The battle of Delhi in 1757 also referred to as the Second battle of Delhi, was a battle fought on 11 August 1757 between the Maratha Empire under the command of

Raghunath Rao Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-west ...

and the Rohillas under the command of

Najib-ud-Daula Najib ad-Dawlah ( ps, نجيب الدوله), also known as Najib Khan Yousafzai ( ps, نجيب خان), was a Rohilla Yousafzai Afghan who earlier served as a Mughal serviceman but later deserted the cause of the Mughals and joined Ahmed S ...

, who was under the Afghan suzerainty and simultaneously the "Pay Master" of what remained of the

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

. The battle was waged by the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

for the control of Delhi, the former Mughal capital which was now under the control of Rohilla chief

, as a consequence of the fourth invasion of India by

Ahmad Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...

.Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813
/ref>

Background

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...

invaded North India for the fourth time in early 1757. He entered Delhi in January 1757 and kept the Mughal emperor under arrest. On his return in April 1757, Abdali re-installed the Mughal emperor

Alamgir II Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad (6 June 1699 – 29 November 1759), better known as Alamgir II, was the fifteenth Mughal Emperor of India, who reigned from 3 June 1754 to 29 November 1759. He was the son of Jahandar Shah. Born Aziz-ud-Din, the second s ...

on Delhi throne as a titular head. However, the actual control of Delhi was given to

, who had promised to pay an annual tribute of 20 lakh rupees to Abdali. Najib had also assisted Abdali in his fourth invasion and had already won the trust of the Afghan emperor. It can be said that he worked as the agent of Abdali in Delhi court. So, Najib was now the de facto ruler of Delhi with

as a puppet emperor in his control. The Mughal emperor and his ''wazir''

Imad-ul-Mulk Feroze Jung III or Nizam Shahabuddin Muhammad Feroz Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi also known by his sobriquet Imad-ul-Mulk, was the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire allied with the Maratha Empire, who were often described as a de facto ruler of the ...

were alarmed by all these developments and hence requested

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

s to help them get rid of Abdali's agents in Delhi. A contingent of 40,000 Maratha troops was dispatched for attacking Delhi.

Battle

The Marathas encamped opposite the

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...

on the other side of Yamuna river. Najib gave the charge of 2,500 strong infantry to Qutub Shah and Mulla Aman Khan and himself commanded another infantry contingent of 5,000 troops and heavy artillery and which were deployed by him to prevent Marathas from entering the city. The battle started on 11 August and after two weeks of intense fighting, Najib surrendered and was arrested by Marathas. Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813
/ref> Maratha commander

demanded immediate withdrawal of Najib from Delhi along with a tribute of 50 lakh rupees. He also promised that he would never return to Delhi and never threaten any Maratha fort.

Aftermath

The

had now become the de facto rulers of Delhi.

appointed Antaji Mankeshwar as Governor of Delhi province while

was retained as titular head with no actual power.The New Cambridge Modern History, Volume 4
/ref>

References

TVandana Thorpe

y Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī, Marcia K.
{{Maratha Empire Delhi 1757 Delhi 1757 1757 in India 18th century in Delhi Delhi 1757

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References