1750, August 3 The Doab Pathans start war upon the Wazir; Ahmad Khan Bangash attacks the Wazir's camp at Farrukhabad ; Navalrai the Wazir's commander killed.

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1750, September 12 Battle of Kasganj, Safdar Jang himself wounded. The Pathans invest Allahabad ; Wazir courts Maratha help from Poona.

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1751, January Sindia and Holkar met by Wazir's agents at Kotah : conditions of help agreed to.

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1751, February 21 Safdar Jang leaves Delhi for the defence of Allahabad.

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1751, March 2 Safdar Jang meets Jayappa and Malharrao and engages their services.

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1751, March 20 Battle of Qadirganj : the Marathas rout Bangash : a bitter struggle follows.

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1751, April 28 Battle near Farrukhabad, ten thousand Pathans cut down, Ahmad Khan Bangash's power extinguished : the Pathans led by Najib Khan invite Abdali from Kabul to their help.

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1751, December Abdali starts from Kabul for India.

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1752, February Through Maratha mediation, a treaty concluded at Lucknow closing the Pathan-Wazir war.

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1752, March 23 Mir Mannu submits and agrees to Abdali's terms.

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1752, April 12 Safdar Jang makes a solemn agreement with the Maratha Sardars for the defence of the Emperor.

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1752, April 23 The Emperor on the other hand ratifies Mir Mannu's arrangement with Abdali and the last returns to his country from Lahore.

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1752, April 23 Sindia and Holkar reach Delhi and demand execution of their agreement.

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1752, May 14 Sindia and Holkar leave for the Deccan with Ghazi-ud-din as required by the Peshwa.

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1752, August 27 Khoja Javid Khan murdered by the Wazir.

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1753, February 13 Abdali's agents arrive at Delhi demanding tribute.

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1753, Mar. 26-Nov. 7 Civil war in Delhi. Surajmal supports the Wazir. Najib Khan appears on the scene to protect the Emperor against Safdar Jang.

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The Emperor dismisses Safdar Jang from Wazirship.

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1753, June 14 Battle of Talkatora, Gosavi Rajendra Gir killed.

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1753, August 19 Another battle, Safdar Jang defeated; the Emperor summons the Marathas to his help. The Peshwa despatches Raghunathrao to the north.

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1753, September A battle takes place resulting in heavy loss to Safdar Jang.

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1753, November 7 War closed by a formal treaty between the Emperor and Safdar Jang. The latter withdraws to his Subah of Lucknow.

The first of these, the *Gospel of the Hebrews*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The *Gospel of the Egyptians* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The *Gospel of Peter* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.

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These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete.

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The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation.

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By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church.

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The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations.

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MARATHA ENTANGLEMENTS IN DELHI

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[1750—1753]

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1 Abdali and the Punjab, the start. 2 The Pathan war, Safdar Jang seeks Maratha help. 3 The Maratha objective. 4 The Punjab ceded to Abdali. 5 Civil war in Delhi.

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1. Abdali and the Punjab, the start.—We have now to take up the threads of Maratha affairs in north India since the death of Raja Shahu and explain how a bitter struggle arose between the Pathan King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Marathas of the Deccan, who contested for supremacy at the Court of Delhi. It was a long drawn drama with its tragic close at Panipat (January 1761).

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Between 1741 and 1748 Balaji Bajirao had led four important expeditions personally into northern India, and kept a vigilant eye on the doings of his agents acting in his name in that distant field. But unfortunately his preoccupations in the south during the next eleven years after the death of Shahu, proved too engrossing to allow him time even to pay a single visit to the north. The affairs in that quarter came to be left entirely to Malharrao Holkar and the Sindia brothers, with the Hingnes at Delhi in charge of Maratha diplomacy, Govindpant Bundele in Bundelkhand and the Doab as a civil officer, and Antaji Mankeshwar as commandant of the small Maratha contingent in Delhi. The Peshwa's younger brother Raghunathrao was indeed sent twice to the north, but he proved too weak and incompetent for the heavy task.

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Nadir Shah was assassinated on 19th June 1747 and his power and kingdom were usurped by his capable lieutenant Ahmad Shah Abdali. Born in 1724, Ahmad had enlisted in Nadir Shah's service at the age of 13 and accompanied that monarch into India in his famous expedition of 1739. He had gained in Nadir Shah's service the most valuable experience of leading armed forces into distant lands, and developed a greed of conquest, and more than once distinguished himself for valour, love of adventure and statesmanship. Within a few months of Nadir Shah’s death he organized his rule at Kabul with the help of another able soldier and diplomat Shah Wali Khan, whom he appointed his minister. Shah Pasand Khan was another captain of ability whose services he secured, so that these three names became famous in future Indian history. Nadir Shah’s immense wealth fell into Ahmad Shah’s possession and enormously increased his power. These Pathan soldiers of fortune had close correspondence with their Indian brethren the Rohillas and the Bangashes, from whom they constantly acquired information of the conditions in India particularly of the Mughal Court. Thus Ahmad Shah early in his career conceived the plan of enriching his poor resources by draining away the wealth of India and particularly that of the Punjab, which he coveted as an outpost dominating the politics of Delhi. He never entertained the idea of obtaining for himself the crown of the Indian Empire. The Punjab alone being contiguous to his home in Afghanistan, he dearly prized as a paying adjunct of his western dominion.

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The Punjab has been since ancient days the highway for any adventurer coming into this country, and its protection has ever formed the most troublesome problem for the imperial rulers of India. The moment the Indian hold on the Punjab became loose, foreign adventurers like Babar and Nadir Shah found it easy to invade India and establish power therein.

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During Muhammad Shah’s rule Zakaria Khan governed the Punjab for long with conspicuous ability. He died on 1st July 1745, leaving two sons Yahiya Khan and Shah Nawaz Khan, between whom a dispute immediately started for the succession. Qamr-ud-din Khan, the Wazir of the Emperor and his able son Mir Mannu supported the claim of Yahiya Khan, who was the Wazir’s son-in-law and who ran to Delhi, for protection after his father’s death. The younger brother Shah Nawaz Khan had an able assistant named Adina Beg, who sought the help of Shah Abdali and invited him to invade the Punjab. Abdali readily accepted the offer and led an expedition into this country in January 1748. He captured Lahore on January 20 and after completing his military preparations, proceeded further on towards Delhi during the next month. Emperor Muhammad Shah was at this time ailing, but he sent his son Shahzada Ahmad with the Wazir and other grandees like Safdar Jang, the Mir Bakhshi, and Ishwari Sinh of Jaipur with large forces and plentiful treasure. A stiff action between the imperial troops and those of Abdali took place at Manupur ten miles northward of Sarhind on 21st March, in which the Afghan Shah was completely routed; but at the beginning of the action a chance shot killed the Wazir Qamr-ud-din Khan.¹

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¹ P. D. 2. 9; Patre Yadi 65.

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The Shah immediately returned to his country after conciliating Mir Mannu the Governor of the Punjab. The battle of Manupur proved the last victory won by the imperialists. The Emperor Muhammad Shah died at Delhi on 25th April, the news of which reached Shahzada Ahmad at Panipat on 28th and he at once proclaimed himself Emperor, acting on the advice of Safdar Jang, whom he appointed his Wazir, along with the charge he already held of the Subahs of Allahabad and Oudh. At this time all the Deccan had been lost to Delhi being owned partly by the Marathas and partly by the dynasty of Asaf Jah. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa had been already subjected to the Maratha Chauth. The Subah of Agra was usurped by the Jats under Surajmal. The Rajput rajas already acted as independent chiefs. The only territory that remained in the Emperor's direct charge was the north-western lands between Delhi and Attock, and parts of the Doab.

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Next year (1749) when the Indian Pathans rose against the Wazir, the Shah Abdali entered the Punjab in the cold season. Mir Mannu opposed him near Wazirabad, but discovering that no help would come from Delhi, he saved himself by agreeing to pay Abdali the annual revenue of the four northern districts of the Punjab together with a cash nazar of Rupees ten thousand. As the summer advanced the Shah returned home with the acquisition he had gained.

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2. The Pathan war, Safdar Jang seeks Maratha help.—Soon afterwards there arose dissensions in the Emperor Ahmad Shah’s counsels. His mother Udham Bai and the eunuch Javid Khan intrigued against the Wazir and usurped all power.

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controlling the Emperor who remained immersed in the pursuit of pleasure to the detriment of the State, so that the Wazir Safdar Jang soon discovered that he had no authority to act. He could not prevail upon the Emperor to start personally with forces to defend the Punjab and prevent further invasions by Ahmad Shah Abdali. At the end of November 1748 Safdar Jang discovered a plot for attempting his life by means of an explosion of gunpowder as he entered the palace gate. The Emperor wishing to deprive Safdar Jang of his Wazirship, invited Nasir Jang from the Deccan for this purpose. The latter started for Delhi in March 1749. In this extremity Safdar Jang tried through the Hingnes, the Maratha agents at Delhi, to secure the Peshwa’s help in maintaining his position. Upon this the Peshwa at once asked Sindia and Holkar to march southward and prevent Nasir Jang from crossing the Narmada for Delhi. Safdar Jang collected armies in Delhi and tried to maintain his position even by force against the Emperor, who got so frightened at the Wazir’s move that he at once wrote an autograph letter to Nasir Jang to return to the Deccan and not to proceed to Delhi. Nasir Jang, therefore, was compelled to return from the Narmada in May. But Safdar Jang’s position did not materially improve. On the contrary the Jats, the Rohillas and the Pathans of the Doab made a common cause against him and started an open aggression on his territory.

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These Indian Pathans were the hereditary foes of the Mughals and dreamt of putting an end to the latter’s rule in India. Having communications with the trans-frontier Pathans, they now began to assert their power. They were fanatics of the Sunni persuasion and bitterly hated the Shia Wazir, who had waged an unceasing war against them in the past, during the time of Muhammad Shah. The Rohillas had their seat at Barelli and the Bangash at Farrukhabad. While Safdar Jang was occupied at Delhi during 1750, his camp near Farrukhabad was suddenly attacked on the night of 3 August by Ahmad Khan Bangash, known in history as the lame Pathan. The Wazir’s general Navalrai was killed and his whole camp was plundered. This was a grave disaster for the Wazir who had already been weakened at Delhi. The Pathans gathered their forces to the number of 60 thousand and marched into the Wazir’s possessions. Safdar Jang prepared to meet the danger and urgently called in the help of the Jats and the Marathas under Sindia and Holkar, who had gone to the south to support the Peshwa at the accession of Ramraja and who were given leave by the Peshwa in July 1750 to proceed to the north.

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Before the Maratha help arrived, Safdar Jang and his Pathan antagonists had fought a severe action at Kasgunj near Farrukhabad in the Doab on 12th September 1750. Here the Wazir again sustained a severe defeat, himself being wounded and carried away unconscious from the battlefield. This news reached Delhi and totally extinguished his waning prestige and the power, which he had for two years wielded at the capital. The Pathans after their victory marched straight upon Lucknow and for a time it was felt that all was lost for Safdar Jang. After plundering Lucknow the Pathans fell upon Allahabad and invested that fort, besides taking possession of Jaunpur and Ghazipur.

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Safdar Jang feeling sorely distressed sought counsel with his shrewd wife Sadr-un-nisa Begam and some personal friends. They all with a united voice advised an alliance with the Marathas on any terms they would ask. Sindia and Holkar were nearing Kotah early in 1751; Safdar Jang sent his personal agents Raja Ramanarayan and Jugul Kishore, inviting them with all speed to run to his help. He himself left Delhi on 21st February and marched towards the east to relieve the pressure of the Pathans upon Allahabad. On the way he had a meeting with Jayappa Sindia and Malharrao Holkar on 2nd March and engaged to enlist their help on payment of Rs. 25 thousand per day. This was indeed a grave undertaking for the Marathas. The real antipathy was between the Emperor and the Pathans. The latter now dreamed of restoring the pre-Mughal Pathan Empire of Delhi as in the days of the Khiljis and the Tughlaks. They invited Ahmad Shah Abdali from the north-west and aimed a decisive blow at the Mughal Empire.

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Writes Dr. Shrivastava, “The Ruhela and the Bangash Pathans were in treacherous alliance with the Abdali invader of Afghanistan. The history of the next ten years clearly demonstrates that Ahmad Shah Abdali swooped down the plains of northern India every time that his brother Pathans in Hindustan were hard-pressed by their enemies, not only to rescue them but also to help them in the realization of their dream, the Pathan supremacy over India. The Turani nobles of Delhi were the sworn enemies of the Wazir and were in secret sympathy with the Pathan rebels. Hence Safdar Jang could either allow the Pathans to usurp the Mughal supremacy and his own provinces of Oudh and Allahabad together with his office, or crush them with the help of the Marathas. He had to make a choice between two evils, a foreign invader assisted by enemies at home, or the Marathas who for years past had been distinctly loyal and been his own friends since 1747. One cannot accuse Safdar Jang of recourse to the humiliating expedient of calling in the Marathas.”²

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² The First two Nawabs of Oudh, p. 177 ; Patre Yadi 83.

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The Wazir in his extreme danger also engaged the support of the Jats on a promise of Rs. 15 thousand a day, similar to his stipulation with the Marathas.

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In response to their undertaking, twenty thousand efficient Maratha troops entered the Doab and immediately routed the Bangash army under Shadil Khan at Kadirganj near Etawa on 20 March. This reverse immediately compelled Ahmad Khan Bangash to raise the siege of Allahabad and run to the defence of his capital of Farrukhabad. A very bitter struggle then ensued between the Marathas and the Pathans on the banks of the Ganges in that quarter. In the mean time two Rohilla leaders Sadulla Khan and Bahadur Khan with large forces came swiftly to the rescue of the Bangash. Gangadhar Yashvant of Holkar’s party and Jawahir Sinh Jat advanced against these with fury and suddenness, and a heavy engagement was fought on 28th April in which ten thousand Rohillas were cut down along with their leader Bahadur Khan; Sadulla Khan saved his life by taking to flight. A large amount of plunder and a number of prisoners were secured by the Marathas.

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At these occurrences Ahmad Khan Bangash completely lost heart and along with most of his followers decamped in the night. Several of his men were drowned in the river. The Pathan camp was plundered and a large amount of booty was secured by the Wazir. Writes Govindpant Bundele, “The Pathans attempted the restoration of their rule at Delhi ; and failing this, they wished to coerce the Emperor so far as to secure for themselves the posts of the Wazir and the Mir Bakhshi, so doing away with Safdar Jang’s power. Ahmad Khan met the fate he deserved on the banks of the Ganges. If he had not been so routed, the Marathas would have lost all their labours and acquisitions of former years. The most faithless of all Pathans, Turai Khan had joined Ahmad Khan Bangash and was killed with all his followers.” Thus it will be seen that at this critical juncture, it is the Marathas who saved the situation for the Empire. When the news of this Maratha victory over the Pathans reached Poona, a wave of enthusiastic joy spread throughout Maharashtra. The Peshwa offered his heartiest congratulations to the Sardars. Dattaji Sindia distinguished himself in this campaign of the Doab for the first time.³

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³ Raj. 3. 160, 383, 384, 397 ; Raj. 6. 222 ; Patre Yadi 79, 82, 83.

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3. The Maratha objective.—The object of the Marathas in all these undertakings was religious as well as political. They particularly intended to get the holy places of Prayag and Kashi back into Hindu possession. On 18th June 1751 a Maratha agent writes, “Malharrao has pitched his monsoon camp in the Doab. He intended to pull down the grand Masjid built by Aurangzeb at Benares and restore the original temple of Kashi-Vishveshwar. The Brahmans of Kashi feel extremely terrified at such a move, for they realize the Muslim strength in these places. What the holy Ganges and the Protector Vishveshwar can ordain will come true. The Brahmans are going to send a strong appeal to the Peshwa against any such attempt by his Sardars.”

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The Wazir-Pathan war was resumed after the rains. Instead of attempting conciliation, the Wazir disclosed a spirit of vengeance against the Pathans. The latter burnt their own lands and houses and resorted to the northern jungles and urgently invited Ahmad Shah Abdali to India. At this moment they obtained a unique leader, the famous Najib-uddaula, a bitter enemy of the Marathas and by no means friendly to the Emperor. He twisted the plain facts of the situation and took up the cry of “ religion in danger,” in order to denounce both the Marathas and their supporter Safdar Jang. The cry appealed to the common Muslim sentiment and helped to weaken the Maratha position. It was never obviously the intention of the Marathas to attack Islam or to convert Muslims to their faith. They were seeking only political power and through it religious freedom.

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Towards the end of 1751 Abdali appeared again in the Punjab and the Emperor quaked in Delhi. He invited Safdar Jang to the capital to save the situation. The Wazir understood the danger, and extricating himself from the pursuit of the Pathans in which he was engaged, ran to Delhi. But before his arrival, the Emperor had sent his agents to Abdali, and agreed to give up the Punjab to him. Nor was the Wazir in a position to oppose the Abdali in a pitched battle. Sindia and Holkar were his allies. They had exhorted him in view of this fresh danger to conclude a peace with his Indian Pathans on reasonable terms through the medium of Gangadhar Yashvant, so that he (the Wazir) could devote his sole attention to the danger from the Shah of Afghanistan. In February 1752 the Wazir signed the treaty of Lucknow. By this treaty the Marathas obtained in lieu of their expenses and dues a large territory in the Doab, which henceforth they held right upto 1803 when Lord Lake conquered it from Sindia. The Peshwa's aim all along was not to seize the territory of others, but only to levy contributions in return for the protection he extended to them and to release the holy places from Muslim control. Muslim sentiment, however, proved too strong in this respect. The Muslim possession of the Hindu places was a matter of long standing prestige of conquest. Even Safdar Jang, otherwise so friendly to the Marathas and his son Shuja-ud-Daula, proved most unbending on this point of surrendering the holy places of the Hindus; and although they dared not give a flat refusal, knowing the strength of the Marathas, they usually bided their time by putting forth paltry excuses for not granting demand. At the present day the question has only an academic interest.

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4. The Punjab ceded to Abdali.—In the meantime Najib Khan the leader of the Indian Pathans, smarting from the defeat he had to sustain at the hands of Safdar Jang aided by the Marathas, urged the Abdali Shah again to invade India to put down their enemy Safdar Jang and his usurping Maratha auxiliaries. In response to this invitation Ahmad Shah left Kabul in December 1751 and marched without opposition right up to the vicinity of Lahore. Mir Mannu continued sending urgent appeals both to the Emperor and to the Wazir for help. He resisted the Abdali Shah as long as possible, but finding himself worsted in an encounter near Lahore on 15th March 1752, he went to the Shah and in a personal visit effected an agreement to deliver up the two Subahs of Lahore and Multan to him (23rd March 1752).

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The news of Abdali's return to the Punjab threw the Emperor and the city of Delhi into consternation. The Emperor sent angry summons to his Wazir to repair at once to the capital with the allied Maratha contingents. Safdar Jang received the call at Lucknow on 27th March and at once saw Sindia and Holkar at Kanauj as they were on the point of leaving for the Deccan. He effected with them a formal agreement for obtaining Maratha help in support of the Emperor's cause and ratified it on 12th April 1752 with solemn oaths and royal seals, the Wazir acting on behalf of the Emperor. The agreement contained the following material terms :--

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(1) That the Peshwa should defend the Emperor from his internal enemies like the Pathans, the Rajputs or other rebels, and from external foes like the Afghan king Abdali.

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(2) That the Emperor should pay 50 lacs to the Marathas for their help, of which 30 lacs was to be on account of Abdali and 20 lacs on account of internal foes like the Pathans.

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(3) That in addition the Peshwa was given the right to levy Chauth from the Punjab, Sindh and the Doab.

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(4) That the Peshwa be granted the Subahdarships of Agra and Ajmere, which he should administer on the traditional lines of Mughal rule.

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(5) That if the Peshwa could not come personally to serve the Emperor, he should depute his sardars for the purpose.⁴

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⁴ Raj. Vol. 1. 1 ; Raj. 6. Purandare Diary p. 82 ; Kotah Daftar Vol. 1, 86.

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To put this contract into execution Safdar Jang with Sindia and Holkar immediately went to Delhi, where they found on arrival that the agreement contracted with Abdali by Mir Mannu had been already ratified by the Emperor under his own signature on 23rd April. Kalandar Khan, Abdali Shah’s agent had come to Delhi for the purpose, and as the Wazir had not arrived, the Emperor concluded the agreement in order to prevent Abdali from coming upon Delhi. The Shah returned home from Lahore immediately on the agreement being ratified. The Marathas were thus foiled in their first chance of expelling Abdali from the Indian soil. The sardars had come to Delhi for the purpose of proceeding towards the Punjab.

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It is difficult to say why Safdar Jang delayed so long in reaching Delhi. His negotiations with the Marathas took time. The Wazir’s enemies attributed the delay to the secret satisfaction that he felt at the Emperor being indirectly humbled. Although the Abdali Shah had returned home, Safdar Jang having come to Delhi was anxious at once to march into the Punjab and ensure its defence against the Pathan’s further encroachment. The Emperor, however, would not support the Wazir, being terribly afraid of the latter’s rising power. He refused to ratify the agreement made by him with the Marathas. The Maratha troops remained forcibly in Delhi and would not move away unless they received the promised 50 lacs. The presence of large armies in Delhi soon became troublesome to the populace, as in the absence of payment they freely plundered whatever they could lay their hands on. At this very moment came a call from the Peshwa for Sindia and Holkar to immediately repair to the south with Ghazi-ud-din. This proved a welcome solution of the immediate difficulty. Sindia and Holkar offered to go to the Deccan if the Emperor would grant the Subahdarship of the Deccan to Ghazi-ud-din, displacing Salabat Jang. Ghazi-ud-din was to pay a Nazarana of 30 lacs to the Emperor for his being confirmed : this amount was to be paid to the Marathas in part payment of the amount they had been promised. Thus the plan being settled, Ghazi-ud-din and the sardars left Delhi on 14th May and proceeded to the Deccan. We have already seen the sequel.

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5. Civil war in Delhi.—Matters, however, grew worse between the Emperor and the Wazir. They became so suspicious of each other that they would not freely meet but considered themselves in danger of life from each other. Khoja Javid Khan, (Nawab Bahadur) with the Emperor's mother Udhambai the principal evil genius whom the Wazir would not tolerate, exercised all the imperial power. The Wazir managed to get rid of this Khoja by foul play. Inviting the Khoja to a dinner, he had him assassinated on 27th August 1752. This terrified the Emperor all the more so that the two became mortal enemies of each other. The Emperor realized that he was a mere prisoner in the Wazir's hands. Abdali was quick to discern the situation and sent his agent to Delhi demanding the yearly tribute of 50 lacs stipulated in the last year's agreement. The agent arrived at Delhi on 13th February 1753 and the Wazir with difficulty managed to send him back with some partial payment. The Wazir realizing his danger sent urgent calls to the Peshwa for armed help being quickly sent to him. The Emperor's mother Udhambai was a lady of great talent. She organized a strong opposition to Safdar Jang and moved the Emperor to fight him and remove him from his Wazirship. Intizam-ud-daula, son of Qamr-ud-din Khan was the Mir Bakhshi, and he joined Udhambai's scheme as also did Mir Shahab-ud-din, alias Ghazi-ud-din the younger. Antaji Mankeshwar commanded a small Maratha contingent at Delhi, and the Maratha envoys, the Hingne brothers, were approached by both the parties, the Emperor and the Wazir to support their respective cause.⁵

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⁵ Aiti. Patravyavahar. 89.

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Antaji's graphic letter gives a vivid idea of life and conditions prevailing at this time at Delhi. He purposely wrote a clear description to the Peshwa and asked that either he himself or Sadashivrao Bhau should at once visit Delhi and personally resolve the Maratha entanglements, which, if allowed to drift, would surely bring about disaster. It is a pity the warning was not heeded. The Peshwa dispatched to Delhi his incompetent brother Raghunathrao, who made the confusion worse confounded, as the sequel will show. In the meantime the small but daring commander Antaji and a greedy ambassador like Hingne were called upon to deal with the grave situation at the capital as best they could. Everybody perceived that a civil war was about to rage in the capital, between the Emperor and his Wazir and Antaji's help was eagerly courted by both. Both offered him heavy bribes. Antaji recklessly agreed to support the Emperor, on condition that the two Subahs of Oudh and Allahabad, which had been held by the Wazir, should be given up to the Marathas.

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At last open war broke out between the two principals at Delhi and continued for nearly eight months from 26th March to 7th November 1753. It is not necessary to describe it here in full detail. During the early phase of it, from 26th March to 8th May, there was hardly any actual fighting, as the Wazir though prepared to fight was long wavering whether he should resign his post and withdraw to his dominion of Lucknow. The second phase began on 9th May when Surajmal Jat arrived on the scene to support the Wazir, and the two chiefs besieged the Emperor in the fort and tried to capture his person by bombarding the palace. The slow progress of the war was brought to a sudden close by the unexpected arrival on the scene of Najib Khan Rohilla, a determined enemy of the Wazir : and although a time-server all along, his appearance to support the cause of the Emperor gave a decisive turn to the war. Fortunately the war did not extend beyond ten or twenty miles round Delhi.

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On 13th May the Emperor dismissed Safdar Jang from his Wazirship and appointed Intizam-ud-daula in his place. Soon after the younger Ghazi-ud-din Imad-ul-mulk, then only 16 years old, resourceful though wicked, joined the Emperor. On 14th June a severe action took place at Talkatora in which Rajendra Gir Gosavi, a loyal supporter of Safdar Jang lost his life. Another pitched battle was fought on 19th August in which Safdar Jang lost his ground and began gradually to withdraw towards his own country. In the meantime the Emperor and Ghazi-ud-din wrote pressing letters to the Peshwa, to Sindia and to Holkar, to come with all speed to support the Emperor, offering one crore of rupees and the two Subahs of Oudh and Allahabad in return for their help.

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As soon as the Peshwa received this call, he despatched Raghunathrao along with Sindia and Holkar from Poona. But before they could reach Delhi the war was over and there remained no need for Maratha troops in the north. The war had exhausted both parties. The Emperor invited Madho Sinh from Jaipur, who arrived and negotiated peace. The last action was fought near Barapula in which Safdar Jang lost heavily; he sent his agent to the Emperor asking pardon and praying that he should be allowed to retire to his two Subahs, renouncing all claim to the Wazirship. Wazir Intizam-ud-daula, Udhambai, Madho Sinh and Surajmal all worked in their own ways in effecting a settlement between the two parties. A formal grant of his two Subahs was made to Safdar Jang, thus cancelling the promise already made to Antaji Mankeshwar. The treaty was finally concluded on 7th November 1753. Surajmal was pardoned by the Emperor for having joined in the war against him. Safdar Jang departed with all speed to Lucknow, thoroughly worn out by the trouble of war and the anxiety for his situation. He died within a year, on 17th October 1754 and was succeeded in the Subahdarship by his son Shuja-ud-daula, who figured prominently in the history of north India for the next twenty years.