Battle of Delhi (1757)
| Battle of Delhi, 1757 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Afghan–Maratha War | |||||||||
,_Naubat_Khana,_Diwan-i-am,_Mumtaz_Mahal%27_Rang_Mahal,_B_2012-09-14_17-18-20.jpg) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Maratha Confederacy |
 Kingdom of Rohilkhand | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Ambaji Ingle |
Najib-ud-Daula (POW) Mian Qutb Shah (POW) Mulla Aman Khan (POW) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
40,000+ Infantry and cavalry. + Artillery | 7,500 infantry and Heavy artillery | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Minimum | Heavy | ||||||||
The Battle of Delhi in 1757 also referred to as the Second Battle of Delhi, was fought on 11 August 1757 between the
Ahmad Shah Abdali.[1]
Background
Abdali in Delhi court. So, Najib was now the de facto ruler of Delhi with Alamgir II as a puppet emperor in his control.[1]
The Mughal emperor and his wazir
A contingent of 40,000 Maratha troops was dispatched for liberating Delhi.[1]
Battle
The Marathas encamped opposite the
Yamuna river. Najib gave the charge of 2,500 strong infantry to Qutub Shah and Mulla Aman Khan and himself commanded another infantry contingent of 5,000 elite Afghan troops and heavy artillery, which were deployed by him to prevent the Marathas from entering the city. The battle started on 11 August and after two weeks of intense fighting with heavy Afghan losses, Najib came of the fort with his associates to negotiate a settlement with Holkar but was surrounded and arrested by Marathas.[1]
Maratha commander Raghunath Rao ordered immediate withdrawal of Najib from Delhi along with a tribute of 5 million rupees. Najib also promised that he would never return to Delhi and never threaten any Maratha fort.[1]
Aftermath
The
Marathas had now become the de facto rulers of Delhi.[3] Raghunath Rao appointed Antaji Mankeshwar as Governor of Delhi province while Alamgir II was retained as titular head with no actual power.[1][4]
See also
- Battle of Delhi (disambiguation)
- Battle of Plassey (1757)
- Maratha conquest of North-west India
- Battle of Karnal