direct attack on the opponent instead of stationing the army on the top of the mountain pass. As a strategy, showing the retreat had been successful and led Chahamanas to drop their guard. As Bhimasimha was returning to Ranthambore thinking of success, Ulugh khan’s forces re-assembled and attacked. Hence, the forces of Bhimasimha were defeated and Bhimasimha lost his life.
The Defection
When Hammiradeva came to know about the mistake of one of the most prominent nobles Dharmasimha which resulted in Bhamasimha losing his life, he ordered harsh punishments for the former. The king gave orders for blinding and castrating him. Hammiradeva’s brother Bhoja became the chief royal advisor, but he was duly incapable of building an army that could defeat Alauddin’s invasion. The chief factor was lack of funds and stressful situation with the opposing army on the border.
In the meantime, Dharmasimha took advantage of the financial problems and paved a way for his return. Hammiradeva took Dharmasimha back into service, and on his arrival, the entire system, all the points of dependency turned towards him. He raised the funds, prepared for the military, proved his ability, and most importantly side-lined Bhoja. This highly dissatisfied Bhoja and his brother Pithasimha and they decided to leave Ranthambore. Hammiradeva did not even try to stop his brothers and gave Bhoja’s post to General Ratipala.
Feeling insulted, Bhoja defected to Alauddin who was more than happy to have him and gave him the Jagir of Jagara. On Bhoja’s advice of launching an attack before the harvest season, Alauddin dispatched a large army to conquer Ranthambore.
The reversal of situations
At this time, the Chahamana army was ready with the strategy of taking along the army of Mongol leaders who had sought asylum as allies. At a mountain pass called Hinduvata, a tough fight was given to Ulugh Kahn’s army by the allies. The people who were in the lead were Hammira's own generals including Virama (his brother), Ratipala, Jaja, and Ranamalla along with the Mongol leaders. This led to the defeat of Ulugh khan and as a result, the Chahamana army captured the equipment of the Delhi army. Further, a large number of Muslim women were also captured by Hammiradeva’s army.
The Jagir of Jagara was also attacked by forces of Mongol allies. Bhoja’s family members were captured and brought to Ranthambore as prisoners. Bhoja survived as he was in Delhi at that time.
After Alauddin came to know about all these reverses, he immediately ordered Nusrat Khan, the governor of Awadh to Ulugh Khan’s support. By the time Nusrat Khan and the army from Delhi reached Ranthambore, Ulugh Khan gained entry into the fort by pretending to be the negotiator. So, the army crossed the Hindutva Mountain pass easily. When the Delhi army reached and gathered around the fort of Ranthambore, a messenger was sent to Hammiradeva with two alternatives:
- Present four lakh gold coins, four elephants, and his daughter to marry Alauddin.
- Surrender the Mongol rebels who took refuge at Ranthambore.
Hammiradeva rejected the offer disrespectfully. The Delhi army gathered around the fort and even tried to break the walls, but an unexpected incident was waiting for the Delhi army. Nusrat Khan died due to an accident wherein he was hit by manjaniq stone. This gave the advantage to the Chahaman army, which pushed the Delhi army back to the Jhain region.
When Alauddin came to know about the death and defeat of two of his most prominent generals, his anger was high, and he found this to be a perfect situation to enter the war himself.
Alauddin at Ranthambore
Alauddin ordered all of his officers from different regions to gather the armies near Delhi. When Alauddin reached Ranthambore, he decided to make a strategy as attacking the fort directly could only be an advantage to the opponent, as Alauddin at this time was famous for his strategy of “pasheb” formation, an inclined mound built to fill the ditch separating his camp and the fort.
Also, the siege engines were under construction by the Delhi army, but the defenders tried their best to destroy the plans, siege engines, and pashebs of the Delhi army, one or another way. The Delhi army also tried to construct a tunnel, but this plan was also obstructed by defenders. The point to be noted is the heavy losses on both sides of the army.
During the time Alauddin was busy in the siege of Ranthambore, there were three attempts of dethroning Alauddin in Delhi, but Alauddin managed all of it with the help of able nobles, and did not abandon the thought of conquering Ranthambore.
During the siege, once again, all the sides were about to turn to Alauddin just due to his diplomatic skills and the greed of Hammiradeva’s minister. Once, Hammiradeva sent his general Ratipala to Alauddin's camp for the negotiation and peace treaty. Alauddin treated Ratipala with honour and offered him drinks and food. Alauddin won Ratipala over and convinced him to defect. In return, he promised him the governorship of Ranthambore after the defeat of Hammiradeva.
On his return, Ratipala, hiding all the happenings, informed the king that Alauddin was willing to establish peace in return for marrying Hammiradeva’s daughter. Another general, Ranamalla also joined Ratipala in defection, and one evening they both took their armies out of the fort and joined Alauddin’s army.
Around the same time, famine-like conditions occurred in the fort as a result of the revenge of Sarjan Shah (a Buddhist merchant, whose father was killed by Hammiradeva). All the food provisions were polluted. Hammiradeva now was in a dense situation, surrounded by betrayal and famine. Expressing his boldness and representation of his culture he decided to die on the battlefield with his loyal men. Mongol refugee Muhammad Shah also joined the forces ignoring the request of Hammiradeva of being escorted to a safer place. Hammiradeva appointed his minister Jaja as his successor.
Hammiradeva, along with his forces marched over the pasheb mound to fight Alauddin’s forces and fought to their deaths.
Aftermath
All the ladies of royal household decided to perform Jauhar (Mass suicide), while Muhammad Shah had killed his family himself before moving on to war. Jaja, the successor also tried to offer resistance to the army for two more days but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Alauddin found Muhammad Shah, the base of the entire war wounded inside the fort, but he was not ready to give up. So, angry Alauddin ordered Muhammad Shah to be trampled by an elephant. Though later he was buried with respect as Alauddin appreciated his courage.
Alauddin ordered punishments for Ratipala and Ranamalla, who were not loyal to their king in his time of need and hence both along with their followers were killed. As they were not loyal to their earlier master, Alauddin could not expect them to be loyal to him.
Alauddin gave the governorship of Ranthambore to Ulugh Khan and this siege of Ranthambore was an expression of Alauddin’s boldness, strategy, and power over the Indian subcontinent.
