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Battle of Burdwan | |||||||
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Part of Maratha invasions of Bengal | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Maratha Confederacy • Nagpur State | Bengal Subah | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Janoji Bhonsle | Alivardi Khan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Very large compared to the Maratha forces [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Burdwan occurred between the Bengal Subah and the Maratha Confederacy in 1747. After the dismissal of Mir Jafar by Alivardi Khan, an army was amassed to defend against the invading Maratha forces of Janoji Bhonsle at Orissa. Alivardi Khan managed to heavily repulse and defeat the Marathas in this battle. [2]
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah's commander in chief as well as much of the Bengal Subah's armies being earlier committed against an Afghan invasion led by Ahmad Shah Durrani against the Mughal Empire. The battle helped the British East India Company take control of Bengal in 1772. Over the next hundred years, they continued to expand their control over vast territories in the rest of the Indian subcontinent, including Burma.
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The Nawab of Bengal was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the de facto independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the modern-day sovereign country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. The Bengal Subah reached its peak during the reign of Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. They are often referred to as the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Nawabs were based in Murshidabad which was centrally located within Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. Their chief, a former prime minister, became the first Nawab. The Nawabs continued to issue coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor, but for all practical purposes, the Nawabs governed as independent monarchs. Bengal continued to contribute the largest share of funds to the imperial treasury in Delhi. The Nawabs, backed by bankers such as the Jagat Seth, became the financial backbone of the Mughal court.
Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, more commonly known as just Mir Jafar, was a commander-in-chief or military general who reigned as the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expansion of British control of the Indian subcontinent in Indian history and a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of pre-partition India.
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The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1742–1751), also known as the Maratha expeditions in Bengal, were the frequent invasions by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah, after their successful campaign in the Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopoly. The leader of the expeditions was Raghoji Bhonsle of Nagpur. The Marathas invaded Bengal many times from April 1742 to March 1751, which caused widespread economic losses in the Bengal Subah.
The Bengal Subah, also referred to as Mughal Bengal, was the largest subdivision of Mughal India encompassing much of the Bengal region, which includes modern-day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and some parts of the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha between the 16th and 18th centuries. The state was established following the dissolution of the Bengal Sultanate, a major trading nation in the world, when the region was absorbed into the Mughal Empire. Bengal was the wealthiest region in the Indian subcontinent.
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Bhaskar Ram Kolhatkar, known as Baba Bhaskar Pandit or Bhaskar Pant by the people of Bengal and Maharashtra, was a Maratha general and statesman. He was the dewan of the Maharaja of Nagpur, Raghuji Bhonsle. He played an important role in the kingdom of Nagpur's expansion. The first Maratha invasion of Bengal in 1741, as also the third in 1744, was led by him. He was an able military leader, proven by his success in the Maratha invasions of Bengal and conquest of Chhattisgarh. He was killed by Alivardi Khan on 30 March 1744.
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When Marathas under Janoji Bhonsle invaded Orissa, Governor Mir Ja'far retreated before being reinforced to check the Marathas at Burdwan, northwest of Calcutta. Mughal Nawab Ali Vardi Khan dismissed Mir Ja'far and, with a much larger force, heavily defeated Janoji at Burdwan. However, four more years of war finally persuaded the Emperor to cede Orissa to the Marathas.
When Marathas under Janoji Bhonsle invaded Orissa, Governor Mir Ja'far retreated before being reinforced to check the Marathas at Burdwan, northwest of Calcutta. Mughal Nawab Ali Vardi Khan dismissed Mir Ja'far and, with a much larger force, heavily defeated Janoji at Burdwan. However, four more years of war finally persuaded the Emperor to cede Orissa to the Marathas (January 1747).