section_path: Military campaigns/Conquest of Rajputana
section_name: Conquest of Rajputana
paragraph_text: Conquest of Rajputana
  
  Having established Mughal rule over northern India, Akbar turned his attention to the conquest of Rajputana, which was strategically important as it was a rival centre of power that flanked the Indo-Gangetic plains. The Mughals had already established domination over parts of northern Rajputana in Mewat, Ajmer, and Nagor. Akbar sought to conquer Rajputana's heartlands, which had rarely previously submitted to the Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. Beginning in 1561, the Mughals actively engaged the Rajputs in warfare and diplomacy. Most Rajput states accepted Akbar's suzerainty; however, the rulers of Mewar and Marwar— Udai Singh II and Chandrasen Rathore —remained outside the imperial fold.
  
  Udai Singh was descended from the Sisodia ruler, Rana Sanga, who had fought Babur at the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. As the head of the Sisodia clan, he possessed the highest ritual status of all the Rajput kings and chieftains in India. The Mughals viewed defeating Udai Singh as essential to asserting their imperial authority among the Rajputs. During this period of his reign, Akbar was still devoted to Islam and sought to impress the superiority of his faith over what were regarded by contemporaries as the most prestigious warriors in Hinduism.
  
  In 1567, Akbar attacked the Chittor Fort in Mewar. The fortress-capital of Mewar was of strategic importance as it lay on the shortest route from Agra to Gujarat and was also considered a key to holding the interior parts of Rajputana. Udai Singh retreated to the hills of Mewar, leaving two Rajput warriors, Jaimal and Patta, in charge of the defence of his capital. Chittorgarh fell in February 1568 after a siege of four months. The fall of Chittor was proclaimed by Akbar as "the victory of Islam over infidels." In his Fathnama (dispatches announcing victory) issued on 9 March 1575 conveying his news of victory, Akbar wrote: "With the help of our blood-thirsty sword we have erased the signs of infidelity in their minds and destroyed the temples in those places and all over Hindustan."
  
  Akbar had the surviving defenders and 30,000 non-combatants massacred and their heads displayed upon towers erected throughout the region to demonstrate his authority. Akbar remained in Chittorgarh for three days, then returned to Agra, where, to commemorate the victory, he set up statues of Jaimal and Patta mounted on elephants at the gates of his fort. Thereafter, Udai Singh never ventured out of his mountain refuge in Mewar.
  
  The fall of Chittorgarh was followed up by a Mughal attack on the Ranthambore Fort in 1568. Ranthambore was held by the Hada Rajputs and reputed to be the most powerful fortress in India. However, it fell only after a couple of months. At that point, most of the Rajput kings had submitted to the Mughals; only the clans of Mewar continued to resist. Udai Singh's son and successor, Maharana Pratap, was later defeated by the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576. Akbar would celebrate his conquest of Rajputana by laying the foundation of a new capital, 23 miles (37 km) west-southwest of Agra, in 1569. It was called Fatehpur Sikri, or the "City of Victory". Pratap Singh continued to attack the Mughals and was able to retain most of his kingdom during Akbar's reign.