Battle of Sammel
The Battle of Sammel, also called Giri-Sumel, happened in 1544 near the villages of Giri and Sumel in what is now Rajasthan, India. It was fought between the Sur Empire led by Sher Shah Suri and the Rathore army of Rao Maldeo Rathore, commanded by Jaita and Kumpa Rathore.
Sher Shah had planned the war for months and set out with about 80,000 horsemen, while Maldeo faced him with about 50,000 soldiers. Sher Shah took an inland route via Didwana and dug in at Sammel, using the Sammel river as a defensive line. Maldeo moved to Girri, about 12 miles away, where scrub forests gave his troops cover. Dispossessed rulers from Bikaner and Merta came to Sher Shah’s aid. Maldeo stayed cautious, worried about his barons, and Sher Shah faced shortages of food and water in the desert.
After a month of fighting, Sher Shah played a clever ruse: forged letters suggested some of Maldeo’s commanders were ready to help Sher Shah. Alarmed, Maldeo left for Jodhpur on January 4, 1544, taking most of his army and leaving his loyal generals, Jaita and Kumpa, with only a few thousand men.
In the battle that followed, Jaita, Kumpa, and the Rathore chiefs fought fiercely to hold the field. Sher Shah sent war elephants, reinforcements, and heavy firepower to break their lines. The Rathores were eventually defeated, and many were killed. The victory boosted Sher Shah’s power in the region, and his general Khawas Khan Marwat moved into Jodhpur, taking territory from Ajmer to Mount Abu in 1544.
Maldeo retreated to Siwana, but after Sher Shah’s death he managed to regain Jodhpur by July 1545 and the rest of his territories by 1546, overcoming the garrisons left by Sher Shah.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:21 (CET).