The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c5.11

c5.11

The beginning of the seventeenth century saw many Marathas in high positions in the military and the civil services of the Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda Governments. In 1615 Malik Ambar employed a Brahman diplomat, Kasi Pandit, to negotiate peace between Ahmadnagar and the Portuguese state in India.¹ Four copies of the treaty resulting from this negotiation were made — two in Portuguese and two in the ‘Hindu language,’ or, more accurately, ‘Hindu alphabet.’ (Dous de letra endu e dous em portuguez). This clearly testifies to the growing influence of the Hindus in the court of their Muslim rulers. A fresh treaty was concluded two years later and as before two copies of the treaty, apparently for the use of the Indian signatory, were prepared in the Hindu language instead of Persian.² In this interesting document the date of the Hindu calendar (o premeiro do mes asar dos gentios) is given side by side with those of the Persian and Portuguese reckoning.