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Battle of Dodderi

The Battle of Dodderi lasted three days and featured Maratha forces led by Santaji Ghorpad against the Mughal army, With support from the Nayak of Chitaldurg, Santaji's strategic attacks disrupted the Mughal advance, leading to the death of Mughal commander Qasim Khan. The Mughals retreated to the fort of Dodderi, where they faced starvation and hard conditions due to a tight Maratha blockade. Mughal commander Khanazad Khan surrendered and agreed to pay a ransom of 1 lakh rupees.[1][2][3]

Battle of Dodderi
Part of the Mughal–Maratha Wars and Deccan wars
DateOctober-November 1695
Location
Dodderi Karnataka
Result Maratha victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Maratha Empire
supported by
Nayak of Chitaldurg		 Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Santaji Ghorpade
Barumappa Nayak		 Qasim Khan †
Khudadad (WIA)
Khanazad  (POW) Surrendered Murad Khan
Sayyid Haslat Khan
Safshistkhan
Mirza Hasan
Kam bakhsh
Strength
Unknown 25000[2]

Background edit

At this time Aurangzeb, who had encamped at Islampuri, learnt that Santaji after robbing the imperial dominions was hastening with heavy loads to northwest of Mysore. Immediately he appointed Safshikhan Khan, Muhammad Murad Khan (the pay master of Prince Kam bakhsh’s army, Khanazad Khan Sayyid Asalat Khan, Mirza Hasan, the cousin brother of Mukhtiyar Khan, many Deccani sardars along with the army of Kam bakhsh.[4] Though on paper army consisted of twenty-five thousand men, actually about five thousand men were assigned the mission of defeating Santaji, who had plundered the region of Dodderi. The army was ordered to operate in union with Qasim Khan.[1][2][5]

Battle edit

The Marathas launched a surprise attack on the Mughal advance camp, plundering and setting tents on fire. Qasim Khan and Khanazad Khan rushed to the battlefield but were blocked by Maratha divisions. Despite courageous efforts by the Mughals, they faced overwhelming numbers and were terror-struck. The Marathas continued to humiliate them, depriving them of food and fodder for days. The Mughals, prepared for constant battle, were surrounded but the Marathas only appeared without engaging in combat for three days.[1][2][3]

Burmappa Nayak's army attacked the Mughals, resulting in the death of many sardars and the wounding of Khudadad, Muhammad Murad Khan's son. Qasim Khan and Khanazad Khan, shaken by the situation, decided to retreat to the small fort of Dodderi.[6] Despite being surrounded by the Marathas, they fought their way to the fort and managed to reach it by evening. However, the Marathas continued to humiliate them, leading to a bad situation inside the fort. With limited food and ammunition, the Mughals faced starvation and constant attacks from the Marathas. Qasim Khan died shortly after. Many soldiers deserted and joined the Marathas, who took advantage of the situation by selling goods to the besieged at high prices. The Mughals suffered from total starvation as the Marathas tightened their blockade, making living conditions unbearable.[1][2][3]

Khanazad Khan, seeking terms of surrender, agreed to pay a ransom of twenty lacs of rupees to Santaji. The Marathas collected the baggage and animals, while the Mughal sardars signed bonds as surety. Despite Santaji honoring his commitments, the Mughals didn't fully comply. Santaji allowed the Mughal soldiers to leave the fort for two days, providing them with fresh food. Khanazad Khan eventually left for the Mughal Court escorted by Marathas.[1][2][7]

Aftermath edit

Main article: Siege of Basavapatan

In less than a month after their defeat, Himmat Khan Bahadur, who had been deputed to cooperate with Qasim Khan, fled to Basavapatan, a place 40 miles west of Dodderi, with a force of 1,000 cavalry.[8][9][10]

Santaji planted his garrison in Dodderi and ordered two divisions of his army to watch and oppose Hamid-ud-din Khan from the north and Himmat Khan from the west. On January 20, 1696, Santaji appeared before Himmat Khan's position with a force of 10,000 cavalry and the same number of infantry; the Maratha Karnataki musketeers took position from the hills.[8][9][10]

Himmat Khan advanced to that position and dislodged them from it, killing 500 of them; then he drove his elephant towards the position where Santaji was standing; however, he was shot by a bullet and fell unconscious; Santaji received two arrow wounds; the leaderless Mughals retreated back to their trenches, where Himmat passed away.[8][9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kulkarni, G. T. (1983). The Mughal-Maratha Relations: Twenty Five Fateful Years, 1682-1707. Department of History, Deccan College Post-Graduate Research Institute. pp. 123–128.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Pawar, a g (1971). Maratha History Seminar Papers. pp. 101–107.
  3. ^ a b c Pagdi, Setumadhava Rao (1966). Lectures on Maratha Mughal Relations, 1680-1707. Printed at Nagpur Vidyapeeth Mudranalaya. pp. 147–150.
  4. ^ Jaisingrao Pawar (1981). Chhatrapati Rajaram And The Maratha State. p. 171.
  5. ^ March of Karnataka. Director of Information and Publicity, Government of Karnataka. 1986. p. 15.
  6. ^ Sardesai, Govind Sakharam (1946). New History Of The Marathas Vol.1. p. 345.
  7. ^ Muddachari, B. (1965). The Mysore_Maratha Relations In The 17th Century (in Kannada). University of Mysore. pp. 213–214.
  8. ^ a b c Jaques, Tony (2006-11-30). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century [3 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-313-02799-4.
  9. ^ a b c Sardesai, Govind Sakharam (1946). New History Of The Marathas Vol.1. p. 336.
  10. ^ a b c Kishore, Brij (1963). Tara Bai and Her Times. Asia Publishing House. p. 50.
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