Battle of Trichinopoly (1682) was a battle fought 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 Shi ...

and the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...

. The Maratha forces under

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

and his allies, besieged and captured the city of

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

Background

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

had conquered territories in the states of Karnataka.

Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur Mohammed Adil Shah was the seventh ruler of Bijapur, ascending the throne in 1627. During his reign, he assisted the Mughals with their campaigns against the Ahmednagar Sultanate and signed a peace treaty with them in 1636. He died in 1656 and ...

granted him the Jagir of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. This was the entry of the Marathas in the Southern India. The

and the

had rivalry in South India. Chikkadevaraya, the king of Mysore had challenged the Marathas in the South. Several battles were fought between them. Both sides won and lost some battles. As a result Sambhaji and his allies invaded Mysore in June 1682. Chikkadevaraya soundly defeated them at the

Battle of Banavar Battle of Banavar was a land battle fought between the Maratha Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore in the year 1682. The Mysore forces under King Chikka Devaraja defeated the Maratha forces and their allies under Sambhaji, forcing him to retreat tempo ...

. Sambhaji and his forces retreated near

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

Tactics and plans

rested near Thanjavur for 20 days. He received more reinforcements from Hukkeri and Golconda. His uncle

Ekoji I Vyankojirajah Bhonsle (born 1632) or Ekojirajah I Bhonsle was the younger half-brother of Shivaji and founder of Maratha rule in Thanjavur in modern day Tamil Nadu. He was the progenitor of the junior branch of the Bhonsle family which ruled ...

also joined forces with him. Sambhaji had realised the strength of Mysore forces near their heartland. He decided to draw them away from their stronghold to flat plains near

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

. He decided to attack and besiege the city of Tiruchirapalli. The weakened Nayaka of Madurai, Chokkanatha Nayak lived on the fort. He was a vassal of the Kingdom of Mysore. Still, the city had strong defences and a formidable Mysore garrison in the city and on the fort. Sambhaji wanted to negate the superiority of Mysore archers. During their rest time Sambhaji ordered all the cobblers from neighbouring villages and made leather arrow-proof jackets for his entire army. These leather jackets were coated with a layer of oil to avoid arrows from getting stuck in the jackets. Sambhaji also collected the abundantly available war elephants from the surrounding region. He ordered all the boatmen from the nearby villages to assemble with his army. 300 archers of the Maratha army were prepared to fire lit arrows during the attack.

Battle

Tiruchirapalli lied on the opposite bank of the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

river. At the dawn, the Maratha forces crossed the river using the boats collected from nearby villages. The sudden attack of the Marathas surprised the Mysore defenders, they started showering arrows on the Maratha Army. The Maratha leather jackets provided effective protection and negated arrows from the Mysore bowmen. Elephants broke through the main doors in the meanwhile and fierce battle ensued on the streets of

. Marathas captured the city by the evening but the

Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort Tiruchirappalli Rockfort, locally known as Malaikottai, is a historic fortification and temple complex built on an ancient rock. It is located in the city of Tiruchirappalli, on the banks of river Kaveri, Tamil Nadu, India. It is constructed on ...

was still controlled by the Mysore army. Meanwhile Chokkanatha Nayak died on the fort. Sambhaji with a force of 10,000 laid siege to the fort after 10 days. The Marathas again adopted similar tactics to negate Mysore archers. The Maratha archers accurately struck lit arrows on the ammunitions depot within the fort resulting in a huge explosion, and collapse of the wall. The Marathas soon entered and captured the fort. The Marathas sacked Tiruchirapalli. Historian Sadashiv Shivde has mentioned that, this victory was a success point of Sambhaji's military intelligence.

Aftermath

The defeat at Tiruchirapalli dealt a severe blow to Chikka Deva as several of his allies joined Sambhaji. Sambhaji then captured several provinces, including

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and the region in northern

. Chikka Deva entered negotiations with Sambhaji and brought an end to the war by paying the tribute. A treaty was signed at

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...

in which he paid 1 Crore Honas as a war tribute to Sambhaji. However this was a temporary surrender and the conflicts continued in the following years.

References

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Trichinopoly Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...