Medieval and Modern Indian History

After the death of the king Maravarman Kulashekhara, his sons Vira and Sundara fought a war of succession for control of the kingdom. Malik Kafur marched to the Pandya territory in March 1311. His army raided a number of places in the kingdom, massacring people and destroying temples. The Pandya brothers fled their headquarters, and Kafur pursued them unsuccessfully, hoping to make one of them a tributary to the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji. Nevertheless, the invaders obtained a large number of treasures, elephants and horses. After Kafur's departure, Vira and Sundara resumed their conflict. Sundara Pandya was defeated and sought help from the Delhi Sultanate. With their help, he regained control of the South Arcot region by 1314. 
Subsequently, this there were two other expeditions from the Khalji Sultanate in 1314 led by Khusro Khan and in 1323 by Ulugh Khan under Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. These invasions shattered the Pandyan empire beyond revival. While the previous invasions were content with plunder, Ulugh Khan annexed the former Pandyan dominions to the Delhi Sultanate.

There were three separate invasions in a span of 15 years. The first was led by Malik Kafur, under orders from the Sultan Alauddin Khilji, in 1311 CE where he sacked the city of Madurai. The second invasion of Madurai was led by Khusrau Khan and the third, by Ulugh Khan; both under Ghiyasuddin Tughluq.

Ain-i Akbari (in short the Ain,) authored by Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazl. It  tells that the Mughal provinces of Agra produced 39 varieties of crops and Delhi produced 43 over the two seasons. Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone.

Ibn-i-Batuta wrote the famous book Kitab-ur-Rehla. In that, he had mentioned that there were three harvests in a year and Paddy, wheat, barley, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds and indigo were the major crops of medieval India. Also, the rulers of the medieval period provided all facilities to increase crop production and improvise agriculture.

There were two main divisions of the army of Shivaji Maharaj- infantry and cavalry. In infantry there were officers such as Havaldar and Jumledar. In cavalry there were Shiledars and Bargirs.

The minister who was the head of Ecclesiastical Department was called as Pandit Rao. He had two responsibilities 1) looking after charitable work. 2) working for the moral uplift of the people.

Enemies on the west coast of India, the Portuguese of Goa, the Siddi of Janjira, the British factors of Surat and Rajadar, created obstacles in the work of expanding the Swaraj. It was necessary to curb their activities and to protect the west coast.

In the administrative structure of Shivaji's army, a Havaldar was the officer in charge of a unit of 25 cavalry soldiers.

In his early years, Shivaji built his base by organizing and leading the local Mawali people from the Sahyadri mountain ranges, who were known for their bravery and knowledge of the terrain.

During the raid on Lal Mahal, Shivaji Maharaj's soldiers attacked Shaistakhan, who lost his fingers while trying to escape through a window.

Shivaji Maharaj signed the Treaty of Purandar in 1665 with Mirza Raja Jai Singh after the siege of Purandar fort.

Aurangzeb did not treat Shivaji well; he insulted him in the court, leading to Shivaji's house arrest and subsequent escape.

Inayat Khan was the Mughal Subhedar of Surat when Shivaji raided the city in 1664.

Shivaji Maharaj is renowned for pioneering and utilizing guerrilla warfare, known as Ganimi Kava, to overcome larger, conventional armies. This strategy relied on speed, surprise, and terrain knowledge.

During Shaistakhan's campaign, Shivaji Maharaj wrote to the Deshmukh of the Rohida valley, warning him to protect the ryot and not neglect his duties.