Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c44.s2.32

v4.c44.s2.32

Ismail Beg’s Rajput alliance was formed (in February 1790) on the following terms: The Rajahs of Jodhpur and Jaipur agreed to pay him seven and five lakhs of rupees respectively, out of which two lakhs were to be advanced immediately and the balance after the war with Sindhia had actually commenced. As a security for the Mirzā’s good faith, his family would be lodged in Jaipur. A Rajput contingent of five thousand men, horse and foot, was to be supplied from Jaipur. The Mirzā’s own strength consisted of 15 battalions of trained sepoys, five battalions of Najibs, and 3500 cavalry with 300 guns.* But his captains were always on the verge of desertion owing to his inability to pay them; they only waited to be sure that their new employer would be a better paymaster.