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Miya Qutb Shah or Qutb Khan was an Indian Muslim Sardar and formerly a collector of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. [1] [2] [3] He was best known as the slayer of Dattaji Rao Scindia. [4]
Qutb Khan joined the Mughal emperor's troops in the battle between Ahmad Shah Bahadur and Safdar Jang. He was given the parganahs of Kairana, Barot, Sardhana, and Kandhla by way of pay. When the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk afterwards gave these territories to the Marathas in a treaty, Qutb Khan felt exasperated and made up his mind to defy the Dehli Emperor. [5] He took to plunder and rape, ravaging Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Azimabad, and Thanesar. The imperial army attacked Qutb Khan at Karnal and were on the verge of victory due to their numbers, consisting of nearly 12,000 men against Qutb Khan's small army of 2,500. [6] The complete defeat of the imperial army, attributed to a freak sandstorm, [7] was followed by the seizure of their baggage and materials by Qutb Khan and the plundering of the surrounding regions. [8] Qutb Khan conquered the region of Sirhind from Sadiq Beg and ruled the city of Sirhind and its surrounding districts. He did not molest the poor, but repressed strong rebellious men, so that within his jurisdiction the roads became safe, and his followers were held back from practicing oppression. [9]
Renko Anaji and other Maratha captains captured Saharanpur, driving Qutb Shah to the foot of the Himalayas. [10] Backed by Abdali, Qutb Khan expelled the Marathas from Saharanpur in 1757 and took possession of it. [11] Abdali found in Saharanpur the Rohilla sardars, Qutb Khan, Sadullah Khan, Hafiz Rahmat Khan, Inayet Khan, Dundi Khan, Faizullah Khan, Fath Khan, and Mullah Sardar Khan with 10,000 warriors. [12] [13] Qutb Khan was not a Rohilla by caste, but came to be known as a Rohilla, as the preceptor and fighting ally of the Rohilla Dynasty, [14] [15] In the ensuing battle at the Burari Ghat, Dattaji was defeated and his head was cut off by Mian Qutb Shah. [16] Rajam Chopdar had seen Qutb Shah on top of his elephant, and having known him for long, saluted him in his Muslim tongue, and asked Qutb Shah to save the Patil who was lying on the battlefield. Qutb Shah asked Dattaji whether he would fight him again, and when he heard his reply saying that he would continue to fight, he immediately pulled a dagger from his waist, kicking him, and severed his head from the body, despite the pleas of Chopdar. [17] [18] He presented the head to Abdali. [19]
The primary purpose for the Third Battle of Panipat for the Marathas was the avenging of the death of Dattaji Sindhia. [20] The Marathas first attacked Kunjpura, where Qutb Shah waited with 2,000 men along with Abdus Samad Khan. [21] Qutb Khan was captured alive, and insults were heaped on him. [22] Qutb Khan asked for water when he was being led to the block, but the Marathas refused, remembering what he had done with the dead body of Dattaji Sindhia. [23] He was subsequently beheaded and paraded around the camp. Qutb Shah's sons slaughtered 4,000 Maratha fugitives at the Third Battle of Panipat, in order to avenge their father's death. [24]
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 comprising the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states who were often subordinate to the former. It was formed in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the House of Bhonsle as the Chhatrapati of the Marathas. The Maratha realm was recognised by Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal emperor, as a tributary state in 1707 after a prolonged rebellion. The Marathas continued to recognise the emperor as their nominal suzerain similar to other contemporary Indian entities.
Mirza Aziz-ud-Din Muhammad, better known by his regnal name Alamgir II, was the fifteenth Mughal emperor from 1754 to 1759. He was the son of Jahandar Shah.
Maharaja Suraj Mal was a Jat ruler of Bharatpur in 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, the Jat rule 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.
Rohillas are a mixed Indian community of Pashtun heritage, 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 Rohilla military chiefs settled in this region of northern India in the 1720s, the first of whom was Ali Mohammed Khan.
Raghunathrao Bhat, 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.
Mahadaji Shinde, later known as Mahadji Scindia or Madhava Rao Scindia, was a Maratha statesman and general who served as the Raja of Gwalior from 1768 to 1794. He was the fifth and the youngest son of Ranoji Rao Scindia, the founder of the Scindia dynasty. He is reputed for having restored the Maratha rule over North India and for modernizing his army.
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the estate of Indore to rule by the Peshwas, during the reign of the Maratha emperor Shahu I. He was founder of the Holkar dynasty that ruled Malwa.
The Durrani dynasty was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He united the different Pashtun tribes and created the Durrani Empire. which at its peak included the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as some parts of northeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India including the Kashmir Valley.
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 district, India. He was instrumental in winning the Third Battle of Panipat.
Ibrahim Khan Gardi was a South Indian Muslim general of Maratha Empire. An expert in artillery, he initially served the Nizam of Hyderabad, before working for the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. As a general of the Maratha Empire, 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 when it was under Maratha suzerainty, making them the de facto rulers.
Zabita Khan Rohilla was a Rohilla chieftain in the time of the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
The Afghan-Maratha War was fought between the Afghan Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Maratha Empire and the Sikh Confederacy between 1758 and 1761. It took place in north-west India, primarily the region around Delhi and Punjab.
Dattaji Rao Shinde, also known as Dattaji Rao Scindia, was the second son of Ranoji Rao Shinde and Maina Bai, alias Nimba Bai. His elder brother was Jayappaji Rao Shinde and his younger brother was Jyotiba.
Battle of Delhi may refer to:
Sahiba Mahal was the second wife of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire, invaded Indian subcontinent for 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.
The Raid of Panipat (1770) was a raid on 4 January 1770 by the Sikh forces led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia against the Mughal forces led by Zabita Khan.
Rane Khan was a prominent Bhishti Muslim chief who was prominent in the Maratha empire.
formerly a collecetor of Saharanpur, who later usurped parts of Panipat and Karnal districts
He did not molest the poor but repressed the strong refractory men, so that within his jurisdiction the roads became safe and his followers were held back from practising oppression