History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c49.s10.2

v3.c49.s10.2

Prince Akbar had been left at Chitor in charge of all the Mughal posts east of the Aravali and south of Ajmir. But his force was too small for the effective defence of this vast region. Under his direct command were probably 12,000 men,[*] and after deducting the large detachments he had to send out under his chief lieutenants, Hasan Ali Khan and Tahawwur Khan, he could never spare more than 2,000 men from his own corps to strengthen any threatened outpost. On the other hand, the Rathors alone are said to have numbered 25,000 horsemen, at the lowest computation, while the Udaipur troops must have exceeded 12,000, as they formed three independent divisions.* The Rajputs, fighting in their homeland, knew every nook of the ground and were helped by a friendly peasantry. The Mughals were strangers to that wild broken country and marched among a hostile population, though some Rajput nobles (of the Rathor and Hada clans) fought under the imperial banners.