Battle of Delhi (1737)

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Battle of Delhi
Part of Later Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728-1763)
Date28 March 1737
Location
Result Maratha Victory
Belligerents
Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Marathas Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders

Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Baji Rao I

Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Malhar Rao Holkar

Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg Vithoji Bule
Mir Hasan Khan Koka[1]
Strength
50,000 soldiers[2] 8,000 soldiers[3][4]

The First Battle of Delhi took place on 28 March 1737 between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire.[5] It was part of the Later Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728-1763).

Background[edit]

On 12 November 1736, the Maratha general Bajirao advanced on Old Delhi to attack the Mughal capital. Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah sent Saadat Ali Khan I with a 150,000-strong army to stop the Maratha advance on Delhi.[6] But Bajirao's subordinate chiefs Malhar Rao Holkar and Pilaji Jadhav crossed the river Yamuna and looted Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Saadat Khan defeated the maratha forces under Malhar Rao and retired to Mathura.[7] Bajirao's army advanced to Delhi and encamped near Talkatora.[8]

Battle[edit]

Muhammad Shah sent Mir Hasan Khan Koka with an army to intercept Bajirao. The Mughals led an attack on Maratha army but were repulsed with heavy losses.[9]

Aftermath[edit]

The battle signified the further expansion of the Maratha Empire towards the north. Muhammad Shah called upon the Nizam's and Nawab's armies to destroy the Maratha Army.[10][11] The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Bhopal left Hyderabad to protect the Mughal Empire from the invasion of the Marathas, but they were defeated decisively in the Battle of Bhopal (24 December 1737).[12][5] The Marathas extracted large tributaries from the Mughals, and signed a treaty which ceded Malwa to the Marathas.[5]

The Maratha plunder weakened the Mughal Empire, which got further weakened after successive invasions of Nadir Shah in 1739 and Ahmad Shah Abdali in the 1750s. The continuous attacks led the Marathas to wage another Battle of Delhi in 1757 against the Rohillas who were pushed out, which largely effaced the remaining central authority of the Mughal Empire.[13][need quotation to verify]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813
  2. Dighe, V. G. Peshwa Bajirao I and Maratha expansion. p. 136.
  3. Dighe, V. G. Peshwa Bajirao I and Maratha expansion. p. 136.
  4. Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-1: 1707-1803) Pg.117
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 An Advanced History of Modern India
  6. https://books.google.ca/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA117&dq=Mir+Hasan+Khan+delhi+1737&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M_WjVIGBGo28uATAw4DICQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Mir%20Hasan%20Khan%20delhi%201737&f=false
  7. https://books.google.ca/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA117&dq=Mir+Hasan+Khan+delhi+1737&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M_WjVIGBGo28uATAw4DICQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Mir%20Hasan%20Khan%20delhi%201737&f=false
  8. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/talkatoras-vicissitudes-of-fortune/article17333158.ece
  9. https://books.google.ca/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA117&dq=Mir+Hasan+Khan+delhi+1737&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M_WjVIGBGo28uATAw4DICQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Mir%20Hasan%20Khan%20delhi%201737&f=false
  10. https://books.google.com/books?id=6L6avTlqJNYC&pg=PA247&dq=Battle+of+Bhopal+1737&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gLAHUKy_BMmrrAez85TZAg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Battle%20of%20Bhopal%201737&f=false
  11. https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PR23&dq=maratha+delhi+1737&hl=en&sa=X&ei=z-PVT7mfGpDLrQfP6_D8Dw&ved=0CF0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=maratha%20delhi%201737&f=false
  12. History Modern India
  13. Robinson, Howard; James Thomson Shotwell (1922). "Mogul Empire and the Marathas". The Development of the British Empire. Houghton Mifflin. p. 106-132.
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