In 1539, the Battle of Chausa was fought between Humayun and ______.
- (a)Ibrahim Lodhi
- (b)Sikandar Suri
- (c)Sher Shah Suri
- (d)Rana Sanga
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The Battle of Chausa, fought in 1539 near Buxar in Bihar, was between Humayun and Sher Khan, the Afghan chief who took the title Sher Shah after the victory.
Sher Khan let Humayun's army sit through the rainy season in low ground by the Ganga and then attacked. The Mughal force broke, and Humayun got away across the river.
Chausa is the first of the two defeats that cost Humayun his throne.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Ibrahim Lodhi — Ibrahim Lodi was the Delhi Sultan defeated and killed by Babur at the first battle of Panipat in 1526 — thirteen years before Chausa, and against Humayun's father.
- (b)Sikandar Suri — Sikandar Shah Suri was a later Sur ruler. Humayun's army beat him at Sirhind in 1555, on the march that recovered Delhi, sixteen years after Chausa.
- (d)Rana Sanga — Rana Sanga of Mewar fought Babur, not Humayun, and was defeated at Khanwa in 1527. He died before Humayun's reign began.
Concept
Humayun came to the throne in 1530 with an unfinished conquest and a Timurid custom of sharing territory with his brothers, so his resources were divided from the start.
The rival who mattered was Sher Khan Sur, an Afghan noble who had built a base in Bihar and Bengal. He beat Humayun twice: at Chausa in 1539 and at Kannauj, also called Bilgram, in 1540.
After Kannauj, Humayun fled towards Persia, and Sher Shah ruled north India until 1545 — the reign of the rupiya, the sarais and the restored Grand Trunk Road.
The stem prints the year, and the year is the discriminator. Panipat is 1526 and Khanwa 1527, both Babur's fights; Sirhind is 1555 and belongs to Humayun's return.
Only Sher Shah sits at 1539.
Key facts
- The Battle of Chausa was fought in 1539 between Humayun and Sher Khan.
- Sher Khan assumed the title Sher Shah after his victory at Chausa.
- The Battle of Kannauj, also called Bilgram, in 1540 drove Humayun out of India.
- Sher Shah Suri ruled north India from 1540 until his death in 1545.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading any Suri name as good enough, so Sikandar Suri looks as plausible as Sher Shah.
- Placing Ibrahim Lodi against Humayun when Lodi's opponent was Babur at Panipat in 1526.
The Mughal-Afghan sequence is asked from several angles in this corpus. At 17 Sep 2024, 9:00, General Awareness Q.10 the question is who succeeded Babur.
At 19 Sep 2024, 9:00, General Awareness Q.9 it is which region Humayun's brother Kamran controlled, and at 26 Sep 2024, 12:30, General Awareness Q.23 it is whom Rana Sanga's coalition fought.
Battle years are also asked bare, as at 19 Sep 2024, 16:00, General Awareness Q.17 on the year of Buxar.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.