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 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 ...

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 Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Roh ...

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 Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

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 M ...

for the control of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, the former Mughal capital which was now under the control of

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

chief

, as a consequence of the fourth invasion of

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 ...

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, Ahm ...

.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, Ahm ...

invaded

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

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

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 Najib or Najeeb ( ar, نجيب) is an Arabic male given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Najib ad-Dawlah Yousafzai (died 1770), Pashtun warrior who fought in the Third Battle of Panipat * Najib Amhali (born 1971), Moroc ...

was now the de facto ruler of Delhi with Alamgir II 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 M ...

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

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 hi ...

on the other side of

Yamuna river The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...

. 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 Alamgir II 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