Battle of Chanderi

This article is about a battle in the 1520s. For a siege in the 1540s, see Siege of Chanderi.

The Battle of Chanderi or Siege of Chanderi took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Khanwa in which the Mughal Emperor Babur (transliteration: Bābar) had defeated the Rajput Confederacy and firmly establish Mughal rule while crushing regrowing Rajput powers as the battle was fought for supremacy of Northern India between Rajputs and Mughals.^[3] On receiving news that Rana Sanga had renewed war preparations to renew the conflict with him, Babur decided to isolate the Rana by inflicting a military defeat on one of his vassals Medini Rai who was the ruler of Malwa.^[4][5] Consequently, in December 1527, taking a circumlocutious route Babur marched to the fortress of Chanderi in Malwa which was the capital of the kingdom of Malwa.^[6] Upon reaching Chanderi, on 20 January 1528, Babur offered Shamsabad to Medini Rai in exchange for Chanderi as a peace overture but the offer was rejected by Rai.^[7]

Battle of Chanderi
Part of Mughal Conquests
Illustration of the battle from Baburnama
Date 20 January 1528 Location Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh (near Ashok Nagar) 24.7°N 78.1°E / 24.7; 78.1 Result Mughal victory Territorial changes Chanderi came under Mughal Rule.[1]
Belligerents
Mughal Empire	Chanderi Rajputs
Commanders and leaders
Babur	Medini Rai †
Strength
Unknown	15,000 Garrison[2]
Battle of Chanderi Location within South Asia Show map of South Asia Battle of Chanderi Battle of Chanderi (Madhya Pradesh) Show map of Madhya Pradesh

The outer fortress of Chanderi was taken by Babur's army at night, and the next morning the upper fort was captured. Babur expressed surprise that the upper fort had fallen within an hour of the final assault.^[4]

Medini Rai organized the Jauhar ceremony during which Rajput women and children committed self-immolation to save their 'honor' from the Mughals.^[7] A small number of soldiers also collected in Medini Rai's house and proceeded to slay each other in collective suicide. This sacrifice does not seem to have impressed Babur who did not express any admiration for it in his autobiography.^[4] Rather, as he had done after Khanwa, he ordered a tower of skulls(a practice formulated by Timur against opponents)—to be erected.^[5] This practice was to record a monumental victory and terrorize opponents, according to Chandra. Babur had earlier used the same tactic against the Afghans of Bajaur.^[5]