Administrative System of the Marathas c21.s2.59

c21.s2.59

Of the Asiatics in the Maratha army the most favoured, so far as pay was concerned, were the Arabs. Baji Rao II had a large number of these foreigners in his army as we are informed by men like Blacker and Prinsep who had opportunities to know. Blacker tells us that "Every substantive Native Power had a portion of these troops." ¹⁹ And Prinsep writes : ²⁰ "It may be proper to mention, as a proof of the estimation in which the Arabs are held as soldiers by the native powers, the rate of pay they received in the Peshwa's army in comparison with natives of other countries.