The Marathas And Nizam-ul-mulk
The Maratha-Nizam-ul-Mulk relationship went through several stages and had a significant impact on Maratha activities in Malwa and Gujarat.
• From 1715 to 1717, as Viceroy of the Deccan, Nizam-ul-Mulk resisted Maratha claims to the Deccan's chauth and sardeshmukhi, and was almost constantly at war with them - though with little lasting success.
• Nizam-ul-Mulk respected the Imperial farman for granting the Marathas the chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan after his successful rebellion against the Saiyids, but he opposed the stationing of Maratha agents in the vicinity of the capital, Aurangabad.
• Shortly after that, on January 4, 1721, he met Baji Rao for the first time. Despite Nizam-ul-efforts Mulk's to establish friendly relations with the young Peshwa, no long-term agreement was reached. The Karnataka was the most important point of contention between the Marathas and Nizam-ul-Mulk. By right of succession to the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda, Nizam-ul-Mulk regarded Karnataka as his.
• The Marathas, on the other hand, who had been interested in Karnataka since at least the time of Shahji and had always regarded it as a kind of happy hunting ground that they were determined to plunder and lay under contribution, paid little attention to his claims.
• During Nizam-ul-absence Mulk's in Delhi from 1721 to 1724, his deputy Mubariz-ul-Mulk reneged on the chauth and sardeshmukhi agreement, resuming hostilities with him. Nizam made an effort to keep good relations with the Marathas. On his way to Gujarat, he met Baji Rao in Malwa in 1723.
• In 1724, when Mubariz-ul-Mulk tried to prevent Nizam from reestablishing himself in the Deccan, Nizam countered by convening another meeting with Baji Rao. In 1725, a Maratha contingent fought alongside Nizam at the battle of Shakar Khera.
• Nizam-ul-Mulk and the Marathas were on the verge of war in 1728. The growing sweep of Maratha operations in Malwa and Gujarat made Nizam-ul-Mulk uneasy and concerned. He was also angry about Maratha encroachment in Karnataka.
• Despite joining Shahu's two expeditions to Karnataka in 1725-26 and 1726-27, he secretly issued orders to his commander to oppose the Marathas. He benefited from the rivalry between the Satara and Kolhapur courts, as well as the differences between Baji Rao and the Pratinidhi.
• While the majority of the Maratha armies were in Karnataka, he halted the payment of chauth and sardeshmukhi due to a dispute between Shahu and Sambhaji (the Kolhapur Raja), and invited Shahu to submit the dispute to his arbitration, posing as the Mughal Emperor's representative. He also sent him messages implying that Baji Rao should be fired. In the meantime, he formed a junction with the Kolhapur Raja's armies.
• Shahu was taken aback and was almost persuaded to accept Nizam-ul-arbitration Mulk's claim. However, he quickly recovered and sent express recall messages to the Maratha forces, alerting the commanders of the Maratha forts to prepare for defence.
• Baji Rao rushed back from Karnataka and declared war right away, rejecting Nizam-ul-peace Mulk's overtures because he had no desire for war. Baji Rao defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk at Palkhed after a brief but brilliant campaign. Nizam-ul-Mulk reaffirmed Shahu's claim to the Deccan chauth and sardeshmukhi in the Mungi Shivgaon Treaty of 1728, and agreed not to offer any protection to Sambhaji of Kolhapur.
• While it is historically incorrect to believe that the treaty established Maratha supremacy in the south, it did establish Shahu's claims to the Deccan's chauth and sardeshmukhi.
• It also allowed Baji Rao to finally dethrone the Pratinidhi at Shahu's court and devote his full attention to Malwa and Gujarat's affairs. But it wasn't long before Nizam-ul-Mulk was up to his old tricks again. The presence of Nizam-ul-Mulk in the Deccan, as well as his constant intrigues, made Baji Rao's task of establishing a Maratha hegemony in Malwa and Gujarat more difficult.