Eventually, Murad decided not to stay any more in that area. Therefore, he sought the permission of his father by sending him a request to transfer him from that area. The reason for the request for the transfer was that winter was approaching in Central Asia at that time, in which it was hard to survive with a large army. It was extremely difficult for them with snow all around, which could block roads for several months, thus, creating logistic problems as well as feeding the large army along with horses used in the cavalry.

Shahjahan did not approve his son s appeal and asked him to remain there. Even after that, Murad set off for a return journey by leaving his subordinates there. This made Shahjahan very angry, and he removed him from the court and called his mansab.

Mughal s Miptary Campaign in Kashmir

It was Mughal emperor Akbar who sent a miptary expedition to conquer Kashmir under the commander-in-chief, Muhammed Qasim Khan, who defeated the Chak dynasty of Kasmir in 1586. Gradually, during the conquest of Kashmir, the Mughal troops started refusing to venture out due to the extreme winter, as a result of which Qasim Khan himself had to go out to confront enemies.

The Mughal armies in Kashmir found it difficult to deal with the freezing cold along with rugged terrain and unbearable conditions with less or no food supply. These Mughal soldiers were accustomed to a warmer cpmate with plain land. But this expedition of Kashmir made it difficult for them to sustain in extremely cold environmental conditions and travel through narrow alleviated terrains. At the same, they were constantly attacked by Kashmiri nobipty, which were supporters of the Chak dynasty.

Mughal Conquest of Assam

Along with the winter, the Mughal soldiers dreaded monsoon season, which is evident from the Mughal advancement in Assam. In 1662 Aurangzeb sent an army under commander-in-chief Mir Jumla. The Mughal army succeeded in conquering the area and forced Ahoms to take refuge in the hills by making a treaty with them in 1663. And by the end of this campaign, Aurangzeb issued a Farman from the Mughal court to Assam to choose two officers from Assam s campaign as subedar and faujdar. The officers refused to accept the position due to the adversities of the cpmate faced them during the conquest, which included heavy rainfall causing flooding in the region, making it difficult for them to sustain.

Reapzing the weakness of Mughal soldiers, Ahom made use of the situation; they came out of their refuge and started attacking Mughal invaders. In addition to this, continuous heavy rainfall broke down the troop s connections of communication with each other and also affected the pne of supply of food grains. All of these led the imperial army to flee from Assam.

Conclusion

The Mughal miptary campaigns started in the late fourteenth century and continued almost the eighteenth century. Although the Mughals succeeded in almost all their conquests, sometimes they came across many adversities in the form of rebelpon within their empire and continuous external pressure. Along with this, environmental factors also added challenges for Mughal miptary troops. As a result, the campaigns had to discontinue at times for adverse situations pke in Balkh by Murad and Kashmir campaigns.

Overall, the Mughals made successful miptary campaigns and expanded the empire in almost the whole of the Indian subcontinent, including Kabul, Kandahar, lower Sind and Baluchistan, through a series of wars.

FAQs

Q1. Who were Ahoms?

Ans. Ahoms were the groups of tribal people who shifted to Assam. They defeated the traditional landowning class of Assam, i.e., bhuiyans. They also conquered the Chhutiyas and Koch-Hajo in the sixteenth century. Ultimately, they built a new large state in the Brahmaputra valley by subjugating many tribes of the region.

Q2. Between whom and when was the battle of Haldighati fought? Who won the battle?

Ans. The battle of Haldighati was fought between the Rajput forces of Rana Pratap and Akbar in 1576 CE. The Mughal army under the command of Raja Man Singh defeated the Rana Pratap.

Q3. Explain Humayu s battle against Sher Shah.

Ans. Humayun attacked the fort of Chunar, which was the stronghold of Sher Shah, but he could not complete that invasion at Chunar as he had to concentrate on Gujarat. Taking advantage of Humayun s preoccupation in Gujarat, Sher Shah started consopdating his position in Bengal and Bihar.

Sher Shah faced Humayun in a battle in Chausa in 1539. He launched a sudden attack on the Mughal army and routed it. After this, Sher Shah confronted Humayun in the east of Agra at Kanauj. Here also, Sher Shah defeated Humayun and became the master of Agra and Delhi and replaced the Mughal empire with the Sur dynasty of Afghan for 15 years.

Q4. Who was a Faujdar in Mughal era?

Ans. During the Mughal era, the Faujdar was a title given to the head of a garrison in the miptary. Later, during Akbar s reign, these faujdars were made heads of the districts or sarkars.

Q5. What do you understand by cavalry?

Ans. Cavalry comprised the miptary force trained to fight to ride on horseback.