Battle of Bhopal

Battle of Bhopal
Part of Imperial Maratha Conquests
Date24 December 1737
LocationBhopal, India
Result Decisive Maratha victory
Treaty of Bhopal signed between the Marathas and the Mughals, the later ceded large territory of Malwa (central India) along with 50 lakh rupees as war expenses to Marathas.
Belligerents
Maratha Empire Mughal Empire
Nizam of Hyderabad
Nawab of Awadh
Nawab of Bhopal
Jaipur State
Commanders and leaders
Baji Rao Yar Muhammad Khan Bahadur
Asaf Jah I
Saadat Ali Khan I
Sultan Muhammad Khan Bahadur
Iswari Singh
Diwan Raja Ayamal
Pratap Singh
Strength
80,000 soldiers 100,000 soldiers
50-100 cannons

The Battle of Bhopal was fought on 24 December 1737 in Bhopal between the Maratha Empire and the combined army of Mughals and their allies (Rajputs of Amber).

Background

As the Mughal empire continued to weaken after Aurangzeb's death, the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I invaded Mughal territories such as Malwa and Gujarat. The Mughal emperor was alarmed by Maratha conquests. In 1737, the Marathas invaded Delhi, defeated the Mughals, and then marched back to their capital Pune.

The Mughal emperor asked for support from their vassals, Rajputs and the Nizam. The Nizam intercepted the Marathas during the latter's return journey, with support from the Rajput subordinates of the Mughals. Their combined armies clashed with Marathas near Bhopal.[1][2]

Battle

The battle was fought between the Maratha Empire and Mughal forces led by Nizam of Hyderabad near Bhopal in India in December 1737, and was arguably the largest pitched battle fought in India in the 18th century. The battle resulted in decisive Maratha victory mainly through the swift tactics of Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao.[2]

The Rajput army included Sawai Raja Jai Singh's forces under his son Iswari Singh and Diwan Raja Ayamal, and Badan Singh's forces under his son Pratap Singh.

Later, on 7 January 1738, a peace treaty was signed between Peshwa Bajirao and Jai Singh II, deputy of Nizam at village Doraha near Bhopal.[3] The Mughal Empire was left in a wrecked position and was unable to face the later invasion of Nadir Shah. Marathas were given the territory of Malwa [2]

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 3 An Advanced History of Modern India
  3. ↑ S.R. Bakshi and O.P. Ralhan (2007). Madhya Pradesh Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. p. 384. ISBN 978-81-7625-806-7.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.