he zenith of her glory in 1509, when 80,000
horse, seven rajas of the highest rank, nine raos, and 104 chiefs bearing
titles of rawul or sawut, with 500 elephants, followed Rana Sanga of
Chitor into the field.

The Mogul Baber, who captured Delhi in 1527, was yet unwilling to face the
ordeal of battle with the warlike Rajputs, but in the following year Sanga
marched against him at the head of the princes of Rajast'han. A terrible
battle ensued, which long inclined in favour of the Rajputs, until,
through the treachery of a Tuar chief, they were defeated, and the star of
Mewar began to decline, although so severe had been the struggle that
Baber dared not follow up his victory.

In 1533 Chitor suffered her second "saka" at the hands of Buhadoor or
Bajazet, Sultan of Guzzerat, who, after a grim struggle, obtained a
footing at the "Beeka" rock, and, springing a mine there, blew up 45
cubits of rampart and killed the Prince of the Haras, with five hundred of
his kin. Then the Queen-Mother, Jowahir Bae, clad in armour, headed a
sally, and was slain before the eyes of all.

The entrance to the city being forced, the heir of the Sesodias, the
infant Oodi Singh, son of Sanga, was placed in safety, while Bagh-ji,
Prince of Deola, assuming royalty, prepared to die, for Chitor could only
be retained by the Rajput princes while guarded by royalty.

The horrible Johur was decreed, and 13,000 women, headed by Kurnavati, the
mother of Oodi Singh,[4] marched to death and honour through the "Gau
Mukh," or entrance to the subterranean tomb; while the city gates were
thrown open, and the defenders sallied forth. "Every clan lost its chief,"
and 32,000 Rajputs were slain during the siege and storm.

Now Kurnavati had bound Hamayoun, the son of Baber, to her cause by a
curious ceremony: she having sent him the Rakhi (bracelet), and he having
bestowed on her the Katchli (corselet), he was bound, in consequence of
this bond, to assist the lady in any time of need. Too late to save Chitor,
he retook it, and restored Bikramajit to the throne; but the guardian
goddess had turned her face from the doomed city, and its final fall was
at hand. The Emperor Akbar, having laid almost all India at his feet,
determined to bring the proud princes of Rajputana into subjection. He
attacked Chitor, but was foiled by the masculine courage of the Rana's
concubine queen.

Again, in 1568, the Emperor Akbar attacked, and this time he found the
fated city i