Siege of Chittorgarh (1567–1568)
siege by the Mughal forces of Akbar of the Mewari Rajput fort of Chittorgarh.
The siege of Chittorgarh (23 October 1567 – 23 February 1568) was the military expedition of the Mughal Empire under Akbar against the Kingdom of Mewar that commenced in 1567 during which the Mughals successfully captured the fort of Chittorgarh after a hard-pressed siege which lasted for several months.
Akbar under his expansionist policy, besieged the strategic Sisodia capital of Chittor in October 1567 and further gave a religious colour to the struggle by declaring it as a Jihād against the infidels. On Akbar's advance, Sisodia ruler Rana Udai Singh moved to the mountainous principality of his kingdom (on the advice of his war councils) and placed the fort under the command of Jaimal Rathore.
After over four months of seesaw action during which the Mughal forces suffered heavy casualties, the battle eventually broke the deadlock when Jaimal succumbed to a musket shot of Akbar on 22 February 1568. The fort was captured the next morning on the day of Holi after a gallant resistance by the Rajputs. The conquest of Chittor was proclaimed by Akbar as the victory of Islam over infidels.
After the subjugation of the fort, Akbar ordered a general massacre of Chittor's population in the course of which 30,000 Hindu civilians were slaughtered and a large number of women and children were enslaved. Akbar placed the fort under his general Asaf Khan and returned to Agra.
Background
In 1567, Akbar after putting down the revolts of Uzbeks, turned his attention towards the Rajput states of Rajasthan. The Kachhwaha ruler Bharmal already accepted his supremacy by sending his daughter Harka Bai into the Mughal Harem, although all other families except Amber were still hostile towards the Mughals.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16931406. Authority coordinates are 24.886, 74.647. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1567 and 1568.
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