The siege of Ratanpur in 1740 was a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

laid by the Marathas of Nagpur on the fort of

Ratanpur Ratanpur was historical capital of Chhattisgarh until British takeover of Central Province from Maratha. Ratanpur is a town and a nagar palika in Bilaspur district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is located about from Bilaspur on Nat ...

, capital of the Haihaiyavanshi Kingdom. There was almost no resistance by the Haihaiyavanshis, which resulted in a Maratha victory.

Background

The Bhonsle Maratha armies passed through Chhattisgarh on their way to invade the Odia kingdoms in eastern India. Bhaskar Pant invaded the Haihaiyavanshi Kingdom at the close of 1740. According to Sir Charles Grant, Raghunath Singh, the Haihaiyavanshi king, was bowed down with a heavy sorrow, which was the loss of his only son. He refused to take any interest in the government for nearly a year. At best, he was a feeble man, but now worn out with years and afflicted in mind. According to Sir Charles Grant, the Maratha army is said to have consisted of 40,000 men, chiefly horsemen. The branch Haihaiyavanshi ruler of

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

, Amar Singh, did not oppose him.

Siege

Raghunath Singh made no effort to defend his kingdom and waited till Bhaskar Pant reached his capital. Even then, there was no resistance from the defenders. But Raghunath Singh ordered the gates of the fort to be shut. Bhaskar Pant bought his guns to play on the fort, and soon a part of the palace was in ruins. At this point, one of the ''

Ranis Ranis is a town in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 15 km east of Saalfeld, and 30 km south of Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby citi ...

'' (queen) named Laxmi hoisted a white flag on the ramparts of the fort. The gates for opened, and the invading Marathas entered the fort and looted the city.

Aftermath

A fine of one lakh rupees was imposed on the town and all the wealth that remained in the treasury was seized. Then the country was pillaged in all directions by the Maratha army. However, Raghunath Singh was not harmed in any manner and allowed to rule at

under the suzerainty of the Marathas. Having crushed the Haihaiyavanshi king, the nominal overlord of the many petty chieftains and surrounding states, the Marathas demanded that the petty rulers submit to them, and the rulers did. Raigarh fell to the Bhonsles in 1741, and by 1742 Maratha control over the kingdom was firmly established.

References

{{reflist 1740 in India

Background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References