Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

“Chhatrapati (meaning independent king), there’s a saying in Wei: ‘Even a thousand-mile journey must end in parting.’ Please return, for I will surely meet their great emperor and bring reinforcements for the Marathas, freeing them from the evil rule of the demon Aurangzeb,” said Pratap, a Maratha warrior, to Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire, at the city gates of Rajgar. Pratap was Shivaji’s close friend and comrade-in-arms, helping him unite ninety-six Maratha tribes to resist the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and establish the Maratha Empire.

As for the demon Aurangzeb (Persian), whom he mentioned, he was the sixth ruler of the Mughal Empire, the famous "Alamgir" (meaning "world conqueror").

This emperor, whose personal name was Musi al-Ud al-Din Muhammad, was resourceful and especially skilled in military strategy. He seized the throne by killing three brothers and imprisoning his father during the War of the Succession. Perhaps because his accession was illegitimate and he desired to establish a glorious military record to prove his legitimacy, he expanded the Mughal Empire to its zenith through military conquest during his reign.

In the East, he appointed Mir Jumla as viceroy of Bengal, who led an army to annex the Kingdom of Kuchi-Bihar, enter Assam, and then attack Gargun, the capital of Akhoma, defeating King Jayawaki Singh and annihilating his navy. Although much of the territory was lost after Jumla's death, Kuchi-Bihar still ceded Langpur and West Kamlap to the Mughals. Later, he ordered his uncle, Viceroy Shaishta Khan, to seize Chhatgan and occupy Sandvip Island.

In the northwest, the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, along with the Afriti, Yusufchai, and Qatak peoples of the mountains, outwardly submitted to the Mughal Empire but in reality maintained independence and frequently rebelled. Eight years ago, the Yusufchai rebelled, but were suppressed by his general, Muhammad Amin Khan. Three years ago, the Afriti and Qatak rebelled again, defeating Amin Khan; the Mughal army suffered 10,000 dead and 20,000 captured. Upon hearing the news, the Qatak chieftain Hushar Khan also joined the rebellion. He ordered his favorite minister, Suchat Khan, to lead an expedition, but was defeated again, and Suchat Khan himself was killed by the rebels in the Karapa Pass.

An ordinary person would have been disheartened after two consecutive major defeats, but he remained calm and personally went to Hassan-Abdal to direct the suppression of the rebellion. He quickly defeated the rebels and appointed Amir Khan as the governor of Afghanistan. Through bribery and divisive policies, he maintained the smooth passage of mountain roads and effectively curbed the rebellion.

In the south, he extended his influence to the Deccan region, using force to compel the local Marathi people to submit, and also eyeing the two small southern kingdoms of Bijapurda and Gorkunda.

Aurangzeb was a capable emperor, but unlike his father Shah Jahan, he was far from awe-inspiring; in fact, he was extremely cruel. It is said that his son's hands would tremble when he received his letters. As a devout Sunni, he considered adherence to religious rules as his guiding principle and attempted to transform a country where the vast majority of the population was Hindu into an Islamic kingdom. He conscripted Hindus, destroyed Hindu temples, and ostracized non-Muslims. He executed the Sikh leader Deg Bahadur for inciting riots and even adopted a hostile attitude towards Shia Muslims.

All of this sparked rebellions among the Sikhs, Chhats, Bandlars, Marathas, Rajputs, Satnamals, and Arojafs. Most of these rebellions were suppressed by the emperor with overwhelming force, but one small flame remained unextinguished despite the old emperor's best efforts: the Marathas of the Deccan region.

Among the Marathas emerged a distinguished leader, Chhatrapati Shivaji. Born into a prominent Hindu family in the village of Saheyahdiri in Pune, his father was the chieftain of the Bijapur Sultanate. From a young age, he deeply resented the various persecutions of Hindus by Muslims. At the age of sixteen, he united the Maratha tribes, using Pune as their base, and launched a struggle against the Bijapur Sultanate, the Golkonda Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire, vowing to fight for the liberation of Hindus.

He unified the ninety-six tribes of the Marathas, expelled the Muslim feudal lords, reduced land taxes for peasants, established a disciplined light cavalry force primarily composed of peasants, and employed Maratha-style mountain guerrilla tactics to launch continuous offensives against the Mughal Empire to the north and the Sultanates of Bijapur and Golkonda to the south. How could Aurangzeb, who styled himself the "Conqueror of the World," tolerate this? He dispatched his viceroy, Shaishta, to besiege and capture Pune. Not to be outdone, Shivaji led his troops into Pune, wounded Shaishta, and killed his son, while simultaneously seizing the coastal city of Surat, ultimately forcing the enemy Mughal army to withdraw from the Deccan Plateau.

As the Marathi resistance grew stronger, Emperor Aurangzeb urgently dispatched General Mircha Rojah Chai Singh, stationed in Rajput, to besiege Shivaji at Prandal Fortress. Outnumbered and outmatched, Shivaji was forced to temporarily sue for peace, signing the humiliating Treaty of Prandal, ceding twenty-three fortresses and land worth 1.6 million rupees annually, in exchange for a promise from the Mughal Empire of high-ranking Indian princely status.

In an attempt to deceive his powerful enemy and regroup, Shivaji personally traveled to Agra to meet Aurangzeb the year after his defeat. However, his ulterior motives did not escape the notice of the astute old emperor, who deliberately ignored Shivaji. After Shivaji lodged a strong protest, the emperor imprisoned him on the pretext of disrespect before the emperor and prepared to kill him.

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Taking advantage of the guards' inattention, Shivaji managed to escape. After returning to his territory, he reorganized his army and patiently awaited his opportunity. After two years of preparation, the opportunity finally arrived! The Afriti, Yusufchai, and Qatak tribes in the Afghan mountains rose up against the tyranny, twice defeating the Mughal army. Aurangzeb was forced to transfer the main force of his army to the northwest, reducing the number of troops stationed in the Deccan.

Sivaji made a comeback, not only recapturing lost territories like Pune but also expanding his domain. Last summer, he established his capital in Rajgarh, was crowned "Chhatrapati," and built an army of 1,260 war elephants, as well as a navy.

Aurangzeb was furious to hear that the Marathas, whom he had defeated, had returned. By this time, he had driven the rebels into the mountains and stabilized the situation in Afghanistan. He then appointed Amir Khan as the governor of Afghanistan and personally led a large army back to Delhi, intending to conquer the Marathas.

Upon hearing of the old emperor's return, Sivaji, fearing they were outnumbered, sent his trusted confidant, Pratap, to Wei Dadu to request reinforcements from the Kingdom of David. "This journey is perilous; be extremely careful," he whispered to Pratap.

"Please rest assured, I will take the mountain road, pass through Bihar and head north to defend the country. I will be able to keep the enemy in the dark," Pratap said confidently.

(End of this chapter)