The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Confederacy and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) north of Delhi. The Afghans were supported by three key allies in India: Najib ad-Dawlah who persuaded the support of the Rohilla chiefs, elements of the declining Mughal Empire, and most prized the Oudh State under Shuja-ud-Daula. The Maratha army was led by Sadashivrao Bhau, who was third-highest authority of the Maratha Confederacy after the Chhatrapati and the Peshwa. The bulk of the Maratha army was stationed in the Deccan Plateau with the Peshwa.
The Maratha Confederacy, also referred to as the Maratha Empire, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states often subordinate to the former. It was established in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the Maratha Chhatrapati and recognised by Emperor Bahadur Shah I as a tributary state in 1707 following a prolonged rebellion. Following this, the Marathas continued to recognise the Mughal emperor as their nominal suzerain, similar to other contemporary Indian entities, though in practice, imperial politics at Delhi were largely influenced by the Marathas between 1737 and 1803.
Balaji Baji Rao, often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, the Peshwa Bajirao I.
Madhavrao I was the son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I who served as 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. During his tenure, the Maratha Confederacy recovered from the losses they suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, an event known as Maratha Resurrection.
Maharaja Suraj Mal, simply known as Suraj Mal, was a Jat ruler of Bharatpur State in the present-day state of Rajasthan. He is Known for his military prowess and administrative acumen, he established a prosperous kingdom in the region now encompassing parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. Under him, Bharatpur State, a tributary of the House of Scindia, covered the present-day districts of Agra, Alwar, Aligarh, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Etawa, Hathras, Mainpuri, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Mathura, and Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Bulandshahr.
Raghunathrao, also known as Ragho Ballal or Raghoba Dada, was the younger son of Peshwa Bajirao I who served as the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy for a brief period from 1773 to 1774.
Najib ad-Dawlah, also known as Najib Khan Yousafzai, was a Rohilla Yousafzai Afghan who earlier served as a Mughal serviceman but later deserted the cause of the Mughals and joined Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1757 in his attack on Delhi. He was also a House Chief of Rohilkhand, and in the 1740s founded the city of Najibabad in Bijnor, India. He was instrumental in winning the Third Battle of Panipat.
Sadashivrao Bhau Bhatt was son of Chimaji Appa and Rakhmabai and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha king Rajaram II. He led the Maratha army at the Third Battle of Panipat.
Ibrahim Khan Gardi was a South Indian Muslim general of the Maratha Confederacy. An expert in artillery, he initially served the Nizam of Hyderabad, before working for the Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. As a Maratha general, he commanded a force of 10,000 men, infantry and artillery. He was captured and killed by the Durrani soldiers during the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.
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.
Sardar Charat Singh, also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl, father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh, the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the Sukerchakia Misl, a separate grouping with its distinct guerilla militia.
The Battle of Shopian took place on 3 July 1819 between an expeditionary force from the Sikh Empire and Jabbar Khan, the governor of the Kashmir Valley province of the Durrani Empire. It was the decisive battle during the Sikh expedition into Kashmir in 1819.
The Afghan–Sikh wars spanned from 1748 to 1837 in the Indian subcontinent, and saw multiple phases of fighting between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Empire, mainly in and around Punjab region. The conflict's origins stemmed from the days of the Dal Khalsa, and continued after the Emirate of Kabul succeeded the Durrani Empire.
Adina Beg Khan was a general, administrator, and statesman from the Punjab region who served as the Nawab of Punjab from April 1758 until his death in September of the same year. He began his career as a Patwari (accountant) and later as a Sepoy after joining the Mughal army, eventually drawing the attention of the Punjabi nobles. After serving through various posts in Punjab, he was recognised as the Nawab by Emperor Alamgir II during the power vacuum in 1758, earning the title Zafar Jang Bahadur.
The Afghan–Maratha War was fought between the Afghan Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Maratha Confederacy and the Sikh Confederacy between 1758 and 1761. It took place in north-west India, primarily the region around Delhi and Punjab.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire, invaded Indian subcontinent a total of eight times between 1748 and 1767, following the collapse of Mughal Empire in the mid-18th century. His objectives were met through the raids and deepened the political crisis in India.
Hari Ram Gupta was an Indian historian. The main focus of his work was the Sikh history of 18th century. During 1957 to 1963, he was head of Panjab University's History department. Following his retirement, he was an honorary professor in the History department of University of Delhi from 1964 to 1967.
The Battle of Mahilpur was fought between the Sikh Misls and Adina Beg Khan against the Durrani Empire in December 1757. Following the 4th invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani, he appointed Timur Shah as the viceroy of Punjab with Jahan Khan as his deputy. The Afghans appointed Adina Beg Khan as the faujdar of the Jalandhar Doaba and exempted him from attending court at lahore, on the condition that Adina Beg pay revenue to the Afghan government. Soon a dispute regarding the payment of revenue occurred between Adina Beg and the Afghans. This dispute soon escalated which resulted in Jahan Khan sending an Afghan force to arrest Adina Beg. Adina Beg formed a military alliance with the Sikhs under the command of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Vadbhag Singh Sodhi. Adina Beg also gained the support of Sadiq Beg Khan, Khwaja Mirza Khan, and Raja Bhup Singh. Adina Beg along with the Sikh forces fought the Afghans at Mahilpur. The battle resulted in a victory for Adina Beg and the Sikhs and resulted in the entire Jalandhar Doaba being occupied and sacked by the Sikh forces.
The Battle of Kunjpura was fought on 17 October 1760, and it was a significant engagement during the Maratha-Afghan Wars. It was led by the prominent Maratha commander Bhau, and marched towards Kunjpura, approximately 150 kilometers north of Delhi, due to high floods preventing the transportation of supplies from the Panjab, particularly from Sirhind. This was a significant temptation for Bhau to embark on the journey.
The Sack of Delhi occurred from 17 January – 22 February 1757, carried out by the Durrani Empire under the Afghan King Ahmad Shah Durrani. Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire, experienced multiple invasions by the Afghans during the 18th century.
Maratha Confederacy 
Bharatpur State 