Panipat, city, northwestern India, in Haryana State, near Delhi. Panipat is a rail junction and a center of trade in wool, grain, and cotton. Major industries include wool weaving and spinning and cotton ginning.
A city dating from ancient times, Panipat is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, which recounts events believed to have occurred before the 10th century BC. In later times Panipat was notable as the site of three historic battles. In the first, the Mughal chief Babur conquered (1526) the forces of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, the Afghan king of Delhi, thereby laying the foundation for the establishment of the Mughal dynasty in India. In the second battle at Panipat, the Mughal emperor Akbar, grandson of Babur, crushed (1556) an army of the Afghan house that had driven Babur's heirs from the throne, reestablishing the Mughal Empire in India. In the third battle, the Afghan ruler of Kandahar, Ahmad Shah, routed (1761) an army of Marathas and Sikhs and virtually destroyed the power of the Maratha confederacy in India. Population (1991) 191,212.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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