Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-15T18:57:00.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Marathas and the Deccan Sultanates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Stewart Gordon
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we will turn from the more general discussion of deshmukhs and the political texture of seventeenth-century Maharashtra to specific events of the Sultanates of Ahmadnagar and Bijapur. These set the stage for the rise of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha polity. Here, we will focus on Shahji, Shivaji's father, who rose from minor commander to kingmaker and general in the middle decades of the seventeenth century.

Before embarking on the specifics of the house of Shivaji, we must look at warfare in the seventeenth century. It will be against this background that the innovations of Malik Amber early in the century and Shivaji later in the century will make sense. The following is somewhat idealized, but is drawn from accounts of warfare in Khandesh and Malwa, and warfare between the Deccan kingdoms. Much of it will be familiar from studies of European, fort-based warfare of two centuries earlier, but there were many local, Indian features.

In the seventeenth century, a main-force army (be it Mughal, or from Ahmadnagar or Bijapur) was a moving city. Based on heavy cavalry, the army had at least three horses for every two riders. Each mounted fighter had at least a servant and a groom. Artillery, which supplemented the cavalry, was physically large and required dozens, sometimes hundreds, of oxen for each piece. We must add to this picture infantry and the full bazaar that accompanied the army and supplied it. There were elephants for the commanders and a large store of treasure to pay the troops, who normally bought their provisions in the camp bazaar.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Eaton, RichardSufis of Bijapur: 1300–1700 (Princeton, 1978).Google Scholar
Ghauri, I. H.Organization of the army under the sultanates of the Deccan,” Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 14, 3 (July, 1966).Google Scholar
Ghauri, I. F.Central structure of the kingdom of Bijapur,” Islamic Culture, 44, 1 (January 1970).Google Scholar
Ghauri, I. F.‘Regency’ in the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda”, Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 15, 1 (January 1967).Google Scholar
Gune, V. T.Judicial System of the Marathas (Poona, 1953).Google Scholar
Khare, G. H.A letter of assurance from Ali Adil Shah I,” Indian Historical Records Commission (October 1945).Google Scholar
Kulkarni, A. R.Towards a history of Indapur,” in Attwood, D. W., Israel, M., and Wagle, N. K., City, Countryside and Society in Maharashtra, (Toronto, University of Toronto, 1988).Google Scholar
Kulkarni, A. R.Maharashtra in the Age of Shivaji (Poona, 1967).Google Scholar
Molesworth, J. T.A Dictionary, Marathi and English, (Bombay, second edition, 1857).Google Scholar
Patwardhan, P. P. and Rawlinson, H. G., Sourcebook of Maratha History (Calcutta, 1978).Google Scholar
Sardesai, G. S.New History of the Marathas 1 (Bombay, second impression, 1957).Google Scholar
Sarkar, J. N.House of Shivaji (New Delhi, 1978).Google Scholar
Sarkar, J. N.An early supporter of Shivaji,” Indian Historical Quarterly, 7 (1931).Google Scholar
Sen, S. N.The Military System of the Marathas (Calcutta, new edition, 1958).Google Scholar
Sen, S. N.The Military System of the Marathas (Calcutta, reprinted edition, 1976).Google Scholar
Sherwani, H. K. and Joshi, P. M., History of Medieval Deccan (1295–1724), vol. 1 (Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1973).Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×