Sack of Surat
| Battle of Surat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maratha campaigns in Gujarat | |||||||
| Early 20th century depiction of the Sack of Surat by Shivaji. | |||||||
| 
 | |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Maratha Kingdom | Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Shivaji | Inayat Khan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 4,000 cavalry | 5,000 garrisons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Shivaji ordered the beheading of four Imperialist prisoners and the amputation of the hands of twenty-four others. | |||||||
The Battle of Surat, also known as the Sack of Surat, was a land battle that took place on 5 January 1664, near the city of Surat, in present-day Gujarat, India, between Shivaji, leader of the fledgling Maratha State and Inayat Khan, a Mughal commander. The Marathas defeated the Mughal military unit posted at Surat.
Surat was a wealthy port city used by the Mughals for maritime trade in the Arabian Sea. The city was populated mostly by Hindus, but there were Muslims & others as well; including the officials of the Moghal administration at the city. According to historian James Grant Duff, Surat was attacked by Shivaji on 5 January 1664; the attack was so sudden that the population had no chance to flee, the violent plunder of the Mahratta forces continued for six days & two-thirds of the city was burnt down. The loot was then transferred to Rajgad fort hidden in the Western Ghauts near Poona.