Rajput rebellion 1708—1710 | |||||||
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Part of Mughal-Rajput Wars and Decline of the Mughal Empire | |||||||
A Mewari painting showing the alliance between Maharaja Ajit Singh, Maharana Amar Singh II, Maharaja Jai Singh II and Veer Durgadas Rathore. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Marwar Kingdom of Amber Supported By Kingdom of Mewar | Mughal Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jai Singh of Amber Ajit Singh of Marwar Durgadas Rathore Maharana Amar Singh | Bahadur Shah I Hussain Ali Khan Barha Churaman Asad Khan Muhammad Shah Mir Khan |
The Rajput rebellion began in 1708, due to the harsh treatment of the Rajput Rajas by the Mughal emperor. It erupted into a two-year rebellion that forced the Mughal emperor to sue for peace, give them gifts, and restore the Rajput holdings which had been annexed by the previous Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
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After the death of Aurangzeb, a battle for succession began amongst the Mughal princes. Jai Singh II and commanded a thousand troops under Bidar Bakht. On 8 June 1707, Bidar Bakht and his father Azam Shah were killed in battle and Jai Singh retreated. Bahadur Shah, as emperor, marched towards Rajputana where the Rathors under Durgadas shortly after the Rathore Rebellion. Ajit Singh had taken Jodhpur after the death of Aurangzeb and ousted Mehrab Khan and the Mughal garrisons. [3] [1] During this campaign Bahadur Shah was suspicious of Jai Singh II as he had been a good friend of Bidar Bakht and fought Bahadur at Jajau. Jai Singh's younger brother Bijay Singh on the other side had been with Bahadur Shah for a longer period of time. Therefore, when Bahadur Shah stopped at Amber on 10 January 1708 on his way to Marwar, he made Bijay Singh the Raja of Amber and removed Jai Singh from his post and made him an ordinary Jagirdar. When Bahadur Shah reached close to Marwar, Ajit Singh started negotiations after seeing the size of the imperial army. On 24 March, Bahadur Shah was forced to march south due to his brother Kam Baksh's rebellion. The emperor forced Ajit Singh and Jai Singh II to march with him and empowered Bijay Singh by giving him the title of Mirza Raja. However Bijay Singh was powerless in Amber as Jai Singh's men had neutralized the Mughal authorities there. Bahadur Shah had thus repeated the Marwar scenario of Aurangzeb which had previously resulted to the thirty-year war with the Rathors. Ajit Singh and Jai Singh II fled from the Mughal camp when they got a chance at Mandleshwar on 21 April 1708, they met Maharana Amar Singh and made an alliance. Jai Singh II also married the Maharana's daughter. [3] The Rajput rebellion had thus begun. [1]
The Rajput states of Marwar and Amber united under Jai Singh II and Durgadas Rathore. [1] The Mughal regent Asad Khan attempted to make peace with the Rajputs, however this was unsuccessful. Ajit Singh and Jai Singh had taken their capitals back from the Mughal Garrisons. Jodhpur was captured in July and Amber in October 1708. [3] Mughal forces under Sayyid Hussain Barha and Churaman attempted to retake Amber, however they were defeated. [4] Jai Singh in his letter to Chattrasal has written that "among the dead were all three Faujdars". [1] The Rajputs captured the treasury in Sambhar and distributed it among the people. [5] Bahadur Shah attempted for peace with Ajit Singh and Jai Singh. The Rajputs demanded the restoration of their lands taken by Aurangzeb in 1679 and the expulsion of the Mughal forces from Rajputana. However Bahadur Shah refused and the war continued. Mughal faujdars were sent to pillage the farms and villages. Mir Khan, the faujdar of Narnol had gathered 7,000 mughals and was joined by 6,000 Jats under Churaman. However, in January 1710 this army was defeated by Gaj Singh Naruka of Javli, who was loyal to Jai Singh. On 24 March 1710, Muhammad Shah, the governor of Tonk was defeated and abandoned his holdings. [1] The Rajput Rajas had formed military outposts at Rewari and Narnaul, 45 miles from Delhi and sent their armies towards Delhi, Rohtaka and Agra. Jai Singh sent letters to the Bundelas, Sikhs and the Marathas seeking an alliance against the Mughal forces. [5]
In May 1710, Bahadur Shah negotiated with the Rajputs by sending them Gifts and letters. The rise of Banda Singh Bahadur and death of Wazir Khan, faujdar of Sirhind, further weakened the Mughal Empire. On 11 June 1710 Jai Singh and Ajit Singh were invited to the Mughal court and were given robes of honour, presents and governorships of Malwa and Gujarat. [1]
Mirza Muhammad Mu'azzam, commonly known as Bahadur Shah I and Shah Alam I, was the eighth Mughal Emperor from 1707 to 1712. He was the second son of the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who he conspired to overthrow in his youth. He was also governor of the imperial provinces of Agra, Kabul and Lahore and had to face revolts of Rajputs and Sikhs.
Farrukhsiyar, also spelled as Farrukh Siyar, was the tenth Mughal Emperor from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after deposing his uncle Jahandar Shah. He was an emperor only in name, with all effective power in the hands of the courtier Sayyid brothers.
Sawai Jai Singh II, was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after the death of his father, Mirza Raja Bishan Singh, on 31 December 1699.
Ajit Singh Rathore was the ruler of Marwar region in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore.
Durgadas Rathore was the Rathore Rajput General of the Kingdom of Marwar. He is credited with having preserved the rule of the Rathore dynasty over Marwar, India, following the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 17th century. In doing so he had to defy Aurangzeb, a Mughal emperor. He commanded the Rathore forces during the Rajput War (1679–1707) and played a major role in the Rajput Rebellion (1708–1710) which became one of the main reason of decline of Mughal Empire. He was elected as the leader of the revolt along with Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur. He won a number of victories against the Mughals and forced many Mughal officers to pay tribute to him in the form of chauth.
The Kingdom of Amber, also known as Kingdom of Dhundhar, and Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput clan. It was established by Dulha Rai, possibly the last ruler of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty of Gwalior who migrated to Dausa and started his kingdom there with the support of Chahamanas of Shakambhari in the 12th century. Mostly through 12th to 15th century, the kingdom faced stagnation, sources were scarce. Under its ruler, Raja Chandrasen Amer became a Sisodia vassal and fought in the Battle of Khanwa under Raja Prithviraj Kachhwaha.
Mirza Raja Bishan Singh was the Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amer .He succeeded his grandfather Mirza Raja Ram Singh I since his father Kishan Singh died in the lifetime of his grandfather.He was also the subahdar of the province of Assam from the year 1687 to 1695 in the reigning times of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.He is known to have fathered one of the most eminent political icons of 18th century India i.e Sawai Jai Singh II.
The Kingdom of Mewar, sometimes known as Udaipur State, was an independent kingdom in Rajputana region of India, ruled by the Sisodia dynasty. It was established around the 6th century by the minor rulers of the Nagada-Ahar region of Udaipur and later, in the 10th century, it transformed into an independent state under Rawal Bharttripatta II.
Kingdom of Marwar, also known as the Jodhpur State under the British, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a migrant Gahadavala noble, in 1243. His successors continued to struggle against regional powers for domination and 9 out of 15 rulers till 1438 died in combat. In 1395, its capital was changed to Mandore by Rao Chunda of Mandore and to Jodhpur in 1459 by Rao Jodha.
Ratlam State was a 13 gun salute princely state in India, part of the Malwa Agency of Central India during the British Raj.
The Mughal–Rajput wars were a series of battles between the Rajput Confederacy and the Mughal Empire. The conflicts originated with the invasion of northwestern India by the Mughal ruler Babur, to which the head of the Rajput confederacy, Rana Sanga, offered staunch resistance.
Muhammad Bidar Bakht was a Mughal prince. His father, Muhammad Azam Shah, briefly reigned as Mughal emperor in 1707. Bidar was noted for being a gallant, skilful and successful general and was regarded as the most able Mughal prince of his time. He was the favourite grandson of Emperor Aurangzeb.
Maharana Raj Singh I, was the Maharana of Mewar Kingdom and eldest son of Maharana Jagat Singh I. He fought against Mughal Empire and annexed many Mughal territories He participated in Rajput-Mughal War (1679–1707) and defeated the Mughals.
The Decline of the Mughal Empire was a period in Indian History roughly between the early 18th century and mid 19th Century where the Mughal Empire, which once dominated the subcontinent, experienced a large scale decline. There are various factors responsible for this decline such as internal conflicts, Maratha, Afghan and Persian Invasions and British colonialism.
Events in the year 1707 in India.
Bakht Singh or Bakhat Singh was an 18th-century Indian Raja of the Rathore Clan. Born in 1706, he ruled over various domains in the Jodhpur and Marwar states and was a major political force during his life.
Described variously as the Rajput war, Rathore war of independence and Rathore rebellion, the conflict between Rajputs of Marwar and the Mughals started after the death of Jaswant Singh of Marwar, due to Aurangzeb's attempt to interfere in the succession of Marwar. The resistance to Mughal interference was started by the Rajput nobles under Durgadas Rathore and erupted into an all-out war between the Mughal empire and Rajputs of Marwar supported by Mewar Rajputs. It lasted for almost thirty years. The rebellion reached a climax after the death of Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707 and the capture of Jodhpur by the Rathores on 12 March 1707.
After the mid-16th century, many Rajput rulers formed close ties with the Mughal emperors and served them in various capacities. It was because of the Rajputs that Mughals were not able to conquer whole India. The vassals had their daughters and sisters married to the Mughal emperors and their princes. The successors of the Mughal emperor Akbar, the mothers of his son Jahangir and grandson Shah Jahan were Rajputs. The Sisodia Rajput family of Mewar made it an honor not to enter into matrimonial relations with the Mughals, and thus stood in contrast to all other Rajput clans. After this time, the marital relations between the Rajputs and the Mughals declined somewhat. Akbar's relations with the Rajputs began when he returned in 1561 from a visit by the Chisti Sufi Shaikh of Sikri, west of Agra. Then many Rajput princesses married Mughal emperor Akbar.
The Battle of Khetasar occurred on Tuesday, May or June 1680, Khetasar, 6 miles southwest of Osian. Durga Das Rathor and his associates emerged victorious, defeating Indra Singh's forces.
Almost simultaneously, the triple alliance forces defeated the imperial army near the famous salt-lake town of Sambhar. Sambhar was occupied in October 1708. For several years thereafter, Marwar and Dhoondhar jointly ruled Sambhar. Around the same time, widespread resentment and rebellion across many parts of Rajasthan against the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah went a long way in forcing him to change his policy towards Jai singh and Ajit Singh. Individual imperial farmans, confirming them as rulers of their lands were issued in the early summer (May–June) of 1710. Some time afterwards, Emperor Bahadur Shah was prevailed upon to accept Jai Singh back at the court.
The Rajputs broke open the treasury and disbursed its contents among the people.....three thousand enemy soldiers, as Jai Singh wrote to Chattrasal Bundela on October 16, 1708 were killed in the bloody engagement.......The Rajputs had despatched their armies towards Rohtak, Delhi and Agra and had established ouposts at Rewari and Narnaul.