Battle of Bhopal

Battle of Bhopal
Part of Later Mughal-Maratha Wars (1723-1738)
Date 24 December 1737 Location Bhopal, India Result Decisive Maratha victory Treaty of Bhopal signed between Mughals and Marathas which ceded large territory of Malwa (central India) along with 50 lakh rupees as war expenses to Marathas.
Belligerents
Mughal Empire Nizam of Hyderabad Nawab of Awadh Nawab of Bhopal Rajputs	Maratha Empire
Commanders and leaders
Yar Muhammad Khan Bahadur Asaf Jah I Saadat Ali Khan I Sultan Muhammad Khan Bahadur Iswari Singh Diwan Raja Ayamal Pratap Singh	Baji Rao
Strength
~200,000 men ~100 cannons	~70,000 men (mostly cavalry) 30-50 guns
Casualties and losses
~35,000	~7,000

The Battle of Bhopal was fought on 24 December 1737 in Bhopal between the Maratha Empire and the combined army of Mughals and their allies (Rajputs of Amber).

Background

As the Mughal empire continued to weaken after Aurangzeb's death, the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I invaded Mughal territories such as Malwa and Gujarat. The Mughal emperor was alarmed by Maratha conquests. In 1737, the Marathas invaded Delhi, defeated the Mughals, and then marched back to their capital Pune.

The Mughal emperor asked for support from their vassals, Rajputs and the Nizam. The Nizam intercepted the Marathas during the latter's return journey, with support from the Rajput subordinates of the Mughals. Their combined armies clashed with Marathas near Bhopal.^[1][2]

Battle

The battle was fought between the Maratha Empire and Mughal forces led by Nizam of Hyderabad near Bhopal in India in December 1737, and was arguably the largest pitched battle fought in India in the 18th century. The battle resulted in decisive Maratha victory mainly through the swift tactics of Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao.^[2]

The Rajput army included Sawai Raja Jai Singh's forces under his son Iswari Singh and Diwan Raja Ayamal, and Badan Singh's forces under his son Pratap Singh.

Later, on 7 January 1738, a peace treat was signed between Peshwa Bajirao and Jai Singh II, deputy of Nizam at village Doraha near Bhopal.^[3] The Mughal Empire was left in a wrecked position and was unable to face the later invasion of Nadir Shah. Marathas were given terriortory of Malwa ^[2]

References

2. An Advanced History of Modern India
3. S.R. Bakshi and O.P. Ralhan (2007). Madhya Pradesh Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. p. 384. ISBN 978-81-7625-806-7.