Battle of Ranthambore took place in 1299 CE, in which, Chauhan King Hammir Deo defeated Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, under Nusrat Khan.
Background of Battle of Ranthambore:
After the defeat of Prithviraja Chauhan III in Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 CE, the Ranthambore fort came under the control of the Muslim Ghurid ruler Muhammad Ghori. Prithviraja’s son Govindraja IV accepted the Ghurid suzerainty, and ruled Ranthambore as his vassal. Hammiradeva ascended the throne sometime between 1283 and 1289 CE.
In 1297 Allauddin sent army,under the generalship of Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, to plunder Gujarat, . This army looted the temple of Somnath and the loot was being carried back to Delhi, when Kanhad Dev Songara, ruler of Jalore attacked and defeated Ulugh Khan. Muhammad Shah, a neo-Muslim general in Khilji’s army, helped Kanhad Dev Songara in this war. Maharao Hammir Dev Chauhan (Hammir Deo) sheltered Muhammad Shah and refused to turn him over to the Sultan. This laid the foundational cause of battle.
Battle of Ranthambore:
Ulugh Khan went and apprised Allauddin who ordered him and Nusrat Khan to conquer Ranthambore. In 1299, Ulugh & Nusrat Khan started out with 80,000 cavalry and a large infantry to attack Hammira. They also tried to negotiate with Hammira and demanded for Muhammad shah and Kamru’s death, 10,000 gold coins, 300 horses, 4 elephants and the hand of Hammira’s daughter Devaladevi. The terms were rejected and battle started.
Hammira’s army repulsed the attack and killed Nusrat Khan. Ulugh Khan escaped and reached Delhi.
