YukikoTousignant: Stub!

2026-01-03T22:31:14Z

Stub!

New page

{{Short description|1758–1761 conflict between Afghans and Maratha–Sikh alliance}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| image = The Third battle of Panipat 13 January 1761.jpg
| caption = [[Third Battle of Panipat]], 14 January 1761
| conflict =
| partof = the [[Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani]]
| date = {{start and end dates|1758|3|8|1761|1|14|df=yes}} {{nwr|({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=03|day1=08|year1=1758|month2=01|day2=14|year2=1761}})}}
| place = [[Punjab]] and region around [[Delhi]]
| result = '''Afghan victory:'''{{blist
| [[Afghan Empire]] retains control over much of contended territories including [[Peshawar]] and the [[Punjab]] until the [[Sutlej]]
| [[Mughal emperor]] exiled and [[Delhi]] occupied by Afghan vassal [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand|Rohilkhand]]
}}
| status =
| combatant1 = [[Afghan Empire]]{{blist|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Rampur State.svg}} [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand|Rohilkhand]]}}
| combatant2 = [[Mughal Empire]] {{small|(nominal)}}{{blist|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Maratha Empire]]
| [[Sikh Confederacy]]}}
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
* [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]
* [[Timur Shah Durrani]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Rampur State.svg|border=}} [[Najib ad-Dawlah|Najib-ud-Daula]]}}
| commander2 = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Sadashivrao Bhau]]{{KIA}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Vishwasrao]]{{KIA}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Ibrahim Khan Gardi]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Tukoji Rao Scindia]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Shamsher Bahadur]]{{DOW}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Raghunathrao|Raghunath Rao]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Sakharam Bapu Bokil]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Mahadji Scindia]]{{WIA}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Malhar Rao Holkar]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Dattaji Scindia]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg|border=}} [[Tukoji Rao Holkar]]
* [[Jassa Singh Ahluwalia]]
* [[Charat Singh]]
* [[Ala Singh]]
* [[Adina Beg]]
}}
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Afghan-Maratha War}}
}}

The '''Afghan–Maratha War''' was fought between the [[Afghan Empire]] under [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] and the [[Maratha Empire]] and the [[Sikh Confederacy]] between 1758 and 1761.<ref>{{cite book|first=George C.|last=Kohn|page=|title=Dictionary of Wars}}</ref> It took place in [[Northwest India (pre-1947)|north-west]] [[Indian subcontinent|India]], primarily the region around [[Delhi]] and [[Punjab]].<ref name="War">[https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&dq=maratha+plunder+rohilkhand&pg=PA103 War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849]</ref>

The three year long war ended in a catastrophic defeat for the [[Maratha Confederacy]] and the [[Afghan Empire]] retained control of the territories until the [[Sutlej River]] which had been ceded by the [[Mughal emperor]] [[Shah Alam II]]. The militant [[Sikh Confederacy]] continued waging wars against the [[Afghan Empire]] and later [[Emirate of Afghanistan]] following Maratha defeat in the Afghan–Maratha War. [[Delhi]] came under the occupation of the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]], an Indian kingdom in modern-day western Uttar Pradesh and an ally of the Afghans, while the emperor was forced to flee to Oudh and remain in exile until 1772.

==Background==
In 1757, the [[Afghan Empire|Afghans]] invaded [[Hindustan]] and [[Sack of Delhi (1757)|captured the Mughal capital of Delhi]], forcing the Mughal emperor to cede territories up till the [[Sutlej]] to the [[Afghan Empire]]. Delhi was placed under the occupation of an Afghan vassal, the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]]. The Afghan emperor, [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] installed his son [[Timur Shah Durrani]] in [[Multan]] and returned to [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="War" />

=== Battle of Delhi (1757) ===
The Mughal emperor and the imperial grand vizier alarmed by this foreign occupation, secretly sent for his vassal, the Peshwa. The Maratha Peshwa [[Balaji Baji Rao]] sent his brother [[Raghunath Rao]] along with [[Shamsher Bahadur]], Ramsingha, Gangadhar Tatya, [[Sakharam Bapu Bokil]], Naroshankar Rajebahadur, Sidhojiraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh, Mankojiraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh, Maujiram Bania and a large army towards Delhi. They were accompanied by [[Malhar Rao Holkar]] of [[Malwa]] who had much experience in [[North India]] and with its rulers. The Marathas [[Battle of Delhi (1757)|captured Delhi]] in August 1757. They decisively defeated the Rohillas near Delhi in 1758.<ref name="War" />

== Initial campaign and success ==
[[File:INDIA, Independent States. Maratha Confederacy. AR Rupee (22.4mm, 11.36 g, 4h). In the name of ‘Alamgir II. Dar al-Sultanat Lahore mint. Dated AH 1172 (AD 1758–9), year 5. Good VF. (564 1).jpg|thumb|Maratha Confederacy. AR Rupee (22.4mm, 11.36 g, 4h). In the name of ‘Alamgir II. Dar al-Sultanat Lahore mint. Dated AH 1172 (AD 1758–9), year 5.]]
In the [[Punjab]], [[Adina Beg|Adina Beg Khan]], along with the [[Sikhs]] revolted against the oppressive Afghans. He decided to request the Maratha support as a large Afghan army was expected to reinforce and Adina needed more alliance to battle the invaders. On 7 March, [[Raghunathrao]] had encamped at [[Rajpura]] where he received Adina Beg Khan's envoys, and was informed that the latter, accompanied by 15,000 Sikh fighters, belonging to the bands (the jathas) of [[Jassa Singh Ahluwalia]] and Baba [[Ala Singh]] of [[Patiala]] had closed upon [[Sirhind-Fategarh|Sirhind]] from the other side of the [[Satluj]]. A concerted attack on the fort of Sirhind was made by the Marathas and the Sikhs on 8 March 1758. Ahmad Samad Khan, with his 15,000 Afghan troops, held out for about two weeks before his capitulation on 21 March. After the victory, the town was thoroughly sacked by the victors. Therefore, the victorious allies marched up to [[Lahore]] and the city fell after some initial fighting. Then, the allies forced the Afghans into the [[Khyber Pass]].<ref name="Advance">[https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&dq=Advanced+Study+in+the+History+of+Modern+India+1707-1813++while+encamped+in+karnal&pg=PA234 Advanced Study in the History of Modern India]</ref> The captured [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]], [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] and [[Khorasani Turkic|Khorasani]] soldiers were brutally tortured and forced to clean up the holy temples desecrated by them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kulkarni |first=Uday S. |date=21 October 2019 |title=How the Marathas captured ATTOCK in modern day Pakistan |url=https://www.esamskriti.com/e/History/Indian-History/How-the-Marathas-captured-ATTOCK-in-modern-day-Pakistan-1.aspx |website=esamskriti}}</ref>

The Maratha and Sikh forces gave chase to the [[Pathans]] on horseback and were in quick pursuit of them in which they went on to capture [[Attock]] and then [[Peshawar]] from the Afghans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mikaberidze |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jBBYD2J2oE4C |title=Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2011-07-22 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-337-8 |page=43 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="mehta">{{Cite book|last=Mehta|first=Jaswant Lal|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813|publisher=New Dawn Press, Incorporated|year=2005|isbn=9781932705546|pages=236, 260}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pletcher|first=Kenneth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&pg=PA198|title=The History of India|publisher=Britannica Educational Pub.|year=2010|isbn=9781615301225|pages=198}}</ref><ref name="barua">{{Cite book|last=Barua|first=Pradeep|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIIQhuAOGaIC&pg=PA55|title=The state at war in South Asia|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2005|isbn=9780803213449|pages=55|quote=The Marathas attacked soon after and, with some help from the Sikhs, managed to capture Attock, Peshawar, and Multan between April and May 1758.}}</ref>

Maratha general Bapuji Trimbak was given the charge of guarding [[Multan]] and [[Dera Ghazi Khan]] from the Afghans.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813|author=Mehta, J.L.|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press, Incorporated|isbn=9781932705546|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA264|page=264|access-date=2015-08-22}}</ref>

Adina Beg's sudden death threw Punjab into turmoil. Many of his soldiers, particularly Afghan mercenaries deserted his army camp and added to the number of freebooters, thus creating chaos and anarchy everywhere. Sikhs started again to revolt against Muslim ruling elite, which had caused Punjab to go into political and economic turmoil. Khawaja Mirza who was now the Maratha governor of Haryana-Delhi could not cope with the situation. He sent an express appeal to the [[Peshwa]] for reinforcements, alerted all the junior Maratha officers to help him restore law and order in the state and he also recalled Maratha detachments from Peshawar and Attock to safeguard his position in [[Karnal]]. [[Tukoji Rao Holkar|Tukojirao Holkar]] and Narsoji Pandit, the Maratha commanders of Peshawar and Attock had to withdraw their troops from the frontier posts. Sabaji Scindia was now given the charge of Peshawar.<ref name="Advance"/>

[[Raghunath Rao|Raghunathrao]] and [[Malhar Rao Holkar|Malharrao]] were not very interested in holding their positions in the north for long. On their request, the Peshwa had to find their substitutes. He gave supreme command of Delhi to [[Dattaji Scindia]], while Jankoji Scindia was appointed his deputy. They proceeded towards Delhi separately at different times.<ref name="Advance"/>

A massive army of Marathas under their new commanders, the [[House of Scindia|Scindias]], reached [[Machhiwara]] in March 1759. Like Raghunathrao, Dattaji also didn't want to stay in Punjab for long. As there was no news of Abdali's invasion, Dattaji deferred the appointment of any permanent governor in Punjab. After deliberations with his advisors, Dattaji deputed Sabaji to take care of Lahore, Peshawar and Attock along with the assistance of [[Tukoji Rao Holkar|Tukojirao]], who was deputed by Malharrao. Other officers and Dattaji himself for now left Punjab for the suppression of [[Najib-ud-Daula]] in the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain|Ganges valley]]. Bapurao Trymbak took the charge of [[Rohtas Fort]], while other officers were appointed on the frontier posts.<ref name="Advance"/>

Taking advantage of Sabaji's absence from Peshawar post, the Afghans marched to Peshawar. The [[Bala Hissar, Peshawar|Peshawar fort]] was taken by Afghans with heavy losses to the besieged Maratha garrison. Thereafter the Afghan invaders, under Jahan Khan overran Attock and threatened Rohtas Fort. By this time, Sabaji Scindia had reached Lahore, with fresh troops and a large number of Sikh fighters, who had once again allied with the [[Marathas]]. The combined forces of the Marathas and Sikhs massacred the Afghan garrison in which Jahan Khan lost his son and was himself wounded. The Afghans quickly vacated the forts of Peshawar and Attock and retreated west to Afghanistan. Hence, Peshawar once again fell to the Marathas.<ref name="Advance"/>

== Final defeat of the Marathas ==
It was unbearable for Abdali to overlook this defeat. Najib-ud-Daulah invited Abdali to avenge his defeat. He, along with his commander Jahan Khan invaded Punjab for the fifth time with a gigantic army of 60,000 men<ref name="google"/> accompanied by heavy field-guns and [[Zamburak]]s. Trimbakrao, the Maratha governor of Multan, at the head of 5,000 troops, made a tactical decision of retreating towards Lahore; Sabaji Shinde also vacated Peshawar and was joined by Tukoji Holkar at Attock, backing towards Lahore. The remaining Marathas, along with Sikhs and [[Jats]] offered staunch resistance to the invaders at Lahore, but they were ultimately defeated due to inferior numbers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shejwalkar |first=Tryambak Shankar |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.6656/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Panipat: 1761 |publisher=Deccan College |year=1946 |location=Pune |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/ebooks/marathas-and-panipat |title=Marathas and Panipat |publisher=Panjab University |year=1961 |edition= |location=Chandigarh |language=English}}</ref> On 24 December 1759, a ferocious battle was fought between Dattaji and [[Ahmed Shah Abdali|Abdali]] in which Dattaji's general, Sardar Bhoite was defeated with a loss of 250 Maratha soldiers after the Mughal contingent fled from the Maratha side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mahrattas' Thread on the Battle of Tarain (1761) |url=https://en.rattibha.com/thread/1443661378913374213}}</ref> As a consequence of his victory, Abdali managed to join forces with Najib-ud-Daula.<ref name="War"/>

Qutub Shah, the ally of Najib Khan and the religious leader of the Rohillas, killed Dattaji and beheaded him at Burrari Ghat near Delhi in January 1760, in a treacherous ambush.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sir Jadunath Sarkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxMhAAAAMAAJ&q=qutb+shah+ally+of+najib |title=Fall of the Mughal Empire: 1754-1771 (Panipat) |date= |publisher=M.C. Sarkar |year=1966}}</ref>

===Reasons for decline===
[[File:Marathas and Sikhs.jpg|thumb|"Marathas and Sikhs," by Giulio Ferrario, from 'Il costume antico e moderno', Florence, 1824]]
The Marathas had failed to befriend the important players in Punjab, particularly the Sikhs, as they had gotten close enough to be aided by Sikh troops in numerous battles. They could not make any formal treaty with Sikhs, who along with Adina Beg had assisted them in their conquest of the northwest. According to an assessment, the Sikhs were ever ready to co-operate with the Marathas, but it goes to the discredit of the Marathas that they could not make a proper confederacy with Sikhs due to their minor stature as a confederacy. Sikhs regency was highly fluid until the Marathas arrived winning for them Sirhind and Lahore.

The Marathas fought successful wars with both the Sultans of Mysore, namely [[Hyder Ali]] and [[Tipu Sultan]], in which both were defeated. The Maratha also fought many wars with the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] and crushed his power. They also fought a [[First Anglo-Maratha War|war]] with [[East India Company]] in 1775 and defeated them with great difficulty. They were also fighting against the Portuguese near [[Thane]] and [[Surat]], moreover their capital was Poona (now [[Pune]]) which was too far from Delhi to conduct immediate actions and war play. In brief, the Marathas didn't have peaceful time in their period of supremacy as they always had to face battles after battles in various parts of country, so they didn't get enough time to establish stable administrations in regions which they had conquered in [[Northwest India|northwest]] [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. They even decided to extend their rule up to [[Kabul]] and [[Kandahar]] but several [[Hindu king]]s feared that the emergence of the Maratha empire would hurt their territorial interests so they invited [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Abdali]] to invade India along with Muslim rulers.

Finding the Maratha leadership completely off guard against their political foes, many Afghans who were earlier taken captives by Marathas quickly changed their loyalty towards Adina Beg and were recruited in his army. However, later on, they betrayed him and joined Abdali's forces during his fifth invasion.<ref name="Advance"/>

The Peshwa was alarmed by the growing [[French India|French]] and [[East India Company|British]] influence in the [[Deccan]].<ref name="War"/> When Abdali invaded Punjab for the fifth time, the Marathas didn't try hard enough to save the frontier posts and instead started planning to save Delhi from another invasion.<ref name="Advance"/>

==See also==
* [[Capture of Delhi (1771)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{MarathaEmpire}}
{{Durrani dynasty}}

[[Category:Wars involving the Maratha Empire|*]]
[[Category:Military history of India]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1758]]

Afghan–Maratha War - Revision history

YukikoTousignant: Stub!