The Battle of Mahidpur was fought during the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

between the

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Mara ...

faction of the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

and the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

Mahidpur Mahidpur City is a city and a municipality, near Ujjain city in Ujjain district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The modern town of Mahidpur is situated on the bank of river Shipra. It is located in the Malwa region. At present, the town ...

, a town in the

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

region, on 21 December 1817. On 21 December 1817, the British, led by Sir Thomas Hislop, attacked the Holkar army led by 11-year-old Maharaja

Malhar Rao Holkar III Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Shrimant Malhar Rao III Holkar VII Subadar Bahadur (1806–27 October 1833), belonging to the Holkar dynasty of the Marathas was the Maharaja of (Holkar State) (r. 1811–1833). He was born at Bhanpura Bhanpur ...

, 22-year-old Hari Rao Holkar and 20-year-old Bhima Bai Holkar. The Holkar artillery, led by Roshan Beg, attacked them with a long line of 63

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s. At one point, the British were on the verge of losing the battle. However, they were helped by Gafur Khan, a traitor in the Holkar's camp. Khan deserted the battlefield with the force under his command. After this, the Holkars were decisively defeated. Malhar Rao III, Tatya Jog and others escaped to

Alot Alot is a town and nagar panchayat in the Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Demographics Alot has a population of 40,948. Culture Alot is a tehsil of Ratlam district and the hometown of the Jangalwa Dynasty. Alot is a main station fo ...

. A peace treaty was signed on 6 January 1818 at

Mandsaur Mandsaur is a city and a municipality in Mandsaur district located on Border of Mewar and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District. The ancient Pashupatinath Temple is l ...

. Holkars accepted all the terms laid down by the British in the Treaty of Mandsaur. At the conclusion of this Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Holkars lost much of their territory to the British and were incorporated into the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

as a princely state of the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

. This battle led to the final destruction of Maratha power.

Baji Rao II Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted ...

, who was trying to consolidate Marathas, finally surrendered in June 1818. British abolished the position of

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

, and Marathas were limited to the small kingdom of Satara until its annexation to Bombay state in 1848.

References

{{coord missing, Madhya Pradesh

History of Malwa

1817 in India December 1817 events