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Shahaji
Shahaji Bhonsale (Marathi pronunciation: [ʃəˈɦaːdʑiː ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 18 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th-century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynasty, Shahaji inherited the Pune and Supe jagirs (fiefs) from his father Maloji, who previously served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. During the Mughal invasion of the Deccan, Shahaji joined the Mughal forces and served under Emperor Shah Jahan for a short period. After being deprived of his jagirs, he defected to the Bijapur Sultanate in 1632 and regained control over Pune and Supe. In 1638, he received the jagir of Bangalore after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. Afterwards, he became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion. He was the father of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom.
Shahaji was the son of Maloji Bhosale, a Maratha warrior and nobleman who had been awarded the jagirs of Pune and Supe, Ellora, Dheradi, Kannrad and some more villages in the districts of Jafrabad, Daulatabad and Ahmadabad by Sultan Murtuza Nizamshah of Ahmadnagar. According to Shiva Digvijay, a text considered to be a modern forgery by historians such as Jadunath Sarkar and Surendra Nath Sen, Maloji's wife Umabai allegedly prayed in the tomb of Sufi Pir Shah Sharif of Ahmadnagar to be blessed with a son. Later when Maloji and Umabai settled in Devagiri, Umabai went on to give birth to two sons, first of whom was Shahaji and second one was Sharifji, born two years later. Both were named after the Pir's own titles. .
Shahaji was betrothed to Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhav, the Maratha Deshmukh of Sindkhed in the service of Ahmadnagar's Nizamshahi Sultanate, when both of them were children.
Shahaji served in the army of Malik Ambar, the prime minister of Ahmadnagar Sultanate. At the time of Maloji's death in 1622, 26-year old Shahaji was a minor commander in Malik Ambar's army. By 1625, he held the high military position of Sar Lashkar (major general), as suggested by a letter sent from Pune on 28 July.
Ahmadnagar was involved in conflicts against the northern Mughal Empire and other Deccan Sultanates, and Shahaji kept switching his loyalty between these states. For example, sometime before the Battle of Bhatvadi in 1624, Shahaji and some other Maratha leaders defected to the Mughals, but shortly before the battle they returned to Ahmadnagar. Malik Ambar's army defeated a combined Mughal-Bijapur force in the battle. Subsequently, a quarrel arose between Shahaji and his cousin Kheloji Bhonsle, and in 1625 Shahaji shifted his allegiance to Bijapur, likely because he was dissatisfied with Ahmadnagar rewarding his relatives more than him. He retained his jagir in the Pune region, which was disputed between Ahmadnagar and Bijapur. A letter dated 10 January 1626 indicates that he still held the position of Sar Lashkar.
Ibrahim Adil Shah II, Shahaji's patron in Bijapur, died in September 1627. Adil Shah, a Muslim, was tolerant towards Hindus like Shahaji and saw Ahmadnagar as a buffer state between his kingdom and the Mughal Empire. After his death, an orthodox Muslim faction that advocated for an alliance with the Mughals against Ahmadnagar grew stronger in Bijapur. Amid these circumstances, Shahaji returned to Ahmadnagar in early 1628 under the patronage of Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan. The power of Ahmadnagar had been declining after Malik Ambar's death in 1626, but Shahaji held a higher position there than the one he held in Bijapur. Meanwhile, the newly crowned Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan launched a fresh campaign against Ahmadnagar. In 1629, Shahaji led a 6,000-strong cavalry force against the Mughals in the Khandesh region but was defeated.
In 1630, Shahaji's in-laws and patrons were murdered as a result of factional politics in the Ahmadnagar court, leading to Shahaji's defection to the Mughals along with a 2,000-strong cavalry unit. The Mughals sent him to occupy Junnar and Sangamner and gave these districts to him as a jagir.
In 1632, Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan placed a puppet ruler on the Ahmednagar throne and allied with the Mughals. As a reward, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan granted him the jagir that had been earlier allotted to Shahaji. Shahaji then left the Mughal service and began to plunder the region around Pune. When the Mughals sent an army against him, he took shelter with Hussein Shah the governor of Junnar and subsequently returned to Bijapur service.
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Shahaji
Shahaji Bhonsale (Marathi pronunciation: [ʃəˈɦaːdʑiː ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 18 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th-century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynasty, Shahaji inherited the Pune and Supe jagirs (fiefs) from his father Maloji, who previously served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. During the Mughal invasion of the Deccan, Shahaji joined the Mughal forces and served under Emperor Shah Jahan for a short period. After being deprived of his jagirs, he defected to the Bijapur Sultanate in 1632 and regained control over Pune and Supe. In 1638, he received the jagir of Bangalore after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. Afterwards, he became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion. He was the father of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom.
Shahaji was the son of Maloji Bhosale, a Maratha warrior and nobleman who had been awarded the jagirs of Pune and Supe, Ellora, Dheradi, Kannrad and some more villages in the districts of Jafrabad, Daulatabad and Ahmadabad by Sultan Murtuza Nizamshah of Ahmadnagar. According to Shiva Digvijay, a text considered to be a modern forgery by historians such as Jadunath Sarkar and Surendra Nath Sen, Maloji's wife Umabai allegedly prayed in the tomb of Sufi Pir Shah Sharif of Ahmadnagar to be blessed with a son. Later when Maloji and Umabai settled in Devagiri, Umabai went on to give birth to two sons, first of whom was Shahaji and second one was Sharifji, born two years later. Both were named after the Pir's own titles. .
Shahaji was betrothed to Jijabai, the daughter of Lakhuji Jadhav, the Maratha Deshmukh of Sindkhed in the service of Ahmadnagar's Nizamshahi Sultanate, when both of them were children.
Shahaji served in the army of Malik Ambar, the prime minister of Ahmadnagar Sultanate. At the time of Maloji's death in 1622, 26-year old Shahaji was a minor commander in Malik Ambar's army. By 1625, he held the high military position of Sar Lashkar (major general), as suggested by a letter sent from Pune on 28 July.
Ahmadnagar was involved in conflicts against the northern Mughal Empire and other Deccan Sultanates, and Shahaji kept switching his loyalty between these states. For example, sometime before the Battle of Bhatvadi in 1624, Shahaji and some other Maratha leaders defected to the Mughals, but shortly before the battle they returned to Ahmadnagar. Malik Ambar's army defeated a combined Mughal-Bijapur force in the battle. Subsequently, a quarrel arose between Shahaji and his cousin Kheloji Bhonsle, and in 1625 Shahaji shifted his allegiance to Bijapur, likely because he was dissatisfied with Ahmadnagar rewarding his relatives more than him. He retained his jagir in the Pune region, which was disputed between Ahmadnagar and Bijapur. A letter dated 10 January 1626 indicates that he still held the position of Sar Lashkar.
Ibrahim Adil Shah II, Shahaji's patron in Bijapur, died in September 1627. Adil Shah, a Muslim, was tolerant towards Hindus like Shahaji and saw Ahmadnagar as a buffer state between his kingdom and the Mughal Empire. After his death, an orthodox Muslim faction that advocated for an alliance with the Mughals against Ahmadnagar grew stronger in Bijapur. Amid these circumstances, Shahaji returned to Ahmadnagar in early 1628 under the patronage of Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan. The power of Ahmadnagar had been declining after Malik Ambar's death in 1626, but Shahaji held a higher position there than the one he held in Bijapur. Meanwhile, the newly crowned Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan launched a fresh campaign against Ahmadnagar. In 1629, Shahaji led a 6,000-strong cavalry force against the Mughals in the Khandesh region but was defeated.
In 1630, Shahaji's in-laws and patrons were murdered as a result of factional politics in the Ahmadnagar court, leading to Shahaji's defection to the Mughals along with a 2,000-strong cavalry unit. The Mughals sent him to occupy Junnar and Sangamner and gave these districts to him as a jagir.
In 1632, Malik Ambar's son Fatah Khan placed a puppet ruler on the Ahmednagar throne and allied with the Mughals. As a reward, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan granted him the jagir that had been earlier allotted to Shahaji. Shahaji then left the Mughal service and began to plunder the region around Pune. When the Mughals sent an army against him, he took shelter with Hussein Shah the governor of Junnar and subsequently returned to Bijapur service.
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