Environment and the Heterogeneous Conquest of North India

Abstract

This chapter studies the Mughal conquest of the heart of North India. It argues that the heterogeneous geography of this landmass shaped the course and nature of military engagements. The vast open plains of the Punjab and the Gangetic Basin allowed large-scale cavalry manoeuvres. Hence, the Mughals were able to engage their adversaries in a number of battles and skirmishes here. In contrast, the broken terrain of the forested highlands of central India restricted free movement of troops and encouraged fortress warfare. For this reason, Mughal expansion entailed a greater number of sieges here. This environmental heterogeneity also made it impossible for either cavalry or firearms to spearhead Mughal military conquests uniformly or single-handedly. Thus, even within the fairly contiguous region that was to eventually comprise the political heartland of the Mughal empire, the natural environment left a deep imprint on the conduct of warfare and the course of empire-formation.