1. Partition of the Kingdom:
The Afghan nobles were divided into two groups. They wanted to divide the empire into two parts.
Ibrahim accepted his proposal and accordingly Jalal Khan, his brother became the ruler of Jaunpur.
However, Ibrahim changed his mind and it resulted in a serious conflict with his brother. Jalal Khan was defeated. Ibrahim got his brother poisoned to death and ruthlessly punished the supporters of Jalal Khan. This act created suspicion and distrust among the Afghan nobles for Ibrahim.
image source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Sultan-Ibrahim-Lodhi.jpg
2. Conflict with the Nobles:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Ibrahim Lodi wanted to treat Afghan nobles as his servants. This led to a fierce conflict between Ibrahim and a large number of nobles. The battle was unprecedented. Describing the battle Niamatullah, the author of ‘Tarikh-i-Khan-i- Jahani’ states, “Dead bodies, heap upon heap, covered the field, and the number of heads lying upon the ground was beyond the reach of recollection.”Streams of blood ran over the plain. Brother against brother and father against son, urged by mutual rivalry and in born bravery, mixed in the conflict.
3. Conquest of Gwalior:
The ruler of Gwalior—a Rajput had given shelter to Jalal Khan, brother of Ibrahim. Therefore, Ibrahim attacked and annexed Gwalior to his kingdom.
4. Conflict with Rana Sangram Singh popularly known as Rana Sanga of Mewar:
Encouraged by his success against Gwalior, Ibrahim decided to conquer Mewar whose ruler was Rana Sanga—a great warrior. The armies of Delhi met with several reverses. Ibrahim lost his prestige and resources.
5. Battle of Panipat (1526):
Several Afghan nobles particularly Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of Punjab and Alam Khan Lodi, uncle of Ibrahim Lodi invited Babur, the ruler of Kabul to invade Delhi. This was done to take revenge from Ibrahim Lodi. Babur had already set his eyes upon India. He attacked India with about 12,000 soldiers and a number of cannon (machine guns).
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Ibrahim faced Babur at Panipat on April 21, 1526 with a force of about 1, 00,000 soldiers. Ibrahim offered stiff resistance but was defeated and killed in the battlefield. This was perhaps the first instance in the history of Sultanate of Delhi that a Sultan lost his life in the battlefield. Thus came the end of the rule of the Lodi dynasty and the beginning of the Mughal rule in India.