AKBAR'S TAKING OF CHITTOR IN 1568
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FATHNAMA - CHITTOR, MARCH 1568
By Ishtiaq Ahmad Zilli
The importance and utility of insha literature as source
material for history is increasingly recognized. In this
vast literature the Munshat‑i-Namakin compiled during the
reign of Akbar, in 1598, holds an unique place became of
the information contained in it. It is the largest
collection of its kind, so far known, that has come down
from the early Mughal period. Its compiler Saiyid Abul
Qasim Khan Namkin was a noble of some prominence and
served under Akbar and Jahangir. Under Jahangir he rose to
the mansab of 3000.
Among the documents contained in the collection are several
fathnamas (letters of victory) issued by Akbar at various
occasions. These include Fathnarna-i Chitor issued by Akbar
after the conquest of Chitor. No other copy of this
Fathnama is known to exist. It was issued from Ajmer, where
he stayed for some time en route to Agra, on Ramazan 10,
975/ March 9, 1568. The copy included in the Munshat‑i-
Namakin was sent to the Officers in the Punjab.
Both, owing to the importance of the campaign against
Chittor as a political event,and in view of Akbar's
subsequent formulation of religious policy (first as an
orthodox Emperor, and then, as a proponent of sulhi‑i
kul), the text of the document is of exceptional interest.
A critically annotated translation of the document has been
offered.
Translation:
Praise be to Allah who made good His promise, helped His
servant, honoured His soldiers, defeated the confederates
all alone, and after whom there is nothing. All Praise and
thanks‑giving behoves that great Opener (fattah) of forts
and kingdoms in whose grasp are the keys of the conquests
of the just and religion Sultans, and with whose patent of
favour and authority are decorated the manshurs of the
Khilafat and sovereignty of the Victorious Emperors. The
Merciful one (Karim) whose omnipotence has ensured the
victory of the believers through the promise to help
believers is incumbent upon us, the Omnipotent one who
enjoined the task of destroying the wicked infidels on the
dutiful mujahids through the blows of their thunder-like
scimitars as laid down: "Fight them ! I Allah will chastise
them at your hands and He will lay them low and give you
victory over them. "Glorified is He, and High Exalted from
what they say , His sovereignty is not dependent on any
friend and helper.
Whereas the Sovereign one, universal be His bounty and
exalted His glory, has, in conformity with I am to appoint
thee a leader of the mankind, assigned to us government of
the mumalik of Hindustan which is one of the biggest
countries of the world, and the Munshi of the office (divan
khana) of munificence and the Supreme Sovereign has adorned
the radiant mandate (manshur) of our Khilafat and monarchy
with the Parwana .Surely we established him in the land
and decorated it with the ornament of That is the bounty
of Allah, which He giveth unto whom He will All the people
who are God's trusts, being in the security of Peace from
the hardships and misfortunes of the age, are busy in
discharging the obligations of obedience and worship of the
Almighty under our benevolent Protection, we deem it our
duty to render thanks and express gratitude for this great
favour. In accordance with Proceed whither you wish, you
are victorious, in whatever direction we Proceed fortune
and felicity come forward to greet us and whither we turn
the reign [sic] of our resolution the [sic] success and
Victory hasten to our Presence.
In conformity with the happy injunction This is of the
grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful
or ungrateful we spend our precious time to the best of our
ability in war (ghiza) and Jihad and with the help of
Eternal God, who is the supporter of our ever‑increasing
empire, we are busy in subjugating the localities,
habitations, forts and towns which are under the possession
of the infidels, may God forsake and annihilate all of
them, and thus raising the standard of Islam everywhere and
removing the darkness of polytheism and violent sins by the
use of sword. We destroy the places of worship of idols in
those places and other parts of India.
"The praise be to Allah, who hath guided us to this, and we
would not have found the way had it not been that Allah had
guided us.The purport of the discourse is that during these
victorious times, after the elimination of Ali Quli and
(his) ungrateful faction we arrived at the Capital Agra
like the noble, victorious, and with a view to augment the
materials of our recreation of hunting of elephants we
encamped in the confines of Sivi Supar and Gagrun which are
on the border of the country of Chitor.
There it was brought to our notice that Rana Udai Singh,
may God annihilate him, from whom it was expected that he
would come forward to welcome, pay respects and kiss the
royal threshold or would send his son with Peshkash, has
adopted, due to excessive pride and conceit, and obstinate
and arrogant attitude. (He) is collecting provisions in the
fort of Chitor which is his hereditary place of residence
and is distinguished in the forts of India in strength and
grandeur, with the intention of entrenching himself there.
Since the thoughts of war (ghaza�) and Jihad dominated
enlightened mind, it (Rana's behaviour) made the King angry
and increased (his) zeal for the divine religion. Despite
the fact that most of the royal troops had returned to
their Jagirs after the last victory and only a few, who
happened to be present at the Capital, accompanied the
royal cavalcade on this hunting (excursion), we turned our
rein to suppress that infidel.
Fearful of the approach of the imperial standards he left
his uncle, Sahidas Jaimal and Udiban Patta who are renowned
for their vaour among the infidels, may God forsake them
and lead them to the abode of Perdition, and who are
considered to be equal to a thousand horsemen in
intrepidity and prowess, with five thousand chosen Rajputs,
one thousand troops from his (Rana's) own contingent and
ten thousand other men to guard the fort. (The Rana)
himself hastened with his troops to Udaipur and Kombalmir
which are located in the security of the mountains and
jungles. When at the town of Rampur, which is one of the
well-known towns attached to Chitor, it became known that
he was entertaining such plans, the royal mind decided upon
subjugating the fort (of Chitor) with the divine help and
only then to take other steps that may appear [sic]
feasible. In this way we arrived in front of the fort with
the intention of besieging it on Thursday, 20 Rabi II/Oct.
24, 1567. A fort rose in view such as Alburz with all its
majesty would appear an insignificant rock at its foot and
Tur and Hindukush would fit as walls in its rampart. Its
canopy vies with the Crystalline sphere in its height. Its
circumference is about three farsangs and the calculators
are unable to count in battlements.
Though the siege of the fort looked impossible, but by the
grace of Almighty and with the secret help of the
accomplished people, any direction that we have taken we
have achieved there what we have wished, the very same day
we inspected the surroundings of the fort carefully, and
entrusted each pace to one of the courageous servants
(Khans, Sultans and Amirs) of the exalted court who were
present. The mountain traversing warriors, who brave the
fields of battle and seek Jihad with all their heart and
soul and consider martyrdom to be the greatest reward in
this as well as the other world, sought permission [to]
betake themselves to the towers and fortifications and
putting their trust in God and relying on the divine help,
which is the source of strength to the imperial authority,
carry out brave assaults and bring the fort under control
by force.
Since those ignoble people had collected such large
quantities of weapons for defending the fort like mortars
(deg), zarbzan, Cannon (top), matchlock (tufang), Catapult
(manjaniq), Jarr i saqil, naphata (naft) and nawak that
would last for thirty years even if continuously used, and
since they had great confidence in these weapons and in the
strength of the fort as well as their own prowess, we did
not let them (the royal officers) fight with a view of
protecting the people of Islam, may God preserve them till
the day of resurrection, lest some of them may get killed
in rashness.
(We) sent for the dragonlike rads (Cannons) mortars and
other pieces of artillery which were left at the capital.
We also ordered the manufacture of cannons and mountain-
breaking mortars in the camp and decided that tunnels be
dug and after the arrival of battering ram (sarkob) and
sabat (covered passage) an attack be launched, we appointed
some troops of the left wing to sack, kill and (take)
captives (the people of Udaipur, and the troops and men of
Rana who were there while he himself was perched at a
distance of ten Kos. We sent another army to plunder and
sack Rampur. The troop returned with immense booty after
dispatching many of the worthless infidels to the abode of
perdition.
After the arrival of the artillery (topkhana), completion
of the covered passage (Sabat), explosion of the mines
causing conflagration and (the consequent) blowing up of
the towers and battlements, we directed the troops to
establish themselves at the foot of the rampart and
surround the fort from every side.
The doomed ones (Rajputs) being fully informed this time of
the strength and prowess of the army of Islam and the
asperity and haughtiness of their ruler (?) they started
imploring for intercession and respite with abject
submission and some of the chiefs came out (with this
petition). Notwithstanding the fact that they have caused
death of many people of Islam, both nobles and common
soldiers, with matchlock-fire, continuous showering of
stone through the manjaniq, they sued (for peace) on such
impossible terms which could not be conceded. They were
permitted to return.
Next day we went in person to the Sabat of Muhammad Qasim
Khad, mir-i bahr, which was nearest to the fort and issued
orders for Jang‑i Sultani to be launched.
The armies of Islam placing their reliance in (the
revelation) Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent
protector�, fearlessly and boldly commenced the assault.
Within (the fort) the vigilant bands of jew‑like infidels
set ablaze the fire of conflict and brawl by discharging
fire raining manjaniqs and cannons (top) one after the
other.
The lions of the forest of intrepidity and the panthers of
the mountain of bravery, in their extreme courage stretched
their coveting hands to the Sash of the Constellation Orion
and with great expedition snatched the diadem from the head
of Bahram.
In conformity with the commandment, And prepare against
them what force you can, the troops excelled each other end
with complete unity betook themselves to the towers and the
walls of the fort that were breached by the artillery fire.
From that multitude, groups like the pigs hit by arrows
rushed out of doors and blocked the entry of the
combatants. In return they (the royal troops) fought back
by throwing arrows and stones and scattered those
retreating ones (the Rajputs). They sent a tremor through
the ranks of the enemy with incessant and frightful
cannonade setting fire to the harvest of their lives.
Three days and nights passed in this manner. The two sides
did not stop fighting even for a moment. All the attempts
of these fox-like people at fraud and deception were
frustrated by the lions of the jungle of intrepidity. At
last on the night of Tuesday, 25th of Shaban, 975 A.H. (23
February 1568) in conformity with ..they shall not be able
to ward off the fire from their faces nor from their backs,
nor shall they be helped the continuous rain of fiery balls
and cannonade became so intense in conformity: Nay, it
shall come on them all of a sudden and cause them to be
confounded those condemned ones were no longer able to
resist. The call from beyond If ye help Allah, He will help
you and will make your foothold firm was coming to the
exalted hearing and every moment the Divine Inspirer made
audible the good tidings: Now surely Allah's help is nigh.
The revengeful warriors and the brave ones skilled in the
use of daggers, deadly set against the enemy and drenched
in the blood, delivered concerted assault and succeeded in
removing the wooden planks with which those accursed ones
had blocked the breaches. Seeing this, Jaimal, one of the
three chiefs, who had taken the lead in the battle and was
looking after the fort from the beginning to the end
advanced with a body of men to stop the breach. In the
meanwhile some artillery men belonging to that wretched
band fired their guns one after the other (and in their
flashes) Jaimal, and these accompanying him could be seen
(from afar). As for the last three days and nights we have
been present there (battery of Qasim Khan) often firing
with muskets and arrows and since it was destined for
Jaimal that he should hasten to the lowest parts of hell at
our own God‑worshipping hands, when he came in view the
matchlock (tufang) we were holding, was ready as is said,
When God wills anything, He provide its means. No sooner
he was seen and the gun discharged then the worthless
infidel was struck in forehead and hearing the call, where
so ever you may be, death will overtake you, even though
you were in lofty towers, proceeded to the abode of
perdition.
This caused great consternation among the high and low of
that cattle-like community. (Subsequently) the other chiefs
continued to resist but they could not repulse the brave
from the openings. At the dawn, the excellent archers whose
skill is such that they could pierce the eye of an ant at
dark night and the lancers who could pick up the crumbs of
the breach from the ground, putting the elephant in front
delivered another assault. (They) forced their entry into
the fort through sheer bravery and prowess and started
discharging arrows and fighting with lances.
The hand of destiny had covered the deceitful eyes of that
erroneous, arrogant and scanty host with the nocturnal
blindness of ill‑luck And they thought that there would
be no affliction and so they became blind and deaf, and
had blocked upon them the way of success and escape in
accordance with They could neither go forward nor turn
back.
The people of Islam were busy praying: Our lord ! bestow
on us endurance, make our foothold sure, and give us help
against the disbelieving folk, and the refreshing message
Help from Allah and present Victory. Give good tidings to
believers was coming to them from heaven. They advanced in
groups against the wicked unbelievers to get hold of the
opening. (They) stood in the foremost rank without
flinching and got an upper hand. They felled them (the
Rajputs) one upon the other with the stroke of (their)
bloodthirsty sword, leaving an around heaps of the slain.
Pursuing the remanent [sic] who were fleeing in different
directions 'As they were frightened asses.
Fleeing from the lion despatched them to the lowest part of
the hell ‑‑when the star of success and good fortune
rose from the horizon of the sublime message, Victory
comes only by the help of Allah, the Mighty, the Wise the
whore victorious troop entered the fort. In accordance with
the imperative Command And kill the idolaters all
together, those defiant ones who were still offering
resistance having formed themselves into knots of two to
three hundred persons, were put to death and their women
and children taken prisoners.
According to the promise, Allah promised you many
acquisitions which you will take, immense booty and spoils
in cash and kind were acquired. So the roots of the people
who were unjust were cut off; and all praise is due to
Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
The receptacle of nobility the support of kingdom, the
pillar of the mighty state, the prop of the magnificent
empire, the confidant of the resplendent Khilafat, the
foremost among the great Khans of the age, the climber of
the ladder of authority and dignity, the devoted and
sincere are the well wishing one, the intrepid cavalier,
the adorner of the ranks in the field of valour and
bravery, Mubarizuddin, Mir Mohammad Khan Bahadur, and the
receptacle of nobility, the support of kingdom, the Pillar
of the mighty state, the prop of the magnificent empire,
the best among the sinceres [sic] of the age, worthy of
confidence and favour, the rider of the field of battle and
valour Qutbuddin Mohammad Khan Bahadur and the rest of the
great Khans and noble Sultans along with the Saiyids,
Ulama, Mashaikh the qazis of shariat and other dignitaries,
residents, inhabitants, Chaudhris, qanoongos the ri'aya and
peasants (muzari'an) of Sarkar Punjab respectively, being
jubilant at the happy sidings carried by this auspicious
Fathnama, which is, in fact, a foretaste of the victories
to follow, should offer infinite thanksgivings. They should
also pray in the auspicious moments, when the prayers are
more likely to be granted, for the long life of our noble
self, the perpetuity of the empire and for the grant of
greater competence to us for fulfilling obligation. of
Jihad, divine worship and acts of piety. Further they
should continuously be expecting that day after day doors
of fresh victories and succeess will be opened before us.
Whereas after the management of the affairs of Chitor we
have turned the reins of our determination towards the
capital Agra. The horse beneath the thigh and overhead
canopy of victory,
The victory and soccer keeping company and divine help
guiding the way.
God willing within these few days we will reach the seat
of the Khilafat. The pillar of the state knowing that our
thoughts are directed towards the management of his affairs
and the fulfilment of the hopes and aspirations of all the
well wishers may sent regular reports about the development
(in his region). Any request that he might like to make
should he communicated (to the court) so that it may be
granted. Written by the royal order (to be obeyed
permanently) at Ajmer on 10th of the month of Ramzan 975
A.H., 9 March 1568.
arned work on the army of the great Mughals, p. 276,
considers a Sabat to be mainly a trench, but, what
Nizamuddin and others say it seems to me that there was not
much excavation of the ground and that the Sabat was mainly
a covered way above the surface of the ground. It had
earthen walls on each side and a roof of planks, etc.;
which was strong enough to carry a sentry box from which a
man could fire.
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