to his masters who were camped at Jalandhar, that Hemu had captured Agra and intended to attack the capital Delhi which could not be defended without reinforcements. While the main army could not be spared due to the belligerent presence of Sikandar Shah Suri, Akbar's regent, Bairam Khan, realising the gravity of the situation, sent his most capable lieutenant, Pir Muhammad Sharwani, to Delhi. Meanwhile, Tardi Beg Khan had also ordered all the Mughal nobles in the vicinity to muster their forces at Delhi. A council of war was convened where it was decided that the Mughals would stand and fight Hemu, and plans were made accordingly. After winning Agra, Hemu, who had set off in pursuit of the city's governor, reached Tughlaqabad, a village just outside Delhi where he ran into Tardi Beg Khan's forces. The Mughals while outnumbered, put up a gallant fight against Hemu's forces which, according to Bada'uni, included 1000 elephants, 50,000 horses, 51 cannon and 500 falconets. Jadunath Sarkar describes the battle thus: Hemu's push was also bolstered by the timely arrival of fresh reinforcements from Alwar under the command of Haji Khan. When the previously victorious Mughal vanguard and left wing returned from their pursuit, they realised that the day was lost and dispersed without offering a fight. Hemu took possession of Delhi after a day's battle on 7 October 1556. As Raja Vikramaditya After taking control of Delhi, Hemu claimed royal status and assumed the title of Vikramaditya (or Bikramjit), an appellation used by a number of Hindu kings in India's ancient past. What this signifies is, however, a subject of speculation among historians. Historians such as Satish Chandra do not believe that this implies that Hemu had declared himself to be an independent king. He reasons that, for one, none of the Mughal authors of the time explicitly say so in their histories. In the Akbarnama, Abu'l-Fazl writes that after Hemu's victory at Tughlaqabad, "the ambition of sovereignty" was stirring within him. According to Bada'uni, Hemu took on the title of Bikramjit like a great Raja of Hindustan. Another contemporary historian named Nizamuddin Ahmad merely states that Hemu took on said title, but refrains from saying anything more. Secondly, it would have been an ill-advised move as Hemu's military force was composed almost entirely of Afghans. According to Bada'uni, there were also some murmurings against Hemu amongst the Afghans who were "sick