The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c10.44

c10.44

In a document dated 1754-55 one Madhav Rao Shivdev is mentioned as the Chief of the Artillery department and the civil administration of the department was vested in him and the *Dewan*, *Majumdar*, *Fadnis* and *Sabnis*.³ The *Tophkhana*, like other departments, must have been furnished with the usual *Darakhdar* staff of eight officers, although only four are mentioned in the document quoted above. A fifth officer, the *Potnis*, is mentioned in a letter of 1765-66, where we read that the *Potnis* of the artilley commanded by one Bhikan Khan attached to the army of Raghunath Rao had an annual salary of Rs. 150 only.⁴