Battle of Peshawar; May 8, 1758

The Battle of Peshawar' took place on May 8, 1758, between the Marathas and Durrani Empire.

The Marathas, led by Raghunathrao (younger brother of Nanasaheb Peshwa) and Malharrao Holkar (pictured below) were victorious in the battle, and Peshawar was captured.

Map showing Maratha advance into Peshawar.

This victory helped the Maratha Empire reach its peak - control now extended to the border of Afghanistan, located nearly 2,000 km away from the capital Pune.

Most of Central and Eastern India was also under their control.

The Maratha Empire extended from 'Attock to Cuttack'.

Ten days earlier, the Marathas had won 'The Battle of Attock'. The planting of the Maratha flag on the Attock fort(pictured above) was a key moment in the history of Maratha Empire's expansion

An expression popular to this date: 'Atkepar Zende' [ '(Maratha) Flags Beyond Attock'] was coined.

Historically, the Attock Fort (as shown in picture), guarding the passage across the Indus river, and Peshawar were considered to be the northwest frontiers for many empires.

Some empires had crossed beyond and expanded to Kabul as well.

Around the time of Battle of Peshawar, there is a record of correspondence between Raghunathrao and the Shah of Iran. The Shah wanted to cooperate with the Marathas in crushing the Durani Empire.

Raghunathrao mentions how an Indian empire needs to reach Kabul (as in the past). The Nanasaheb Peshwa era (1740-1761) saw the peak expansion of the Maratha Empire.

Unfortunately, his era ended with the 3rd Battle of Panipat (he died a few months later in Pune).

Nanasaheb Peshwa (picture above)