History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c59.s3.2

v4.c59.s3.2

The Marathas had been noted as soldiers as early as the 7th century, when their king Pulakesin II. repulsed Harsha-vardhan, the conqueror of Northern India. But with the Muslim conquest of the Deccan and the extinction of the last Hindu kingdom in Maharashtra in the 14th century, the fighting classes among the natives gathered round their own leaders in small bands and hired out their swords to the new rulers of the land. There were Maratha auxiliaries and mercenaries in the service of the Bahmani Sultans, the Nizam-Shahis and the Adil-Shahis from the very beginning. And with the disintegration of the Muhammadan power in the Deccan, the importance of these local troops greatly increased.