CHAPTER 22 - Matchlocks and Cannons

Summary

Khanua is located twenty-six miles west of Agra; closeby is Sikri, a city built by Akbar. The city was named Fatehpur or “victory” to commemorate his grandfather's triumph over Rana Sanga. The sandstone buildings served as Akbar's headquarters for a number of years before it was deserted due to a shortage of water. At Fatehpur Sikri, a five-storey structure known as the Panch Mahal, served as a pleasure palace for Akbar. Here, he enjoyed his large harem, the fruits of the military success of the Timurids, the descendants of Timur, the most savage invader in India's history.

In 1399, Timur passed through the plains of North India leaving death, pestilence, and famine behind. From the anarchy that followed, several Muslim kingdoms and the Hindu kingdom of Mewar emerged. A hundred and twenty years after Timur's destructive visit, his descendant, Babur, invaded India. In 1527, the invaders used their superior military technology and cavalry manoeuvres to defeat Raja Rana Sanga of Mewar at the Battle of Khanua. The outcome led to the establishment of foreign Muslim rule over North India for another two centuries.

The appalling atrocities of Timur destroyed the institutions of government in North India. For fifteen years, there was no ruler in Delhi. From 1414 to 1450, the family of the governor of Punjab ruled over Delhi. As they claimed descent from the Prophet Mohammad, the dynasty is known as the Sayyid dynasty. The Sultans of this weak dynasty ruled over an area limited to Delhi and the lands between Punjab and the Doab. The rest of North India was independent of Delhi. In 1451, the last Sayyid ruler was forced to retire and the nobles selected an Afghan from the Lodi tribe to rule Delhi. Of the Lodi rulers, medieval Muslim historians speak well about Sultan Sikander Lodi who ruled from 1489 to 1517. While his bigotry was considered favourably by Muslims, the Hindus were subject to his extreme hostility. He destroyed the Hindu shrines of Mathura. Although Delhi was the capital, he built new buildings in Agra and located his treasury there.

Bengal, because of its distance from Delhi always had a fair degree of autonomy. From the middle of the fourteenth century, the provincial rulers had become independent kings.