Background
On January 24, 1556, the Mughal ruler Humanyun died in Delhi and was succeeded by his son, Akbar at Kalanaur, who was only thirteen years old. On February 14, 1556, Akbar was enthroned as the king. At the time of his accession to the throne, the Mughal rule was confined to Kabul, Kandahar, parts of Delhi and Punjab. Akbar was then campaigning in Kabul with his guardian, Bairam Khan.
Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya or Hemu was a Hindu emperor in Delhi by virtue of defeating Akbar/Humanyun's army in Battle for Delhi. Hemu belonged to Rewari in present day Haryana, who earlier was an adviser to Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah from 1545 to 1553. Hemu had won 22 battles, as Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Islam Shah, during 1553 to 1556 to quell the rebellion by Afghan rebels against Sur regime. At the time of Humayun's death in January 1556, Hemu had just quelled a rebellion in Bengal, killing the Bengal ruler Muhammad Shah in the war. He made his intentions of winning Delhi for himself known to his commanders. He then started a campaign, winning battles throughout northern India. When he attacked Agra, the commander of Akbar's forces in Agra, fled without fighting. A large area of Etawah, Kalpi, and Agra provinces comprising present day Bihar and UP came under Hemu's control. In the Gwalior Fort Hemu consolidated his army by recruiting more Hindus.
Hemu then moved towards Delhi and stationed his forces outside the city at Tughlaqabad. On October 6, 1556, army encountered Mughal resistance. After a fierce fight Akbar's forces were ousted, and Tardi Beg, the commander of the Mughal forces, escaped, allowing Hemu to capture Delhi. Around 3,000 Mughals were killed. Hemu was crowned at Purana Qila on October 7, 1556, and established Hindu rule in North India, after 350 years of Muslim rule, and was bestowed the title of Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya. According to Abul Fazl in Akbarnama, Hemu was preparing for an attack on Kabul and made several changes in his army.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Panipat (1556)
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