Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c28.s10.41

v2.c28.s10.41

We have seen how during the Durrani invasion of 1757 he withdrew his clansmen from their fields into his forts and thus saved them while he gained time by parleying and bribing Abdali’s tribute-collectors, till the Afghan king was driven out by an epidemic in his army. The stand made in vain by his garrison of Ballabhgarh and the gallant but equally unavailing effort of his son Jawahir to defend Mathura from the invaders, have been described in Ch. 16 § 3-5. During the Maratha return to the North under Raghunath Dada and Dattaji Sindhia in 1757-1759, Suraj Mal wisely remained quiescent, only supplying a few thousand auxiliary troops to the Maratha general when he could not help it. His dealings with the Bhau in 1760 have been unfolded in Chapter 20 §5 and 8. The result of all this was that the retreat of Ahmad Shah in March 1761 left the Jat Rajah as the strongest potentate in India with absolutely unimpaired forces and an overflowing treasury, while every other chief had been more or less ruined.