Battle of Peshawar (1758)
The Battle of Peshawar took place on 8 May 1758 between Maratha Empire and the Durrani Empire. The Marathas were victorious in the battle and Peshawar was captured and ultimately annexed into the Maratha Empire. Before that, the fort of Peshawar was being guarded by Durrani troops under Timur Shah Durrani and Jahan Khan. When Raghunathrao and Malhar Rao Holkar had left Punjab they appointed Tukoji Rao Holkar as their representative in this area of the sub-continent. He along with Khandoji Kadam defeated the Afghan garrison.[2] The victory in this battle is considered a great success for Marathas as now their rule had extended to the border of Afghanistan, located 2000 km far from their capital Pune.
| Battle of Peshawar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maratha conquest of North-west India | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Maratha Empire |
 Durrani Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Raghunathrao Malhar Rao Holkar Tukoji Rao Holkar |
Timur Shah Durrani Jahan Khan | ||||||||
Aftermath
The Battle of Peshawar took place on 8 May 1758 between Maratha Empire and the Durrani Empire. The Marathas were victorious in the battle and Peshawar was captured. The battle was seen as a huge success for the Marathas who hoisted the Bhagwa Jhanda (Maratha's saffron flag) on top of the Peshawar fort, their rule had now stretched from Pune to Delhi and now to the border of the Durrani Empire in Peshawar. Before that, the fort of Peshawar was being guarded by Durrani troops under Timur Shah Durrani and Jahan Khan. After being defeated by the army of Marathas, Durranis with Jahan Khan and Timur Shah Durrani left the fort and fled to Afghanistan meanwhile Marathas captured and took control of the fort. After the battle, Maratha soldiers in Peshawar reportedly took home many Peshawari women to Pune. The victory in this battle is considered a great success for Marathas as now their rule had extended to the border of Afghanistan, located 2000 km far from their capital Pune.[2][3][4][5]
References
- Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, p. 43, at Google Books
- Third Battle of Panipat by Abhas Verma ISBN 9788180903397 Bharatiya Kala Prakashan
- Roy, Kaushik. India's Historic Battles: From Alexander the Great to Kargil. Permanent Black, India. pp. 80–1. ISBN 978-8178241098.
- Elphinstone, Mountstuart (1841). History of India. John Murray, Albermarle Street. p. 276.
- S.R. Sharma (1999). Mughal empire in India: a systematic study including source material. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 763. ISBN 978-81-7156-819-2. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
Further reading
- Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, p. 43, at Google Books
- Duff, James Grant. A history of the Mahrattas, Volume 2
- War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849, p. 103, at Google Books