The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.283

v4.c20.283

Murshid Qulī’s more impetuous son-in-law, Mīrzā Muhammad Bāqar Khān, descended of the royal house of Persia, lost patience and on 16 February, 1741, crossed the river to attack, compelling Murshid Qulī Khān to follow him. The issue was long doubtful, but Murshid Qulī Khān was at length defeated and escaped by sea to Masulipatam. His family was conveyed from Cuttack to Ichchāpuram, beyond the reach of ‘Alī Vardī Khān, and the latter, leaving his nephew, Saulat Jang, in Cuttack as his deputy in Orissa, returned to Murshidābād. Saulat Jang disgusted both his army and his people by his parsimony and his unbridled passions, and within a year of his instalment Bāqar Khān returned from the Deccan and not only deposed and imprisoned him, but carried his arms to the extreme northern limits of the province and caused alarm and apprehension even at Murshidābād. ‘Alī Vardī Khān marched once more from his capital, while Bāqar Khān awaited him at Balasore; but the latter’s army lost heart, and he was compelled to retreat, carrying with him for a time his prisoner, Saulat Jang, whom at last he had to leave behind. Saulat Jang was rescued by his uncle’s troops, and Bāqar Khān escaped once more into the Deccan.