Ibrahim Lodi, The Last Lodi Sultan

Ibrahim Lodi Tomb, Panipat

Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Lodi rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, is a famous personality in the Indian history whose defeat by Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, in the first Battle of Panipat in 1526 led to the foundation of a new dynasty, named the Mughal empire, in India which lasted till 1857.

Ibrahim Lodi, the eldest son of Sikandar Lodi, succeeded to the Delhi throne after his father’s death in 1517. 

After becoming the Lodi Sultan, he assumed the title of Ibrahim Shah.  

Military campaigns of Ibrahim Lodi

The greatest military achievement of Ibrahim was the subjugation of Gwalior which was then being ruled by Vikramajit whose father Man Singh had successfully frustrated designs of previous Lodi ruler Sikandar Lodi. Ibrahim sent an army to the principality of Gwalior on the pretext that Vikramajit had offered shelter to Ibrahim‘s younger brother, Jalal Khan, who also eyed the Delhi throne. Jalal Khan was killed on the order of Ibrahim who also imprisoned his other brothers for life thus eliminating any possible rival of his. Vikramajit became a vassal of Delhi Sultanate.

However, Ibrahim’s another military campaign resulted in his defeat when he attacked the Rajput principality of Mewar which was ruled at that time by Rana Saiigram Singh , popularly called Rana Sanga, a valiant soldier endowed with extraordinary military prowess.

First Battle of Panipat 1526

Ibrahim Lodi was an insolent and arrogant ruler. His ill treatment of the nobles was resented by them. Dariya Khan Lohani, the governor of Bihar, declared his indepndece. The nobles ran out of patience due to lbrahim's ill treatment of Dilwar Khan, son of Daulat Khan Lodi, the virtually independent governor of Lahore. Daulat Khan Lodi and Alam khan, an uncle of Sultan lbrahim, who was also eyeing the Delhi throne, invited Babur, the Timurid ruler of Kabul to invade India. They were in the mistaken belief that Babur would leave India after plundering the country. But this was not to be. Ibrahim Lodi was defeated at the First Battle of Panipat (April 21, 1526) by him who laid the foundation of a new empire in India.

During the battle Ibrahim lost his life, the first and only Delhi sultan to die in battle.