Afghan–Maratha War

Afghan–Maratha War
	Part of the Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
	; Third Battle of Panipat, 14 January 1761
Date	28 April 1751–10 September 1790
Location	Punjab and region around Delhi
Result	Maratha victory: Marathas successfully capture northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent, including Punjab and the city of Peshawar, Multan and Attock from the Afghans; 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 Rohilkhand; Maratha Empire loses influence over the imperial government at Delhi; Maratha Resurrection and attempts of invasion by Taimur Shah Durrani hatled by Marathas and Sikhs;
Belligerents
Afghan Empire Rohilkhand; Jaipur; Jodhpur; Pathan Rebels; Amb State; Khanate of Kalat; Oudh State; Mughal Empire;	Maratha Empire; Sikh Confederacy
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Shah Durrani; Timur Shah Durrani; Najib-ud-Daula; Zabita Khan; Ghulam Qadir; Muhammad Bangash; Madho Singh I; Pratap Singh; Vijay Singh; Shuja-ud-Daula;	Sadashivrao Bhau †; Vishwasrao †; Ibrahim Khan Gardi †; Tukoji Rao Scindia †; Shamsher Bahadur †; Raghunath Rao; Sakharam Bapu Bokil; Mahadji Scindia (WIA); Malhar Rao Holkar; Dattaji Scindia †; Tukoji Rao Holkar; Jassa Singh Ahluwalia; Charat Singh; Ala Singh; Adina Beg;

The Afghan–Maratha War was fought between the Afghan Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Maratha Confederacy and the Sikh Confederacy between 1758 and 1761.^[1] It took place in north-west India, primarily the region around Delhi and Punjab.^[2]. The war was continued by the Rohilla Afghans and Taimur Shah Durrani till 1790.

Background

Pathan War and Marathas

In April 1751, a Bangash incursion into northern India was repelled at Qadirganj. When the Rohilla Pathans advanced to support their Sunni allies, they encountered strong resistance near Farrukhabad from Maratha forces led by Gangadhar Jaswant and Jawahir Singh Jat. The engagement resulted in a decisive defeat for the Rohillas: their commander, Sadulla Khan, retreated from the battlefield, while Bahadur Khan was killed. Reports suggest that around 10,000 Rohilla fighters perished in the battle, forcing the invaders to withdraw across the Ganges on 28 April.

Ahmad Shah Durrani

In 1757, the Afghans invaded Hindustan and 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.^[2]

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 captured Delhi in August 1757. They decisively defeated the Rohillas near Delhi in 1758.^[2]

Initial campaign & success

In the Punjab, 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 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.^[3] The captured Uzbek, Pashtun and Khorasani soldiers were brutally tortured and forced to clean up the holy temples desecrated by them.^[4]

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.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Maratha general Bapuji Trimbak was given the charge of guarding Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan from the Afghans.^[9]

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. 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.^[3]

A massive army of Marathas under their new commanders, the 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 Tukojirao, who was deputed by Malharrao. Other officers and Dattaji himself for now left Punjab for the suppression of Najib-ud-Daula in the Ganges valley. Bapurao Trymbak took the charge of Rohtas Fort, while other officers were appointed on the frontier posts.^[3]

Taking advantage of Sabaji's absence from Peshawar post, the Afghans marched to Peshawar. The 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.^[3]

Reference

↑ Kohn, George C. Dictionary of Wars.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Advanced Study in the History of Modern India
↑ Kulkarni, Uday S. (21 October 2019). "How the Marathas captured ATTOCK in modern day Pakistan". esamskriti.
↑ Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011-07-22). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-59884-337-8.
↑ Mehta, Jaswant Lal (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. New Dawn Press, Incorporated. pp. 236, 260. ISBN 9781932705546.
↑ Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. Britannica Educational Pub. p. 198. ISBN 9781615301225.
↑ Barua, Pradeep (2005). The state at war in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780803213449. The Marathas attacked soon after and, with some help from the Sikhs, managed to capture Attock, Peshawar, and Multan between April and May 1758.
↑ Mehta, J.L. (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813. New Dawn Press, Incorporated. p. 264. ISBN 9781932705546. Retrieved 2015-08-22.

[1] Kohn, George C. Dictionary of Wars.

[War-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849

[Advance-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Advanced Study in the History of Modern India

[4] Kulkarni, Uday S. (21 October 2019). "How the Marathas captured ATTOCK in modern day Pakistan". esamskriti.

[5] Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011-07-22). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-59884-337-8.

[mehta-6] Mehta, Jaswant Lal (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813. New Dawn Press, Incorporated. pp. 236, 260. ISBN 9781932705546.

[7] Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. Britannica Educational Pub. p. 198. ISBN 9781615301225.

[barua-8] Barua, Pradeep (2005). The state at war in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780803213449. The Marathas attacked soon after and, with some help from the Sikhs, managed to capture Attock, Peshawar, and Multan between April and May 1758.

[google-9] Mehta, J.L. (2005). Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813. New Dawn Press, Incorporated. p. 264. ISBN 9781932705546. Retrieved 2015-08-22.

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