Battle of Machhiwara

01The Sur state divided

After Islam Shah Sur died in 1554, the Sur kingdom split among rival claimants: Adil Shah in the east with Hemu as his minister, Ibrahim Sur, and Sikandar Shah in the Punjab. Humayun, who had retaken Kabul, saw his chance. He crossed the Indus late in 1554 and took Lahore in February 1555. Sikandar’s generals gathered an army on the Sutlej to bar the road to Delhi. In the east Hemu, a Hindu of Rewari, was the real power in Adil Shah’s camp.

02Fires in the night

Bairam Khan led the advance. Abul Fazl tells that he crossed the Sutlej by a ford in the evening and came on the Afghan camp at Machhiwara as night fell. The Afghans lit fires to see by, which showed the Mughal archers their targets. Their army broke and fled in the dark. Elephants, horses and stores fell to the Mughals. Sikandar Shah came up himself with the main army a month later, and was beaten at Sirhind.