Rana Kumbha

Timeline

1. 1419–1433Chittorgarh · MewarRana Kumbha was born into the Sisodia Rajput royal family, son of Rana Mokal of Mewar. After his father was assassinated in 1433, Kumbha succeeded as rana at about fourteen, beginning a reign of thirty-five years.
2. 1437–1448Chittorgarh Fort · MewarIn 1437 Rana Kumbha decisively defeated Sultan Mahmud Khilji of Malwa at the Battle of Sarangpur and captured him personally, one of the most glorious victories in Mewar's history. To commemorate the victory, Kumbha ordered the construction of the 37-meter-high "Victory Tower" (Vijay Stambha) within Chittorgarh Fort, completed around 1448; it remains an iconic monument of Rajput architecture, its surfaces densely covered with exquisitely carved reliefs of Hindu deities.
3. 1451–1460Kumbhalgarh Fort · MewarIn the 1450s Rana Kumbha oversaw the large-scale construction of Kumbhalgarh Fort, whose walls stretch about 36 kilometers and are called "the Great Wall of India"; in 2013 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with five other Rajput forts. During the same period he patronized the building of Hindu temples in Orissa, Gujarat and elsewhere, and personally authored the Sanskrit treatise on music Sangita-Ratnakara as well as several plays, making him a rare ruler of Mewar equally accomplished in letters and arms.
4. 1460–1468Kumbhalgarh Fort · MewarIn his later years Rana Kumbha continued to maintain Mewar's strong position, but court intrigues grew increasingly intense. In 1468 he was assassinated inside Kumbhalgarh Fort by his eldest son Udai (Udai Singh I), ending a brilliant but tragic life. His successor Udai was soon overthrown by his own brother, and Mewar entered a brief period of civil strife.