nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47Shah Wali Ullah’s letter to the ulama in Kandahar who formally declared
the campaign against the Marathas and Sikhs to be a jihad. When news of
Ahmad Shah’s intentions to return to northern India reached the Mughal
court in Delhi, however, ‘Alamgir ii’s wazir put him to death, executed
a number of Ahmad Shah’s officials and sympathizers, and placed Shah
Jahan iii on the throne instead, only for him to be deposed the following
year by the Marathas.
Ahmad Shah soon regained control of Lahore from the Sikhs and
reinstated Timur Mirza as governor. The Rohillas of the Duaba, Muslims
of Pushtun descent, then joined forces with him and he set out for Delhi,
defeating the Marathas en route, and set up camp at Khizrabad. Ahmad
Shah defeated the Marathas again at Barari Ghat and Sikandarabad and
in March 1760 he took Aligarh. However, he had overextended himself
and the Marathas, who had received substantial reinforcements from the
Deccan, attacked Agra and Delhi. In early August both cities fell into their
hands. A few weeks later the Marathas sacked Kunjpura and seized most
of Ahmad Shah’s supplies.
Ahmad Shah had been unable to prevent the fall of Agra, Delhi and
Kunjpura since he was stranded on the other side of the Jamuna river,
which was in flood. Finally, in late October he decided to risk the cross-
ing anyway and was fortunate that most of his army made it across safely.
The crossing caught the Marathas by surprise and Ahmad Shah was able
to cut off their advanced force from the main army in Delhi and besieged
them in the fort of Panipat. By early 1761 supplies had run out and Sadashiv
Rao Bhau, who commanded the Maratha garrison, decided it was more
honourable to die in battle than starve. On 14 January 1761 he ordered
a general attack. The Marathas initially had the better of the encounter,
which raged for several days, as their French artillery decimated the Rohilla
while a cavalry charge almost broke through the Durrani lines. Faced with
defeat, Ahmad Shah sent in the Qizilbash and his heavy cavalry reserve,
backed up by a camel corps with swivel guns. Eventually the Maratha line
crumpled under the onslaught. As they turned and fled, Ahmad Shah sent
his cavalry in pursuit.
The Battle of Panipat was a bloody affair that left as many as 70,000
dead, while thousands more perished in the subsequent pursuit. The
Afghans also systematically beheaded thousands of prisoners, includ-
ing many who had surrendered. During the sack of Panipat fort, which
followed the main battle, Ahmad Shah’s troops decapitated every male
over the age of fourteen and enslaved the town’s women and children.
When Ahmad Shah finally entered Panipat in triumph, he rode through