Hammir Dev Chauhan
Encyclopedia
Hammir Dev Chauhan was a direct descendant of Prithviraj Chauhan. He was an Agnivanshi Rajput
. Hammir ruled over Ranathambore from 1282-1301. Hammir's grandfather Vagbhatta ruled from 1237–1253 and Hammir's father Jaitrasinha ruled from 1253-1281 AD.
Ziauddin Barani describes Hammir’s struggle with Jalaluddin and Alauddin Khalji. Amir Khusrau gives a fairely good description of Alauddin’s attack on Ranthambhore. Ballads of Hammir's bravery are still sung in Rajasthan
, Uttar Pradesh
and Haryana
. Nayachandra Suri, a Jain historian, in 14th century, wrote Hammir's biography, Hammira Mahakavya
.
. Balvan inscriptions refer these and his two Kotiyagnas. He earned fame and a rich booty in the raids.
In 1290 Jalaludin-Khilji, ruler of Delhi, attacked Hammir because of his rising power. Jalaludin's forces were defeated by Hammir. In 1296, Jalaludin was murdered by Allauddin Khilji
. In 1297 Allauddin sent an army to plunder Gujarat, under the generalship of Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan. This army looted the temple of Somnath
and its Shivalinga was broken into pieces and was being carried back to Delhi. Kanhad Dev Songara
, ruler of Jalore
attacked and defeated Ulugh Khan and captured the broken Shivalinga which was washed in Ganga-jal and the fragments were established in various temples in Jalore
. Muhammad Shah, a neo-Muslim general in Khilji's army, helped Kanhad Dev Songara
. In this war, Neo Muslims Muhammad Shah,Kamru, Yalchak and Barq attampted to assassinate Ulughkhan but failed. Hence they took refuge with Hammir at Ranthambore. Under these circumstances, Hammir was justified in winning over Allauddin's enemies to his side. But it would have been better to win affection of his people and good will of his neighbours. Instead, he taxed his people very heavily to maintain his big army. He even ill-treated his minister and financier, Dharamsinh. Hence, differences between him and his half-brother Bhoja were created by Dharamsinh. Bhoja afterward sought asylum in Alauddin's Camp.
Ulugh Khan went and apprised Allauddin who ordered him and Nusrat Khan to conquer Ranthambore. In 1299 they started out with 80,000 cavalry and a large infantry to attack Hammir. The Muslim governors tried to negotiate with Hammir and demanded for Muhammad shah and Kamru’s death, 10,000 gold coins, 300 horses, 4 elephants and the hand of Hammir’s daughter Devaldevi. The terms were rejected. Hammir's army repulsed the attack and killed Nusrat Khan. Ulugh Khan escaped and reached Delhi
.
Khilji was taken aback by this defeat and wanted revenge. He finally came himself in 1301, and there was a long siege. Hammir was very well prepared, but Famin was a great hurdle to him. When the fort did not fall after repeated bloody skirmishes, Khilji resorted to diplomacy by taking advantage of dissatisfaction and treachery due to Famin and won over confidence of two of Hammir’s generals, Ratipal and Ranmal. Hammir was very suspicious but he heeded to his councillors who told him that sword is not always the best recourse. Ratipal and Ranmal were sent to the Khilji camp to negotiate. Khilji bribed these two generals of Hammir's army. Both the generals along with others slipped away and joined Alauddin’s camp. Ultimately war was declared. Hammir died in the war. Consequently, Ranthambore fell on July 10, 1301. Others who died with him were the brave Viram, the lord of Champa, Taka Gangadhara, Parmar Kshetrasinha, Rajda and Simha.
Hamir Dev belonged to the Chauhan dynasty and drew his lineage from Prithviraj Chauhan who enjoys a respectable place in the Indian history. During his 12 years' reign, Hamir Dev fought 17 battles and won 13 of them. He annexed Malwa, Abu and Mandalgarh and thus extended his kingdom to the chagrin of Delhi Sultan, Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji
, who had misgivings about Hamir's intentions. Jalaluddin attacked Ranathambhor and had it under siege for several years. However, he had to return to Delhi unsuccessful.
Jalaluddin was assassinated by his nephew Allaluddin Khilji who then crowned himself as the new Sultan of Delhi. Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making this coup successful which earned him a basketful of privileges. Muhammad Shah was even allowed access to the harem as a result of which he soon built up a good rapport with its inmates.
Chimna was one of Allaudin's begums, but Allaudin never gave her as much attention as other begums of the harem received from him. He had inadvertently managed to antagonize her. To make things worse Chimna Begum saw a valiant soldier in Muhammad Shah and was extremely impressed by his courage and boldness. Soon the vindictive begum and the ambitious Muhammad Shah started a conspiracy to slay Allaudin. Their objective was to see Muhammad Shah as Sultan and the begum as queen. The conspiratorial plans somehow leaked out. Allaudin was enraged as he came to know of Muhammad Shah's intentions. To escape the fury of Allaudin, Muhammad Shah had to flee from Delhi along with his brother. He sought asylum in many nearby kingdom but no one was ready to stand up to the wrath of Allaudin.
Muhammad Shah approached Hamir Dev. The brave Rajput was moved by his humble pleading and misery and agreed to him shelter. Allaudin's ire was roused when he came to know of it. He immediately attacked the fort of Ranathambhor. The armies of Allaudin and Hamir Dev met in a battle on the banks of river Banas. The Rajputs had the initial victory. However, because of the personal feud between the Prime Minister and the Senapati (General-in-charge of the army) Hamir Dev's army got disorganized. The Senapati of the army was Gurdan Saini
. The Prime Minister succeeded in getting the Senapati killed. Meanwhile, Allaudin reorganized his forces and made a renewed attack on the fort. Some unscrupulous officers of Hamir Dev, with Bhoj Dev as their leader, colluded with Allaudin and started giving him secret information about the fort. The war continued. The strong walls of the fort were strategically so situated that it was not possible to blow them down with gunpower, for the debris so created had already killed numerous soldiers of the Sultan in their futile attempt to break in to the fort. At last Allaudin sent a message to Hamir Dev saying that in case he was ready to hand over Muhammad Shah to him, he would go back to Delhi. Hamir Dev was too self respecting to make such an ignominious compromise. He sent back the messenger with the reply that when the Rajputs promised to protect someone, they even gave their lives for his safety. Muhammad Shah saw the hopelessness of the situation and conselled Hamir Dev to hand him over to Allaudin rather than fight such a long drawn-out war and suffer such an enormous loss of lives and resources. Allaudin's army was immense. He put a complete siege on the Ranathambhor fort. Bhoj Dev and his informers kept on supplying him information on the food of water situation inside the fort. The ill-fated war bended with the Sultan's legions emerging victorious. The female members of the Rajput kingdom committed jauhar and gave up lives on the pyres. Hamir Dev, himself, severed his head and put it in front of Lord Shiva's idol as an offering.
After the victory, Allaudin entered the fort. Wounded Muhammad Shah was brought to him.
"What is your last desire?" asked Allaudin. "To kill you and place Hamir's son on the throne of Ranathambhor", replied Muhammad Shah. Then he took out his dagger and committed suicide.
Allaudin, now, turned to Bhoj Dev and his other informers. Their faces were keen with eagerness to receive the long awaited reward from the Sultan. On the countrary, Allaudin roared, "Shave of the heads of these traitors. They have not been loyal to their own king".
Within minutes, the heads of all his accomplices rolled on the ground. Allaudin's laughter reverberated against the walls of the fort.
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
. Hammir ruled over Ranathambore from 1282-1301. Hammir's grandfather Vagbhatta ruled from 1237–1253 and Hammir's father Jaitrasinha ruled from 1253-1281 AD.
Ziauddin Barani describes Hammir’s struggle with Jalaluddin and Alauddin Khalji. Amir Khusrau gives a fairely good description of Alauddin’s attack on Ranthambhore. Ballads of Hammir's bravery are still sung in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
. Nayachandra Suri, a Jain historian, in 14th century, wrote Hammir's biography, Hammira Mahakavya
Mahakavya
Mahākāvya , also known as sargabandha, is a genre of Indian epic poetry in classical Sanskrit literature. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description...
.
Campaigns
Hammir raided Mount Abu, Bhimaraspura, Dhar, Vardhanpura, Gadhamandala, Champa, Khandela and Kankaroli. These regions comprise whole of Malwa and southern part of RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
. Balvan inscriptions refer these and his two Kotiyagnas. He earned fame and a rich booty in the raids.
In 1290 Jalaludin-Khilji, ruler of Delhi, attacked Hammir because of his rising power. Jalaludin's forces were defeated by Hammir. In 1296, Jalaludin was murdered by Allauddin Khilji
Alauddin Khilji
Ali Gurshap Khan better known by his titular name as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji was the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.He was a well and capable ruler. He belonged to the Afghanized Turkic tribe of the Khiljis...
. In 1297 Allauddin sent an army to plunder Gujarat, under the generalship of Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan. This army looted the temple of Somnath
Somnath
The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed...
and its Shivalinga was broken into pieces and was being carried back to Delhi. Kanhad Dev Songara
Kanhad Dev Songara
Kanhad Dev Sonigara was a Rajput Maharaja who ruled Jalore, in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, in the 13th century CE. He belonged to the Sonigara sect of the Chauhan clan of Rajputs.Ambliara was the capital of the erstwhile Princely State of Ambliara Songara Dynasty , founded in 1619...
, ruler of Jalore
Jalore
Jalor, also known as Jalore , is a city in Rajasthan state of western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalor District.- Geography :...
attacked and defeated Ulugh Khan and captured the broken Shivalinga which was washed in Ganga-jal and the fragments were established in various temples in Jalore
Jalore
Jalor, also known as Jalore , is a city in Rajasthan state of western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalor District.- Geography :...
. Muhammad Shah, a neo-Muslim general in Khilji's army, helped Kanhad Dev Songara
Kanhad Dev Songara
Kanhad Dev Sonigara was a Rajput Maharaja who ruled Jalore, in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, in the 13th century CE. He belonged to the Sonigara sect of the Chauhan clan of Rajputs.Ambliara was the capital of the erstwhile Princely State of Ambliara Songara Dynasty , founded in 1619...
. In this war, Neo Muslims Muhammad Shah,Kamru, Yalchak and Barq attampted to assassinate Ulughkhan but failed. Hence they took refuge with Hammir at Ranthambore. Under these circumstances, Hammir was justified in winning over Allauddin's enemies to his side. But it would have been better to win affection of his people and good will of his neighbours. Instead, he taxed his people very heavily to maintain his big army. He even ill-treated his minister and financier, Dharamsinh. Hence, differences between him and his half-brother Bhoja were created by Dharamsinh. Bhoja afterward sought asylum in Alauddin's Camp.
Ulugh Khan went and apprised Allauddin who ordered him and Nusrat Khan to conquer Ranthambore. In 1299 they started out with 80,000 cavalry and a large infantry to attack Hammir. The Muslim governors tried to negotiate with Hammir and demanded for Muhammad shah and Kamru’s death, 10,000 gold coins, 300 horses, 4 elephants and the hand of Hammir’s daughter Devaldevi. The terms were rejected. Hammir's army repulsed the attack and killed Nusrat Khan. Ulugh Khan escaped and reached Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
Khilji was taken aback by this defeat and wanted revenge. He finally came himself in 1301, and there was a long siege. Hammir was very well prepared, but Famin was a great hurdle to him. When the fort did not fall after repeated bloody skirmishes, Khilji resorted to diplomacy by taking advantage of dissatisfaction and treachery due to Famin and won over confidence of two of Hammir’s generals, Ratipal and Ranmal. Hammir was very suspicious but he heeded to his councillors who told him that sword is not always the best recourse. Ratipal and Ranmal were sent to the Khilji camp to negotiate. Khilji bribed these two generals of Hammir's army. Both the generals along with others slipped away and joined Alauddin’s camp. Ultimately war was declared. Hammir died in the war. Consequently, Ranthambore fell on July 10, 1301. Others who died with him were the brave Viram, the lord of Champa, Taka Gangadhara, Parmar Kshetrasinha, Rajda and Simha.
Sack of Ranthambore
Hamir Dev, a descendant of Prithviraj Chauhan ruled Ranthambor. Seventeen kilometers from Sawaimadhopur stands a fort, encompassing in its stately walls, a glorious history of the Rajputs. Ranathambhor's venerable structure, rapturous beauty and sublime expressiveness seem to be continuously vocalizing the great legends of Hamir Dev, the Rajput king, who ruled in the 13th century.Hamir Dev belonged to the Chauhan dynasty and drew his lineage from Prithviraj Chauhan who enjoys a respectable place in the Indian history. During his 12 years' reign, Hamir Dev fought 17 battles and won 13 of them. He annexed Malwa, Abu and Mandalgarh and thus extended his kingdom to the chagrin of Delhi Sultan, Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji
Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji
Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji was the first sultan of the Khilji dynasty, who reigned from 1290 to 1296. He built his capital at Kilughari, a few miles from the city of Delhi and completed the unfinished palace and gardens of Sultan Qaiqabad.) He ruled from there for six years.-Early life and...
, who had misgivings about Hamir's intentions. Jalaluddin attacked Ranathambhor and had it under siege for several years. However, he had to return to Delhi unsuccessful.
Jalaluddin was assassinated by his nephew Allaluddin Khilji who then crowned himself as the new Sultan of Delhi. Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making this coup successful which earned him a basketful of privileges. Muhammad Shah was even allowed access to the harem as a result of which he soon built up a good rapport with its inmates.
Chimna was one of Allaudin's begums, but Allaudin never gave her as much attention as other begums of the harem received from him. He had inadvertently managed to antagonize her. To make things worse Chimna Begum saw a valiant soldier in Muhammad Shah and was extremely impressed by his courage and boldness. Soon the vindictive begum and the ambitious Muhammad Shah started a conspiracy to slay Allaudin. Their objective was to see Muhammad Shah as Sultan and the begum as queen. The conspiratorial plans somehow leaked out. Allaudin was enraged as he came to know of Muhammad Shah's intentions. To escape the fury of Allaudin, Muhammad Shah had to flee from Delhi along with his brother. He sought asylum in many nearby kingdom but no one was ready to stand up to the wrath of Allaudin.
Muhammad Shah approached Hamir Dev. The brave Rajput was moved by his humble pleading and misery and agreed to him shelter. Allaudin's ire was roused when he came to know of it. He immediately attacked the fort of Ranathambhor. The armies of Allaudin and Hamir Dev met in a battle on the banks of river Banas. The Rajputs had the initial victory. However, because of the personal feud between the Prime Minister and the Senapati (General-in-charge of the army) Hamir Dev's army got disorganized. The Senapati of the army was Gurdan Saini
Gurdan Saini
Gurdan Saini was a Rajput warrior and military general who fought and died heroically in the battle of Ranthambore between the Turk forces of Jalaludin Khilji and Rajput forces of Rana Hamir Dev in the 14th century CE....
. The Prime Minister succeeded in getting the Senapati killed. Meanwhile, Allaudin reorganized his forces and made a renewed attack on the fort. Some unscrupulous officers of Hamir Dev, with Bhoj Dev as their leader, colluded with Allaudin and started giving him secret information about the fort. The war continued. The strong walls of the fort were strategically so situated that it was not possible to blow them down with gunpower, for the debris so created had already killed numerous soldiers of the Sultan in their futile attempt to break in to the fort. At last Allaudin sent a message to Hamir Dev saying that in case he was ready to hand over Muhammad Shah to him, he would go back to Delhi. Hamir Dev was too self respecting to make such an ignominious compromise. He sent back the messenger with the reply that when the Rajputs promised to protect someone, they even gave their lives for his safety. Muhammad Shah saw the hopelessness of the situation and conselled Hamir Dev to hand him over to Allaudin rather than fight such a long drawn-out war and suffer such an enormous loss of lives and resources. Allaudin's army was immense. He put a complete siege on the Ranathambhor fort. Bhoj Dev and his informers kept on supplying him information on the food of water situation inside the fort. The ill-fated war bended with the Sultan's legions emerging victorious. The female members of the Rajput kingdom committed jauhar and gave up lives on the pyres. Hamir Dev, himself, severed his head and put it in front of Lord Shiva's idol as an offering.
After the victory, Allaudin entered the fort. Wounded Muhammad Shah was brought to him.
"What is your last desire?" asked Allaudin. "To kill you and place Hamir's son on the throne of Ranathambhor", replied Muhammad Shah. Then he took out his dagger and committed suicide.
Allaudin, now, turned to Bhoj Dev and his other informers. Their faces were keen with eagerness to receive the long awaited reward from the Sultan. On the countrary, Allaudin roared, "Shave of the heads of these traitors. They have not been loyal to their own king".
Within minutes, the heads of all his accomplices rolled on the ground. Allaudin's laughter reverberated against the walls of the fort.