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Important Battles in Indian History

Decisive battles of Indian history with year, who fought, and outcome, for CAPF Paper I revision

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SubjectHistory
RevisionHistoryAncient IndiaMedieval IndiaModern IndiaBattlesPaper 1

A chronological list of the battles examiners test for year, contestants and outcome. Cover the right columns. See ancient and medieval dynasties timeline and advent of europeans and british conquest.

Ancient and early medieval

Battle (Year) Who fought Outcome
Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BCE) Alexander vs Porus (Paurava) Alexander won; turned back at the Beas soon after
Kalinga War (261 BCE) Ashoka (Maurya) vs Kalinga Ashoka won but the bloodshed turned him to Buddhism
Battle of Tarain I (1191) Prithviraj Chauhan vs Muhammad Ghori Prithviraj won
Battle of Tarain II (1192) Muhammad Ghori vs Prithviraj Chauhan Ghori won; opened the way to Turkish rule in north India
Battle of Chandawar (1194) Muhammad Ghori vs Jaichand of Kannauj Ghori won

Sultanate to Mughal

Battle (Year) Who fought Outcome
First Battle of Panipat (1526) Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi Babur won; founded the Mughal Empire
Battle of Khanwa (1527) Babur vs Rana Sanga Babur won; consolidated Mughal power
Battle of Ghaghra (1529) Babur vs Afghans and Bengal Babur won
Battle of Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540) Sher Shah Suri vs Humayun Sher Shah won; Humayun fled into exile
Second Battle of Panipat (1556) Akbar (Bairam Khan) vs Hemu Mughals won; secured Akbar's throne
Battle of Talikota (1565) Deccan Sultanates vs Vijayanagara Vijayanagara defeated and Hampi sacked
Battle of Haldighati (1576) Akbar's forces (Man Singh) vs Rana Pratap Indecisive; Pratap survived to fight on

Late Mughal and the British conquest

Battle (Year) Who fought Outcome
Third Battle of Panipat (1761) Ahmad Shah Abdali vs Marathas Marathas defeated; checked their northward expansion
Battle of Plassey (1757) Robert Clive (English) vs Siraj-ud-Daula (Bengal) English won; foothold in Bengal
Battle of Buxar (1764) English vs Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II English won; led to the Diwani of Bengal (1765)
Battles of the Anglo-Mysore Wars (to 1799) English vs Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan Tipu killed at Seringapatam (1799)
Anglo-Maratha Wars (to 1818) English vs the Marathas Maratha power broken
Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845 to 1849) English vs the Sikhs Punjab annexed (1849)

Quick memory hooks

  • All three Battles of Panipat were fought near the same field: 1526 (Babur), 1556 (Akbar), 1761 (Abdali vs Marathas).
  • Plassey (1757) gave the English a foothold; Buxar (1764) gave them real power and the Diwani.
  • Talikota (1565) ended the greatness of Vijayanagara.

Cross-references

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