Battle of Chausa

The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan warlord, Sher Shah Suri. It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, 10 miles southwest of Buxar in modern-day Bihar, India. Sher Shah Suri was assisted by his allies, the Ujjainiya Rajputs of Bhojpur, the Lohtamia Rajputs and Gautam Rajputs who were led by the commander, Gajpati Ujjainia.^[3] Humayun escaped from the battlefield to save his life. Sher Shah was victorious and crowned himself Farīd al-Dīn Shēr Shāh.^[4][5] Babur's cousin, Mirza Haidar asserted that the armies might have numbered over 200,000 troops.^[6]

Battle of Chausa
Date 26 June 1539 Location Chausa (in present-day Buxar, Bihar, India) Result Sur victory
Belligerents
Sur Empire	Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sher Shah Suri Gajpati Ujjainia	Humayun Bayram Khan
Strength
Unknown	200,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	7,000[2]

Humayun divided the province of Bengal into Jagirs among his officers and indulged in luxuries. Meanwhile, Sher Khan established his control over various regions and cut off Humayun's contracts with Agra. To put pressure on Sher Khan, Humayun marched towards Agra through the Grand Trunk Road, but Sher Khan provoked Humayun to recross the Ganga river to its southern bank at Chausa. Both armies remained encamped for three months, during which Sher Khan cleverly indulged Humayun in negotiations for peace. With the beginning of the rains, Sher Khan attacked the Mughal forces and caused a lot of confusion among them. The Mughal camp was filled with water, and a great number of soldiers were killed by the Afghans, and about 8000 of them were drowned in the flooded Ganga. Sher Khan captured the Mughal camp along with their artillery and harem. Sher Khan treated the ladies of the harem kindly and made arrangements for their safe return to Humayun.^[7]

See also

• Battle of Sirhind (1555)

References

1. Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
2. Chandra, Satish (2007). History of Medieval India: 800-1700. Orient BlackSwan. p. 217. ISBN 978-81-250-3226-7.
3. Ahmad, Imtiaz (2008). "State Formation and Consolidation under the Ujjainiya Rajputs in Medieval Bihar: Testimony of Oral Traditions as Recorded in the Tawarikh-i-Ujjainiya". In Singh, Surinder; Gaur, I. D. (eds.). Popular Literature And Pre-Modern Societies In South Asia. Pearson Education India. p. 80. ISBN 978-81-317-1358-7. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
4. "Sher Shah of Sur: Indian emperor". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
5. "India - The Mughal Empire, 1526-1761". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
6. Mahajan, V. D. (2007). History of Medieval India. S. Chand Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-81-219-0364-6.
7. historyforexam. "The Battle Chausa". Retrieved 10 March 2023.

• Bingley, A.H. (2020). Handbook_on_Rajputs. Asian Educational Services. p. 26. ISBN 9788121234689.
• Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-52001-807-5.