The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.151

v4.c20.151

Towards the close of Aurangzīb’s reign, the Jāt peasantry of the region round Bharatpur (west of Āgra) were organised into a predatory power by Rājā Rām and after the death of that chieftain by Churāman, who hovered about the contending armies and greatly increased his wealth and armed strength by plundering both sides during the campaign of Jājau and the civil war between Jahāndār Shāh and Farrukh-siyar. Bahādur Shāh had won him over by the grant of an office and employed him in his campaigns. His robberies on the highway and extortions in other people’s assignments made it necessary for the Delhi government to subdue him. Rājā Jay Singh Sawāī begged the command and invested Churāman in his new fort of Thūn (November, 1716). The stronghold was well armed and provisioned and surrounded by a thick thorny jungle. But Jay Singh built guard-houses all around it and was heavily reinforced by the emperor. The Jāts outside it and their village allies continued their depredations, making the roads unsafe and capturing a rich caravan worth two million rupees. The siege dragged on for twenty months. Churāman then opened negotiations with the minister over the head of Jay Singh, agreeing to pay a tribute of five million rupees. Under orders from the court, Jay Singh had to raise the siege, and Churāman visited Delhi in April, 1718.