Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c44.s2.22

v4.c44.s2.22

Ismail Beg, instead of pursuing his vanquished rival to his stronghold of Kanud, began to take possession of the district and set up his own collectors and outposts there. Then for several months there was desultory fighting between small parties on the two sides, but no more pitched battles. In December we find Ismail Beg occupying Kosli (midway between Rewāri and Dādri), while Najaf Quli held Dādri (20 miles north-west of Ismail’s position), but keeping his family and treasures in the stronghold of Kanud (24 miles south of Dādri). The stalemate in the war was due to both sides having increased their armed forces far beyond their means of paying them, and in consequence the starving soldiers, as soon as their plunder was exhausted, began to rise in mutiny against their bankrupt employers or desert them for a more alluring offer.