Two victories in the Subcontinent?

Two scenarios i the mid 1500s in India had a profound effect on the Subcontinent:
1. The Second Battle of Panipat in 1556
2. The Nattle of Talikota in 1565

In the first, the Emperor Hemu was defeated by the Gennerals of Prince Jalal ud Din Mohammed. While Hemu's force was larger, he was struck by an arrow through his eyes and after not seeing him of his Elephant his army got discouraged and went haywire and ultimately the Mughals won.
Hemu had started centralisation of power in the Empire and started many reforms.

The second was a battle between the larger Vijaynagar Empire army against the smaller army of the Alliance of Deccan Sultanates. the Vijaynagar army was under the command of the Gilani brothers who defected so as to not fight their Muslim brothers and Aliya Rama Raya who was captured during the battle, which caused chaos and allowed the Alliance to win the Battle. Vijaynagar was a centalised state (in Indian context).

POD 1: During the Battle, the strategy to dislodge Hemu from his Elephant failed and the Emperor's army defeated the smaller Mughal Army, killing Bairam Khan and Khan Zaman I who were the main Mughal commanders.

POD 2: The Gilani brothers fight the Alliance and on seeing the Vijaynagar empire holding its own, the Hindu kingdoms in the Alliance defected to Vijaynagar, which led to the rout of the Alliance forces.
 
Last edited:
Timeline for the Hindu Empire of Hindustan:

1556: The Mughals after the defeat at Panipat decided to withdraw to Kabul. The defeat of the Mughals at Panipat, prompted Hemu’s plan to take Kabul and bring Afghanistan into his domains in action. Most of his army was now Hindu with many Sanatani (ATL for Hindu) Kings now allaying with him (aka Vassals). His personal domains extended from Punjab to Bengal, across the Indo Gangetic plains.

1557 - 1561: After gathering his army, Hemu marched towards the Mughal held city of Kabul. The Mughals had lost its best Generals to Hemu’s army. Hemu’s army of Afghanistan was mainly made up of his core Sanatani troops under Sanatani Senapatis and Afghan Sardars and allied troops. The army now numbered 80,000 infantry, 30,000 cavlary (mostly Afghans) and 2,000 war elephants. The Mughal army numberd 65,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry. The Battle of Kabul was devastating one for both side, but ultimately the Hindustan was victorious. After the Battle of Kabul, the Mughals retreated to Heart where they sufferd defeat as well. With Afghanistan under Hemu’s control, peace was signed between Hemu and the Mughals, where the Mughals would not lokk to conquer the Empire of Hindustan ever again.
With his victory complete, Hemu returned triumphant to Dilli (Delhi), where he showered his Generals with gifts. Mostly, his domains in Afghanistan were still under his Afghan Sardars while his Vassals held the real powers in their Kingdoms.
In his own holdings though, he appointed his governers to replace the local rulers and centralization of the Empire was started. While himself a Sanatani, Hemu encouraged people of all religions in his Kingdom. Some of his Afghan Sardars converted from Islam to Sanatan Dharma.
His policy regarding trade had given a lifeline to the degrading level of trade and industry in Hindustan. He encouraged trade with foreign powers such as the Bisanga (ATL Vijaynagar), the Persians and South East Asia. The states of Gujurat, Sindh and Bengal were the major contributors of foreign trade in the Empire. Also the Portuguese East India company was established in Diu in Gujurat.

1561 - 1565:
In 1561, Muzzafar Shah III came to power in Gujurat. Being a devout Muslim, he did not submit to Hemu’s authority and decided to stop paying tribute and started to demand more taxes from Sanatanis and build up his army. When Hemu learned of this, he warned the the Sultan of Gujurat that it would be ill advised to continue this as it would lead to war. Muzzafar Shah rebuffed Hemu saying that he did not take orders from infidels. Hemu then declared war and during the Battle of Ahmedabad, Muzzafar Shah was captured and killed and the Gujurat army was routed. Hemu was declared as King of Gujurat and appointed a Governer in his place.
Hemu also came to know that the Trade ships of Foreign powers bought and took goods thus reducing the profits of Hindu(ATL for Indian) merchants. This was due to Manu Smriti, which warned a Sanatani not to cross the oceans. He asked his court Pundit (Priest) to research the texts older than Manu Smriti to know of the ban. This would lead to eventual discovery that the older texts id not ban crossing of the seas, it was only Manu Smriti that did……

NEXT UP: tensions over crossing the oceans and civil unrest in Hindustan
 
Doosra Varg

1565:
After finding out about Manu Smriti, Samrath (Emperor) Hemu being a practical man decided to revoke Manu Smriti and in its place install the Vallabh Sampradaya. This lead to dissatisfaction among the Brahmins as the Manu Smriti was more favorable to the Brahmins while the Vallab Sampradaya was more favorable towards the Vaishiyas (Merchants). Hemu himself was from a Vaishiya family. While this was only a small part, Vallab Sampradaya also allowed a person to cross the oceans and also was concerned with the Maha Vedanta, which advocated the tolerance of other religions instead of Maha Sarvadharma which advocated that Sanatan Dharma was the only way.

His family background was also a matter for some Rajput Kings and Princes. He was, according to them a Vaishiya and not a Kshatriya (Warrior) and thus considered unfit to rule. They were led by the Rao Chandrasen of Marwar. This would lead to the Battle of Merta in 1965.

The Battle of Merta consisted of the Empire of Hindustan against the Kingdom of Marwar and its allies who wanted to remain sovereign states and did not want to be vassals of someone they considered as a small man(1). The Emperor had faced defeat in his life. His army was not only vastly superior in size but was also battle hardened and had learned the use of artillery from the war against the Mughals (who despite having much smaller forces, inflicted huge losses). But the Rajput alliance was backed by a number of Brahmins, who wanted their privelages restored. Leading the battle against Rao Chandrasen was his older brother and the rightful King (according to Rao Malladeva, their Father) Rao Udai Singh. The Empire had a force of 80,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 3,000 elephants and 100 artillery pieces while the Alliance forces were 60,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 elephants and 70 artillery pieces.

The Battle though turned into a rout for the Alliance as the Empire’s forces were more powerful and had better equipment (Persian and Arabian Horses, Artillery) and experience (Artillery and Afghan horsemen). Post the battle, Chandrasen was captured and beheaded and Rao Udai Singh was installed as the King of Marwar. The allies of Chandrasen quickly accepted Samrath Hem Chandra Vikramaditya as their overlord.
Next Up: Subduing of Deccan and Death of an Emperor
 
Top