No More Learning

The confirmation of Ajit Singh in the government of Ajmer had
been due to weakness rather than to clemency, and his tenure of
Ajmer, sanctified by the shrines of Mu'in-ud-din Chishti and several
1 27° 23' N. , 77° 7' E.
2 See vol. v, pp. 374-5 and 577.


## p. 349 (#385) ############################################

NIZAM-UL-MULK RETURNS TO THE DECCAN 349
lesser saints, was repugnant to Muslim sentiment. Haider Quli Khan's
prompt obedience to the order recalling him from Gujarat and his
reckless audacity led to his appointment as governor of Ajmer, from
which he expelled the raja's officers.
On 5 July, 1723, Nizam-ul-Mulk arrived at Delhi, but soon found
his position at court insupportable. His gravity and austerity had
unfitted him for intercourse with courtiers who were rather boon
companions than statesmen. Muhammad Shah now neglected public
business entirely beyond passing orders on the petitions of suitors and
place-seekers recommended by his intimate associates, who reaped
a rich harvest from the fees which they levied from their clients.
Those to whom the execution of the duties of minister had fallen
during Nizam-ul-Mulk's absence in Gujarat were loth to surrender
their power and he enjoyed the title without the power of his place.
He ventured to offer serious advice to his sovereign, entreating him
to abandon the practice of letting the reserved lands in farm, to
abolish the wholesale bribery which prevailed at court, to exact the
levy of the jizya, as in the time of Aurangzib, from unbelievers, and
to requite the services rendered by Tahmasp. I. of Persia to his
ancestor, Humayun, by marching to relieve Tahmasp II, now beset
by Afghan invaders, who had sacked and occupied his capital. This
advice was rejected; Nizam-ul-Mulk obtained permission to make
a shooting tour in the Duab, and on 18 December left the court.
News of Maratha inroads in Malwa and Gujarat now reached
Delhi, and Nizam-ul-Mulk, who was at Soron, near the Ganges,
informed the emperor that these required his immediate presence
in his own provinces, and, without waiting for formal permission,
marched at once into Malwa. On his approach the Marathas, who
had only followed his own secret advice, retired across the Narbada
and Nizam-ul-Mulk encamped for some time at Sehore. Here he
learnt of the existence at Delhi of an elaborate conspiracy to compass
his overthrow.
His post of minister had been bestowed on his cousin Qamar-ud-din
Khan, I'timad-ud-Daula, and now his enemies persuaded the weak
emperor to send secret instructions to Mubariz Khan to oppose his
return to the Deccan, promising as a reward the viceroyalty of that
region, the greatest place in the empire.
Mubariz Khan had served Sayyid Hussain 'Ali Khan before
Nizam-ul-Mulk, who had indulgently treated him, and had left
him at Hyderabad as governor, when the viceroy went to Delhi.
On reaching his capital at Aurangabad late in June, 1724, Nizam-
ul-Mulk discovered that Mubariz Khan's preparations for attack were
far" advanced and that the Marathas had extended their operations
in the Deccan. Remonstrances proved fruitless, and in August,
hearing that Mubariz Khan's army was already in motion, he left:
Aurangabad to meet him.


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350
MUHAMMAD SHAH
Mubariz Khan attempted, by passing far to the east of Aurangabad,
to draw him away from the city, hoping to be able to descend on
Aurangabad from the north and occupy it before his intentions were
ascertained. He evaded Nizam-ul-Mulk, but the viceroy turned
northward to meet him. The two armies met at Shakarkheldal in
Berar on 11 October. The historians represent the battle as having
been fiercely contested. Nizam-ul-Mulk's army was at one time
thrown into some confusion by the unsuccessful attempt of a force
of the enemy to plunder its camp and baggage, a stratagem usual in
the Deccan. But the losses of Nizam-ul-Mulk, which amounted to
only three officers and a few rank and file, indicate that he met no
very desperate resistance. Mubariz Khan and two of his sons were
killed and two other sons taken prisoners, and the losses in killed
amounted to three thousand, including many officers.
Nizam-ul-Mulk, to commemorate his victory, gave Shakarkhelda
the name of Fathkhelda, or "village of victory", and it is still known
indiscriminately by either name. He sent the severed head of his
opponent, in bitter irony, to court, as that of a rebel, and tendered
to the emperor his humble congratulations on the victory which had
attended his arms.
The battle of Fathkhelda marks the establishment in the Deccan
of Nizam-ul-Mulk's hereditary rule, though he had been virtually
independent since the fall of the Sayyid brothers.
Nizam-ul-Mulk marched, after his victory, to Hyderabad, which
he reached on 16 January, 1725, and which he now made his capital.
The wretched emperor was constrained to conciliate him and to
humiliate himself by rewarding him, in June, with the title of Asaf
Jah. However, the court faction strove to diminish his influence by
removing officers whom he had appointed and by preparing to deprive
him of the government of Gujarat.
Nizam-ul-Mulk, in reply to these attacks, enlisted the aid of the
Marathas, and attempted to restrict their forays in his provinces. ?
The two most prominent Maratha officers in Gujarat were Kanthaji
Kadam Bhande and Pilaji Gaikwar, and Nizam-ul-Mulk urged his
uncle, Hamid Khan, who represented him in that province, to protect
himself against any new governor whom the emperor might appoint.
Sarbuland Khan, Mubariz-ul-Mulk, was the governor chosen, and
he begged for the aid of Sayyid Najm-ud-din 'Ali Khan, who had
been in prison since the battle of Hasanpur, but was favoured by
Muhammad Shah, who had been led by the Sayyid from his prison
to his throne.
Sarbuland Khan did not at once proceed to Gujarat but appointed
as his lieutenant Shuja'at Khan, who had acted in the same capacity
before. Hamid Khan withdrew from Ahmadabad to Dohad and
there entered into negotiations with Kanthaji who, on being
1 20° 13' N. , 76° 27' E.
2 See chap. XIII.


## p. 351 (#387) ############################################

CONTESTS FOR GUJARAT
361
promised the chauth, readily joined him. The allies encamped at
Kapadvanj and seized an opportunity of attacking Shuja'at Khan
near Ahmadabad. He was defeated and slain and Hamid Khan's
authority was again recognised in Gujarat, but an attempt by a brother
of Shuja'at Khan who was commandant of Surat to avenge Shuja'at
Khan's death was also defeated.
Sarbuland Khan had been in no hurry to leave Delhi, as the
emperor had promised to appoint him minister if it were possible.
When news of Hamid Khan's two victories arrived the emperor decided
that the power of the Turanian faction was still too great and begged
Sarbuland Khan to depart for his province. In the summer of 1725
he and Girdhar Bahadur, who was going to take charge of the
government of Malwa, left the capital together, followed closely by
Sayyid Najm-ud-din Ali Khan, who had been appointed second in
command of a large force.
Nizam-ul-Mulk, distrusting his uncle's ability to withstand such
an invasion, advised him to retire, but the vain and obstinate old
man made an attempt to oppose the advance of the new governor.
It failed and Hamid Khan was forced to take refuge with his nephew
in the Deccan.
In the following year Hamid Khan, accompanied by a large force
of Marathas, returned to Gujarat and plundered the country. After
many indecisive combats the Marathas were completely defeated,
and expelled for a time from Gujarat. Sarbuland Khan's army was
so numerous that the revenues of the disordered province of Gujarat
did not suffice for its maintenance and he received from the central
treasury a monthly subvention of half a million rupees. Through
Sarbuland Khan's enemies at court, the expulsion of the Marathas
from Gujarat was made a pretext for orders directing the reduction
of the army and the discontinuance of the subsidy. He was still
further weakened by the withdrawal of the gallant Sayyid, Najm-
ud-din 'Ali Khan, who was appointed, as a reward for his services
in Gujarat, to the government of the province of Ajmer, and when the
Marathas returned in force the governor was obliged to recognise
their claim to chauth and sardeshmukhi in Gujarat.
Corruption at court had reached a climax. Raushan-ud-Daula
had been appointed minister on the dismissal of Qamar-ud-din Khan,
as a measure to break the power of the Turanian faction. He was
found to have been appropriating half of the sum of one million two
hundred thousand rupees which the province of Kabul contributed
annually to the imperial exchequer and to have dealt similarly with
other large sums of money. He was dismissed from his post, his
accounts were examined, and it was discovered that he was indebted
to the state in twenty million rupees. The whole sum was recovered
and Khan Dauran was appointed minister in his place. Shah
'Abdul-Ghafur, a warm partisan of the Turanian party, was found


## p. 352 (#388) ############################################

362
MUHAMMAD SHAH
to have accumulated a fortune from the proceeds of bribery in the
administration of crown lands. He was sent as a prisoner to Bengal
and his house was found to contain twenty million rupees in cash,
besides much valuable property.
One of Khan Dauran's earliest acts as minister was to dismiss
Sarbuland Khan from Gujarat on a charge that he had recognised
the claim of the Marathas to chauth and sardeshmukhi. But the reduc-
tion of his army had forced him either to buy off the Marathas or to see
his fertile province annually laid waste by them, and Khan Dauran's
personal enmity was the true cause of his dismissal. Abhay Singh,
who, having (according to some accounts) murdered his father,
Ajit Singh, in June, 1724, had succeeded as Maharaja of Jodhpur,
was selected as viceroy of Gujarat. Sarbuland Khan, smarting
.
under the injustice of his treatment by the minister, attacked the
lieutenant sent to take charge and drove him from the province.
A second representative, at the head of a larger force, shared the fate
of the first, and Abhay Singh was forced in 1730 to set out for
Gujarat in person. Though accompanied by a large army of forty or
fifty thousand horse Sarbuland Khan inflicted a defeat on him, forcing
him to retreat for a few miles. After this proof of his military qualities
Sarbuland Khan's heart failed him. Such acts of rebellion had become
almost matters of course in the condition of feebleness to which the
central government had fallen, but his situation was more than usually
unfavourable. Abhay Singh might be reinforced from the capital
and Khan Dauran might even seek the powerful aid of Nizam-ul-
Mulk, who still resented his uncle's expulsion from Gujarat. Sarbuland
Khan therefore visited Abhay Singh, recalled his close friendship
with the raja's father, and said that his resistance had been merely.
a vindication of his own honour, and that he would gladly; allow
Abhay Singh to enter Ahmadabad. Sarbuland Khan then set out
for Delhi, but his oppoistion to the new governor had enraged the
minister, who was bent on punishing him. He travelled by way
of Malwa, and on his arrival at Agra was arrested by maçe-bearers,
being deserted by his troops, and remained a state prisoner. This
was his reward for important services rendered to the empire. He
had been guilty of high treason, but so had Nizam-ul-Mulk, on three
occasions, yet Nizam-ul-Mulk was viceroy of the Deccan, where he
was even now plotting treason against his sovereign.
Treason doth never prosper.
What's the reason?
That when it prospers none dare call it treason.
Shortly afterwards when Sarbuland Khan was pardoned and
appointed governor of Allahabad, he was so broken in spirit and
disgusted by his treatment that he remained at Agra and sent his son
as his deputy.
Muhammad Khan Bangash, a stout Afghan soldier of fortune who
had established himself in the reign of Farrukh-siyar in the central


## p. 353 (#389) ############################################

363
MUHAMMAD KHAN BANGASH IN BUNDELKHAND
Duab where he had built for himself a stronghold named after his
master, Farrukhabad, had distinguished himself. Rude and illiterate,
but faithful to a party which he had adopted, he might, had fortune
smiled, have established a state like Oudh or the Deccan, and he
narrowly missed success. In 1725 when appointed governor of
Allahabad he found a powerful confederacy of Bundelas with a force
of 20,000 horse and more than 100,000 foot occupying the whole of
Baghelkhand and other districts. The Bundelas, unlike most of the
Rajputs, were suspected, with good reason, of sympathy with the
Marathas. Muhammad Khan undertook the task with little sympathy
and less support from Delhi. Throughout 1727 and 1728 he was
engaged in incessant hostilities. An enumeration of his battles and
sieges would be tedious and, without full detail, uninstructive.
Muhammad Khan had considerable successes against the Bundelas,
but early in 1729 the Maratha troops of Baji Rao Peshwa invaded
Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand, and in May, 1729, Muhammad
Khan was compelled to take refuge in the fort of Jaitpur, where he
was besieged for three months. Finally, in August, 1729, he was
relieved by his son Qaim Khan, but he was still at the mercy of his
enemies who extorted from him a promise that he would never again
enter Bundelkhand. This failure was followed by his dismissal from
his government.
The sole object of all Nizam-ul-Mulk's dealings with the Marathas
was to free his dominions, as far as might be, of their influence and
institutions and, if that should be possible, of their presence. His
attempt to compromise for payments of chauth and sardeshmukhi and
to support the pretender Shambhuji led to war in 1727-28, which is
described in the next chapter.
In the end Nizam-ul-Mulk was compelled to accept all Baji Rao's
terms, except a demand for the surrender of Shambhuji, who was
permitted to retire to Panhala. His efforts to prevent Baji Rao's
advance into Gujarat by inducing the Maratha officers employed
there to oppose it were foiled by Baji Rao's rapid movements and
victory over his opponents in April, 1731. When the Peshwa returned
at the end of the rainy season, intending to punish the duplicity
which had so nearly frustrated his plans, Nizam-ul-Mulk averted
his wrath by unfolding a scheme for the extension of the Maratha
power into northern India. The design accorded with Baji Rao's
policy and ambitions and he welcomed the suggestion, and the
Peshwa's brother was at once sent into Malwa at the head of a
Maratha force.
Malhar Rao Holkar had already been engaged in ravaging Malwa
and Girdhar Bahadur, the governor, who enjoyed a respectable
military reputation, commanded neither the troops nor the resources
1 For a full account of this campaign see A History of the Bangash Nawabs
of Farrukhabad (Calcutta, 1879), by Wm. Irvine, pp. 288-302.
23


## p. 354 (#390) ############################################

354
MUHAMMAD SHAH
which would have enabled him to offer effective opposition to the
raids of so mobile an enemy. Repeated appeals to the imperial court
fell on deaf ears and Girdhar died in battle (December, 1728).
A relative who succeeded him was left to his own resources and met
the same fate three years later.
Muhammad Khan Bangash, who was at Delhi explaining his defeat
in Bundelkhand, was appointed to Malwa, and reached Sarangpur
on 26 January, 1731. The state of the province was appalling. It was
out of cultivation and most of the inhabitants left were in league with
marauding parties of Marathas, who numbered by the end of 1731
nearly 100,000. Against such forces Muhammad Khan could do
nothing. His appeals for help and a prayer that the emperor should
take the field in person merely drew a letter of reproaches from the
minister, Khan Dauran, who accused the governor of apathy and
his troops of treachery. Landholders in the province were informed
that they need pay no heed to Muhammad Khan as a new governor
was about to be appointed, and on 25 October, 1732, the governor
was recalled to Agra and Jay Singh of Amber was appointed to
succeed him.
Raja Jay Singh was no more able than Muhammad Khan to
restrain the ravages of the Marathas, who had now, under Baji Rao,
overrun the whole of Malwa. Though his sympathies with his
co-religionists were to some extent modified by his honour as a Rajput
he came to an understanding with the Peshwa, but even this method
of conciliation was ineffectual. In February, 1734, the Marathas
captured and occupied Hindaun, only seventy miles south-west of
Agra. Muzaffar Khan, who had been recalled from Ajmer, was sent
to chastise them, but the Marathas, who had had no intention of
occupying Hindaun permanently, retired as he advanced, cut off his
supplies and reduced him to distress. The court of Delhi was now
content with little in the way of military success and Muzaffar Khan,
who was considered to have accomplished his task by driving the
Marathas from Hindaun, was recalled to Delhi, where he was received
with rejoicings and honours out of all proportion to the scanty
measure of his success.
Later in the year the pacific minister himself indulged in a similar
military promenade and in November, 1734, marched to Malwa
and back. These expeditions were entirely futile. The Marathas,
avoiding a general engagement, harassed the imperial troops and
never ceased to levy contributions from the people. In March, 1735,
only a few months after the minister's triumphal return to Delhi,
a force of Marathas advanced, sacked the town of Sambhar on the
high road from Delhi to Ajmer, drove out the commandant and
slew the qazi at the door of his own house. Further resistance was
clearly useless and the emperor, on the recommendations of Raja
Jay Singh, tacitly recognised Baji Rao as governor of Malwa. Later


## p. 355 (#391) ############################################

INSURRECTION IN ALLAHABAD
355
in the year Abhay Singh of Jodhpur, who had proved to be a most
inefficient governor, was dismissed from Gujarat, but his deputy
would not evacuate Ahmadabad and the new governor was obliged
to court an alliance with Damaji Gaikwar before he could gain
possession of the city.
A rising at this time in the Allahabad province illustrates both the
decay of respect for the imperial government and the ineptitude of
the imperial officials. A landholder named Bhagwant Rai (son nf
Araru Singh) in the Kora district slew the commandant, who was
a brother-in-law of Qamar-ud-din Khan, I'timad-ud-Daula, plun-
dered all his property and took his wife to himself. Qamar-ud-din
Khan sent a relation to punish the murderer and recover the widow
and property. On his approach Bhagwant Rai withdrew for a time
into a remote part of the district but returned to Kora, slew the new
commandant and established himself with impunity in Kora.
Qamar-ud-din Khan, lacking the courage to avenge in person his
outraged honour, begged Burhan-ul-Mulk, the governor of Oudh, to
undertake the punishment of the rebel. Burhan-ul-Mulk, passing
through the Kora district early in November, 1735, on his way to
Delhi, called Bhagwant Rai to account for his misdeeds and Bhagwant
Rai, when he found that Burhan-ul-Mulk declined to be put off
with fair words, unexpectedly attacked him. Mistaking another man
for Burhan-ul-Mulk he drove his spear through his breast and slew
him. Burhan-ul-Mulk and Raja Durjan Singh, who was related to
the rebel; attacked him, and Bhagwant Rai fell, cut down by the
raja's sword and pierced by an arrow from Burhan-ul-Mulk's bow.
His head was sent to the emperor, and his skin, stuffed with straw,
to Qamar-ud-din Khan.
In November, 1735, Muhammad Khan Bangash was reappointed
to the government of Allahabad, which he held for no more than
six months, being again: dismissed in :May, 1736, when Sarbuland
Khan was once more appointed.
* : -Baji Rao was now in serious pecuniary difficulties, owing to the
size of his army and the high pay necessary to outbid Nizam-ul-Mulk.
His troops were in arrears and he was heavily indebted to money-
lenders. The emperor and his minister desired peace, but the less
mean-spirited Turanian nobles were opposed to any disgraceful
compromise. Muhammad Shah's conciliatory attitude encouraged
the Peshwa 'to demand the cession of the whole of Malwa and the
tract south of the Chambal, Allahabad, Benares, Gaya, and Muttra,
the recognition of his right as hereditary Sardeshmukh and Sardesh-
pandya of the six provinces of the Deccan, and an annual assignment
of five million rupees. His claims threw the emperor into the arms of
Nizam-ul-Mulk, who was implored to forget the past and to save the
empire from destruction. In March, 1737, Khan Dauran and Qamar-
ud-din Khan, each at the head of a great army, advanced one towards
:
.


## p. 356 (#392) ############################################

366
MUHAMMAD SHAH
Ajmer and the other towards Muttra while Burhan-ul-Mulk crossed
the Ganges to help the Raja of Bhadawar, whom Holkar was be-
sieging in his stronghold. Burhan-ul-Mulk fell on Holkar and pursued
him towards Gwalior, and then, hearing that the Peshwa was en:
camped at Dholpur, turned northward to attack him, when he
received letters from Khan Dauran.
Once more public interests were sacrificed to personal jealousy.
Burhan-ul-Mulk had gained credit for his suppression of the rebellion
at Kora and now his success against Holkar induced Khan Dauran,
as the historian says, “either to make a name for himself or, if that
might not be, to reduce Burhan-ul-Mulk to his own level of infamy".
He begged Burhan-ul-Mulk not to be so rash as to attack Baji Rao
single-handed, as he was hastening to join him and together they
would crush the enemy. Burhan-ul-Mulk hesitated and Khan Dauran
moved at his leisure to join him. This operation occupied three or
four days and a week was spent in reciprocal hospitality. Treachery
and folly combined gave Baji Rao his opportunity, which he was
not slow to seize. Eluding the roysterers he advanced, by forced
marches, and encamped only nine miles from the walls of Shah-
jahanabad. After some minor acts of spoliation and the total defeat
of a force of 8000 horse led from the city, as Burhan-ul-Mulk,
Qamar-ud-din Khan, and Khan Dauran were closing on him, Baji
Rao retired towards Gwalior, plundering as he went, and unmolested
by the imperial troops.
Meanwhile Nizam-ul-Mulk was advancing from the south and
Khan Dauran, prompted again by a jealous fear lest he should claim
a share in the credit, hastened to come to terms; and Baji Rao with-
drew on receiving a commission appointing him to the government
of Malwa and the promise of an annual subvention of one million
and three hundred thousand rupees. His presence was required in
the Konkan, where a campaign against the Portuguese and Angria
of Janjira was in progress.
The languid movement of Nizam-ul-Mulk was stimulated by the
issue of a commission appointing his eldest son, Ghazi-ud-Din Khan,
governor of Malwa and Gujarat, on the condition of his expelling
the Maratha. He marched through Agra and then through Kalpi
into Malwa and halted at Sironj. Baji Rao's business in the Konkan
did not occupy him for long, and he returned to Malwa. Nizam-ul-
Mulk advanced to Bhopal, where the two armies met in January,
1738, and betrayed his weakness by entrenching himself in a strong
position. A battle produced no decisive result and Nizam-ul-Mulk's
camp was surrounded by predatory hordes who cut off his supplies
and repelled forces sent to relieve him. At length, leaving his heavy
baggage behind him, he forced his way through the screen of light
horse surrounding him and began a laborious retreat. At every
step he was harassed by the Marathas, and though these failed to


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RISE OF NADIR SHAH
367
capture his artillery, his troops progressed slowly, and on 17 January,
1738, near Sironj, he was obliged to sign a convention undertaking
to obtain for Baji Rao the whole of Malwa, with sovereignty in the
territory between the Narbada and the Chambal and a subsidy of
five million rupees. These terms were sufficiently disgraceful. They
included nothing that was the Nizam's, and the cession of sovereignty
in the tract between the two rivers may have covered a design to
protect his dominions in the south by establishing an independent
state between them and the territories of the emperor.
A grave peril now threatened India. The condition of the Safavi
dynasty of Persia during the first quarter of the eighteenth century
may be compared with that of the House of Timur in India. Power
and authority had fallen from the grasp of a weak and worthless
prince and the country, in the hands of a band of quarrelsome but
unwarlike nobles, lay an easy prey to an aggressor. Mahmud Khan
the Ghilzai, son of Mir Vais who had freed Qandahar from the
Persian yoke, had risen against the feeble Tahmasp II, conquered
Herat, Khurasan, and at length, in 1722, Isfahan itself, and had
driven the Safavi into the forests of Mazandaran. Russian and
Turkish invasions had increased Persia's misery and confusion and
the whole country, except a narrow strip in the north, lay at the
mercy of aliens in race and religion. A deliverer appeared in the
person of Nadir Quli, a Turk of the Afshar tribe of Khurasan, who in
1729 expelled the Afghans from Isfahan and Fars and extended the
Persian monarchy to its ancient limits. 'Abbas III, the last of the
Safavis, was permitted to ascend the throne in 1731, but all power
in the state had been wielded since the expulsion of the Afghans
by Nadir Quli, who in 1736 threw aside all disguise and ascended
the throne of Persia as Nadir Shah. After defeating the Russians
and the Turks, who had taken advantage of Persia's distress, he
turned his attention to northern Afghanistan and captured Herat
and Balkh, reserving Qandahar, the home of the Ghilzais who had
ravaged Persia, until later. Two envoys had been sent to inform
Muhammad Shah that Nadir Shah purposed to punish the Afghans
of Qandahar and to request him to order his governor of Kabul to
close the frontiers of that province to fugitives. Each envoy returned
with a favourable answer, but nothing was done.
On opening the siege of Qandahar towards the end of June, 1737,
Nadir Shah found that many fugitives were escaping towards Kabul,
and a third envoy was sent to demand an explanation, with instruc-
tions to stay only forty days at the court of Delhi; but the envoy
could obtain neither an audience nor leave to depart.
Qandahar fell on 24 March, 1738, and Nadir Shah, whose envoy
had been absent for a year, advanced towards Ghazni, which he
entered on 11 June. He reached Kabul on 21 June, and after a com-
bat beneath the walls, the citadel was besieged and surrendered


## p. 358 (#394) ############################################

368
MUHAMMAD SHAH
on 29 June. Nadir stayed for some months in Kabul and its neigh-
bourhood, and wrote to Muhammad Shah, complaining again of his
breach of faith, but the messenger was waylaid and slain, and it is
doubtful whether the despatch ever reached the emperor.
On 26 November Nadir defeated at Jamrud the governor of Kabul
who, with a force of 20,000 Afghans, attempted to bar his exit from
the Khyber pass. He then occupied Peshawar, where he halted for
some time. On 27 December he crossed the Indus at Attock and in
January, 1739, meeting at Wazirabad on the Chenab with some
slight resistance he "swept it away as a flood sweeps away a handful
of chaff”. The governor of Lahore met the invader at a distance of
twelve miles from that city but was at once defeated and on the
following day appeared before Nadir, made his obeisance and
presented a peace offering.
From Lahore Nadir Shah sent to Muhammad Shah a courteous
letter, reminding him that they were both of Turkish blood and
expressing wonder that he had not received more assistance in
chastising the Afghans, who had done more harm in India than they
had in Persia—an apposite reference to the expulsion of Humayun
by Sher Shah. He also complained again of the gross discourtesy
with which he had been treated, but attributed this to evil counsellors
rather than to any deliberate design on the part of Muhammad. He
was coming, he added, to punish these counsellors, and if they
survived an encounter with him their fate would depend on such
intercession as Muhammad Shah might see fit to make for them.
The news that Nadir intended to invade India was received at
first with ridicule, but when it became known that he had taken
Kabul incredulity gave way to panic, which increased with every
stage of the invader's advance. Khan Dauran and Nizam-ul-Mulk
were first nominated to the command of an army to oppose him, but
declined the honour, and it soon became apparent that the occasion
demanded the presence of the emperor and of all the troops which
he could place in the field. Burhan-ul-Mulk of Oudh and all other
nobles and assignees were summoned, with their contingents, and
the same command went to the chiefs of Rajasthan, but all of these
made their excuse. Akbar, similarly situated, could have commanded
the service of many thousands of valiant Rajputs, but the descendant
of Aurangzib could not persuade one to strike a blow in defence of
his throne.
Even at this moment of peril the great nobles of the empire could
not lay aside their personal quarrels and with scarcely an exception
entered, either to assure their fortunes or to steal a march on their
fellows, into treasonable correspondence with the invader. "Brother",
said Nadir Shah to Muhammad Shah, when Muhammad Khan
Bangash was presented to him, “you have three faithful servants, and
the rest are traitors; those three are Nasir Khan, Khan Dauran, and
!


## p. 359 (#395) ############################################

MUGHUL ATTEMPTS TO REPEL NADIR SHAH 359
Muhammad Khan; from these I received no letters; from all the rest
I received invitations to invade your country. "
Muhammad Shah and his army marched out to Sonpat, and in the
latter half of February reached Karnal, where it had been decided
to meet the invader.
The position was better suited for defence
than attack, being protected by nearly impenetrable jungle and by
the canal of 'Ali Mardan Khan. The imperial guns were chained
together, and it seems that entrenchments were thrown up. Muham-
mad Shah's elaborate precautions for his safety nearly tempted
Nadir Shah to leave this fortified camp on his left and to pass on
to Delhi, but an action was precipitated by the inconsiderate haste
of one commander.
Nadir Shah marched from Lahore on 6 February and reached
Sirhind ten days later. Thence he marched to Taraori, 10 miles north
of Karnal, reaching that place on 22 February. The governor of
Ambala had fallen back on Taraori and attempted to hold the large
sarai in that town, but a very brief bombardment by the Persian
guns induced him to surrender. Nadir Shah's system of intelligence
was excellent, while in the opposite camp no attempt was made to
obtain information.
The Indian army was distracted with terror and fervent prayers
went up for the speedy arrival of Burhan-ul-Mulk, who was leading
his large contingent to the imperial camp. Nadir Shah, finding that
dense jungle would impede a direct advance from the north on Karnal,
inclined slightly to his right, and encamped, on 23 February, in the
open plain two leagues to the west of the town. On the following
morning he advanced to within a league of the town. His patrols
and scouts had already searched the country to the south of Karnal
and he knew more of the movements of Burhan-ul-Mulk than was
known in the Indian camp. On 23 February he had sent a force to
cut him off, but Burhan-ul-Mulk, moving between the main road
and the river Jumna, had passed unmolested, though his baggage
train was captured.
Burhan-ul-Mulk arrived in the camp on 24 February and was
waiting for his baggage when he learnt that it had fallen into the
hands of the enemy. He ordered his troops to mount in an attempt
to recover his baggage. Nizam-ul-Mulk hesitated to join Burhan-
ul-Mulk's troops, who were still weary from their march, but Khan
Dauran decided to go to his support and led his troops to the attack,
coming up about a mile to the right of Burhan-ul-Mulk. The emperor
and Nizam-ul-Mulk followed him and their advanced troops closed
the interval between Khan Dauran and Burhan-ul-Mulk, but the
emperor with the main body of his army remained just without the
enceinte of the camp.
The battle began at noon, according to the Persian account, so
that there was little force in Nizam-ul-Mulk's objection. The Indian


## p. 360 (#396) ############################################

380
MUHAMMAD SHAH
troops, whose serried ranks extended over two miles of front and to
the same depth from front to rear, were of very small fighting value
compared with Nadir's hardy warriors, and the mêlée was rather
a massacre than a battle. Burhan-ul-Mulk was recognised by a
fellow-townsman from Nishapur, who sprang from his saddle, clani-
bered by the ropes into the howdah of his elephant, and caused the
animal, apparently without resistance, to be driven into the Persian
camp. Khan Dauran was mortally wounded and died on the
following day. “My own rashness", he said to the courtiers who had
come to visit him, "has brought me to this. Now there is one thing
for you to do. By any means possible keep Nadir Shah out of Delhi.
Buy him off here, and persuade him to return at once. ” This sound
advice was frustrated by the jealousy and treachery of the courtiers.
Muhammad Shah and the survivors took refuge in their fortified
camp, where provisions were already scarce and where they were
besieged as in a fortress, and the emperor wrote a piteous appeal to
the conqueror, based on the latter's own reference to their com-
munity of race.
Nadir Shah was apparently ignorant of the wealth and resources
of India, and Burhan-ul-Mulk, hearing of the death of Khan Dauran,
coveted the rank and title of Amir-ul-Umara, which the deceased had
borne, and resolved to earn it by a signal service to his master. In
the course of a long interview with Nadir he persuaded him to agree
to leave Muhammad Shah on the throne of Delhi and to retire from
India at once in consideration of an indemnity of twenty million
rupees. Nizam-ul-Mulk was sent by Muhammad Shah to Nadir
Shah's camp to confirm the offer of this indemnity. His mission was
successful, and he had little difficulty, on his return, in persuading
his master to confer on him, as a reward for his service, the title of
Amir-ul-Umara. Burhan-ul-Mulk's rage on learning that his hopes
were dashed led him to address Nadir in terms very different from
those first employed. It was absurd, he said, that the victor should
be content with a miserable twenty millions. He himself, a mere
provincial governor, could produce such a sum from his own house.
The instinct of the Turkman robber was aroused. He was ready to
keep his promise to maintain Muhammad Shah on the throne, but
the question of the indemnity could stand over until he arrived at
Delhi.
Muhammad Shah twice visited Nadir Shah in his camp. On one
occasion the monarchs had a private interview at which only one or
two officials were present and Nadir Shah rated Muhammad Shah
for his past conduct. After repeating his old causes of complaint he
ridiculed the folly and indecision of Muhammad Shah's recent
policy. The fortified camp at Karnal had failed to arrest his progress,
1 200,000 horse and foot and 5000 field guns, besides swivel guns. Nadir Shah
had 125,000 horse,


## p. 361 (#397) ############################################

GENERAL MASSACRE IN DELHI
361
but it had exposed Muhammad Shah's cowardice to the contempt
of all.
On 12 March Nadir Shah set out for Delhi and six days later
encamped in the Shalamar garden? while he contemptuously allowed
Muhammad Shah to precede him into the city to make preparations
for his reception. The Persian festival of the new year coincided in
this year with the Muhammadan feast of the sacrifice and on 21
March, the day after Nadir Shah's entry into Delhi, both festivals
were celebrated by the recitation of the khutba in his name in all the
mosques of Delhi, by which ceremony he was acknowledged as lord
of all India. His troops were quartered in and around the city. On
the following day a dispute regarding billets and the price of food
and forage arose, and some Persians were attacked. Mischief-maker3
spread the rumour that Nadir Shah was dead, and the rumour caused
a rising. Persians strolling aimlessly about the city, either alone or in
twos and threes, were massacred. The nobles who had been supplied,
at their own request, with Persian guards, either delivered these
guards to the fury of the populace or took no measures to save them.
Nadir Shah, on hearing of this outrage, at once issued orders directing
his troops to stand fast and defend themselves in their quarters and
billets while abstaining from reprisals.
During the tumult two Mughul officers, believing Nadir Shah to
be dead and desiring to be in a position to overawe the foreign troops
in the capital, had gone with a force of four hundred and seventy
men to the imperial elephant stables, slain the Persian in charge and
possessed themselves of the elephants.
In the morning Nadir Shah mounted and rode through the city
to ascertain the result of the tumult. About nine hundred Persians
had been slain and their corpses were yet lying about the streets. He
returned to the beautiful "golden mosque" which had been built
not long before, and here the inhabitants of the neighbouring houses
threw stones at him from their roofs and one fired a musket, missing
him but killing a Persian officer by his side. The sight of the bodies
of his men had enraged him and at this last outrage his wrath flamed
forth, and he ordered a general massacre of the guilty inhabitants.
Two of Muhammad Shah's officers were sent by Nadir Shah to seize
those who had taken the elephant stables, and the guilty leaders
and their four hundred and seventy men were brought before Nadir
and put to the sword. The work of blood continued from eight in the
morning until the evening, and the tale of the slain was 30,000. 2 In
the evening Nizam-ul-Mulk and Qamar-ud-din Khan appeared
before Nadir Shah with a message from Muhammad Shah, who
1 Six miles north of the city.
% The Jahan-kusha-i-Nadiri is followed here (pp. 358, 359). Fraser (p. 185)
says that the slaughter lasted from 8 a. m. to 3 p. m. and that the number of the
slain was 120,000, though placed by some as high as 150,000. Scott's estimate of
8000 (1, 207) is certainly too low and it is not improbable that Muhammad
Mahdi erts in the same direction.


## p. 362 (#398) ############################################

362
MUHAMMAD SHAH
begged that the remnant of his guilty people might be spared. Nadir
Shah issued orders that the slaying and plundering should cease and
to the credit of his discipline' his excited solidiery at once stayed their
hands. The flames were extinguished, but a great part of the city
was in ruins and the stench of the dead was soon intolerable. The
corpses were piled in stacks and burnt, whether Hindus or Muslims,
with the timber of the ruined houses. All captives, to the number of
50,000, were set free.
Muhammad had surrendered to Nadir at Karnal the keys of his
treasury and both the wealth and the jewels of the empire were at
the conqueror's disposal, but there remained the levying of contribu-
tions from the great nobles, in accordance with the suggestion made
by Burhan-ul-Mulk. The traitor was now dead, having succumbed
a few days after his return to Delhi to a malignant tumour. He had
paid before his death thirty-three million rupees and a force pro-
ceeded to Oudh to recover from his nephew and son-in-law, Abu-'l-
Mansur Khan, Safdar Jang, the promised contribution of twenty
million rupees. Safdar Jang paid partly in cash and completed the
sum due from him with elephants, jewels and vessels of gold and
silver. The value of the pearls, diamonds and other jewels taken
from the imperial treasury was described as being beyond computa-
tion. They included Shah Jahan's wonderful Peacock Throne, the
jewels alone of which, without reckoning the precious metal of
which the throne was made, were valued at twenty million rupees.
Sarbuland Khan, excused by his poverty from contributing any-
thing himself, was charged to collect from the nobles, the officers of
the court and army, and the wealthy inhabitants, and his zeal and
activity were stimulated from time to time by threats and rewards.
The property of Khan Dauran and his brother was confiscated and
yielded to Nadir's treasury fifty million rupees. Nizam-ul-Mulk and
Qamar-ud-din Khan each contributed fifteen million in jewels, trea-
sure and goods. Violence and torture were used in extorting contribu-
tions. A grand-daughter of Kam Bakhsh was married to Nadir's
youngest son, Nasr-ullah Mirza. Before leaving Delhi Nadir Shah
formally annexed the province of Kabul and all territory west of the
Indus, and gave Muhammad Shah advice which that prince had neither
the sense nor the moral courage to follow. He expressed his horror
at the idea of the misbelievers levying taxes in the dominions of Islam,
counselled him to resume all assignments and to pay his nobles and
officers direct from the treasury, permitting none to maintain troops.
At the charges of the state the emperor should have picked horsemen
under officers appointed by himself. He warned the emperor particu-
larly against Nizam-ul-Mulk, whom he had found to be cunning.
self-seeking and more ambitious than became a subject.
1 The most rigid discipline was maintained in the Persian army. “Eighty
Kuzzlebash had their Bellies ript up at Cabul, for only being present when
some of their own People forced one of the Country women” (Fraser, p. 151),


## p. 363 (#399) ############################################

INTRIGUES AGAINST THE TURANIAN FACTION 363
It is said that Nadir Shah admitted to some of his own officers that
he had acted indiscreetly in two matters, namely in permitting
Muhammad Shah to retain a throne of which he was not worthy
and in sparing the life of a courtier so crafty and unscrupulous as
Nizam-ul-Mulk.
On 16 May Nadir Shah left Delhi carrying with him his immense
booty. Different authorities estimate the cash alone at amounts
varying from eight to more than thirty million sterling, besides
jewels, plate, cash, stuffs and other valuable property. The emperor
also took with him a thousand elephants, seven thousand horses, ten
thousand camels, a hundred eunuchs, a hundred and thirty writers,
two hundred builders, a hundred masons, and two hundred carpen-
ters. By a decree issued from Delhi Nadir Shah generously remitted
all taxes throughout Persia for a period of three years.
His departure left Muhammad Shah and his courtiers stupefied
with the blow which had fallen on them. For two months nothing
was done or proposed in regard to the state of affairs in the empire.
Even this blow could not awaken from the heavy sleep of security,
and the lethargy of indolence, people who were so intoxicated with
the wine of pride and self-conceit. They agreed only in ill-will to
each other. It was not until November that the emperor and his
courtiers could summon up energy for active intrigue.
Nadir Shah's warnings had had some effect on Muhammad Shah,
who was now suspicious of Nizam-ul-Mulk and all the Turanian
nobles. After secret conversations with the object of undermining
the power and influence of the Turanian party, he promised to
appoint 'Umdat-ul-Mulk in place of Qamar-ud-din Khan, the mini-
ster, who was second in importance only to Nizam-ul-Mulk among
the Turanians. The latter now prepared to set out for his viceroyalty
in the Deccan. Qamar-ud-din Khan learnt what had passed and
wrote to Nizam-ul-Mulk, by whose advice he resigned his post, left
Delhi and joined the Nizam. Muhammad Shah consulted others
and was told that 'Umdat-ul-Mulk could never stand against the
power of the Turanian party. The result was the complete collapse
of the emperor's plot. 'Umdat-ul-Mulk was himself sent to the camp
to make his peace with Qamar-ud-din Khan and Nizam-ul-Mulk,
and did so with such openness and honesty as to win the latter's
warm approval. As he could not remain in the capital after what had
passed, he left Delhi for Allahabad, of which province he held the
government. Nizam-ul-Mulk, in view of the necessity for frustrating
the emperor's schemes for the oppression of the Turanian faction,
deferred his departure for the Deccan.
At the same time Safdar Jang, the nephew and son-in-law of
Burhan-ul-Mulk, was formally confirmed in the government of Oudh,
in which he had been acting since his uncle's death, while Zakariya
Khan received the Punjab and Multan, in which, until the battle


## p. 364 (#400) ############################################

364
MUHAMMAD SHAH
of Karnal, he had been merely the deputy of his father, Khan
Dauran.
The affairs of the provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa now claim
our attention. The pernicious practice of uniting several rich provinces
under the government of a viceroy to whom, and not to the emperor,
the actual governor of each province was immediately subordinate
was now as firmly established in this region as in the Deccan. Prince
'Azim-ush-Shan had held these three provinces and that of Allahabad
in addition, and when the Sayyid brothers, who had been his deputies
in Allahabad, left their province with the object of placing Farrukh-
siyar on the throne Ja'far Khan, who had been the prince's deputy
in Bengal, governed the three provinces, from which Allahabad was
then separated, as viceroy. Ja'far Khan had died in 1726, when Khan
Dauran, who never concerned himself with the affairs of these pro-
vinces, was formally appointed viceroy, while the government of the
provinces was actually carried on by Shuja'-ud-din Muhammad Khan,
Ja'far Khan's son-in-law, who had been his deputy in Orissa, and
received, on his promotion, the title of Shuja'-ud-Daula. He ruled
the provinces ably and well for thirteen years and died on 24 March,
1739, while Nadir Shah was at Delhi. He was succeeded, as a matter
of course, the hereditary principle being by now established in the
great provincial governments, by his son Sarfaraz Khan, who bore
the title of 'Ala-ud-Daula. Sarfaraz Khan was pious and devout, but
weak, and attempted to favour his own personal servants at the
expense of his father's old advisers, who were too strong for him.
He also attempted to interfere in the administration of Bihar, the
governor of which, appointed by his father, was 'Ali Vardi Khan,
entitled Mahabat Jang. 'Ali Vardi wrote to an old friend at court
and offered, for a commission as viceroy of the three provinces and
written permission to expel Sarfaraz Khan, a gift to the emperor of
ten million rupees. He had also a private wrong to avenge. Sarfaraz
Khan had attempted to take away the wife of his grandson, Siraj-
ud-Daula, and to marry her to his own son. 'Ali Vardi's prayer
”
'
was supported by an accusation that Sarfaraz had obeyed the order
in a letter sent by Nadir Shah to his father, but received after his
father's death, and had caused the khutba to be read in the invader's
name. It was also suggested that if Sarfaraz Khan were captured
or slain his father's considerable wealth would escheat to the crown.
Money was scarce at Delhi, and these offers were very welcome, but
time was required for the completion of the transaction and it was
not until March, 1740, that 'Ali Vardi received his commission,
1 Also known as Murshid Quli Khan, the founder of Murshidabad.
3 The “Surajah Dowlah" of Macaulay and "Sir Roger Dowler" of contemporary
English prints, afterwards infamous as the author of the tragedy of the Black
Hole of Calcutta. See chap. VII, vol. v.
3 Coin was actually
struck at 'Azimabad (Patna) and at Murshidabad in the name of Nadir Shah
(Whitehead, Punjab Museum Catalogue, m, pp. lii and lxv) (Ed. ).


## p. 365 (#401) ############################################

DEATH OF BAJI RAO PESHWA
865
Early in April 'Ali Vardi Khan marched from Patna for Murshi-
dabad. Sarfaraz Khan was surrounded by traitors who kept the news
of his enemy's movements from him as long as they could, and it was
not until he had reached Rajmahal that Sarfaraz Khan heard of his
advance. He marched from Murshidabad on 19 April, and two days
later reached Giria, on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi, about
twenty-five miles north-west of his capital. 'Ali Vardi Khan encamped
on the opposite bank of the river and succeeded by protestations
of fidelity supported by a false oath sworn on a brick wrapped in
a cloth, which was supposed to be a copy of the Koran, and by the
treacherous assurances of false counsellors in persuading Sarfaraz
Khan that he had come to do homage. The simple Sarfaraz paid no
heed to warnings uttered by the very few servants who remained
faithful to him and 'Ali Vardi was able to surprise him shortly before
dawn. Notwithstanding the surprise and the treachery of many of
the troops as well as the counsellors the battle was fiercely contested.
but Sarfaraz Khan was ultimately shot in the forehead by one of
his own men and killed, and 'Ali Vardi Khan entered Murshidabad on
12 May, 1740, as viceroy of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
On 28 April, 1740, Baji Rao, the Peshwa, died, and the Turanian
party at court took advantage of his death to appoint one of their
number, 'Azim-ullah Khan, as his successor in the government of
Malwa. The administration of the Maratha commonwealth now
exhibited some of the signs of weakness which were more clearly
perceptible in the Mughul empire. The expansion of their sphere
of activity had been followed by the enfeeblement of the central
authority and the introduction of the hereditary principle in the
great offices of state and the government of those parts of their
dominions which were at a distance from the royal residence.
Damaji Gaikwar had succeeded his father Pilaji in Gujarat; Ranoji
Sindia was established as collector of the Marathas' share of the
revenue in Malwa; Malhar Rao Holkar administered from Mahesh-
war territory corresponding nearly to the state over which his de-
scendant still rules, and a disputed succession in the Gond kingdom
of Deogarh had already given Raghuji Bhonsle, who was governing
Berar on behalf of the Peshwa, an opportunity of intervention, and
three years later he established himself in its new capital, Nagpur.
He was at this time commanding a mixed force of 50,000 men drawn
from the armies of Shahu, the Peshwa, and other chiefs and operating
in the Carnatic, where it had defeated and slain Dost Ali, the
nephew and successor of Daud Khan Pani in the eastern Carnatic,
and was busily intriguing to prevent the succession of Balaji Ran.
son of Baji Rao, as Peshwa. His intrigues were fruitless and Balaji
Rao succeeded.
The death of Baji Rao encouraged Nasir Jang, the second son of
1 See chap. XIV, p. 408.


## p. 366 (#402) ############################################

366
MUHAMMAD SHAH
1
Nizam-ul-Mulk, who had been left by his father as deputy in the
viceroyalty when he went to Delhi in 1737, to assume the position
of an independent ruler. Remonstrances went unheeded and on
7 August Nizam-ul-Mulk set out for the Deccan to reduce his re-
fractory son to obedience, leaving his eldest son, Ghazi-ud-din Khan,
as his representative at the capital in the post of assistant minister.
He reached Burhanpur on 19 November and halted there for some
time while fruitlessly endeavouring to induce Nasir Jang to submit
without an appeal to arms. His arguments had no effect, and the
rebel continued to hide or fight till August, 1741, when he was taken
prisoner and was confined for a time in the fort of Kandhar.
The appointment of Azim-ullah Khan to Malwa was merely an
expression of the hopes which the death of an important Maratha
leader invariably raised in the breasts of the imperial statesmen and
soldiers, and which were as invariably blasted. The death of Shivaji
betokened to Aurangzib the immediate dissolution of the Maratha
forces, but was followed by no diminution of activity even under the
dissolute Shambhuji. After the capture and execution of Shambhuji
and the detention of his son Shahu, Raja Ram had stepped into the
breach. Now, too, Baji Rao was dead, but the Maratha grip was
closed on Malwa, and Balaji Rao, the new Peshwa, considered that
the appointment of a Muslim noble was an invasion of his rights.
'Azim-ullah Khan had made a futile attempt to assert himself as
governor by the despatch of a deputy whom his resources permitted
him neither to equip adequately nor to support efficiently. His failure
provided the emperor with a pretext for humiliating a Turanian
noble by dismissal. 'Azim-ullah Khan, smarting under his disgracé,
temporarily left Delhi but soon wearied of being continually watched
and returned to his house, dismissed his establishment and lived the
life of a recluse. In December, 1742, he again fled from Delhi to
Lahore, where he took refuge with the governor, Zakariya Khan,
with whom he was connected by marriage, but Zakariya Khan sur-
rendered him and he was carried back to Delhi and confined in the
palace, where he died on 24 October, 1744.
'Ali Vardi Khan had established his authority in Bengal, and in
Bihar where he appointed his son-in-law Haibat Jang as his deputy,
but Orissa was still in the hands of Murshid Quli Khan, who had
been Shuja'-ud-Daula's deputy in that province. After lulling suspi-
cions by messages which led Murshid to believe that he was to be
retained as governor of Orissa 'Ali Vardi marched from Murshidabad
on 20 December, 1740, at the head of a large force. Murshid Quli
Khan came from Cuttack to Balasore and encamped near the south
bank of the Burabalang river. 'Ali Vardi Khan
Khan halted at
Ramchandrapur and nearly a month was spent in negotiations.
See chap. XIII, p. 383.


## p. 367 (#403) ############################################

THE MARATHAS INVADE BENGAL
867
Murshid Quli's more impetuous son-in-law, Mirza Muhammad
Baqar Khan, descended of the royal house of Persia, lost patience
and on 16 February, 1741, crossed the river to attack, compelling
Murshid Quli Qhan to follow him. The issue was long doubtful, but
Murshid Quli Khan was at length defeated and escaped by sea to
Masulipatam. His family was conveyed from Cuttack to Ichchapu-
ram, beyond the reach of 'Ali Vardi Khan, and the latter, leaving
his nephew, Saulat Jang, in Cuttack as his deputy in Orissa, returned
to Murshidabad. Saulat Jang disgusted both his army and his people
by his parsimony and his unbridled passions, and within a year of
his instalment Baqar Khan returned from the Deccan and not only
deposed and imprisoned him, but carried his arms to the extreme
northern limits of the province and caused alarm and apprehension
even at Murshidabad. 'Ali Vardi Khan marched once more from
his capital, while Baqar Khan awaited him at Balasore; but the latter's
army lost heart, and he was compelled to retreat, carrying with him
for a time his prisoner, Saulat Jang, whom at last he had to leave
behind. Saulat Jang was rescued by his uncle's troops, and Baqar
Khan escaped once more into the Deccan.
Meanwhile a fresh calamity was impending over Bengal. The
Marathas had for some time past cast covetous eyes on the rich eastern
provinces of the empire, and when Murshid Quli Khan was defeated
by 'Ali Vardi Khan his minister, Mir Habib, had suggested to Bhaskar
Pant, Raghuji Bhonsle's minister, who was governing Berar during
his master's absence in the Carnatic, the invasion of Bengal.
Raghuji Bhonsle, on hearing that 'Ali Vardi Khan was again
engaged with Baqar Khan, sent Bhaskar Pant to invade Bengal.
'Ali Vardi Khan was chastising the Raja of Mayurbhanj when he
heard in April, 1742, that Bhaskar Pant had left Nagpur, and at once
marched towards Murshidabad; but Bhaskar Pant was before him
and attacked him with 12,000 horse at Uchalan, sixteen miles south
of Burdwan. He pushed on to Burdwan, but here he was surrounded
by the Marathas, who cut off all supplies. When with infinite difficulty
he fought his way to Katwa, on the Bhagirathi, about forty miles
south of Murshidabad, he found that the Marathas had plundered
the town. A supply of food had, however, been despatched from
Murshidabad and his army was refreshed. After a short halt at
Katwa he reached Murshidabad, but a party of Marathas, led by Mir
Habib, who had deserted to the enemy, had previously visited and
plundered it.
Bhaskar Pant now wished to return to Nagpur, fearing the approach
of the rains, but was persuaded by Mir Habib to remain in Bengal.
The Marathas occupied Katwa and the country from Rajmahal to
Jaleswar was in their hands throughout the rainy season. Hooghly
was also occupied in June.
'Ali Vardi Khan vainly sought aid from the emperor and from the


## p. 368 (#404) ############################################

868
MUHAMMAD SHAH
Peshwa, whose succession Raghuji Bhonsle had attempted to prevent.
Collecting boats and troops from parts of Bengal to the east of the
Bhagirathi still in his possession he moved rapidly down the river
and on a night in October, before the rivers had fallen, secretly
threw a bridge of boats across the river to the camp of the Marathas,
whom impunity had rendered careless. The lashings of several boats
in the bridge gave way and 1500 men were precipitated into the
swollen river, but the damage was repaired and the rest of the army
crossed. The Marathas filed in confusion, and 'Ali Vardi Khan's
unrelenting pursuit allowed them no opportunity of recovery. They
were driven into Bihar but returned to the Midnapore district and
after sustaining defeat at Jaleswar fled through western Orissa to
Nagpur.
The relief afforded by Bhaskar Pant's flight was not of long dura-
tion. His master, Raghuji Bhonsle, came in person from Nagpur to
establish his claim to the chauth and sardeshmukhi of Bengal. Follow-
ing the same route as Bhaskar Pant he arrived in the neighbourhood
of Murshidabad in March, 1743. But Balaji Rao Peshwa, receiving
from the emperor promise of the arrears of chauth due from Bihar
and the government of Malwa, arrived at Murshidabad when Raghuji
Bhonsle was encamped between Katwa and Burdwan.