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Adil Shah sent an army led by Ikhlas Khan Habshi to pursue Malik Ambar's retreating army, and shortly after, sent a larger army comprising Mughal and Bijapur troops commanded by Muhammad Lari.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} | Adil Shah sent an army led by Ikhlas Khan Habshi to pursue Malik Ambar's retreating army, and shortly after, sent a larger army comprising Mughal and Bijapur troops commanded by Muhammad Lari.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} | ||
== The battle delayed == | |||
Malik Ambar retreated to his own territory, and encamped at a place described as the "fort of Bhatavdi" by the near-contemporary text ''Futuhat-i-Adilshahi''. This place was probably a large fortified complex located in present-day [[Beed district]], near the Bhatvadi village (modern Bhatodi Pargaon) in present-day [[Ahmednagar district]], south-east of the Ahmadnagar city. The Bijapur-Mughal army encamped nearby, with the Keli River (or Kalinadi) separating the two camps.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|pp=16-17}}{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} | |||
The Ahmadnagar minister Salabat Khan had constructed a dam on the Keli River in 1589.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=16}} The records of the [[British Raj|colonial British government]], which repaired this dam in the mid-19th century, suggest that it could store at least 4.22 million cubic meters of water.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=17}} The battle was fought during the [[monsoon of South Asia|monsoon season]] in September 1624, when the water level in the dam would have been very high.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=19}} (Note: According to the ''[[Jedhe Shakawali|Jedhe Shakavali]]'', the battle was fought in October 1624. ''Basatin-us-Salatin'' variously dates it to the [[Hijri year]]s 1033 and 1034; the change from Hijri year 1033 to 1034 happened on 6–7 October 1624 CE. These sources suggest the battle was fought in October 1624. However, based on circumstantial evidence, scholar B. G. Tamaskar theorizes that the battle was fought in September 1624. Art and architectural historian [[Pushkar Sohoni]] finds Tamaskar's theory "quite convincing".{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=22}}) | |||
Malik Ambar ordered the dam to breached, and the subsequent flooding prevented the Bijapur-Mughal cavalry from advancing towards his camp. The allied effort was further hindered by heavy rain and quarrels between the Mughal and the Bijapuri commanders.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=16}} Adil Shah had sent special robes to honour to his general Ikhlas Khan and a few other Bijapuri nobles, but refused to similarly honour the Mughal generals of the joint army, despite requests from Muhammad Lari to do so. This behaviour of Adil Shah had alienated the Mughal troops.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} | |||
For nearly two months, neither side advanced towards the enemy camp.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} Sijahdar Khan, the commander of the Mughal troops, recommended that the Bijapur-Mughal force leave Bhatvadi and retreat to the Mughal-controlled Ahmadnagar city. The Bijapuri general Ikhlas Khan favoured a negotiation with Malik Ambar before retreating to the Bijapur city. However, his colleague Muhammad Lari refused to leave without engaging in a battle with Malik Ambar. The disagreement led to a verbal argument between the two generals, with Ikhlas Khan blaming Muhammad Lari for the misfortunes of the Bijapur-Mughal force.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=80}} | |||
== The battle == | |||
Amid the chaos in the Bijapur-Mughal camp, Malik Ambar launched an attack, starting a battle at Bhatvadi. The Bijapuri general Muhammad Lari was killed when a ball hit him and he fell down from his horse. According to ''Futuhat-i-Adilshahi'', he was killed by the Bijapuri soldiers by the order of Ikhlas Khan.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=81}} But many historians refuse this. According to 'Shivbharat' Muhammad Lari was killed by Shahaji Bhosale a brave warrior in Ahmednagar Sultanate. | |||
Meanwhile, Malik Ambar's cavalry feigned retreat, but then launched a surprise attack on the Bijapuri troops, bypassing the Mughal contingent. Malik Ambar's men captured Ikhlas Khan and 240 other commanders of Bijapur. They also captured three Mughal generals; the other Mughal generals fled the battlefield, riding towards the Mughal-controlled territory.{{sfn|Shanti Sadiq Ali|1996|p=81}} The battle thus resulted in a huge victory for Ahmadnagar.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|pp=15-16}} | |||
== Legacy == | |||
The battle was important enough to be recorded by the European traveler [[Pietro Della Valle]], who heard about it in [[Goa]] on 31 October 1624.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=21}} Malik Ambar died in 1626, and Ahmadnagar fell to its enemies a decade later, in 1636. In the subsequent decades, [[Shivaji]] - a son of Malik Ambar's subordinate [[Shahaji]] - established a kingdom that covered much of former Ahmadnagar territory, and that ultimately evolved into the [[Maratha Empire]]. The Maratha records portray the battle of Bhatvadi as an important turning point in the history of the region, and as an auspicious omen indicating the rise of the Marathas.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=15}} | |||
The [[Sanskrit]]-language texts ''Radha-madhava-vilasa-champuh'' (composed under Shahaji's patronage in 1654) and ''Shiva-bharata'' (composed under Shivaji's patronage in 1674) describe the battle of Bhatvadi.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=15}} The [[Persian language]] texts ''Futuhat-i-Adilshahi'' (1640–43), ''Iqbalnamah-i-Jahangiri'' (17th century), and ''Basatin-us-Salatin'' (1824) also contain information about the battle.{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|pp=15, 22}} The event also finds a mention the [[Marathi language]] records, including the ''[[Jedhe Shakawali|Jedhe Shakavali]]'' (17th century) and a [[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|Brihadisvara Temple]] inscription (1803).{{sfn|Pushkar Sohoni|2016|p=15}} | |||
== References == | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
=== Bibliography === | |||
{{ref begin}} | |||
* {{cite journal |author=Pushkar Sohoni |title=Flushing out the Enemy: Revisiting the battle of Bhatavadi |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute |volume=76 |year=2016 |pages=15–22 |jstor=26264763 }} | |||
* {{cite book |author=Richard M. Eaton |chapter=The rise and fall of military slavery in the Deccan, 1450-1650 |title=Slavery and South Asian History |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nsh8NHDQHlcC&pg=PA134 |year=2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-11671-6 }} | |||
* {{cite book |author=Shanti Sadiq Ali |title=The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3CPc22nMqIC&pg=PA80 |year=1996 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-0485-1 }} | |||
* {{cite book |author=Stewart Gordon |title=The Marathas 1600-1818 |series=The New Cambridge History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C |year=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-26883-7 }} | |||
{{ref end}} | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Mughal Empire|Bhatvadi]] | |||
[[Category:Conflicts in 1624|Bhatvadi]] | |||
[[Category:Ahmadnagar Sultanate]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Sultanate of Bijapur]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Deccan sultanates]] | |||
[[Category:1624 in Asia]] | |||
[[Category:1620s in the Mughal Empire]] | |||
[[Category:Military operations involving dams]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Ahmednagar Sultanate]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the people of Maratha caste]] | |||
[[Category:Conflicts involving Shahaji]] | |||