New History of the Marathas v2.c28.s1.2

v2.c28.s1.2

When the Sindias arrived at Delhi, Vithal Shivdev was near Saharanpur seizing the Rohilla possessions. Najib Khan had then collected a large force and was openly defying the Marathas. Arriving at Delhi in December the Sindias were compelled to waste three precious months in arranging the affairs of the Emperor and the Wazir, in which they had to act with unprecedented sternness. The Emperor’s son and heir apparent Ali Gauhar, later known as Shah Alam II, had left Delhi the previous year and was trying to take possession of the eastern territories of Bihar and Bengal, which had now been practically seized by the English East India Company. He invaded Patna in conjunction with the Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Lucknow in March 1759 but was turned back by Clive’s troops under Col. Knox.