Draft:Battle of Dodderi

The Battle of Dodderi lasted three days and featured Maratha forces led by Santaji Ghorpad against the Mughal army, With support from the Nayak of Chitaldurg, Santaji's strategic attacks disrupted the Mughal advance, leading to the death of Mughal commander Qasim Khan. The Mughals retreated to the fort of Dodderi, where they faced starvation and hard conditions due to a tight Maratha blockade. Mughal commander Khanazad Khan surrendered and agreed to pay a ransom of 1 lakh rupees.

Background
At this time Aurangzeb, who had encamped at Islampuri, learnt that Santaji after robbing the imperial dominions was hastening with heavy loads to northwest of Mysore. Immediately he appointed Safshikhan Khan, Muhammad Murad Khan (the pay master of Prince Kam bakhsh’s army, Khanazad Khan Sayyid Asalat Khan, Mirza Hasan, the cousin brother of Mukhtiyar Khan, many Deccani sardars along with the army of Kam bakhsh. Though on paper army consisted of twenty-five thousand men, actually about five thousand men were assigned the mission of defeating Santaji, who had plundered the region of Dodderi. The army was ordered to operate in union with Qasim Khan.

Battle
The Marathas launched a surprise attack on the Mughal advance camp, plundering and setting tents on fire. Qasim Khan and Khanazad Khan rushed to the battlefield but were blocked by Maratha divisions. Despite courageous efforts by the Mughals, they faced overwhelming numbers and were terror-struck. The Marathas continued to humiliate them, depriving them of food and fodder for days. The Mughals, prepared for constant battle, were surrounded but the Marathas only appeared without engaging in combat for three days.

Burmappa Nayak's army attacked the Mughals, resulting in the death of many sardars and the wounding of Khudadad, Muhammad Murad Khan's son. Qasim Khan and Khanazad Khan, shaken by the situation, decided to retreat to the small fort of Dodderi. Despite being surrounded by the Marathas, they fought their way to the fort and managed to reach it by evening. However, the Marathas continued to humiliate them, leading to a bad situation inside the fort. With limited food and ammunition, the Mughals faced starvation and constant attacks from the Marathas. Qasim Khan died shortly after. Many soldiers deserted and joined the Marathas, who took advantage of the situation by selling goods to the besieged at high prices. The Mughals suffered from total starvation as the Marathas tightened their blockade, making living conditions unbearable.

Khanazad Khan, seeking terms of surrender, agreed to pay a ransom of twenty lacs of rupees to Santaji. The Marathas collected the baggage and animals, while the Mughal sardars signed bonds as surety. Despite Santaji honoring his commitments, the Mughals didn't fully comply. Santaji allowed the Mughal soldiers to leave the fort for two days, providing them with fresh food. Khanazad Khan eventually left for the Mughal Court escorted by Marathas.

Aftermath
In less than a month after their defeat, Himmat Khan Bahadur, who had been deputed to cooperate with Qasim Khan, fled to Basavapatan, a place 40 miles west of Dodderi, with a force of 1,000 cavalry.

Santaji planted his garrison in Dodderi and ordered two divisions of his army to watch and oppose Hamid-ud-din Khan from the north and Himmat Khan from the west. On January 20, 1696, Santaji appeared before Himmat Khan's position with a force of 10,000 cavalry and the same number of infantry; the Maratha Karnataki musketeers took position from the hills.

Himmat Khan advanced to that position and dislodged them from it, killing 500 of them; then he drove his elephant towards the position where Santaji was standing; however, he was shot by a bullet and fell unconscious; Santaji received two arrow wounds; the leaderless Mughals retreated back to their trenches, where Himmat passed away.