Battle of Shakarkheda

01The vizier leaves Delhi

Muhammad Shah made the Nizam his vizier in 1722, but the old general despaired of reforming a court given to pleasure. In 1723 he left Delhi for the Deccan without leave. The emperor, urged by the Nizam’s enemies, secretly appointed Mubariz Khan, governor of Hyderabad, to the Deccan in his place and ordered him to resist. The Nizam, needing allies, came to terms with Shahu’s Marathas, and Bajirao, Peshwa since 1720, joined him with a body of horse.

02The Nizam’s kingdom

On 11 October 1724 the armies met at Shakarkheda in Berar. The Nizam held his fire until Mubariz Khan’s cavalry were close, and his guns and the Maratha horse broke their charge. Mubariz Khan fought on with his sons and was killed. The Nizam renamed the place Fathkheda, the village of victory, and sent the emperor a letter of submission with the dead man’s head. Delhi had no choice but to confirm him. From then the Nizams ruled Hyderabad as their own until 1948.

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 →