Deccan wars

The Deccan wars, also known as Mughal–Maratha wars, were a series of military conflicts between the Mughals and the Marathas after the death of Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1680 until the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was a central figure in what has been called "the Maratha insurgency" against the Mughal state. Both he and his son, Sambhaji (or Shambuji, typically), alternated between rebellion against the Mughal state and service to the Mughal sovereign in an official capacity. It was common practice in late 17th-century India for members of a ruling family of a small principality to both collaborate with and rebel against the Mughals.

Upon Shivaji's death in 1680, he was immediately succeeded by Rajaram, his second-born son by his second wife. The succession was contested by Sambhaji, Shivaji's first-born son by his first wife, and quickly settled to his benefit by the murders of Rajaram's mother and the loyal courtiers favouring Rajaram's succession, and by Rajaram's imprisonment for the following eight years. Although Sambhaji's rule was riven by factions, he conducted several military campaigns in southern India and Goa.

In 1681, Sambhaji was contacted by Muhammad Akbar, son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who was keen to partner with the Marathas in order to assert his political power against his ageing father's continuing dominance. The prospects of an alliance incited Aurangzeb to move his household, court and army to the Deccan. Akbar spent several years under the protection of Sambhaji but eventually went into exile to Persia in 1686.