Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

When Jahira and Mapila led their 20,000-strong navy from the Arabian Sea through the Godavari River to the Bay of Bengal, the Mughal province of Odisha Subha was in dire straits. The Arakanese army crossed the sea and attacked, capturing Puri, a famous Hindu pilgrimage site, besieging the military stronghold of Bhubaneswar, and directly threatening Odisha's capital, Qatak, from the south.

Since submitting to the Kingdom of David, King Sindhodhamma of Arakan, believing himself to have secured a powerful patron, grew increasingly audacious. General Alatanchan, tasked with conquering the south, ordered him to harass Orissa to prevent the Orissa garrison from reinforcing Bengal. Seeking to appease the Kingdom of David and to expand his territory while the Kingdom was at war with the Mughals, he personally led an army of over 40,000 across the sea to attack. At this time, the Orissa garrison's attention was focused on the Northern Expeditionary Forces attacking Bengal to the north, and they were completely unprepared for the enemy's arrival at sea. They captured Puri with little effort and besieged Bhubaneswar. Only the desperate resistance of the garrison commander, Akim, prevented an immediate fall, though the situation remained precarious.

Bhubaneswar was not far from Khedak, the capital of Orissa, but Subadar (governor) Ibrahim Khan of Orissa was not in a hurry to send reinforcements, instead quietly gathering troops and making preparations. As a member of the Mughal imperial family, Ibrahim Khan was well-educated and had followed Emperor Aurangzeb in his campaigns, making him both a scholar and a warrior. Seeing Bhubaneswar in dire straits, his generals all requested that troops be sent to its aid. He, however, smiled and said, "Bhubaneswar is a well-fortified city, and its many large merchants have guards and servants who will surely help defend it to protect their property. General Akim is also skilled in defense. I predict that the Arakanese will not be able to take Bhubaneswar anytime soon. War is a matter of great importance to the state; we cannot send troops without sufficient certainty."

"When do you think you can be confident in sending troops?" the generals pressed.

"Bang!" Ibrahim Khan slammed his hand on the table and roared, "I am the commander-in-chief, and you only need to obey. If you dare to make any more noise, don't blame the military law for being merciless!" As soon as he said this, his sharp killing intent immediately suppressed the doubts of his subordinates.

"Subadar, the reinforcements sent by Deccan have arrived at the port of Masulpatam," Ibrahim Khan received the news from his subordinates as he returned from inspecting the camp. "The time to strike has come! Issue the order for the entire army to proceed to Bhubaneswar, and also tell General Jahira to capture Puri and cut off the Arakan army's retreat," the commander issued the order.

The generals were excited upon receiving the military order, expecting a major battle to be fought. However, Ibrahim Khan, leading 20,000 troops, arrived in Bhubaneswar but did not launch an attack. Instead, he fortified his position with deep trenches and walls, confronting the Arakanese. Seeing the enemy's reluctance to fight, the Arakanese king Sindhodhu Thamma took the initiative to attack, but was repeatedly defeated by the Mughal army's strong fortifications.

A dozen days later, news arrived that the Mughal navy had captured Puri. Sintodudhamma was shocked; most of his army's supplies, provisions, and ships were left in Puri, meaning his retreat had been cut off. In a panic, he mustered his troops to try and retake Puri. Seeing the enemy's disorganized ranks, Ibrahim Khan knew his plan had succeeded and the Arakanese army's morale had wavered. He launched a full-scale attack, with Akim leading the garrison of Bhubaneswar to join the battle. The Arakanese army was routed; men and horses were trampled, and countless men and horses died. Sintodudhamma, under the desperate protection of his son Valim, fled to a port near Puri, gathered some of his remaining troops, and escaped by sea. He was then pursued by the Mughal navy, and barely managed to escape back to Arakan. Of his more than 40,000 troops, only 7,000 remained, severely weakened, and he dared not attack Orissa again.

After the great victory, Ibrahim Khan, without even celebrating, summoned his generals for a military conference. "Gentlemen," he declared, "although we have defeated the Arakan army, the Arakans are only a minor threat. The Guards in the north are the real threat. The most effective way to deal with these wolves is to build an impregnable fortress before they arrive!" His powerful voice echoed through the tent.

“Subadar says how to defend, and we will defend accordingly. Everyone will listen to you.” “Yes, please give the order, and we will obey your command.” “You are the iron wall of our Mughals. With you here, the guards will only suffer heavy losses if they want to attack Orissa.” After the great victory, Ibrahim Khan’s prestige increased greatly, and all the generals were willing to follow his command.

“The iron walls and copper ramparts I’m talking about don’t actually need to be built or constructed,” Ibrahim Khan smiled slightly, then walked up to the map and gestured earnestly. “Look, our Morissa is a plateau with crisscrossing mountains, which are natural city walls; and the rivers that run through it are natural moats.”

Seeing that his generals were listening attentively, he traced the Romon River, which runs through the north-central part of Morissa, with his hand. "I intend to deploy our defenses along the Romon River. Upstream there are the Bomra Hills, in the middle reaches the Gnega Hills, and downstream, where it meets the Mohanadi River, there are formidable castles such as Khedak and Boubaneswar. The city of Serabali has a rugged terrain and is located in the center of the entire defensive line, making it suitable as the central command post. With this deployment, I am confident that even if the Guards are strong, they will be powerless against us."

"We are willing to follow Subadar to the death to serve our country and will never let the Guards cross the Roman River!" The generals were inspired and expressed their willingness to fight to the death with him.

Under Ibrahim Khan's command, the Mughal army deployed along the Rohingya River, placing its main forces in the mountains such as the Bhamra Hills and Ghenaga Hills, as well as in fortified cities such as Khtaq Fortress. Only a small number of troops were stationed along the riverbank, where military forts and earthen walls were constructed. Artillery emplacements were also built on the hilltops to block the river.

When Batu Mumkhi led his army to the north bank of the Rohingya River, they were met with an impenetrable wall of defense. His army consisted of several thousand men left to garrison Bengal, along with 30,000 veteran soldiers and 3,000 mercenaries and prisoners of war led by Captain Moor. Their enemy, the Mughal army on the south bank of the Rohingya, numbered 40,000. Despite this, Batu Mumkhi remained confident that with his army's superior fighting strength, defeating the enemy before him would not be difficult.

But once the battle began, things took a completely different turn. The Guards first attempted a landing on the river opposite the Bomra Hills, but were met with artillery fire from the hilltop forts. After suffering over two hundred casualties, Captain Moor's vassal army finally crossed the river, only to be met with fierce attacks from the Mughal defenders on the hills, forcing them to retreat to the opposite bank. Unable to land upstream, the Guards turned towards the middle reaches, where, similarly, they successfully crossed but were met with fierce counterattacks from the defenders of the Ghenaga Hills, forcing them to retreat in disgrace. After these two battles, Moor's three thousand men had suffered two thousand casualties, rendering them incapable of further combat and forcing them to retreat to the rear to regroup. The deaths and injuries of a mere two thousand vassal troops were not a concern for Batu Mumke, who believed he had probed the enemy's weakness: the relatively flat Mehanadi River delta downstream. However, there lay the most fortified city in all of Orissa, Khtaq Fortress. Before this formidable fortress, the Guards suffered over a thousand more deaths without gaining anything. The Battle of Orissa has reached a stalemate.

(End of this chapter)