# Ahmad Shah II's invasion of Mewar

Ahmad Shah II's invasion of Mewar was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Mewar and the Islamic Sultanate of Gujarat. This invasion was an attempt to punish the Rana of Mewar Kumbha for defeating the Gujarati forces at Nagaur earlier. Initially, Gujarat's Sultan Qutub-ud-din Ahmad Shah II besieged Abu and defeated Rao of Sirohi and marched towards Kumbhalgarh. The attack caused by Gujarat was well responded by Mewaris and their Rana who defeated Gujarat's forces at Abu and later defeated the Sultan himself at Kumbhalgarh forcing him to return to Gujarat and to drop the plans to occupy Nagaur.

## Background

The invasion of Timur the Lame has weakened the grip of the Delhi Sultanate over a large number of its subahs. One of them was Nagaur's ruler Firoz Khan who belonged to the family of Kings of Gujarat. He was originally the governor of the same province under the Sultans of Delhi. He had, however, thrown off! his allegiance to Delhi and become independent.
Firoz died in 1455 which started a succession struggle between his two sons Shams Khan and Mujhaid Khan. Initially, Shams succeeded his father but after a stiff resistance, he faced from his brother forced him to evacuate the throne and flee to Mewar for help which Rana of Mewar Kumbha agreed to give him on the condition that he would destroy the battlements of the fort of Nagaur. When he failed to fulfill the terms he was banished from Nagaur. He fled towards Gujarat where he gave his daughter as a wife to the Sultan of Gujarat in return the Sultan of Gujarat would wrest Nagaur from Rana Kumbha. Initially, Sultan Qutb-ud-Din, or Ahmad Shah II sent a large army under Rai Ram Chandar and Malik Gadday to take back Nagaur. The Maharana allowed the army to approach Nagaur when he came out, and after a severe engagement, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Gujarat army, nearly annihilating it to the last men. Only a few reached Ahmedabad to carry the news of the disaster to the Sultan.

## Invasion of Gujarat

Humiliated by the defeats of his generals at the hands of Rana Kumbha. Sultan thereupon decided to take the field in person. The Maharana advanced to meet him and came to Mount Abu. Sultan too marched as the head of a large host and arrived near Mount Abu. He sent a part of his army to take the fort of Abu under his general Malik Shaaban Imad-ul-Mulk and self-marched against the fortress of Kumbhalgarh. Rana Kumbha who was aware of this plan came out of the fort and with a great slaughter, defeated Immad-ul-mulk and forced marched towards Kumbhalgarh. Sultan in the meantime attacked Sirohi who then was paying allegiance to Mewar. Raja of Sirohi came out of his fort and tried to give a battle to the Sultan but he was defeated. However, the Sultan abstained from taking Sirohi and marched to meet Rana Kumbha. He arrived at the foothill of the Kumbhalgarh fort where Immad-ul-mulk too joined him. Rana Kumbha who had reached before the Sultan, sallied out of the fortress and both sides met each other in the vicinity of Kumbhalgarh where the Sultan sustained heavy losses and returned to Gujarat completely defeated.

## Aftermath

Sultan of Gujarat Ahmad Shah II who had now been defeated by Kumbha, along with the Sultans of Malwa and Nagaur, decided to make joint efforts against Rana in the treaty of Champaner where it was decided that the southern part of Mewar contiguous to Gujarat was to be attached to Gujarat; and Mewar proper, Ajmer and Ahirwara, to Malwa. Rana on the other side was able to strengthen his position in Rajasthan and Northern Madhya Pradesh by successfully defending and expanding his kingdom on the verge of his neighbouring Sultanates.