List of Important Battles in Indian History

Here is a list of some Important Battles of Indian History which can be useful in your upcoming exams.

Important Battles of Indian History

  1. Battle of Chausa (1539 A.D.) - The battle of Chausa was fought between Mughal emperor Humayun and Sher Shah Suri. In this battle Humayun was defeated. It facilitated Sher Khan to march on to Delhi at Agra.
  2. Battle of Hydaspes (326 B.C.) - Alexander the Great, defeated Porus, the Paurava king.
  3. Battle of Kannauj (1540 A.D.) - Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun. After this battle, Humayun fled to Iran and Sher Shah Suri occupied Delhi.
  4. Battle of Kalinga (261 B.C.) - Ashoka defeated the king of Kalinga. Ashoka embraced Buddhism and preached it during the rest of his life after this war.
  5. First Battle of Tarain or Thaneswar (A.D. 1191) - Prithvi Raj Chauhan defeated Mohammed Ghori.
  6. Second Battle of Tarain A.D. (1192) - Muhammad Ghori defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Ghori’s victory paved the way for the establishment of Muslim rule in India.
  7. First Battle of Panipat (1526) - Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi. This laid the foundation of the Mughal rule in India.
  8. Second Battle of Panipat (1556) - Bairam Khan (Akbar’s General) defeated Hemu (the Hindu General and right-hand man of Mohd. Adil Shah). It also ended the Afghan Rule and Mughal Rule began instead.
  9. Third Battle of Panipat (1761) - Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated Marathas. It gave a terrible blow to the Maratha power. It made the field clear for the English.
  10. Battle of Khanwah (1527) - Babar defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar. This battle resulted in the defeat of the powerful Rajput confederacy.
  11. Battle of Talikota (1564-65) - United alliance between Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmednagar and Golkonda under Hussain Nizam Shah defeated Ram Raja of Vijayanagar. It destroyed the Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar.
  12. Battle of Haldighati (1576) - Akbar’s forces headed by Raja Man Singh defeated Rana Pratap, the brave Rajput king. Though defeated, Rana Pratap refused to accept Mughal authority and carried on warfare till his death.
  13. Battle of Plassey (1757) - The English under Lord Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah. It brought Muslim Rule in Bengal to an end and laid foundations of the British Rule in India.
  14. Battle of Wandiwash (1760) - The English defeated the French. The battle sealed the fate of the French in India and paved the way for English rule in India.
  15. Battle of Buxar (1764) - Fought in 1764 between the forces of the English and the combined forces of Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Oudh) and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam. The English victory at Buxar finally riveted the shackles of the Company’s rule upon Bengal.
  16. First Mysore War (1767-68) - In 1768, Haider Ali was defeated by the English relinquishing all his rights over Mysore in favour of the English.
  17. Second Mysore War (1780) - A grand alliance between Haider Ali, the Nizam and the Marathas was formed and Haider Ali. He defeated the English and took possession of Arcot and became the undisputed master of the Carnatic.
  18. Third Mysore War (1790-92) - Fought between the English and Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan had to submit and was compelled to sign the Treaty of Seringapattam stripped him of half his territory.
  19. Fourth Mysore War (1799) - The British forces under Arthur Wellesley defeated Tipu Sultan, which brought the end of the Tipu Sultan.
  20. First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782) - It was the first of three Anglo-Maratha wars fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai.
  21. Second Anglo Maratha War (1803-05) - It weakened the Maratha power. The English annexed Tanjore, Surat and Carnatic.
  22. Third Anglo Maratha War (1817-18) - The British forces defeated Marathas and this campaign finally extinguished the Maratha Empire.
  23. Battle of Cheelianwala 1849 - Forces of the East India Company under Lord Hugh Gough defeated the Sikhs under Sher Singh.
  24. Burmese War 1885 - As a result of this War, the whole of Burma was occupied by the English and made a part of India.
  25. Afghan War III 1919 - As a result of this War, Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed by which Afghanistan was recognized as an independent State.