The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashi ...

, Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

between the

Maratha Empire 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 Sh ...

and the

Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

wherein, the Marathas defeated the Nizam.

Background

The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Maratha king Shahu, appointed Balaji Vishwanath as his ''

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 ...

'' or Prime Minister. Within a decade, Balaji had managed to extract a significant amount of territory and wealth from the fragmenting

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. In 1724, Mughal control lapsed, and

Asaf Jah I Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He ...

, the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad declared himself independent of Mughal rule, thereby establishing his own kingdom known as Hyderabad Deccan. The Nizam set about strengthening the province by attempting to control the growing influence of the Marathas. He utilized a growing polarization in the

due to the claim of the title of King by both Shahu and

Sambhaji II Sambhaji II or Sambhaji I of Kolhapur (1698 - 18 December 1760) was a Raja of Kolhapur from Bhonsle dynasty. He was a grandson of Shivaji and the second son of Chhatrapati Rajaram with his second wife, Rajasbai. After defeat by Shahu, Sambha ...

of Kolhapur. The Nizam began supporting the

faction, which enraged Shahu who had been proclaimed as King. The Nizam further decided to halt

Chauth Chauth (from Sanskrit, meaning ''one fourth'') was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, ...

given by many landowners of the Deccan province to the Marathas, as had been agreed by the Syed Brothers in 1719.

Prelude

Peshwa Bajirao vs Nizam-ul-Mulk movements in Palkhed Campaign

The battle plan was set by the withdrawal of Baji Rao's army from the southern reaches of the Maratha empire during May 1727. This was followed by Shahu breaking off negotiations with the Nizam-ul-Mulk about the restoration of the Chauth. The Nizam pursued Baji Rao's army around the vicinity of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

for about six months, where Baji Rao executed a series of thrust and parry moves to finally corner the Nizam at Palkhed.

The Battle

Baji Rao and the Maratha armies were called back from the south, from the Karnataka campaign. In May 1727, Baji Rao then asked Shahu to break off negotiations with

(Nizam-ul-Mulk had called for arbitration over the payment of the Chauth and sardeshmukhi) and started mobilizing an army. With the monsoons over and the land ready for this exciting campaign, Baji Rao moved towards Aurangabad. After a skirmish near Jalna (the Marathas by now had become famous for their strategy of not engaging with the enemy) with Iwaz Khan (the General of Nizam-ul-Mulk), as could have been predicted, Baji Rao moved away from the battlefield, towards Burhanpur. Nizam-ul-Mulk’s army pursued Baji Rao. Baji Rao then moved westwards to Gujarat from North Khandesh. However, the Nizam-ul-Mulk gave up the pursuit and moved southward towards Pune. This is an interesting reason and comparison between how the two armies functioned. The Nizam is known to have carried huge armies with him, including supplies to last for the duration of the campaign. In fact, the Nizam used to carry his jenana or womenfolk with him during his campaigns. The Maratha armies, however, were very light and found supplies on the way by plundering and looting outposts on the way. As Nizam-ul-Mulk left the pursuit of Baji Rao and moved towards the headquarters of the Shahu stronghold, posts like Udaipur, Avasari, Pabal, Khed, and Narayangarh surrendered to Nizam-ul-Mulk, who then occupied Pune and advanced towards Supa, Patas, and Baramati.

Sambhaji II's Withdrawal

In Baramati, Nizam-ul-Mulk got news of Baji Rao moving towards Aurangabad. Nizam-ul-Mulk began moving northwards to intercept the Maratha Army. By this time he was confident of crushing Baji Rao and his army. It was not to happen so. The Raja of Kolhapur, Sambhaji II refused to join him in this campaign against Baji Rao. The Nizam was cornered in a waterless tract near Palkhed on 25 February 1728. Through Iwaz Khan, the Nizam-ul-Mulk sent out a word of his plight, and his army was allowed to move to the vicinity of the river. The Mughal emperor

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...

appointed Nizam-ul-Mulk as Subedar of Deccan.

Outcome

The Nizam of Hyderabad was defeated by the Marathas, and Peshwa Baji Rao I made him sign a peace treaty on 6 March 1728 at the village of Mungi-Paithan. By the treaty of Munji Shivagaon, the Nizam agreed to make certain concessions to the Peshwa. # Chhatrapati Shahu was recognised as the sole Maratha ruler. # Marathas were given the right to collect Chauth and Sardeshmukhi of Deccan. # Those revenue collectors driven out would be reappointed. # The balance revenue was to be paid to Chhatrapati Shahu.

References

External links

Atul Sabnis' excellent article on the battle

Wars of the Mogul Empire
{{MarathaEmpire Palkhed Palkhed 1728 1728 in India