Page:The Imperial Durbar Album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars.djvu/33



GWALIOR is the first and foremost State' in Central India, and derives its name from an old dilapidated city which has never been its capital. But its fort has such a remarkably unique strategic position, that it has been styled "the pearl in the necklace of the castles of Hind" by the author of the. " Taj-ul-Maasir." It has figured in ancient history and probably existed long before the 6th century A.D. From an inscription dated 786 A.D. found in the fort of Gwalior, it appears to have been in the hands of Raja Bhoj of Kanauj. For nearly seven centuries it was in the hands of the Mahommedans, the Tunwar Rajputs, and the Moguls.' In the middle of the 18th century A.D. it came into the possession of the Sindhia family from the Rana of Gohad. The founder of this family was Rahoji Sindhia, whose ancestors were the hereditary Patels of Kanherkhed, a small village near- Satara. He journeyed from his village to Poona and managed to get into the* .service of the Peshwa, Baji Rao I. In 1736 A.D. he accompanied his master to Delhi. The Peshwa's camp at Delhi was attacked by Muzaffar Khan at the head of a body of 8,000 horse. It was Ranoji Sindhia who, together with Mulhar Rao Holkar, defeated the invaders and beat them back. Now Ranoji permanently fixed his headquarters at Ujjain. At the time of his death in 1745 A.D., nearly half the province of Malwa was in his t possession, and he had an income of about 65 lacs of rupees. His eldest sort Jayappa, who succeeded him, was killed in the battle of Nagor (1759 A.D.) He was followed by his son Jankoji who was taken prisoner at the battle of Panipat (1761 A.D.) and put to death, when Mahadji,, son of Ranoji and uncle of Jankoji, ascended the gadi with the sanction of the Peshwa.

Mahadji returned from Poona to Malwa in 1764 A.D., and firmly established his power in the districts to the north of the Nerbuda. Madhao Rao Peshwa died in 1772 A.D., and in the struggles that ensued Mahadji seized, every opportunity to increase his possessions and to establish his influence. It was in connection with Raghoba Dada's action of throwing himself on the protection of the English in 1775 A.D., that Mahadji came into direct collision with the British. It was through his superior management and tactics that the 'Convention of Wadgaon' had to be signed in 1779 A.D. Hitherto the English acted as mere helpers to Raghoba Dada; but now they had to come forward as chief actors; and the repeated reverses which the Sindhia met at their hands convinced him that this new power was more than ordinary. In 1782 A.D. the treaty of Salbai was concluded between him and the English, which made the British the arbiters of peace in India, at the same time, recognising the Sindhia as an independent chief and appointing a British Resident to his court. Mahadji Sindhia took full advantage of the position of affairs to establish his supremacy in Northern India.

In 1769 A.D. Madhao Rao Peshwa sent out an expedition under the leadership of Visaji Krishna to crush the Rohillas and the Nawab of Oudh. The invading army marched on into Rajputana and encamped near Deeg. The Rohillas sued for peace, and the terms were accepted by the Peshwa much to the disappointment of Mahadji Sindhia. The Mahrattas at this time opened negotiations with Shah Alum, the Emperor of Delhi, whom they reinstated on his ancestral throne in 1771 A.D. About this time