Battle of Samugarh, (1658–1659) | Mughal Princes, Throne Rivalry, and Decisive Clash

Summary

The Battle of Samugarh was fought on May 29, 1658, between the Mughal princes to claim the throne of the Mughal Empire. On one side was Dara Shikoh, the most cherished and beloved son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, and on the other side, the other two sons of Shah Jahan were Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad. The Battle of Samugarh was the decisive battle that decided who would become the next emperor of the Mughal Empire.

Battle of Samugarh Facts

Date:	1658–1659
Location:	Samugarh
Result:	Aurangzeb Alamgir Victory, (Coronation of the Aurangzeb Alamgir as Mughal Emperor)
Aurangzeb Commanders:	Aurangzeb > Murad Bakhsh > Kilich Khan > Asad Khan
Dara Shikoh Commander:	Dara Shikoh > Sulaiman Shikoh > Khalilullah Khan > Rao Chhatrasal Hada > Rustam Khan Deccani > Ram Singh Rautela

The Mughal Princes and Throne Rivalry

In 1657 AD, when rumors of Shah Jahan’s death began to spread after he became seriously ill, one of Shah Jahan’s sons, Shah Shuja, declared his kingdom in Bengal and another son, Murad, in Gujarat, but the third son of Shah Jahan Aurangzeb Alamgir, who was the most intelligent of his brothers, apparently did not declare independence. Still, behind the scenes, he engaged in massive military preparations so that he could face Dara Shikoh’s army when the time came.

Under the leadership of his son Sulaiman Shako, he sent an army to Bengal to suppress his brother Shah Shuja and another army led by Raja Jaswant Singh to suppress Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad. He defeated Prince Shah Shuja and forced him to flee to Bengal, but on the other hand, the army led by Raja Jaswant Singh was sent to suppress Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad.

The Clash of Armies

Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad united forces in the battle of Samugarh. Maharaja Jaswant Singh fled after being defeated in the battle of Dharma, and the victorious army of Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad left for Gwalior. decided that he would advance and face the armies of Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and Prince Murad.

On May 29, 1658 AD, the two armies met face-to-face in the Battle of Samugarh. This was the first event in the Mughal history of India. To take the place of his father, in his father’s lifetime, the armies of the opposing brothers stood face to face to assert their rights with the force of the sword. And half the battle was won by arrangement. They organized their army in such a way that they could withstand heavy losses and attacks.

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For example, he placed his brother Prince Murad on the right wing, which probably had nine thousand or ten thousand soldiers. These were the soldiers on whom Prince Muradhad had great confidence. On the left, he placed his eldest son, Muhammad Sultan, who had participated in many great campaigns before him. He took the further precaution of having two great generals, Shaikh Mir, and Bahadur Khan, on either side of him to assist him. appointed and gave them both 5,500 horsemen so that if the right or left sides were weakened at any time, they could come to their aid.

Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir kept the leadership of the heart. And appointed Zulfiqar Khan by giving ten thousand soldiers to each of them. There is no doubt that, on the other hand, Dara Shako’sarmy also had a large number of Mughal generals. There were fighters and loyal chiefs like Rustam Khan, Bahadur Khalilullah Khan, Shehbaz Khan, Zafar Khan, Dawood Khan, Ram Singh, and Rao Chhatrasal, but they lacked unity, enthusiasm and enthusiasm. On the contrary, the entire army of Aurangzeb Alamgir had the same determination. She considered Aurangzeb Alamgir right and could fight with every force in the world for his sake.

Opening Moves in Battle

Dara Shikuand started the battle by opening the mouths of his cannons. The entire atmosphere was filled with the fire and smoke of the gunpowder; in this smoke, both armies clashed with each other. Rustam Khan was the first of Dara Shiku’s army to advance and attack Aurangzeb Alamgir’s artillery. Against this, Bahadur Khan from Aurangzeb Alamgir’s army advanced and fought him.

But the onslaught of Rustam Khan’s army was so fierce that Bahadur Khan could not withstand it and, along with many of his companions, came into action on the battlefield. Rustam Khan’s army was close, but the soldiers of Sheikh Amir and Islam Khan attacked Rustam Khan’s army, surrounded it, and killed Rustam Khan.

Turning Point in Battle

The attack of the Rajputs was so intense that Prince Murad could not bear the attack of the Rajputs and started retreating until Aurangzeb Alamgir himself came to the aid of Prince Murad with his troops and defeated the Rajputs. The battle fought by Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir’s soldiers in defense of Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir and his brother Shahzade Murad turned the tide of the war. Aurangzeb Alamgir attacked the Rajputs and killed all the Rajputs, so fear took place in Dara Shiku’s heart, but despite this fear, Dara Shiku went ahead to help the Rajputs. Aurangzeb Alamgir’s artillery turned towards Dara Shikho, and she advanced to help.

This situation was hazardous for Dara Shako; his companions told him to get down from the elephant and sit on the horse, so Dara got off the elephant and sat. Dara Shikho had to get off the elephant and sit on the horse. His army thought that Dara Shikho had been killed. Even though it was done, this cowardice or stupidity of Dara Shikho did the trick. And everywhere, the yawning ranks were distorted. And there was such confusion that Dara Shikho’s army fled in despair. Some of Dara Shikho’s followers forced Dara Shikho and his son Sulaiman Shiku on horses and drove them towards Agra.

Battle of Samugarh Conclusion

By now, the battlefield had fallen into the hands of Aurangzeb Alamgir and the soldiers of Dara Shikoh, who had been fighting in small troops till now; after the escape of Dara Shikoh, they also left the Battle of Smaugarh. I learned, and where they were standing, they prostrated themselves. In other words, out of sixty thousand soldiers, ten thousand sacrificed their lives for Dara Shiku. Nineteen Muslims and nine Rajput chiefs were sacrificed to Dara Shikoh. Aurangzeb Alamgir and Dara Shikoh’s armies had so far fought two battles.

The first battle was at Dharmat, in which Raja Jaswant Singh faced Aurangzeb Alamgir and was defeated. And the second battle of Samugarh, which Dara Shikoh fought with full force. And he lost, too. This battle was fought just seven miles from Shah Jahan’s Paya Takht. The end of this battle had placed the throne and the crown at the feet of Prince Aurangzeb Alamgir.