Twilight of the Sultanate c15.s2.6

c15.s2.6

The Rana was in a rage after this battle. Ibrāhīm was also keen on getting back the Lodī prince who, it was reported, had been set up by the Rana as a rival candidate for the Delhi throne.⁸² So the next year (1518-19), the Sultan renewed hostilities against Sangrām Singh. Miān Mākhan, Husain Khan, Miān M'ārūf and Husain Khan Farmūlī were sent at the head of a mighty force towards Rajputana.⁸³ Near Dholpur the Rana's army was contacted. From the very beginning the Rajputs had the upper hand in many stray battles. The Lodī officers were not united in opinion and action. Miān Mākhan was comparatively young, and Husain and M'ārūf had felt aggrieved at their supersession.⁸⁴ The climax was reached when Miān Husain Farmūlī, fearing arrest at the hands of Miān Mākhan, deserted to the side of the Rana.⁸⁵ This defection made the Rana's task easy and he inflicted a crushing defeat on the royal forces. According to 'Abdulla, Miān Husain even led the Rana's forces in pursuing Miān Mākhan as far as Bayana.⁸⁶ On learning of this disaster, Ibrāhīm started for the scene of action.⁸⁷ The presence of the Sultan in the camp raised the morale of his men and also encouraged Miān Husain to rejoin him. His decision was also the direct result of the slights he had experienced at the Rāna's court.⁸⁸ A few indecisive battles between the rival forces, put a stop to the war. This finds corroboration in Tod who gives Barkole and Gattoli as the sites of the battles. He adds that after the last battle Bayana became the northern boundary of Mewar, which had Sinde river to the east and touched Malwa on the south.⁸⁹ When after some time the Sultan ordered the murder of Chanderi's governor, Miān Husain Farmūli, the Rana occupied this southernmost outpost of the Lodī Kingdom also.⁹⁰