Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c6.s6.16

v1.c6.s6.16

Three uneventful years passed in this state, and then the political chess-board underwent a dramatic change. While on the North-western frontier profound peace and even safe defence were purchased by the cession of the trans-Indus provinces to the king of Persia, a new danger arose in the east. From April 1742 the Marāthas of Nāgpur began to make annual raids into Bengal Bihār and Orissā which were to continue for nine years and end only with the loss of Orissā to the Empire. The danger even threatened to overflow from Bihār westwards into Allahabad at a time when the Emperor had secured peace on the south by the virtual surrender of Mālwa to the Peshwā. In the autumn of 1742, the Emperor, in response to the Bengal *subahdār’s* urgent appeals for aid, ordered Safdar Jang (the *subahdār* of Oudh) to march into Bihār, and if necessary into Bengal also, and restore the imperial authority there by expelling the Marāthas. As the price of this service, Safdar Jang’s possessions were increased by handing over Chunār fort to him. The inner meaning of this affair needs explanation.