Battle of Delhi (1757)

01After Abdali’s sack

Abdali’s fourth invasion took Delhi in January 1757 and went on to plunder Mathura and Vrindavan. When he left in April he kept Alamgir II as emperor in name and put real power in the hands of the Rohilla chief Najib ud-Daula. The wazir Imad-ul-Mulk, who hated Najib, called on the Marathas. Raghunathrao, the Peshwa’s brother, and Malhar Rao Holkar crossed into the Doab and reached Delhi in August, camping across the Yamuna from the Red Fort.

02Najib lets go

Fighting began on 11 August. Najib’s Afghan infantry and guns held the riverside and the city walls, and for about two weeks the Marathas pressed them without breaking in. The townspeople and the court were with the besiegers, and Najib’s supplies ran short. In early September he came out to treat with Malhar Rao, his old patron. He was allowed to leave Delhi with his own men for his estates at Najibabad. Raghunathrao made Antaji Mankeshwar governor of the city and went on to Punjab.

Dynasty · 1713–1818 CEThe Peshwas of PuneThe Peshwas were the hereditary chief ministers of the Chhatrapatis, and from 1713 to 1818 they ran the Maratha state from Pune. Under Bajirao I and his son Nanasaheb the Marathas became the strongest power in India, until Panipat in 1761 and the British wars that ended the line in 1818.Read →