Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c34.s7.4

v3.c34.s7.4

The Marathas spent twenty days in seizing the property found in Pathargarh and digging out the buried treasure. Spies reported to them that the inmates had thrown their riches into the wet ditch. It was very deep, and so they drained it by cutting a canal from it to a neighbouring stream and thus recovered the treasure. A quarrel soon broke out between the two allies over the division of the spoils of victory. The Marathas were taxed with breach of the agreement made at the beginning of the campaign. On the imperial side it was alleged that "the faithless Marathas had seized all the artillery and treasures of Zābita Khan, as well as his elephants, horses and other property, and offered only a worthless fraction to the Emperor.” At last the patience of the Emperor was worn out, and on 3rd May “harsh altercations broke out between him and the envoys of the Marathas, and the latter went away in anger.” Next day he sent Rajah Rāmnāth to them to negotiate. However, on the 11th a compromise was patched up through Sindhia, and out of the property officially attached at Pathargarh, one half was given to the Emperor, one fourth to the Peshwa and the remaining quarter divided among the Maratha sardars, but the elephants cash and jewels remained unshared. The Emperor’s demand was for money and Sindhia promised him two lakhs. But this was only a fraction in value of what had been seized. As a Maratha agent reported from Nagina on 9th May, lakhs and lakhs of Rupees worth of booty was appropriated by the Maratha officers without crediting it either to the Peshwa or to the Emperor.