Battle of Jalesar (1737)

The Battle of Jalesar (1737) was a significant military engagement that took place on 23 March 1737 between the Mughal Empire, led by Saadat Ali Khan, and the Maratha Empire, commanded by Malhar Rao Holkar. This pivotal battle was instigated by the Maratha invasion of the Doab region.

Battle of Jalesar (1737)
Date23rd March 1737
Location
Jalesar
27.48°N 78.32°E / 27.48; 78.32
Result Mughal victory
Belligerents
Maratha Empire Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Malhar Rao Holkar Saadat Ali Khan
Casualties and losses

Heavy

  • 1,000 Marathas captured
 unknown
Battle of Jalesar (1737) is located in Uttar Pradesh
Battle of Jalesar (1737)
Location within Uttar Pradesh

In the course of the conflict, the Mughal forces, under the capable leadership of Saadat Ali Khan, emerged victorious, compelling the Maratha forces to withdraw.

Background

In 1737, Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah dispatched Saadat Ali Khan, the Nawab of Awadh, to collaborate with the Wazir and the Mir Bakshi, who led the military administration of the Mughal Empire. The purpose of this meeting was to strategize resistance against the Marathas. Saadat Ali Khan embarked on his journey from Faizabad with a sizable army, which included prominent figures like Safdar Jung, Abdul Mansur Khan, and Shen Jung. Their mission was to execute the Imperial order and provide assistance to Anirudh Singh Bhadwariya, the son of Gopal Singh of Bhadawar, in resisting the Marathas.[1][2]

Saadat Ali Khan received information about the defeat of Anrudh Singh and the Maratha occupation of Bhadawar before reaching the town. As a result, he decided to halt his advance towards Bhadawar.[3][4]

By this time on 23 March 1737, a Maratha detachment under Malhar Rao Holkar had crossed the Yamuna River with the intention of looting the Doab region and preventing the meeting of Safdaar Khan with the Wazir and Mir Bakhshi. They passed through the town of Shikohabad, which was spared from destruction after a ransom of 1,50,000 Rupees was paid. Continuing their advance, they reached Firozabad and Itimadpur, where they plundered and set fire to the towns, causing devastation in the surrounding countryside up to Moti Bagh, near Agra. Subsequently, they proceeded to the town of Jalesar, located some 26 miles northeast of Agra. Early in the morning of March 23, 1737, Abul Mansur Khan, leading 12,000 horsemen, came into view. He was at the forefront of Saadat Khan's army, which had undertaken a forced march of eighty five miles upon hearing news of the Maratha incursion into the Doab in order to reach the vicinity of Jalesar.[5][1]

The battle

Marathas, recognizing the comparative smallness of Abul Mansur Khan's force, sought to employ their traditional warfare strategy by attempting to encircle him from all directions. However, Khan skillfully avoided being besieged and instead executed a tactical withdrawal, luring the enemy closer to Saadat Khan's main army, which numbered a formidable fifty thousand soldiers. The fierce charge led by Saadat Ali caused the Maratha forces to scatter in disarray, plunging them into confusion and panic. The fleeing Maratha troops were pursued for many miles, resulting in the capture of around one thousand of them near the Itimadpur tank, situated approximately 10 miles northeast of Agra. The remainder of the Maratha forces successfully crossed the Yamuna River and later rejoined Bajirao's troops at Kotila, near Gwalior. In response, Bajirao raided Delhi.[1][4][6]

References
  1. Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal (1954). The First Two Nawabs of Awadh. Shiva Lal Agarwala & Company. pp. 53–56. ISBN 978-0-8426-1549-5.
  2. Alam, Muzaffar (1986). The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and the Punjab, 1707-48. Oxford University Press. pp. 270–271. ISBN 978-0-19-561892-1.
  3. Andhare, B. R. (1984). Bundelkhand Under the Marathas, 1720-1818 A.D.: A Study of Maratha-Bundela Relations. Vishwa Bharati Prakashan.
  4. Gupta, Bhagavānadāsa (1987). A History of the Rise and Fall of the Marathas in Bundelkhand, 1731-1804: Based on Original Sources. Neha Prakashan. pp. 42–43.
  5. Cheema, G. S. (2002). The Forgotten Mughals: A History of the Later Emperors of the House of Babar, 1707-1857. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 172. ISBN 978-81-7304-416-8.
  6. Azhar, Mirza Ali (1982). King Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Royal Book Company. pp. 84–85.
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