Siege of Nargund (1785)
| Second siege of Nargund | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maratha–Mysore Wars | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Maratha EmpireRamdurg | Kingdom of Mysore | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Vyankatrao Bhave | Burhanudhin | ||||||||
The second siege of Nargund was a siege conducted by Tipu Sultan, the Sultan of Mysore, in Nargund in 1785.
Event
In 1778, Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore, had successfully besieged the Maratha territory of Nargund. He retained its ruler, Vyankatrao Bhave, as a puppet and forced him to pay tribute.[1]
Tipu tried to convince the Desai peacefully, but when that didn't work, he sent his commander, Syed Ghaffar, to talk to the Chief. Ghaffar reported that the Desai was influenced by Parasaram Bhao to rebel. Tipu learned that a rebellion was brewing and sent troops to threaten the Desai, who refused to surrender, hoping for help from the Marathas. The Mysore troops besieged the fort, and the Desai expected Maratha help. When Parasaram Bhao heard of the attack, he urged Nana to send relief, but Nana couldn't act quickly due to Maratha issues. Despite trying to settle things peacefully, Maratha troops attacked prematurely, and Nana had to send reinforcements to help the Desai. Tipu was open to a peaceful solution and offered to pay tribute to the Marathas if they recognized his authority over Nargund. The siege was lifted, not just because of water scarcity but also because Tipu wanted peace[2].
However, Nana didn't trust Tipu's intentions and prepared for war. Despite attempts at negotiation, both sides were too deeply divided, leading to failed peace talks. Tipu realized the Marathas were gearing up for war and hadn't accepted losing their territory to Mysore. This, along with other factors, worsened the relationship between Mysore and the Marathas[2].
References
- ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1994). Anglo-Maratha Relations, 1785-96. Popular Prakashan. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-81-7154-789-0.
- ^ a b Kumar, Raj (2003). Essays on Modern India. Discovery Publishing House. pp. 72–75. ISBN 978-81-7141-690-5.