Pratap Singh I , popularly known as Maharana Pratap, was the 13th king ofMewar, a region in north-western India in the present-day state of Rajasthan.
Early life and accession
Maharana Pratap was born in a Hindu Rajput family. He was born to Udai Singh II and Jaiwanta Bai. His younger brothers were Shakti Singh, Vikram Singh and Jagmal Singh. Pratap also had 2 stepsisters: Chand Kanwar and Man Kanwar. He was married to Ajabde Punwar of Bijolia. He belonged to the Royal Family of Mewar. After the death of Udai Singh in 1572, Rani Dheer Bai wanted her son Jagmal to succeed him but senior courtiers preferred Pratap, as the eldest son, to be their king. The desire of the nobles prevailed.
The bloody Siege of Chittorgarh in 1567-1568 had led to the loss of the fertile eastern belt of Mewar to the Mughals. However, the rest of the wooded and hilly kingdom in the Aravalli range was still under the control of the Rana. The Mughal emperor Akbar was intent on securing a stable route to Gujarat through Mewar; when Pratap Singh was crowned king in 1572, Akbar sent a number of envoys entreating the Rana to become a vassal like many other Rajput leaders in the region. When the Rana refused to personally submit to Akbar, war became inevitable. The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 between Maharana Pratap and Akbar's forces led by Man Singh I of Amer. The Mughals were victorious and inflicted significant casualties among the Mewaris but failed to capture Maharana. The site of the battle was a narrow mountain pass at Haldighati near Gogunda, modern day Rajsamand in Rajasthan. Maharana Pratap fielded a force of around 3000 cavalry and 400 Bhil archers. The Mughals were led by Man Singh of Amber, who commanded an army numbering around 5000-10,000 men. After a fierce battle lasting more than six hours, Maharana found himself wounded and the day lost. The mughal were unable to capture him. He managed to escape to the hills and lived to fight another day. Haldighati was a futile victory for the Mughals, as they were unable to capture Maharana Pratap, or any of his close family members in Udaipur. As soon as the empire's focus shifted north-west, Pratap and his army came out of hiding and recaptured the western regions of his dominion.
Reconquest of Mewar
Mughal pressure on Mewar relaxed after 1579 following rebellions in Bengal and Bihar and Mirza Hakim's incursion into the Punjab. In 1582, Maharana Pratap attacked and occupied the Mughal post at Dewair. This led to the automatic liquidation of all 36 Mughal military outposts in Mewar. After this defeat, Akbar stopped his military campaigns against Mewar. The victory of Dewair was a crowning glory for Maharana Pratap, with James Tod describing it as the "Marathon of Mewar". In 1585, Akbar moved to Lahore and remained there for the next twelve years watching the situation in the north-west. No major Mughal expedition was sent to Mewar during this period. Taking advantage of the situation, Pratap recovered Western Mewar including Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda. During this period, he also built a new capital, Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.
