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| Deccan wars | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Early Maratha history c. 1680 showing the former jagirs of Shahji and the territories of Shivaji | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
| Maratha Kingdom | Mughal Empire | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Strength | |||||
| 150,000[2] | 500,000[2] | ||||
The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707.[3] Shivaji was a central figure in what has been called "the Maratha insurgency" against the Mughal state.[4] Both he and his son, Sambhaji, or Shambuji, typically, alternated between rebellion against the Mughal state and service to the Mughal sovereign in an official capacity.[5] It was common practice in late 17th-century India for members of a ruling family of a small principality to both collaborate with the Mughals and rebel.[5]
Upon Shivaji's death in 1680, he was immediately succeeded by Rajaram, his second-born son by his second wife.[3] The succession was contested by Sambhaji, Shivaji's first-born son by his first wife, and quickly settled to his benefit as the result of the murders of Rajaram's mother, of the loyal courtiers favouring Rajaram's succession, and by Rajaram's imprisonment for the following eight years.[3] Although Sambhaji's rule was riven by factions, he conducted several military campaigns in southern India and Goa.[3]
In 1681, Sambhaji was contacted by Muhammad Akbar, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son, who was keen to enter into a partnership with the Marathas in order to assert his political power against his ageing father's continuing dominance.[3] The prospects of an alliance incited Aurangzeb to move his household, court and army to the Deccan. Akbar spent several years under the protection of Sambhaji but eventually went into exile to Persia in 1686. In 1689 Sambhaji was captured by the Mughals, and executed with great cruelty.[3] at the age of 31. His death was a significant event in Indian history, marking the end of the golden era of the Maratha kingdom. Sambhaji's wife and minor son, later named Shahuji was taken into the Mughal camp, and Rajaram, who was now an adult, was re-established as ruler; he quickly moved his base to Gingee, far into the Tamil country.[3] From here, he was able to frustrate Mughal advances into the Deccan until 1700.
In 1707, Emperor Aurangzeb died. Although by this time the Mughal armies had regained total control over lands in the Deccan, their forts had been stripped bare of valuables by the exiting Marathas, who thereafter took to raiding Mughal territory in independently operating "roving bands."[6] In 1719, Sambhaji's son, Shahu, who had been raised in the Mughal court, received the rights to the Chauth (25% of the revenue) and sardeshmukhi over the six Deccan provinces in exchange for maintaining a contingent of 15,000 troops for the Mughal emperor.[7]
- ^ a b Mehta 2005, p. 52.
- ^ a b Malešević, Siniša (2017). The Rise of Organised Brutality. Cambridge University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-107-09562-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g Laine, James W. (2003), "The Hindu Hero: Shivaji and the Saints, 1780–1810", Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India, Oxford University Press, pp. 45–47, ISBN 978-019-514126-9
- ^ Metcalf, Barbara D.; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2012), A Concise History of Modern India, Cambridge University Press, pp. 59–60, ISBN 978-1-107-02649-0,
Shivaji Bhonsle (1630–80), the pivotal figure in the Maratha insurgency that so plagued Aurangzeb in the Deccan
- ^ a b Bang, Peter Fibiger (2021), "Empire—A World History: Anatomy and Concept, Theory and Synthesis", in Bang, Peter Fiber; Bayley, C. A.; Scheidel, Walter (eds.), The Oxford World History of Empire, vol. 1, Oxford University Press, p. 8, ISBN 978-0-19-977236-0
- ^ Asher, C. B.; Talbot, C. (2008), India Before Europe t, Cambridge University Press, p. 290, ISBN 978-0-521-51750-8,
By the time Aurangzeb died in 1707, many forts had been captured, but the Marathas had already fled them, taking as much treasure as possible. They formed roving bands, often acting independently, and raided Mughal territory even across the Narmada river, the traditional boundary between the Deccan and north India.
- ^ Mehta 2005, pp. 492–494.