The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.49

v4.c21.49

This was the apogee of Marāthā success. Nemesis came at Pānīpat within one year, followed by the death of Bālājī Rāo, the succession of his minor son, and the internal dissensions caused by the guilty ambition of his brother Raghunāth Rāo, which paralysed the Marāthā power. Seizing this opportunity, Nizām ‘Alī invaded Mahārāshtra in November, 1761, and made his way to within fourteen miles of Poona. The Peshwā made peace (2 January, 1762), relinquishing nearly half of his father’s territorial gains in the Mughul Deccan. Nizām ‘Alī returned to Bīdar, seized the government, and threw Salābat Jang into prison (6 July, 1762), where the latter died two years later. The shadowy emperor of Delhi sanctioned the usurpation by creating Nizām ‘Alī viceroy with the titles of Nizām-ul-mulk Āsaf Jāh II.