Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Panipat

Battle of Panipat was a battle fought on 5 November 1556 at Panipat, in what is now India. The recorded result: Mughal Empire victory.

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The defeat of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, a c. 1590s painting by Kankar from the Akbarnama. Neither Hemu nor Akbar are depicted here suggesting that this might be part of a double-page compo
The defeat of Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat, a c. 1590s painting by Kankar from the Akbarnama. Neither Hemu nor Akbar are depicted here suggesting that this might be part of a double-page compo. Kankar, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought5 November 1556
WherePanipat, India29.390N, 76.970E
OutcomeMughal Empire victory
BelligerentsMughal EmpireagainstSur Empire

Record

Date5 November 1556
PlacePanipat, India
29.390N, 76.970E
KindBattle, early modern
Commanders
  • Hemu
Battle of PanipatBattle of PanipatThird Battle of PanipatBattle of PanipatBattle of KarnalSecond Battle of TarainBattle of Badli-ki-SeraiThird Battle of PanipatBattle of KarnalSecond Battle of TarainBattle of Badli-ki-SeraiNew DelhiMeerutFaridabadSaharanpurDehra DunPatialaKarnalHisar100 km29.390N, 76.970E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Panipat
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Panipat today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-10-15. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 238 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 260 m, 260 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 83% built-up, 9% cropland, 3% tree cover.

built-up: 83%cropland: 9%tree cover: 3%grassland: 3%built-up 83%cropland 9%tree cover 3%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 247 mnorth to south, 10.0 km232 to 243 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1526 and 1761.

Elsewhere in 1556

Battle of Panipat is one of 1,470 engagements of the 16th century in the atlas and one of 376 in present-day India.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q233414, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Second Battle of Panipat, revision 1382637321, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.