Deccan wars: Difference between revisions

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This whole section primarily uses one source. It is a misrepresentation of the source. It references from pages 106-134 without proper indication of the actual page that the reference is on. This section is also heavily biased.
How did Maratha's establish dominion over deccan when Stanley Wolpert supposedly said that in 1707 Aurangzeb established dominion over Deccan in a Pyrrhic victory, see conclusion.
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| result =Maratha victory<ref name="Vishwas Patil">{{cite book |title=Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj |first=Vishwas |last=Patil}}</ref><ref>[http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/timeline/a/17th18thcen.htm]</ref><ref>[http://www.gatewayforindia.com/history/maratha.htm]</ref>
| result =Maratha victory<ref name="Vishwas Patil">{{cite book |title=Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj |first=Vishwas |last=Patil}}</ref><ref>[http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/timeline/a/17th18thcen.htm]</ref><ref>[http://www.gatewayforindia.com/history/maratha.htm]</ref>


|territory = Maratha dominion over Deccan. Establish tributaries around Western Ghats.
|territory = Marathas establish tributaries around Western Ghats.
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|24px]] [[Maratha Empire]]
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|24px]] [[Maratha Empire]]
| combatant2 = [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire (triangular).svg|25px]] [[Mughal Empire]] , [[Bijapur sultanates]] , {{flagicon image|Flag Portugal (1495).svg}} [[Portuguese]] , golkonda , Rajput states .
| combatant2 = [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire (triangular).svg|25px]] [[Mughal Empire]] , [[Bijapur sultanates]] , {{flagicon image|Flag Portugal (1495).svg}} [[Portuguese]] , golkonda , Rajput states .

Revision as of 14:23, 6 May 2015

Mughal–Maratha Wars
DateSeptember 1681 – May 1707
Location
Present-day states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
Result Maratha victory[1][2][3]
Territorial
changes		 Marathas establish tributaries around Western Ghats.
Belligerents
Maratha Empire Mughal Empire , Bijapur sultanates , Portuguese , golkonda , Rajput states .
Commanders and leaders
Sambhaji  †
Rajaram
Maharani Tarabai		 Aurangzeb
Azam Shah
Husain Ali Khan
Bahadur Shah

The Mughal–Maratha Wars was a guerilla war[4] fought by the Marathas against the Mughal Empire from 1680 to 1707. The Deccan Wars started in 1680 with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s invasion of the Maratha enclave in Bijapur established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Despite the Mughal army's vast numerical superiority, the empire's treasury, and the support of allies like the Siddhis, the Portuguese, the Golkonda and the Bijapur sultanates, the war ended in 1707 with a victory for the Marathas.[1][5][6]

Marathas under Sambhaji (1681–1689)

Sambhaji led the Marathas for the first nine years of the Deccan Wars.

In the first half of 1681, many Mughal contingents were dispatched to lay siege to Maratha forts in present day Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Sambhaji provided shelter to the emperor's rebel son Sultan Muhammad Akbar.[7] In September 1681, after settling his dispute with the royal house of Mewar, Aurangzeb began his journey to Deccan to kill the relatively young Maratha Empire. He arrived at Aurangabad, the Mughal headquarters in the Deccan and made it his capital.[8] Mughal contingents in the region numbered about 500,000.[9] By the end of 1681, the Mughal forces had laid siege to Fort Ramsej. The attack was well received and it took the Mughals seven years to take the fort.[10] In December 1681, Sambhaji attacked Janjira, but his first attempt failed. At the same time one of the Aurangzeb’s generals, Husain Ali Khan, attacked Northern Konkan. Sambhaji left janjira and attacked Husain Ali Khan and pushed him back to Ahmednagar. Aurangzeb tried to sign a deal with the Portuguese to allow trade ships to harbour in Goa. This would have allowed him to open another supply route to Deccan via the sea. This news reached Sambhaji. He attacked the Portuguese territories and forced them back to the Goan coast. But the viceroy of Alvor was able to defend the Portuguese headquarters. By this time the huge Mughal army had started gathering on the borders of Deccan. It was clear that southern India was headed for a large, sustained conflict.[10]

In late 1683, Aurangzeb moved to Ahmednagar. He divided his forces in two and put his two princes, Shah Alam and Azam Shah, in charge of each division. Shah Alam was to attack South Konkan via the Karnataka border while Azam Shah would attack Khandesh and northern Maratha territory. Using a pincer strategy, these two divisions planned to encircle Marathas from the south and north to isolate them. The beginning went quite well. Shah Alam crossed the Krishna river and entered Belgaum. From there he entered Goa and started marching north via Konkan.[10] As he pushed further,he was continuously harassed by Marathas forces. They ransacked his supply chains and reduced his forces to starvation. Finally Aurangzeb sent Ruhulla Khan to his rescue and brought him back to Ahmednagar. The first pincer attempt failed.[10]

After the 1684 monsoon, Aurangzeb’s other general Shahbuddin Khan directly attacked the Maratha capital, Raigad. Maratha commanders successfully defended Raigad. Aurangzeb sent Khan Jehan to help, but Hambirao Mohite, commander-in-chief of the Maratha army, defeated him in a fierce battle at Patadi.[10] The second division of the Maratha army attacked Shahbuddin Khan at Pachad, inflicting heavy losses on the Mughal army.[10]

In early 1685, Shah Alam attacked south again via the Gokak-Dharwar route, but Sambhaji’s forces harassed him continuously on the way and finally he had to give up and thus failed to close the loop a second time. In April 1685, Aurangzeb changed his strategy. He planned to consolidate his power in the south by undertaking expeditions to the Muslim kingdoms of Golkonda and Bijapur. Both of them were allies of Marathas and Aurangzeb was not fond of them. He broke his treaties with both kingdoms, attacked them and captured them by September 1686.[10] Taking this opportunity, Marathas launched an offensive on the North coast and attacked Bharuch. They were able to evade the Mughal army sent their way and came back with minimum damage. Marathas tried to win Mysore through diplomacy. Sardar Kesopant Pingle was running negotiations, but the fall of Bijapur to the Mughals turned the tides and Mysore was reluctant to join Marathas. Sambhaji successfully courted several Bijapur sardars to join the Maratha army.[10]

Sambhaji led the fight but was captured by the Mughals and killed. His wife and son (Shivaji's grandson) were held captive by Aurangzeb for twenty years.[10]

Execution of Sambhaji

Stone arch at Tulapur confluence where Sambhaji was executed.

After the fall of Bijapur and Goalkonda, Aurangzeb turned his attention again to his main target – Marathas. The first few attempts proved unsuccessful in making a major impact. In Jan 1688, Sambhaji called his commanders for a strategic meeting at Sangameshwar in Konkan to decide on the final blow to oust Aurangzeb from Deccan. To execute the plans soon, Sambhaji sent ahead most of his comrades and stayed back with a few of his trustworthy men. Ganoji Shirke, one of Sambhaji's brothers-in-law, turned traitor and helped Aurangzeb's commander Muqarrab Khan to locate, reach and attack Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was in the garden of Sangameshwar, resolving some issues and was about to leave the town. Sambhaji, Kavi Kalash and his men were surrounded from all sides. A bloody battle took place and Sambhaji was captured on 1 February 1689. Maratha soldiers and other followers unsuccessfully tried to rescue Sambhaji but were killed by the Mughals on 11 March 1689.[11]

Marathas under King Rajaram (1689 to 1700)

Sambhaji's younger brother Rajaram was now given the title of 'Chhatrapati' (Emperor).[12] In March 1690, the Maratha commanders, under the leadership of Santaji Ghorpade launched an attack on mughal army. This development was followed by a negative one for Marathas. Raigad fell to treachery of Suryaji Pisal. Sambhaji’s queen, Yesubai and their son, Shahu, were captured.[10]

Mughal forces, led by Zulfikar Khan, continued this offensive further south. They attacked fort Panhala. The Maratha killedar of Panhala defended the fort and inflicted heavy losses on Mughal army. Finally Aurangzeb himself had to come and Panhala was surrendered.[10]

Shift of Maratha Capital to Jinji

Maratha ministers insisted Rajaram to leave Vishalgad for Jinji (in present Tamil Nadu), was earlier captured by Shivaji during his southern conquests. Rajaram travelled south under escort of Khando Ballal and his men. Jinji became new capital of Marathas.[13] This breathed new life in Maratha army. It was to be the Maratha capital for next seven years.

Aurangzeb was frustrated with Rajaram’s successful escape. His next move was to keep most of his force in Maharashtra and dispatch a small force to keep Rajaram in check. They first attacked and destroyed the force sent by Aurangzeb to keep check on Rajaram, thus relieving the immediate danger. Then they joined Ramchandra Bavadekar in Deccan. Bavdekar, Vithoji chavan and Raghuji Bhosale had reorganised most of the Maratha army after defeats at Panhala and Vishalgad.[10]

In late 1691, Bavdekar, Pralhad Niraji, Santaji,Dhanaji and several Maratha sardars met in Maval region and reformed the strategy. Aurangzeb had taken four major forts in Sahyadrais and was sending Zulfikar khan to subdue the fort Jinji. So according to new Maratha plan, Santaji and Dhanaji would launch offensives in the East to keep rest of the Mughal forces scattered. Others would focus in Maharashtra and would attack a series of forts around southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka to divide Mughal won territories in two, thereby posing significant challenge to enemy supply chains. Having a strong navy established by Shivaji, Marathas could now extend this divide into the sea, checking any supply routes from Surat to south.[10]

Now war was fought from the Malwa plateau to the east coast. Such was the strategy of Maratha commanders to counter the might of the Mughals. Maratha generals Ramchandrapant Amatya and Shankaraji Niraji maintained the Maratha stronghold in the rugged terrains of Sahyadri.[10]

In several brilliant cavalry movements, Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav defeated the Mughals. Their offensive, and especially that of Santaji, struck terror into the hearts of the Mughals. In the Battle of Athani, Santaji defeated Kasim Khan, a noted Mughal general.[10]

Fall of Jinji (Jan 1698)

Main article: Siege of Jinji

By now, Aurangzeb had come to the grim realization that the war he began was now much more serious than he had originally thought. He decided to regroup his forces and rethink his strategy. He sent an ultimatum to Zulfikar Khan to capture Jinji or be stripped of the titles. Zulfikar Khan tightened the Siege, but Rajaram escaped and was safely escorted to Deccan by Dhanaji Jadhav and the Shirke brothers. Haraji Mahadik’s son took command of Jinji and bravely defended the city against Julfikar Khan and Daud Khan until its fall in January 1698. This gave Rajaram ample amount of time to reach Vishalgad.[10]

After significant Mughal losses, Jinji was captured in a victory for the Mughals. The fort had done its work: for seven years the three hills of Jinji had kept a large contingent of Mughal forces occupied while inflicting heavy losses. It had significantly depleted Mughal resources in the region, from the treasury to materiel.[10]

Marathas would soon witness an unpleasant development of their own making. Dhanaji Jadhav and Santaji Ghorpade had a simmering rivalry, which was kept in check by the councilman Pralhad Niraji. But after Niraji’s death, Dhanaji grew bold and attacked Santaji. Nagoji Mane, one of Dhanaji’s men, killed Santaji. The news of Santaji’s death greatly encouraged Aurangzeb and the Mughal army.[10]

But by this time the Mughals were no longer the army they were earlier feared to be. Aurangzeb, against the advice of several of his experienced generals, continued the war. Aurangzeb's position was much like that of Alexander on the borders of Taxila.[10]

Revival of Strong Maratha Position

The Marathas again consolidated and the new Maratha counter offensive began. Rajaram made Dhanaji the next commander in chief. Maratha army was divided in three divisions. Dhanaji himself would lead the first division. Parshuram Timbak led the second and Shankar Narayan led the third. Dhanaji Jadhav defeated a large Mughal force near Pandharpur. Shankar Narayan defeated Sarja Khan in Pune. Khanderao Dabhade, who led a division under Dhanaji, took Baglan and Nashik. Nemaji Shinde, another commander with Shankar Narayan, scored a major victory at Nandurbar.[10]

Enraged at these defeats, Aurangzeb himself took charge and launched another counteroffensive. He laid siege to Panhala and attacked the fort of Satara. A seasoned commander, Prayagji Prabhu, defended Satara for a good six months, but he surrendered in April 1700, just before the onset of the monsoon. This foiled Aurangzeb’s strategy to clear as many forts before the monsoon as possible.[10]

Conclusion

Dhanaji Jadhav again fell on him and in swift and ferocious attack he dismantled the rear guard of his imperial army. With the help of Zulfikar Khan, Aurangzeb left to Burhanpur.[14]

The Indologist Stanley Wolpert, emeritus professor at UCLA,[15] says that:

the conquest of the Deccan, to which, Aurangzeb devoted the last 26 years of his life, was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, costing an estimated hundred thousand lives a year during its last decade of futile chess game warfare. The expense in gold and rupees can hardly be accurately estimated. Aurangzeb's encampment was like a moving capital – a city of tents 30 miles in circumference, with some 250 bazaars, with a 1⁄2 million camp followers, 50,000 camels and 30,000 elephants, all of whom had to be fed, stripped the Deccan of any and all of its surplus grain and wealth ... Not only famine but bubonic plague arose ... Even Aurangzeb, had ceased to understand the purpose of it all by the time he was nearing 90 ... "I came alone and I go as a stranger. I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing," the dying old man confessed to his son, Azam, in February 1707.[16]

Aftermath of the war

File:India 18th century.JPG
Maratha Empire, 1774 (in orange) was the major power in the Indian sub-continent at that time.

Marathas emerged victorious against the Mughals and started northward expansion. For the first time they crossed the Narmada the traditional boundary between northern plains and peninsula. After defeating the Mughals, there was no other power to oppose Marathas successfully. With the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the Maratha army marched in to Delhi itself and within a decade confined the Mughal clan to Delhi. Under the pressure of Marathas, the Mughals released the grandson of Shivaji, Shahu from captivity.[17]

The Mughals suffered heavy losses in the entire war. Entire Mughal Empire got split in small kingdoms. Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Oudh and Nawab of Bengal quickly declared their kingdoms as independent from Mughal Empire. The Mughals were now limited to Delhi and nearby areas.[10]

Meanwhile the Maratha cavalry continued their expansion in north under various Maratha generals like Nemaji Shinde, Hybtarao Nimbalkar, Parsoji Bhosle, Dhanaji Jadhav, Baji Rao I and by May 1758, Marathas had extended their territory to Peshawar (now in Pakistan).[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Patil, Vishwas. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ Will Slatyer, Life/Death Rhythms of Capitalist Regimes – Debt before Dishonour, p. 88 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ [4]
  7. ^ Medieval India
  8. ^ History of Mughal capitals
  9. ^ Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories: In 36 ..., Volume 34
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Robinson, Howard; James Thomson Shotwell (1922). "Mogul Empire and the Marathas". The Development of the British Empire. Houghton Mifflin. p. 106–132.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sambhaji was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Maharani Tarabai of Kolhapur, c. 1675–1761 A.D.
  13. ^ Relation between French and Marathas
  14. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA53&dq=maratha+war+of+independence&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VUwST8ebBpHSrQfQx83gAQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=maratha%20war%20of%20independence&f=false
  15. ^ "Stanley A. Wolpert". UCLA. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  16. ^ Wolpert, Stanley A. (2004) [1977]. New History of India (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195166774.
  17. ^ Indian History (21st Edition, 2005)
  18. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=jBBYD2J2oE4C&pg=PA43&dq=marathas+peshawar&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9V0IT5ibFMLorQes6s3ZDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=marathas%20peshawar&f=false
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