Mughal–Maratha Wars

Date	September 1681 – May 1707
Location	Present-day states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
Result	Pyrrhic Mughal Victory Maratha Empire overrun Continuation of Guerrilla Warfare Depletion of Mughal resources & manpower due to long arduous years warring in the Deccan

Belligerents

Maratha Empire

Mughal Empire

Commanders and leaders

Sambhaji †

Rajaram

Maharani Tarabai

Emperor Aurangzeb
Prince Bahadur Shah
Prince Azam Shah
Prince Kam Bakhsh
Zulfikar Khan
Husain Ali Khan

Strength

Significantly smaller

Max Strength ~500,000

Casualties and losses

Heavy

The Mughal–Maratha Wars were fought between the Maratha Empire and the Mughal Empire from 1680 to 1707. The Deccan Wars started in 1680 with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s invasion of the Maratha enclave in Bijapur established by Shivaji.

In the first half of 1681, many Mughal contingents were dispatched to lay siege to Maratha forts in present-day Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. Sambhaji provided shelter to the emperor's rebel son Sultan Muhammad Akbar, which angered Aurangzeb. In September 1681, after settling his dispute with the royal house of Mewar, Aurangzeb began his journey to Deccan to kill the relatively young Maratha Empire. He arrived at Aurangabad, the Mughal headquarters in the Deccan and made it his capital. Mughal contingents in the region numbered about 500,000. It was a disproportionate war in all senses. By the end of 1681, the Mughal forces had laid siege to Fort Ramsej. But the Marathas did not succumb to this onslaught. The attack was well received and it took the Mughals seven years to take the fort. In December 1681, Sambhaji attacked Janjira, but his first attempt failed. At the same time one of the Aurangzeb’s generals, Husain Ali Khan, attacked Northern Konkan. Sambhaji left Janjira and attacked Husain Ali Khan and pushed him back to Ahmednagar. Aurangzeb tried to sign a deal with the Portuguese to allow trade ships to harbour in Goa. This would have allowed him to open another supply route to Deccan via the sea. This news reached Sambhaji. He attacked the Portuguese territories and forced them back to the Goan coast. But the viceroy of Alvor was able to defend the Portuguese headquarters. By this time the huge Mughal army had started gathering on the borders of Deccan. It was clear that southern India was headed for a large, sustained conflict.

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