May 17th, 1540 - The Battle of Kannauj

Conflict: Revolt of Sher Khan

Combatants: Moghuls vs. Sur Empire

Location: India

Outcome: Sur Empire victory

In the mid-sixteenth century, Sher Khan (shown below), the Afghan-Turk governor of Bihar, led a rebellion against the Moghul ruler Humayun. After defeating Humayun's army at Buxar, the sixty-five year old Sher Khan chased the fleeing Moghul troops along the Ganges Valley. At Kunnauj, the Moghuls were soundly defeated. Sher Khan became Sher Shah and Humayun was forced take up asylum in Persia.

Babur on his throne appointing Humayan as his successor by La'l

Points of Interest:

• Sher Shah was sixty-five years old when he began the revolt against the Moghuls. He would reign as Shah for six years, but was killed in a gunpowder explosion in 1545.

• Ten years after Sher's death, Humayun marched back into India. But in 1556, he also died in an accident.

Sher Shah Suri by Breshna

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Sources:

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.