Key Facts
- Duration
- 23 Oct 1567 – 23 Feb 1568 (~4 months)
- Civilians massacred
- 30,000
- Decisive event
- Death of Jaimal Rathore by Akbar's musket shot
- Fort placed under
- Mughal general Asaf Khan after conquest
- Declared by Akbar as
- Jihad against infidels / victory of Islam
Strategic Narrative Overview
The siege lasted over four months and saw seesaw fighting that inflicted heavy casualties on the Mughal besieging forces. Rajput defenders mounted a determined resistance under Jaimal Rathore. The deadlock broke on 22 February 1568 when Akbar personally shot Jaimal with a musket. With their commander dead, remaining defenders reportedly performed the Rajput rite of jauhar, and Mughal forces breached the fort the following morning on the day of Holi.
01 / The Origins
Akbar's expansionist drive to consolidate Mughal authority over northern India made the Sisodia Rajput capital of Chittorgarh a strategic prize. In October 1567, Akbar besieged the fort, framing the campaign in religious terms as a jihad against non-Muslims. Rana Udai Singh, heeding his war councils, withdrew to the mountainous interior of Mewar, leaving the defence of the fort to the capable commander Jaimal Rathore.
03 / The Outcome
Following the fort's fall, Akbar ordered a general massacre in which 30,000 Hindu civilians were killed and large numbers of women and children enslaved. Akbar proclaimed the conquest a victory of Islam over infidels. He installed his general Asaf Khan as commander of the fort and returned to Agra. Mewar's capital was thus absorbed into the Mughal Empire, though Udai Singh survived in the hills.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Akbar, Asaf Khan.
Side B
1 belligerent
Jaimal Rathore, Rana Udai Singh II.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.