Battle of Bhopal | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Maratha Confederacy |
Hyderabad Awadh Jaipur[1] Kota[2] Other Mughal chiefs[3] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Baji Rao I Chimaji Appa Ranoji Scindia Pilaji Jadhav |
Asaf Jah I Saadat Ali Khan Safdar Jung[4] Mansur Ali Khan[citation needed] Sawai Jai Singh[5] Ishwari Singh of Jaipur[6] Subhasingh Bundela[7] | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
80,000 light cavalry[8] |
70,000 troops 120 cannons drawn by war-elephant corps 3,000 Camel-drawn Zamburak gunnery[8] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Bhopal was fought on 24 December 1737 in Bhopal between the Maratha Confederacy and the combined army of the Mughal chiefs,[9] Hyderabad State, Rajput kingdoms and the Oudh State in which Marathas under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I were victorious.[10]
As the Mughal Empire continued to weaken after Aurangzeb's death, the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I invaded Mughal territories of Malwa and Gujarat. The Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah was alarmed by the Marathas' conquest. Initially, Maratha war-bands that entered the province from the south (Deccan) were constantly defeated and repulsed by Jai Singh II, the Subahdar of Malwa.[11][12] In 1737, the Marathas invaded the northern frontiers of the Mughal Empire, successfully reaching as far as the outskirts of Delhi under the command of Bajirao and were now marching back to Pune.[13]
The battle was fought between the Marathas and Mughal forces led by the Nizam of Hyderabad near Bhopal in India in December 1737. The Marathas poisoned the water and the replenishment supplies of the besieged Mughal forces. Chimaji was sent with an army of 10,000 men to stop any reinforcements while Bajirao blockaded the city instead of directly attacking the Nizam. The Nizam sued for peace after he was denied reinforcements from Delhi.[8]
On 7 January 1738, a peace treaty known as Treaty of Bhopal was signed in Doraha near Bhopal and the Mughals agreed to pay 5,000,000 Rupees as war expenses to the Marathas.[14][8] The Marathas were given the territory of Malwa.[8][15]
Reaching Delhi, the Nizam was joined by several other Mughal chiefs, and at the head of seventy thousand soldiers supported by enormous military supply he marched out to meet the Marathas.
23°15′N 77°25′E / 23.250°N 77.417°E