The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.280

v4.c20.280

The appointment of ‘Azīm-ullah Khān to Mālwa was merely an expression of the hopes which the death of an important Marāthā leader invariably raised in the breasts of the imperial statesmen and soldiers, and which were as invariably blasted. The death of Shivājī betokened to Aurangzīb the immediate dissolution of the Marāthā forces, but was followed by no diminution of activity even under the dissolute Shambhūjī. After the capture and execution of Shambhūjī and the detention of his son Shāhū, Rājā Rām had stepped into the breach. Now, too, Bājī Rāo was dead, but the Marāthā grip was closed on Mālwā, and Bālājī Rāo, the new Peshwā, considered that the appointment of a Muslim noble was an invasion of his rights.