Battle of Sonkh

01The Marathas come north again

In 1769 Madhavrao sent a large army across the Chambal under Ramchandra Ganesh and Visaji Krishna, with Mahadji Scindia and Tukoji Holkar commanding their own contingents. Their first task was to collect the tribute owed by the Rajput and Jat states. Bharatpur had grown rich and strong under Suraj Mal, who died in 1763, and its rulers had been taking Maratha-claimed land in the Doab and around Agra. The Marathas marched on the Jat country.

02The field near Mathura

The Jat army, led by Nawal Singh on behalf of the young Raja Kehri Singh, met the Marathas at Sonkh, west of Mathura, in April 1770. After hard fighting the Jats were beaten and fell back on their forts. Bharatpur came to terms and paid a large sum to make the Marathas go. The army moved on towards Delhi and Rohilkhand, and within two years had brought Shah Alam II back to Delhi under Maratha protection.

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 →