Siege of Janjira (1682): Difference between revisions

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The '''siege of Janjira (1682)''' was a military conflict fought between Maratha and Siddis of Janjira,the allies of Mughal Empire.Maratha Emperor Sambhaji personally besieged the fort of Murud-Janjira to stop Siddi's intrusions into Maratha Territories and to capture the strategically important fort Janjira.

Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]] had arrived in the Deccan to conquer the [[Deccan Plateau]] in 1681. His first goal was to conquer the newly established [[Maratha Empire]] in Maharashtra. Aurangzeb wanted to encircle the Maratha Empire from all sides. He ordered his allies and enemies of Maratha Empire such as [[Siddis of Janjira]], [[Wadiyar dynasty|Wodeyars of Mysore]] and [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese of Goa]] to attack the Maratha Empire. In addition Sambhaji Raje knew the strategic importance of Janjira, he had an ambition to capture it. Hence, Sambhaji Raje decided to capture Janjira personally.

Sambhaji Raje had planned to Janjira by ruse, he had sent a party in 1681 under the leadership of senior Maratha General [[Kondaji Farzand]] under the pretext of a fake fight with Sambhaji Raje. Kondaji and his men told Siddi about their fight with Sambhaji and asked for a post in his army. Siddi Khairiyat was happy at the defection of Kondaji at his side. The Siddi brothers made Kondaji a sardar in their army. But actually Sambhaji Raje had sent Kondaji and his men to  the ammunition storage on the fort in order to capture the fort.

[[Sambhaji]] Raje personally attacked Janjira in 1682. He had a 20,000 strong army, 300 ships of the Maratha navy and Maratha artillery assisting him. Maratha admirals Mainak Bhandari, Dariya Sarang and Daulat Khan were commanding the navy. Arab admiral Jange Khan was also helping the Marathas. Siddi forces in the Maratha territories retreated to Janjira fort after seeing such a large army. Sambhaji Raje recaptured the villages surrounding Janjira.

Aurangzeb was well aware of the strategic importance of Janjira. He immediately sent his General [[Husain Ali Khan]] to destroy [[Kalyan]] and [[Bhiwandi]] regions with a 35,000 strong force to divert Sambhaji Raje's attack on Janjira. Husain Ali Khan destroyed Kalyan and Bhiwandi was threatening to attack Raigad, the Maratha Capital. Sambhaji Raje had almost captured Janjira but he was forced to retreat from Janjira to check Husain Ali Khan's advance. In absence of Sambhaji Raje, his naval commander Dadaji Raghunath Deshpande of Mahad took control of the siege. Sambhaji Raje later on defeated and pushed back Husain Ali Khan to Ahmadnagar but Janjira was saved due to his advance on Kalyan-Bhiwandi.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Robinson, Howard|first=James Thomson Shotwell|title=''Mogul Empire and the Marathas''. The Development of the British Empire.|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1922|isbn=|location=|pages=}}</ref> Sambhaji Raje was unable to capture the Janjira fort. Nevertheless, he was able to inflict heavy damage to fort. It was an important strategic victory for the Marathas as the Siddis stopped their activities in the Maratha territories and never ventured against the Marathas in Sambhaji Raje's reign.

Siddis had suffered great losses in the siege. They got to know about the superior strength of the Marathas under Sambhaji. They decided not to venture out against the Marathas. In the next few years Aurangzeb repeatedly pleaded them to open a campaign against the Marathas but the Siddis were not ready to fight against the Marathas.

*[[Mughal–Maratha Wars]]

*[[Sambhaji]]

*[[Battles involving the Maratha Empire]]

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<references /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadiq Ali |first=Shanti |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34943540 |title=The African dispersal in the Deccan : from medieval to modern times |date=1996 |publisher=Orient Longman |isbn=81-250-0485-8 |location=New Delhi |oclc=34943540}}</ref>

[[Category:Battles fought by Marathas under Sambhaji|Janjira]]

[[Category:Naval battles involving Marathas]]