Battles Involving The Maratha Empire - Maratha Conquest of Northwest India

Maratha Conquest of Northwest India

Main article: Maratha conquest of North-west India See also: Battle of Attock, 1758 and Battle of Peshawar

Malharrao Holkar, Raghunathrao, Shamsher Bahadur, Gangadhar Tatya, Sakharambapu, Naroshankar and Maujiram Bania attacked Delhi on 11 August 1757 and defeated Najib Khan and Ahmed Khan became the Mir Bakshi in his place. In March, 1758, they conquered Sarhind. On 20 April 1758, Malharrao Holkar and Raghunathrao attacked and conquered Lahore. Tukojirao Holkar conquered Attock and Peshawar. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players. The Maratha Empire had reached its peak, the empire's territories covered much of South Asia. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power under Chhatrapati Shahu reached its zenith with a territory of over 2,800,000 km2.

This was followed by the third battle of Panipat. Losses at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 suspended further expansion of the empire in the North-west of India and reduced the power of the Peshwas.