Battle of Dewair (1582)

The Battle of Dewair was a battle fought in 1582 between Rajput Forces led by Sisodia king of Medapata (Mewar) Maharana Pratap against the Mughal Forces of Akbar led by Shabaz Khan in present day Rajasthan. The battle was won by Maharana Pratap.[1]

Battle of Dewair of 1582

Statue of Pratap in Dewair
Date16 September 1582
Location
Dewair, Rajasthan
31.528900°N 77.403333°E / 31.528900; 77.403333
Result Rajput victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Medapata Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Maharana Pratap
Amar Singh I		 Shahbaz Khan
Sultan Khan

The battle is described by British army officer and oriental scholar Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan.

Background

After the Battle of Haldighati of 1576, Maharana Pratap lost control of Mewar and Chittor and was forced to retreat into the forests of the Aravali mountains. Here he regrouped and rebuilt his army, for which task he received finances of Rs 2,500,000 and 20,000 gold coins from his minister Bhamashah, which was enough to maintain an army of 25,000 men for 12 years.[1][2]

The battle
Map of Dewair (Rajasthan)


On 16 September 1582, Maharana Pratap attacked the Mughal fortification of Dewair which was commanded by Mughal officer Sultan Khan. In the battle, Maharana Pratap's son Amar Singh killed Sultan Khan and the Mughal army was forced to give up Dewair and retreat.[2][1] 32000 Mughal army surrendered to maharana pratap . The retreating Mughal soldiers were pursued to Amet, which was also captured by Maharana Pratap. Soon after, Kumbhalmer (Kumbhalgarh), 36 garrisons (thanas) and 84 other posts were captured and the defenders killed.[1][3] Maharana Pratap faced no resistance in Udaipur which had already been abandoned by the fleeing Mughal armies.[1]

Aftermath

Following up the battle of Dewair, Maharana Pratap continued his campaign and by 1586 AD had regained most of Mewar other than Chittor, Ajmer and Mandalgarh.[1] The victory of Dewair was a crowning glory for the Maharana, with James Tod describing it as the "Marathon of Mewar".[1]

Memorial

On 10 January 2012, a victory memorial commemorating the victory of Maharana Pratap at Dewair was inaugurated by the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.[4]

See also

References
  1. James Tod (1920). Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3. 407: Oxford University Press. p. 588.CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. Bhawan Singh Rana (2005). Maharana Pratap. 79: Diamond Books. p. 152. ISBN 9788128808258.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. A. N. Bhattacharya (2000). Human geography of Mewar. Himanshu. p. 71. ISBN 9788186231906.
  4. "Rajsamand Tourism". Government of Rajasthan. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
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