104-673: Sadashivrao Bhau Bhatt (4 August 1730 – 14 January 1761) was son of Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Bajirao I) and Rakhmabai (Pethe family) and the nephew of Baji Rao I . He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha king Rajaram II . He led the Maratha army at the Third Battle of Panipat . He served as the Sarsenapati (commander-in-chief) of the Maratha army at the third battle of Panipat (14 January 1761). Sadashivrao
208-521: A battle strategy to pulverise the enemy formations with cannon fire and not to employ his cavalry until the Afghans were thoroughly softened up. With the Afghans now broken, he would move camp in a defensive formation towards Delhi, where they were assured supplies. But some Maratha generals overacted while some left battlefield leaving their defences open resulting in the defeat of the Marathas. Durrani
312-595: A garden. Raghunathrao Raghunathrao , also known as Ragho Ballal or Raghoba Dada (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783), was the younger son of Peshwa Bajirao I who served as the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known for his extremely successful campaigns in Northern India . He emerged victorious against the Rohillas in
416-469: A greater cause though Suraj Mal did not trust Bhau. Both Holkar and Scindia gave their word of honour to Suraj Mal for his personal safety while persuading him to come to the Bhau's camp. Suraj Mal agreed to join the Maratha forces to defeat the foreign invader from Afghanistan. Previous victories with artillery had made Bhau overconfident. Bhau was a man of strong character. He did not seek cooperation of
520-470: A nearby Amruthaishwar temple. And after the victory, the fort was renamed as Belapur fort. After careful planning, Chimaji Appa led Maratha armies into the occupied territories in 1737. Chimaji's strategy was to go for the weakest link in the chain to the strongest, thereby progressively weakening the Portuguese. On 28 March 1737, Maratha forces led by Ranojirao Shinde and Shankarbuwa Shinde captured
624-517: A suburb, Virar now a town, Navghar now a town, Murdha, Rai, Morva, Dongri, Gorai and many more. Chimaji Appa died on 17 December 1740 just 6 months after the death of his elder brother Bajirao I . The ground in Vasai, a suburb of Mumbai, is named after him. The name of Ground is Chimaji Appa Kridangan. A memorial has been built near the Vasai Fort containing a statue of Chimaji Appa along with
728-647: A temple built for the goddess nearby. The Vajreshwari Temple still stands there as a relic of Maratha glory. Chimaji Appa took large bells from the churches in Vasai Fort as war trophies during action against the Portuguese between 1737 and 1739. He offered the bells at Bhimashankar, at Menavali near Wai in front of a Shiva Temple on the banks of the Krishna river, Banshanker Temple (Pune), Omkareshwar Temple (Pune) and Ramlinga temple Shirur. Chimaji Appa
832-670: A time. The Maratha army moved through Mewar from Indore and on its way collected a ransom of one lakh from Jawad and attacked Ranikheda in March 1757. Reaching Jaipur in April 1757, Ragunathrao demanded pending payments from Madho Singh and laid siege to Barwada, then belonging to the Shekhawats . Lacking siege materials the Maratha army could not force the Shekhawats to surrender, and the long-standing siege started taking its toll on
936-456: Is a well known and highly respected figure within Vasai , Bhayandar , Virar , Thane and Navghar region. Konkani celebrate his victory even today on Gudi Padwa a Maharashtri new year. Appa's contribution to Agri history is carried forward through generations through classic Powada across Maharashtra . He founded and renamed many villages including Vasai now a suburb, Bhayandar now
1040-517: Is supposed to have died in the battle of Panipat. Parvatibai refused to accept that her husband was dead and did not live a widow's life. Around 1770, a person appeared in Pune claiming to be Sadashivrao. He was soon revealed as a fraud and is known as 'totayaa' (तोतया) which means an impostor. The Sadashiv Peth area of Pune is named in his honour. Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat (c. 1707 – 17 December 1740), commonly known as Chimaji Appa ,
1144-550: The Battle of Delhi (1757) , by this victory Marathas became de-facto rulers of Delhi with Mughal Emperor Alamgir II having no actual power. He also led successful campaigns against the Durrani Empire at Sirhind and Attock and brought Northwestern India and the surrounding territory including Attock , Lahore , Multan and Peshawar under Maratha rule for a brief period. Ahmad Shah Abdali sought revenge against
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#17327794867941248-703: The British East India Company on 6 March 1775. According to the treaty it was decided that Thane , Vasai and Sashti were to be handed over to the British, and in return the company would assist Raghunathrao to become the Peshwa. However, the company was not yet ready for war, so that the treaty between the Baarbhai and the company was signed at Purandar . After the Treaty of Purandar (1776) ,
1352-491: The Jat and Rajput kings while planning for the war with Abdali but rather planned to punish them later to try to subjugate them. This led to their non-co-operation and an acute shortage of supplies. He did not heed the sound advice of Suraj Mal, who held power around Delhi and Agra, to leave the civilians at Agra and take only soldiers to the battlefield though there was a severe shortage of food and other supplies. This proved fatal on
1456-652: The Maratha army . Kaniram, who was the Jaipur minister offered Raghunathrao payment as agreed in the past between Marathas and Rajputs, but Raghunathrao was adamant. He demanded 40 to 50 lakhs and territory worth 14 lakhs or threatened to wait out the siege and take territory worth 40 to 50 lakhs from the Rajputs. Madho Singh, king of Jaipur refused all of Raghunathrao's terms and asked all his feudatories to fortify their posts and stay vigilant. The Maratha army in Rajputana at
1560-618: The Battle of Talegaon, the East India Company was defeated. A treaty was signed at Vadgaon according to which Raghunathrao's claim on the position of Peshwa was rescinded. Raghunathrao moved to Kopargaon to his trusted Sardar Santajirao Wable's place and died on 11 December 1783 of unknown causes at Kopargaon . He had two sons Baji Rao II and Chimaji Rao II; in addition, he had adopted Amrit Rao . After his death, his wife Anandi Bai and his three sons were kept in confinement by
1664-541: The Battle of Udgir which weakened the Nizam of Hyderabad. He won the fort of Daulatabad . The news of Ahmad Shah Abdali 's march towards Delhi and the subsequent death of Dattaji Scindia at the battle of Burari Ghat had arrived. Therefore, Sadashivrao was called back from Udgir to Partur where the Council of war was held. It was decided that Sadashivrao would go north to resist the Afghans. In January 1760, news reached
1768-485: The Bhau's camp, tipped off Suraj Mal at night and he left just after midnight. Bhau sent his men after him in the morning but Raja Suraj Mal and his men had reached the safety of Ballabhgarh fort by then and Bhau's men returned empty-handed. Bhau also spurned the offer from the Sikhs for alliance though his commanders tried to persuade him. Therefore, he did not get any supplies from Punjab. Thus, inability to anticipate
1872-464: The Company openly distanced itself from Raghunathrao and asked him to live as their pensioner. But due to the fear of the Baarbhai, Raghunathrao was unhappy to leave Surat and in fact the Company did not insist on it, so he kept on living there. In 1776, Raghunathrao unsuccessfully tried to get help from the Portuguese . After that he came to Bombay . During that period Company gave him Rs 15000. At
1976-559: The Doab region at the time, occupied Patparganj , and Shamsher Bahadur with the artillery division reached Rewari on 27 July 1757. Grain was stopped from entering the city. Najib Khan in preparation of the coming battle, dug trenches at Khizrabad outside the city to halt the cavalry advance of the Marathas. Najib Khan on hearing of Ragunathrao's advance, sent his wakil Meghraj to Imad-ul-Mulk to seek terms of peace, but Imad proposed humiliating terms which were unacceptable to Najib. And so there
2080-572: The Fort. Najib Khan had the long range cannons dragged to the northern section of the fort and commenced bombardment on enemy's troops which resulted in several hundreds of Bahadur Khan's troops being killed. After this, the fighting stopped once again. Najib being all alone in the fort with his soldiers being reduced to 2000 men, sought to make terms by sending his diplomat (wakil) Meghraj to Malharrao. Raghunathrao set forth terms that Najib Khan should resign his post of Mir Bakhshi (Paymaster-General), vacate
2184-722: The Ganga Doab under the command of Sakharam Bapu , Vithal Shivdev, Tatya Gangadhar and Antaji Mankeshwar into the Ganga Doab reached Agra in May 1757. On reaching Agra , the Marathas made peace with Suraj Mal and advanced to the Yamuna . They crossed the Yamuna at Agra, occupied Etawah and Sikandra , and encamped at Kasganj on the southern bank of the Ganga on 17 June 1757. Antaji Mankeshwar went to Anupshahr about 2 July 1757. Meerut which
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#17327794867942288-567: The Kunjpura garrison, within sight of the Durrani camp, exasperated Durrani to such an extent that he ordered crossing of the river at all costs. Ahmed Shah and his allies on 17 October 1760, broke up from Shahdara, marching north. Taking a calculated risk, Abdali daringly plunged into the river, followed by his bodyguards and troops. Between 23 and 25 October 1760 they were able to cross at Baghpat , (a small town midway between Delhi and Panipat on
2392-511: The Maratha camp as the mercenaries in their army were complaining about not being paid. Initially the Marathas moved in almost 150 pieces of modern long-range, French-made artillery. With a range of several kilometres, these guns were some of the best of the time. The Marathas' plan was to lure the Afghan army to confront them while they had close artillery support. By November 1760, Durrani, managed to have 45,000 soldiers to block Maratha passage to
2496-455: The Maratha camp caused overcrowding, supply shortages and shook the morale of Bhau's army, forcing him to turn his attention to safely transporting the civilians to Pune . In January 1761, Bhausaheb faced famine and was blocked reinforcement due to Durrani's control of key transportation routes. On 13 January 1761, the Maratha chiefs begged their commander, Sadashiv Rao Bhau, to be allowed to die in battle than perish by starvation. The next day
2600-584: The Maratha soldiers to attack Delhi fort from the Northern side of Kashmir Gate . Imad-ul-mulk's troops under Bahadur Khan Baluch and Jamil-ud-din Khan supported them. Santajirao Wable and Manaji Paygude entrenched himself opposite Kabul Gate in the north-western section of the Fort. On 25 August 1757, Bahadur Khan and Nagar Mal led an attack on the outskirts of the fort, forcing the Rohilla defenders to fall back to
2704-413: The Marathas and Mughals arrived at Lahore, they took Lahore fort with no resistance from the Afghans. The Marathas pursued Timur Shah and the Afghans, first crossing Ravi river, then defeating the rear guard of Mir Hazar Khan. Timur Shah alarmed by the possible scenario of being captured crossed Chenab river with his Durrani clansmen, leaving all his other soldiers and supplies behind. They were captured by
2808-630: The Marathas and Mughals. The Marathas later crossed the Chenab river and captured Attock , Multan , Rohtas , Dera Ghazi Khan and Peshawar . On 15 September 1758, only a few months after victory, Adina Beg died at Khanpur near Hoshiarpur . The Marathas appointed Dattaji Scindia and then Sabaji Shinde to succeed him as the governor of the Punjab. In 1760, Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces defeated and killed Dattaji Scindia in Battle of Barari Ghat near modern-day Delhi. To counter this sitiation, Raghunathrao
2912-426: The Marathas and the Nizam over the control of various territories in the region. Legend has it that the original command was "Hyala Dharaava" (Have him seized) written on a parchment of paper, and while the message was handed over to Anandibai to pass it on to the minions, she changed the letters to mean "Hyala Maraava" (Have him killed). And therefore when the assassins attacked the young Peshwa, he ran over outside of
3016-465: The Marathas for capturing Punjab and defeating the Durrani armies. He made preparations for another campaign in India. Raghoba asked for a large financial assistance in order to check Abdali's advance which was refused by Peshwa Nana Saheb . Nana Saheb's decision of not sending Raghoba as the main commander of Maratha armies against Ahmad Shah Abdali ultimately culminated in the defeat at Panipat . After
3120-468: The Marathas left their camp before dawn and marched south towards the Afghan camp in a desperate attempt to break the siege. The two armies came face-to-face around 8:00 a.m. on 14 January 1761, the Makar Sankranti day, and the battle raged until evening. Finally the Marathas, who were on the verge of starvation, made a bold effort to break the blockade and issued forth to battle. The battle
3224-576: The Marathas, led by Chimaji Appa, with Sardar Shankarbuwa Shinde wrested control of the Belapur Fort from the Portuguese. Sardar Janojirao Shinde, actual grandfather of Ranojirao Shinde and younger brother of Dattaji Shinde I opened the attack from Maratha side. He made a vow that if it were successful to recapture the Belapur fort from the Portugueses, he would place a garland of beli leaves in
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3328-428: The Marathas. The Marathas were unable to storm the fort from the south, so Raghunathrao decided to attack the fort from all sides and lay siege to the place. Grain supply to the fort was stopped and Maratha troops encircled the fort. Najib countering these plans placed guards and cannons on all sides of the fort, preventing the Marathas from getting in the range of these cannons. Malharrao Holkar with Vithal Shivdev led
3432-453: The Nizam at Udgir. He chose Sadashivrao to lead the Maratha army to Delhi. Unlike Malharrao Holkar and Raghunathrao , both of whom had deep knowledge of northern India, Sadashivrao was unfamiliar with the personages and politics of the region. This was to prove costly, as he mishandled the regional kings and failed to form alliances with them. The main reason for the failure of the Marathas
3536-557: The North-west. The fort was bombarded by Maratha cannons from all sides, resulting in two of the bastions of Delhi Gate being demolished. The cannon fire from all sides of the fort continued till 31 August 1757. Najib's soldiers tried forming a counterattack and drove away Imad-ul-mulk and Ahmad Khan Bangash 's men from Lahore Gate. Another sortie was successfully executed by Najib's soldiers at Turkoman Gate , where Dilel Singh (diwan of Wazir), lost some soldiers. With famine raging in
3640-526: The Peshwa title was passed on to Madhavrao I , second son of Nanasaheb . Madhavrao was a minor when appointed Peshwa. Therefore, Raghunathrao was appointed as the regent to the young Peshwa. He soon fell out of favor with Madhavrao and even tried to conspire against him by joining the Nizam of Hyderabad against the Peshwa. The alliance was defeated at Ghodegaon , and Raghunathrao was placed under house arrest . After Madhavrao I 's death in 1772, Raghunathrao
3744-537: The Portuguese army surrendered. Portuguese Captain Caetano de Souza Pereira signed the surrender as most of the top army officers were already dead. Chimaji was magnanimous in victory, and surviving Portuguese were given a safe passage from the city. Portuguese were given eight days to take all their movable property and move out. Accordingly, the last remnants of Portuguese army and administration pulled out of Vasai by 23 May 1739. The Portuguese sources record that during
3848-526: The Portuguese, which culminated in the capture of the Vasai fort in 1739. Chimaji's military career was marked by several key campaigns, including the Peshwa 's Gujarat campaign and the battles of Dabhoi and Bundelkhand . However, his most notable achievement was his campaign against the Portuguese in the Western Ghats , where he systematically weakened their strongholds and eventually captured
3952-457: The Rajputs, Sikhs, Shuja-ud-Daula and Muslim leaders in north India. However, the Rajputs refused to support the Marathas citing unjust tribute from Rajputana and interference in the internal and political matters of Rajputana. Therefore, the Rajputs wanted to keep the Marathas away from at least the Rajputana. In 1748, the Marathas had interfered in succession of Jaipur kingdom trying to install
4056-504: The addition of Mahadji Shinde and Tukoji Holkar. At the end of 1756, Ahmad Shah Abdali was preparing to invade India and Delhi once again. Nanasaheb Peshwa, Ragunathrao, Sidhojiraje Gharge-Desai-Dehmukh, Malharrao Holkar and Dattaji Shinde prepared an army and it was decided that Marathas being the protectors of the Mughal Emperor would make another expedition to North India to stop another Afghan invasion. Nanasaheb Peshwa gave
4160-522: The afternoon of 26 October Ahmad Shah's advance guard reached Samalkha , about halfway between Sonipat and Panipat, where they encountered the vanguard of the Marathas. A fierce skirmish ensued, in which the Afghans lost 1000 men killed and wounded but drove the Marathas back to their main body, which kept retreating slowly for several days. This led to the partial encirclement of the Maratha army. In skirmishes that followed, Govind Pant Bundele , with 10,000 light cavalry who weren't formally trained soldiers,
4264-512: The army on the way. Sadashiv Rao was responsible for successfully adjusting the hit-and-run tactics used by the Maratha cavalry as these tactics were ill-suited for the western-style heavy artillery and infantry that he had learnt from the French. These changes had resulted in several victories for the army such as in Udgir. However, some of the Maratha generals (like Holkar) were not ready to adopt
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4368-580: The battlefield and was killed. His headless body was found in the heap of dead bodies three days after the battle. It was identified by the Maratha Vakil who were with the camp of left Marathas with Kashiraj Pandit, the wazir of Shuja Ud Daula. Bhau's body was cremated with all rituals. The next day, his head was found, which was kept hidden by an Afghan soldier. It was cremated and the ashes taken for visarjan to Kashi (Vishwas Patil, Kashiraj Pandit bakhar). While observing several battles, Bhau witnessed
4472-515: The besieged Maratha camp (which had about 1,00,000 non-combatants). According to all the chronicles of the time, food in the Maratha camp ran out by late December or early January and cattle died by the thousands. Reports of soldiers dying of starvation began to be heard in early January. Durrani had noted the huge number of non-combatants following Bhau's army, and ordered an attack on their camp, slaughtering large numbers of civilians and soldiers' families. The resulting casualties and refugees fleeing to
4576-513: The city, many soldiers started deserting Najib Khan and leaving the city, and only a few remaining loyal with him. Being hopelessly outnumbered Najib realized that surrender was the only option. Malharrao convinced Raghunathrao and Imad-ul-mulk for peace while Abdul Ahad Khan pressed Najib to agree to peace. On 3 September 1757, Qutb Shah and Najib Khan visited Malharrao's camp at Qudsiabad and accepted all terms of surrender. This created some animosity between Malharrao and Raghunathrao, as Raghunathrao
4680-553: The city. Imad-ul-Mulk replaced Najib's agents in the city with his own men on high posts. Ahmad Khan Bangash was made imperial Paymaster-General. Thus, Delhi was freed from Rohilla and Afghan influence by the wazir and Marathas. On 22 October 1757, Raghunathrao and Malharrao Holkar left Delhi after celebrating the Dasahara festival and entered Doab. Raghunathrao marched to Garh Mukteshwar to bathe in those holy waters and Malharrao Holkar started plundering Saharanpur district , which
4784-463: The command of this expedition to Ragunathrao and Malharrao Holkar was asked to assist Ragunathrao. Malharrao Holkar left for Indore at the end of 1756 and Ragunathrao followed him with his army after few weeks in October 1756. Raghunathrao reached Indore on 14 February 1757 with Santajirao Wable and was joined by Malharrao Holkar. The purpose of Raghunathrao's northern expedition was twofold: first
4888-475: The confusion and weakness of Bhau's forces. Bhau counter-attacked but ultimately the army was defeated and any remaining civilians were massacred. Bhau, on seeing the demise of his beloved Vishwasrao , Bhausaheb came down from his elephant, climbed on a horse and plunged into the enemy lines, without realising the consequences. Seeing his empty howdah, his troops thought that he had fallen and that they were leaderless and caused confusion. However, Bhau didn't leave
4992-439: The death of Nana Saheb, his son Madhavrao I became the new Peshwa under the regency of Raghoba. The untimely death of Madhavrao I created a vacuum for the post of Peshwa. Raghoba wanted to become Peshwa but was opposed by many of the Maratha nobles who saw Madhavrao I's younger brother Narayan Rao as the legitimate Peshwa. Raghoba then got involved in the assassination of his nephew Narayan Rao in 1773 and himself became
5096-403: The degree of power that lay with the judiciary in a well-governed state. But Shastri was dismissed from his office by Raghunathrao and went back to his native village. While Shastri was conducting his investigation, Sakharam Bapu ensured that pregnant Gangabai, the widow of Narayanrao, was secure and safe from harm's way. If Gangabai were to give birth to a male child, he would become the heir to
5200-559: The east bank of Yamuna), as a man from the village, in exchange for money, showed Abdali a way through Yamuna, from where the river could be crossed unopposed by the Marathas who were still preoccupied with the sacking of Kunjpura. After the Marathas failed to prevent Abdali's forces from crossing the Yamuna River, they set up defensive works in the ground near Panipat , thereby blocking his access back to Afghanistan, just as his forces blocked their access back towards Delhi. However, on
5304-438: The effectiveness artillery and light-weight guns mounted on British ships and began incorporating artillery units in the army of Balaji Baji Rao. Bhau enlisted the services of Ibrahim Khan Gardi in 1760 (previously served in the Nizam's army), who brought with him 2,500 trained soldiers and fifteen cannons. Bhau also employed European mercenaries who used to be in the employ of Tulaji Angre before his defeat. Notable among them
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#17327794867945408-536: The entire war with Chimaji Appa during 1737–1740, besides the Northern Province's capital Baçaim (Portuguese name for Vasai), they further lost eight cities, four chief ports, twenty fortress, two fortified hills and 340 villages. The losses amounted to nearly the whole of the Northern Provinces. To celebrate his victory and to fulfill a vow taken in front of Devi Vajreshwari, Chimaji Appa had
5512-611: The fateful day of the final battle as the food finished and the starved soldiers and horses could not fight properly and a desperate Bhau had to order an attack. The Jats did not support the Marathas. The overbearing attitude of the Bhau when he met the regional kings at Agra worsened the matters. The Bhau failed to forge an alliance with the Jats though they held sway on the food supplies around Delhi. In fact, Bhau decided to arrest Suraj Mal but Holkar and Scindia, who had given their word of honour to Suraj Mal while persuading him to come to
5616-460: The food supplies of his army and inability to forge alliances was major cause of defeat in the Battle of Panipat. The slow-moving Maratha camp finally reached Delhi on 1 August 1760, and took the city the next day in a battle in which artillery units were crucial in destroying the fortifications of Durrani's forces. However, Bhau found only a little supplies in Delhi for his forces. The supplies from
5720-407: The fort walls and detonated, causing a breach in the wall. As the Marathas including Ranojirao Shinde and his cousin grandfather Janojirao, son of Shrimant Changojirao poured into the fortress, the Portuguese fought on using their technically advanced weapons and artillery, causing high casualties among the Marathas. Inch by inch the fort was secured and resistance contained in small pockets. On 16 May,
5824-527: The fort with all his troops and withdraw to his Rohilla jagirs and pay an indemnity of 50 to 60 lakhs. Najib Khan preferred to die instead of accepted such humiliating and exorbitant demands and prepared the defense of the fort with renewed vigor. The battle was renewed on the night of 29 August 1757, when Raghunathrao attacked the Delhi Gate in the south and Imad-ul-mulk attacked the Lahore Gate in
5928-409: The fort's ramparts with artillery shelling and an attack of cavalry and musketeer units. The entire garrison of Durrani was killed. Durrani had earlier crossed the Yamuna river and was on its east bank. The river was swollen in flood and could not be crossed. Durrani watched helplessly from the east bank of the river and could do nothing to save his garrison and the Kunjpura fort on the west bank of
6032-461: The house of Raghoba crying "Kaakaa, malaa waachwaa" (Uncle, save me). His cry fell on deaf ears as Raghoba stood by imagining Narayanrao to be overacting while his nephew was eventually killed. After Narayanrao's murder, Raghoba became Peshwa, but he was shortly overthrown by Nana Phadnavis and 11 other administrators in what is called "The Baarbhaai Conspiracy" (Conspiracy by the Twelve). Raghunathrao
6136-599: The island and the fortress of Karanja to Raoloji Shinde's forces. Bhavangad fort was built to by Shrimant Chimaji Appa Peshave on 1737 to capture the Fort Bassein by Maratha Army and most of the secret activities were done at Bhavangad fort. Finally in February 1739, Chimaji Appa invaded Bassein Fort . He first occupied Versova fort , Dharavi and blockaded Bassein Creek. Then mines were laid at various points under
6240-633: The kingdom. But if she were to give birth to a female child, Sakharam Bapu contemplated the idea of making Ali Bahadur, the grandson of Baji Rao, the Peshwa of the Maratha empire. He convinced most of the Maratha chiefs from Raghunathrao's camp to switch sides without rousing his suspicion. He laid the foundations of a group of twelve Maratha officials and chiefs who were collectively known as the Barabhai Council ("Twelve Comrades"). These included Nana Phadnavis, Haripant Phadnavis, Babuji Naik, Maloji Ghorpade, Bhavanrao Pratinidhi, Raste, Patwardhans with
6344-467: The main culprit and in addition about fifty persons more or less responsible for the murder (forty nine males and one female servant). Of these forty nine men, thirteen were Gardis (eight Hindus and five Muslims), twenty six were Brahmin, three were Prabhu and seven were Marathas. The twenty six Brahmins were essentially clerks who acted as agents in planning and executing the details of the plan. Vyankatrao Kashi, his brother Laxman and Sakharam Hari Gupte were
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#17327794867946448-660: The new Peshwa. However his reign proved to be short lived as Narayan Rao's infant son Sawai Madhavrao was recognized as the legitimate Peshwa by the Maratha nobles in 1774. Due to his removal from the position of Peshwa, Raghunath Rao sided with the East India Company in the First Anglo-Maratha War . His attempt was foiled as Marathas defeated the company in that war. He later died of an unknown reason in 1783 at Kopargaon . Raghunathrao Bhat, also known as "Raghoba", "Raghoba Dada" and "Ragho Bharari,"
6552-492: The new strategy completely and pointed out that the new units of artillery and infantry were not compatible with the other forces in the army and that the generals were not adequately trained on the deployment of the new units. Despite the reservations of his generals and a shortage of time and money, Bhau formed a unit consisting of 10,000 infantry and 50 artillery pieces. Holkar and Scindia tried to persuade Bhau to strike diplomatic ties with Suraj Mal , Jat of Bharatpur and
6656-485: The north. His expedition during 1753–1755 was concluded by an advantageous treaty with the Jats . Raghunathrao helped Imad ul mulk imprisoning Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur and made Alamgir II puppet monarch. He returned after taking over several forts, but made little economic gains. Between August 16 and 30, 1773, Peshwa Narayanrao was assassinated by his uncle Raghunathrao and Raghunathrao's wife Anandibai . Since Raghunathrao could not leave his confinement,
6760-405: The people, Raghunathrao was unable to even gather funds for the subsistence of his army and constantly sent letters to Poona asking the Peshwa for funds. I am feeding myself only by looting villages. In this country most places are fortified, and not a grain of food can be obtained without fighting. I have no money, and cannot even raise a loan. My soldiers have been fasting for one or two days at
6864-399: The preparations for the plot were carried out by Tujali Pawar, an influential personal servant. Tujali additionally felt he had been wronged by Narayanrao and possibly Madhavrao, and regardless of whether this supposed offense was real or not, it motivated him to play an integral part in the plot. While the previous plan involved simply capturing Narayanrao, the new plan involved his murder and
6968-520: The prime minister Nanasaheb Peshwa that Ahmad Shah Durrani better known as Ahmad Shah Abdālī had invaded and captured the Punjab region . Abdali had formed an alliance against the Marathas with other Rohilla chieftains principally Najib-ul-Daula and the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula. Abdali recruited Afghans displaced by the war. Nanasaheb Peshwa was then at the zenith of his power, having defeated
7072-574: The province of Punjab from the Mughal Empire in his invasion of 1757. He had appointed his son Timur Shah as the governor of Punjab province. Timur Shah began strengthening his position in Punjab by sending Sarfaraz Khan to deal with Adina Beg , the Mughal governor of Punjab. Adina Beg successfully repelled Sarafraz Khan's invasion, but he knew his cause was doomed as he only had 10,000 troops with him. So he opened negotiations with Raghunathrao who
7176-407: The region immediately around west and south of Delhi had dried up as Bhau had antagonised the regional rulers. Therefore, Bhau moved about 110 km (68 mi) north of Delhi to Karnal (which is further north of Panipat) and captured the fortified village of Kunjpura about 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Karnal on the west bank of Yamuna river with a blitzkrieg offensive that demolished
7280-511: The revolt of Yamaji Shivdev. Mahadji Pant Purandare was Diwan of Peshwa during that period. Sadashivrao was Diwan of Bhosale of Nagpur . After the death of Shahu Bhonsle I , Ramchandrababa Shenvi suggested to Sadashivrao to take the Peshwai of Kolhapur , but Nanasaheb Peshwa opposed this idea. Mahadji Pant Purandare resigned and Sadashivrao became the Diwan of Peshwa. He successfully led
7384-659: The right to collect Chauth. Chimaji imposed Chauth claiming half of the revenue from the Gujarat province. He was also involved in the Battle of Dabhoi as a commander of the Bajirao's faction in that war. Chimaji Appa concentrated his energies towards the Western Ghats. Vasai (formerly known as Bassein) was the ultimate objective of the war, as this was the capital of the provincial government of Portugal's northern Indian state. Capture of Belapur Castle In 1733,
7488-451: The river. The Marathas achieved a rather easy victory at Kunjpura, although there was a substantial Afghan army posted there. Some of Abadali's best generals were killed. Ahmad Shah was encamped on the left bank of the Yamuna River, which was swollen by rains, and was powerless to aid the garrison. However, the supplies that Bhau got at Kunjpura lasted only a few weeks as there was a large number of non-combatants in his camp. The massacre of
7592-461: The south towards Delhi. Durrani thereafter gradually isolated the Marathas financially and cut off their meagre supplies from their base in Delhi. This eventually turned into a two-month-long siege led by Abdali against the Marathas in the town of Panipat. During the siege both sides tried to cut off the other's supplies. At this the Afghans were considerably more effective, so that by the end of November 1760 they had cut off almost all food supplies into
7696-519: The south-east side of the city, where Qutb Shah commanding 2,500 troops fired bombardments on the Maratha soldiers from the Blue Bastion. Realizing that the old city was lost, Najib Khan and Qutb Shah retreated to the inner City with all their Rohilla troops. In retaliation, Rohillas attacked and plundered Imad-ul-mulk's house in Delhi, and dishonored Imad-ul-mulk's women in his harem . Imad-ul-mulk met with Raghunathrao and cemented an alliance with
7800-484: The strategic island fortress of Arnala, thus cutting off a crucial relief line to Vasai. Thane and Salsette Island were freed in 1737. In November 1738, Chimaji Appa captured the fort of Dahanu and on 20 January 1739, Mahim capitulated. This was speedily followed by the capture of the forts of Kelve/Mahim by Chengojirao Shinde, Sirgão – by Ranojirao Shinde, Tarapur – by Janojirao Shinde and Asserim on 13 February 1739 by Chimajirao Peshwa self. On 28 March 1739 Portuguese lost
7904-412: The task assigned to them. Sadashivrao left Satara on 5 December 1746 with a force of 20,000. He also joined Mahadoba Purandare and Sakharam Bapu as his political advisers. The campaign continued till May 1747, mostly in the western Karnataka region. In January 1747, he won his first battle at Ajra , south of Kolhapur . The Nawab of Savanur was chastised, the fort of Bahadur Benda was reduced and chauth
8008-587: The territories from Delhi to Thaneshwar. At this time, Abdus Samad Khan was on an expedition against Ala Singh and was greatly alarmed at the approach of the Marathas. He quickly settled the expedition and returned to Sirhind fort on 12 January 1758 and started making defensive preparations. But Malharrao again did not rise to the bait and retreated from Kunjpura after exacting a tribute of five lakhs. Raghunathrao entered Punjab in February 1758 with Malharrao Holkar , Dattaji Shinde , Jankoji Shinde and Shamsher Bahadur I (Krishna Rao) to lay siege of Sirhind fort. He
8112-411: The three Prabhus who were declared to have played a prominent role in the plot. When Shastri approached Raghunathrao, the latter downplayed the murder as a private, personal affair and asked the former to not concern himself with it. Shastri on his part, without an ounce of fear, told Raghunathrao that he was the main culprit for the murder of his nephew. Hence Raghunathrao and the general public understood
8216-454: The throne with Imad-ul-Mulk as his wazir. But Abdali gave all the real power to Najib-ud-Daulah, his supreme agent in India and made him Mir Bakhshi . Alamgir II, Imad-ul-Mulk all wanted to be free from Najib Khan's dominance and asked the Marathas for aid in liberating Delhi from Afghan influence. Ragunathrao agreed and marched on the imperial capital in July 1757. Sakharam Bapu who was present in
8320-431: The time did not have the numbers necessary to storm forts of Barwada and Jaipur and so on 12 July 1757 Raghunathrao agreed to peace talks with Madho Singh. He accepted a payment of eleven lakhs from Jaipur, six of which were paid immediately. On 12 July 1757, Raghunathrao wrote to Peshwa: I have no money, nor is any loan available. My troops are in debt. Prices here are very high. I am daily getting my food only by sacking
8424-417: The villages. But no help was provided by the Peshwa from Pune. Having thus concluded the business in Rajputana, Raghunathrao and Malharrao Holkar with the remaining Maratha forces started making for Delhi to liberate it from the Afghan agents at the end of July 1757, by which point of time Ahmad Shah Abdali was well away to his country. The Maratha troops sent by Raghunathrao to recover lost possessions in
8528-554: The vital Vasai Fort after a series of strategic victories. When Trimbak Rao Dabhade , the son of Khanderao Dabhade refused the Peshwa to share the right of Chauth and Sardeshmukhi tribute collection to Chhatrapati Shahu I , it led rivalry between the Peshwa and the Dabhade clan in Gujarat. In 1730, Peshwa Bajirao I sent Chimaji Appa to Gujarat to force the Mughal Governor of Surat , Sarbuland Khan to cede Shahu I
8632-436: The younger son as the king in place of the eldest son but the Maratha army under Malharrao Holkar had been checked by Suraj Mal in 1749. Therefore, both Holkar and Scindia knew Suraj Mal 's strength and realised that an alliance with him was essential to win the coming war with Abdali. Despite the fact that Suraj Mal had killed Holkar's son in a battle, Scindia requested Suraj Mal to come to Agra to meet Sadashivrao Bhau for
8736-511: Was Najib Khan's jagir . Najib with his Afghan forces retreated against the Maratha onslaught and moved to his interior domains. Then, Raghunathrao and Malharrao decided to withdraw from the Doab, and gave its lands to the Wazir, Imad-ul-Mulk and started focusing on Punjab expedition to liberate that province from the Durrani empire . Ahmad Shah Durrani (of present-day Afghanistan ) had annexed
8840-520: Was a delicate one, Ahmad Shah Abdali was busy in Khurasan with a rebellion, the Lahore fort was in a state of disrepair, he was surrounded with a hostile population of Sikhs and he himself had very little soldiers to make a defence. So Timur Shah decided it wise to retreat against the Maratha onslaught. Timur Shah fled Lahore on 19 April 1758 and crossed Ravi River with all his troops and supplies. When
8944-468: Was a military commander and statesman of the Maratha Empire . As the younger brother of Peshwa Bajirao I and the son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath , Chimaji played a crucial role in expanding and consolidating Maratha power during the early 18th century. Known for his strategic acumen and leadership in various military campaigns, Chimaji is particularly celebrated for his successful campaign against
9048-405: Was an engineer named Le Corbosier, who was an expert in foundry and in handling explosives. Within two years, Balaji Baji Rao's infantry-artillery division had 10,000 men and 56 guns. His first wife's name was Umabai. She gave birth to two sons who died as soon. Umabai died in 1750. Sadashivrao's second wife was Parvatibai . She accompanied Sadashivrao Bhau during the Battle of Panipat. Sadashivrao
9152-772: Was born at Satara in a Chitpavan Brahmin family. He was the son of Peshwa Baji Rao's brother Chimaji Appa . His mother Rakhmabai died when he was barely a month old. His father died when he was ten years old. He was cared by his grandmother Radhabai and his aunt Kashibai. He was very bright from early years. He was educated in Satara . His tutor was Ramchandra baba Shenvi . Nanasaheb (Balaji Baji Rao) stayed in Satara though he had become Peshwa. Sadashivrao undertook his first campaign in Karnataka in 1746 because Babuji Naik of Baramati and Fateh Singh Bhonsle of Akkalkot failed in
9256-534: Was currently in Delhi. Adina Beg promised to pay 1 lakh rupees for each marching day and half a lakh for each day of halt. Hearing of this, Abdus Samad Khan Mohmand of Sirhind, a close ally of Abdali, marched to Thaneshwar in October 1757, where he was joined by Najib-ud-daulah's son. Raghunathrao and Malharrao avoided the bait of attacking Abdus Samad Khan and circled around Delhi for a time. Then in December 1757, Malharrao laid siege to Kunjpura and raided most of
9360-399: Was in command of the Northern expedition and peace talks were conducted by Malharrao Holkar. The peace became operative on 6 September 1757 where Najib vacated his seat with all the Rohilla soldiers and their belongings and encamped at Wazirabad . Raghunathrao released all Rohilla prisoners. Grain was brought from ferries and supplied to the starving city and Maratha soldiers started guarding
9464-441: Was in the favour of Marathas till about 2 pm, when a stray bullet hit Vishwasrao and Durrani managed to throw in ten thousand troops who had fled the battlefield along with fresh troops that guarded him. Bhausaheb was surrounded along with Jankoji Scindia and Ibrahim Gardi, while Malhar Rao Holkar managed to slip away. Fighting, Bhausaheb perished in battle. Sadashivrao Bhau along with Ibrahim Khan Gardi had planned and were executing
9568-613: Was instructed to campaign in the north. Raghunathrao's requested a large military and financial investment since their ally Adina Beg was dead. This request was denied by Sadashivrao Bhau , Raghunathrao's cousin and Diwan of the Peshwa . Since Raghunathrao declined to march north, Sadashivrao Bhau was made commander in chief of the Maratha Army, under whom the Third Battle of Panipat was fought. After Maratha defeat at Third Battle of Panipat , his brother Nanasaheb Peshwa's death and his half brother Shamsher Bahadur's death in 1761,
9672-532: Was joined by Adina Beg 's forces and Sikh mercenaries. Maratha raiding bands spread all over the district to plunder the villages around. The siege lasted few days, after which on 21 March 1758, Abdus Samad Khan along with Jangbaz Khan and other Afghan captains were captured by the Marathas while escaping, though they were well treated by Raghunathrao. Thus, Sirhind was captured by the Marathas. The Marathas and Adina Beg's forces advanced to Lahore to liberate it from Afghan supremacy. Timur Shah's position at Lahore
9776-587: Was levied from the region between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra . All together 36 parganas were captured in this campaign. Sadashivrao's first military achievement was in 1760 in Carnatic region with Mahadjipant Purandare and Sakharam Bapu Bokil serving as advisers and commanders under him. He conquered from the Nawab of Savanur and subsequently annexed the cities of Kittur , Parasgad , Gokak , Yadwad , Bagalkot , Badami , Navalgund , Umbal, Giri , Torgal, Haliyal , Harihar and Basavapatna. He crushed
9880-466: Was no other alternative to settle this conflict other than war. Raghunathrao reached Khizrabad on 11 August 1757 with his lieutenants where he was joined by Sakharam Bapu who had crossed over from Doab. Raghunathrao sent two Maratha divisions to attack Delhi. The first division fought their way to the old city through Lal Darwaza and captured it swiftly after defeating Najib's troops under the leadership of Bakhtawar Khan. The second division attacked from
9984-534: Was occupied by Najib Khan 's agents resisted the Marathas but were swiftly defeated. Imad-ul-mulk sent his diwan Nagar Mal to Anupshahar to establish friendly relations with the Marathas once again. Shuja-ud-daulah had agreed to remain neutral in the conflict between Najib-ud-daulah and the Marathas. Thus most of the Doab was freed of Najib's agents and came under the control of Marathas. Ahmad Shah Abdali, before heading home in Afghanistan, kept Alamgir II on
10088-423: Was on a foraging mission with about 500 men to gather supplies. They were surprised by an Afghan force near Meerut, and in the ensuing fight Bundele was killed. This was followed by the loss of another 2,000 Maratha soldiers who were delivering the army's payroll from Delhi. This completed the encirclement, as Ahmad Shah had cut off the Maratha army's supply lines. With supplies and stores dwindling, tensions rose in
10192-503: Was partly based on the assumption that Sakharam Bapu would remain neutral with regards to the plot. Ram Shastri , the Nyayadhish ("Chief Justice") of the Maratha empire, likely began looking into the killing of Narayanrao immediately after the incident despite Raghunathrao's opposition. The investigation lasted for around six weeks and decisions were made in accordance with established judicial practices. Shastri found Raghunathrao as
10296-488: Was released from house arrest. He then became the regent of Madhavrao's younger brother Narayanrao . Together with his wife Anandibai , he had his nephew Narayanrao murdered. In 1773, the Maratha Empire, under the command of Raghunathrao, launched a military campaign to gain control of Bidar , an important fortress located in the territory of the Nizam. The Battle of Bidar was a part of the ongoing conflict between
10400-430: Was taken unaware by the early morning attack, and decided to counter-attack during daylight. Durrani faced heavy initial losses. A stray bullet hit Vishwasrao , Bhau's nephew and heir to Nanasaheb Peshwa and he died on the spot. Bhau departed the battlefield to visit the corpse and plunged into the Afghan army, Vishwas rao's death had a devastating effect on the morale of his troops. Durrani attacked to take advantage of
10504-444: Was that they went to war without good allies. An army of between 55,000 was gathered and started its northward journey from Patdur (modern Partur ) on 14 March 1760. It was accompanied by roughly 200,000 non-combatants including family members and a large number of pilgrims desirous of making pilgrimages to Hindu holy sites in northern India as they felt safe in the presence of the army. The Maratha forces of Holkar and Scindia joined
10608-457: Was the younger brother of Nanasaheb Peshwa . His father was Peshwa Bajirao I & mother was Kashibai . Raghunathrao was born in Mahuli near Satara on 8 December 1734. Much of his childhood was spent in Satara . A small time after his birth, his step-mother, Mastani gave birth to his brother, Krishna Rao, also named Shamsher Bahadur I . In his early years he fought with great success in
10712-416: Was to defend the Mughal Emperor from Afghan invasion and second to collect taxes and tributes to meet with Peshwa's growing debts. So in the middle of May 1757, Raghunathrao sent an advance force of 20,000 into the Ganga Doab to recover lost possessions of Marathas, and with Malharrao Holkar and the remaining force decided to invade Rajputana to collect taxes. Due to the fortified lands and the martial nature of
10816-424: Was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by the justice Ram Shastri Prabhune but the sentence was never carried out. At Kasegaon near Pandharpur the first battle between the Baarbhai and Raghobadada took place in 1774. He then went to Khambhat with hope of getting help from the British, who did not help but transported him to Surat from their ship. At Surat a treaty was signed between Raghunathrao and
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