The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556, between the forces of Hemu, the Hindu general and Chief Minister of Adil Shah Suri, and the army of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. Hemu had conquered Delhi a month earlier by defeating the Mughals led by Tardi Beg Khan at the Battle of Delhi and proclaimed himself Raja Vikramaditya. Akbar and his guardian, Bairam Khan, had immediately marched to Delhi to reclaim the city. The two armies clashed at Panipat not far from the site of the First Battle of Panipat of 1526.
Although Hemu had lost his artillery to the Mughals before the battle, his forces held the numerical superiority. However, Hemu was wounded by a chance arrow in the middle of the battle and fell unconscious. Seeing their leader going down, his army panicked and dispersed. Hemu was captured and subsequently beheaded. The battle ended in a decisive victory for Akbar.
