Siege of Jinji (1690–1698)

The siege of Jinji, (September 1690–8 January 1698), began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured by Maratha Empire troops led by Rajaram, they had also ambushed and killed about 300 Mughal Sowars in the Carnatic.

In the year 1677, the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, routed the Bijapur forces and captured Jinji Fort and renovated it to European standards.

Desperately searching for a quick victory Zulfiqar Ali Khan made all efforts to gather men, ammunition and money for a successful war with them.

His plans were foiled, he was put to chains and imprisoned in a ditch which was covered by a tent by Zulfikhar Ali Khan, who managed to expel the roving Marathas with Matchlocks.

[7] Queen Mangammal had realized the renegade Rajaram had entrenched himself within Jinji and had been bent upon attacking Thanjavur and Madurai if the Mughal Army was to withdraw.

In 1697 Zulfikhar Ali Khan led 18,000 men from his camp (8000 Sowars and 10,000 Sepoys) in order to fight an assembling Maratha force in Thanjavur sent by Shivaji II and Ramchandra Pant Amatya and possibly aided by the Madurai Nayaks, numbering over 40,000 men, with the objective to relieve the siege of Jinji Fort and continue their hostilities against the Mughal Empire.

Because Zulfikhar Ali Khan did not often receive assistance and supplies from the Mughals he began to forage the countryside in order to recover his losses.

Zulfikhar Ali Khan returned he made efforts to hire European gunners and then led his final fourth assault into Jinji Fort in the year 1698.

The Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb, himself granted Swarup Singh a position of Mansabdar of 2,500 and gave him total command and administration of Jinji Fort in 1700 AD.