Battle of Samugarh - Aurangzeb's Decisive Armed Struggle for Succession

-

Aurangzeb Alamgir was the last great Mughal Emperor of India. He was one of the few rulers who ruled over almost the entire Indian subcontinent. But his path toward kingship wasn’t straightforward. Emperor Shahjehan, his father and the 5th Mughal Emperor, had chosen his eldest son, Dara Shikoh, to replace him as emperor after his death. Aurangzeb had to fight against Dara before claiming the throne of the Mughal Empire. A major battle fought between the two brothers was the Battle of Samugarh in 1658. Victory in this battle resulted in the coronation of Aurangzeb.

Background

The combined forces of Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh (his younger brother) had already defeated Dara Shakoh in a smaller Battle of Dharmat. The two militaries decided to engage once again at Samugarh, 10 km east of Agra. Dara Shikoh had a larger and more powerful military, but Aurangzeb got the advantage of an experienced and battle-hardened army.

The Battle

The battle of Samugarh started on 29th May 1658 with the firing of cannons by Dara Shikoh. The firing of artillery from both sides continued for some time. Later, Murad Baksh started a swift charge with his sowars (horse-riders) towards the right flank of Dara Shikoh, commanded by Rao Chattar Sal (a Rajput leader). The attack proved disastrous for Rajputs, which prompted another Dara’s commander, Rustam Khan, to save his comrade. He moved forward with his Deccan Sowars, but the cannon fire from Aurangzeb routed this army and resulted in the deaths of Rustam Khan and many of his soldiers. In the meantime, Murad Baksh assassinated Chattar Sal and disintegrated Dara’s army. 

Painting of the Battle of Samugarh
Fleeing of Dara's elephants from battlefield proved disastrous 

Losing two of his most competent commanders alongside many sowars forced Dara Shikoh to move forward to halt and repulse Murad Baksh. But seeing this, Aurangzeb increased bombardment from cannons, and Dara had to move towards his cavalry. At this important moment, Dara descended from the elephant. The elephant immediately ran away, which Dara’s soldiers mistook as the death of their leader. As a result, most of Dara’s soldiers surrendered to Aurangzeb while others fled. Dara Shikoh fled the battlefield with his military commander, Khalilullah Khan, towards his son Sulaiman Shikoh. The battle ended with a clear victory for Aurangzeb.

Reasons for Aurangzeb’s Victory in the Battle of Samugarh

  • Dara Shikoh had all the resources and the largest military, thanks to being the favorite son of Emperor Shah Jehan. However, his military was inexperienced and lacked the skills of Aurangzeb’s relatively smaller but formidable army. Dara and his commanders were clueless when they faced a surprise attack from Murad Baksh and severe bombardment from the opponent’s artillery. They made unnecessary errors during the battle, which resulted in their failure.
  • Murad Baksh had enmity with Rajputs and took this opportunity to settle things with Rao during this battle. He charged his army even without permission from Aurangzeb. It was a brave and surprising move during cannon fire. This ferocious move resulted in the death of both Rao and Rustam, which deprived Dara of his two notable commanders. Despite facing severe attacks from Dara’s military, Murad remained steadfast and played a major role in the victory for Aurangzeb.
  • The incident that ended the battle in favor of Aurangzeb was Dara’s decision to come down from his elephant. The elephant immediately ran away, and his soldiers mistook it for the death of Dara Shikoh. They were already facing severe cavalry and artillery attacks and were quick to either surrender or flee from the battlefield.

Aftermath

After the battle, Aurangzeb was declared Emperor of the Mughal Empire. He then marched towards Agra and managed to surrender Shah Jehan after a siege of Agra Fort and imprisoned his father. Dara Shikoh and his son Sulaiman Shikoh were handed over to Aurangzeb by an Afghan chieftain. Aurangzeb later executed both of them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reasons for the Fall of the Umayyad Dynasty

-
Umayyad Caliphate was the second Muslim Caliphate that emerged after Rashidun Caliphate. However, it is commonly known as Umayyad Dynasty due to its centralization on the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh tribe of Makkah.  At its peak, the Umayyad Dynasty ruled the  Middle East, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Persia, and Central Asia . It makes it the largest Muslim dynasty and one of the largest empires in human history. Umayyad Caliphate also kept the unity of the Islamic Caliphate as more than one Muslim dynasty appeared soon after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty. But despite these prominent political and military achievements, Umayyad Dynasty could only last for around 90 years. The Abbasids took the throne from them in 750 AD (Later, Umayyad ruled the Iberian Peninsula from 756 to 1031 AD). Fall of Umayyad Dynasty - Main Reasons Surprisingly, such a vast and politically powerful umpire could only last 90 years. There are several reasons behind the fall of t...
Read more

Reasons for the Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate

-
Abbasid Caliphate was the third Muslim Caliphate after the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates. It was also the second Muslim dynasty after Umayyad Dynasty, as the rulers during this dynasty belonged only to the Abbasid family.  The Abbasids took the throne in 750 AD after the fall of the Umayyad Dynasty . They ruled almost the entire Muslim world (directly or indirectly) for more than 500 years till 1258 AD. In 1258, Mongols occupied Baghdad and assassinated the last Abbasid caliph Mustasim, thus effectively bringing  the downfall of  the Abbasid Caliphate. Though Abbasids remained caliphs for over 500 years, the gradual decline of their empire started almost from the beginning. The following are the top reasons behind the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate. Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate - Main  Reasons Differences with Shia Abbasids and Shia were together during the Hashemite movement, which overthrew the  Umayyad Caliphate . But differences between t...
Read more

Muslim Migration to Abyssinia - Difficulties and Significance

-
Migration to Abyssinia is a significant event in Islamic History. Through this migration (Hijrah), several Muslims saved themselves from the persecution of the  Quraysh tribe of Makkah. The helpful experience of this migration paved the way for a far more fruitful Muslim Migration to Madinah, which later proved to be the basis of the formation of the Islamic Caliphate. Situation Before Hijrah Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) started preaching Islam secretly in 610 AD. After three years, he publically started teaching Islam and declared his prophethood. Quraysh became furious at his teachings as it was against the way of their forefathers. They started mistreating those few people who accepted Islam, and life became difficult for Muslims in Makkah.  First Hijrah to Abyssinia At that time, Muslims heard about a kind-hearted king of Abyssinia (now in Ethiopia and Eritrea), Najashi . On seeing the difficulties of people and the cruelty of Quraysh, Muhammad (PBUH) allowed ...
Read more