1. #Thread on Peshwa Madhavrao - the Glorious Ornament of Maratha Empire
He became Peshwa this day 260 years ago. This thread forms the 1st part of two-part series on Peshwa Madhavrao.
2. 1745, Feb 16: Peshwa Madhavrao was born.
1761, Jul 20: Madhavrao becomes Peshwa at age of 16, with Raghunathrao (paternal uncle) as co-regent with Gopikabai, Madhavrao’s mother
3. Although Nizam had been humbled at Battle of Udgir (1760), the Maratha setback at Panipat (1761) had emboldened Nizam to invade Pune in Dec 1761. Nizam's army was surrounded by Marathas near Pune, and forced to cede territory to Marathas worth 40 lakhs.
4. 1762: Mysuru's Hyder Ali had been encroaching on Maratha lands since 1760. Madhavrao marched into Karnataka to stop Hyder Ali, then returned to Pune. Raghunathrao, the co-regent, decided to contest the post of Peshwa with 50k troops (including Nizam's), & marched to Pune.
5. Peshwa Madhavrao surrenders to Raghunathrao after skirmish at Alegaon in Nov. Raghunathrao assumes major power in the empire & gives Nizam most of the territory gained by Marathas at Udgir (1760)
1763: In retaliation to Nizam's wanton interference in Maratha politics, ..
6. Madhavrao attacked Nizam's territories. Nizam plundered Pune & Satara. By June, Madhavrao won over several chiefs of Nizam to his side by diplomacy. The hostility culminated in the decisive Battle of Rakshasbhuvan.
7. Battle of Rakshasbhuvan on 10 Aug 1763:-
Madhavrao proved his military acumen & courage through timely troop movements before, & during the battle. In stark contrast, Raghunathrao was seen as indecisive, & Madhavrao was made Peshwa again!
8. Nana Fadnavis was restored to office, with his brother Moropant Phadnis too. Peshwa Madhavrao met Mahadji Shinde to confirm services.
The trio of Madhavrao-Mahadji-Nana were vital to the Maratha State for the next 3+ decades till 1800.
9. 1764-65: Hyder Ali had pushed his borders upto Krishna river. In Sep '64, Madhavrao invaded Hyder Ali to get back the territories.
Marathas captured Dharwad fort & defeated Hyder Ali near Savanur. Madhavrao had called Raghunathrao to Karnataka with him. He took over peace ...
10. ..negotiations & took back territories north of Tungabhadra.
Meanwhile, historic events took place in the North! After emerging victorious in the European 7-Years-War, English had attained unchallenged naval supremacy. In '64, they defeated Mughals at Battle of Buxar.
11. In Aug 1765, the English signed the Treaty of Allahabad with Mughals. Awadh Nawab became English protectorate. English gained complete control from Allahabad to Bay of Bengal in effect.
1766: Peshwa Madhavrao had been keeping tabs on the English ingress into the subcontinent
12. The Peshwa allied Nizam in order to counter the English on one hand, and Hyder Ali on the other. He undertook campaign against Hyder Ali in Nov.
1767-68: In Feb, Marathas capture Sira Fort. On Mar 4, Madhugiri (Madgiri) fort was captured. Hyder Ali had imprisoned Rani of ...
13. ..Bednur & her son in that fort. Madhavrao rescued them & sent them to Pune for protection. After negotiating restoration of all territories by Hyder Ali to Marathas, Madhavrao returned to Pune to stop Raghunathrao's intrigues.
1770:Peshwa-Nizam alliance attacked Hyder Ali..
14. ..to check his expansion since past 2 years into Maratha territories. Marathas captured Bengaluru, Devraidurg (Tumakaru) & Kolar.
Till Aug, Hyder Ali was defeated multiple times by Marathas under Trimbakrao Pethe due to fresh supplies of heavy artillery & troops from Pune.
15. In the north, Marathas capture Agra, Mathura & Etawah till Dec '70.
In Dec, Madhavrao wrote an insightful letter to Ramchandra Ganesh & Visaji Krishna - generals dispatched to the north - showing his grasp of the political situation in N.India.
16. 'You all well know how disunity & self-seeking have ruined our interests in the past. You must realise that each one's personal interest is best served by working for the united good for all! The Peshwa shall amply award your individual merit.'
18. Najib Khan's Tomb was opened & his remains scattered!
In the south, Marathas utterly routed Hyder Ali in the Battle of Moti Talav (Mar '71), Hyder Ali fled to Shrirangapattan. Marathas conclude peace with Mysuru, & territory south of Tungabhadra was acquired by Marathas.
19. In the next part of the thread-series, we'll look at the aspects of political & administrative genius of Peshwa Madhavrao.
2. Hyder Ali didn’t spare even girls of 4-5 years old, who were purchased on account of beauty to train them in music, dance and to give pleasure.
3. 1763: Hyder Ali fought with Rani of Bednur, Rani Virammaji. When people of Bednur heard about his attack, they fled to jungle. Hyder systematically looted Bednur. His loot was estimated 12 mn sterling.
2. 610 CE: Prophet Muhammad had first revelation of Islam. Till 630, he went on to increase his followers & gain control of Mecca.
632: Abu Bakr was made caliph after Muhammad died. 634: Two years later, Umar I became caliph after Abu Bakr's death. Umar I reigned till 644.
3. ~636/637: During Umar I's reign, the first ever Arab invasion of India took place! It was a naval attack on Thane (nr Mumbai), ruled by Chalukya Pulakeshin II (one of the most ambitious Hindu rulers of ancient India)
The attack was repelled, with Hindu victory over Arabs!
2. 1435, Jun 29: Kapilendra Gajapati was coronated at Cuttack when the king Bhanudeva IV was away on southern campaigns.
3. At the time of his accession, the Gajapati kingdom was being hard-pressed by the Jaunpur, Bengal Sultanates from the north, and Bahmani Sultanate from the south-west. Vijayanagara Empire had also conquered the eastern coast upto Godavari delta.
2. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was coronated Chhatrapati on 20 July 1680.
At the time of his accession, the nascent Maratha state was surrounded by Mughals, Adilshah, English, Siddis, and the Portuguese.
3. Close to end of Shivaji’s reign, he had made it a policy to hurt the Mughal economy by targeting its economic centres. Sambhaji Maharaj continued his policy more aggressively.
Burhanpur was attacked in 1680-81. Maulav!s there lamented on being unable to do Friday-namaz