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Mughal conquest of Palamau
	; The remains of Palamau fort from where the Cheros previously ruled the region
Date	23rd April 1660 - 1663
Location	Palamau, Bihar Suba
Result	Mughal Empire victory Palamau annexed;
Belligerents
Mughal Empire Kharagpur Raj;	Cheros of Palamau
Commanders and leaders
Aurangzeb Daud Khan Quraishi; Raja Bahroz Singh; Mirza Khan; Abul Maali;	Raja Pratap Rai
Strength
Around 5400 including cavalry, musketeers and infantry	Unknown

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The Mughal conquest of Palamau was a military campaign launched by the Mughal Empire to subdue the Palamau region in the suba of Bihar (now a part of Jharkhand state in India). The campaign was led by Daud Khan Quraishi, who was a Mughal nobleman who at the time served as the subadar of Bihar.^[1]

Background

The Palamau region at the time was a hilly and forested stretch of land ruled by the Chero dynasty. At its peak, the northern frontier of the kingdom ran 71 miles south of Patna. It was inhabited by various tribes including the Cheros, Kharwars, Gonds and Kisans. The Chero's were the most dominant of these tribes and established themselves as the de facto rulers. The Cheros had maintained a hostile relationship with the Mughals and on previous occasions, the Mughals had to subdue them however they were not annexed at that point and would stop paying tribute. The Cheros took advantage of the war of succession among Shah Jahan's sons carried on their traditional policy of not showing any deference.

The hostile activities of the Chero's caught the attention of Aurangzeb who ordered Daud Khan and his allies in Bihar to compel the Chero ruler to pay tribute.^[2]

The campaign

The Chero territory was defended by forts situated on the frontier of their territory. On the 5th of May 1660, Daud Khan launched a surprise attack and captured Kothi fort. Taken by surprise, the Cheros fled the fort in advance of the Mughal arrival. 20 miles from Kothi was Kunda fort which was built upon a hill, surrounded by forest and strongly defended. Daud Khan cleared the forests surrounding the fort which frightened many of the Cheros who once again fled. Within two days the Mughal forces had captured Kunda fort on the 3rd of June 1660. The campaign was delayed due to the rains and Daud Khan decided to halt until the rainy season had passed. During this time, he created multiple mud forts and garrisoned them with 100 horsemen.^[3]

After the rainy season, Pratap Rai of the Cheros sent a proposal to Daud Khan promising to send tribute to the Mughals if they left their territory however Daud Khan rejected this and made preparations to advance on the Chero capital of Palamau fort. During this march, Pratap Rai sent another proposal to pay tribute to Daud Khan directly. Daud Khan almost accepted this however while considering this offer, he received news that the Cheros had started to plunder the grain stores of the Mughal forces garrisoned in the region which meant that hostilities were resumed.

Aftermath

References

^ Nripendra Kumar Shrivastva (1999). "The career of Daud Khan Quraishi and his conquest of Palamau". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 60: 306–314. JSTOR 44144097.
^ John F. Richards (1995). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 169–172. ISBN 978-0-521-56603-2.
^ Tahir Hussain Ansari (20 June 2019). Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar. Taylor & Francis. pp. 135–160. ISBN 978-1-00-065152-2.

[Shrivastva1999-1] Nripendra Kumar Shrivastva (1999). "The career of Daud Khan Quraishi and his conquest of Palamau". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 60: 306–314. JSTOR 44144097.

[Richards1995-2] John F. Richards (1995). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 169–172. ISBN 978-0-521-56603-2.

[Ansari2019-3] Tahir Hussain Ansari (20 June 2019). Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar. Taylor & Francis. pp. 135–160. ISBN 978-1-00-065152-2.

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