| First Siege of Shivneri Fort (1673) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofMughal–Maratha Wars | |||||||
 Shivneri fort | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Marathas |  Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Shivaji | Abdul Aziz KhanBahadur Khan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 25,000 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Unknown | ||||||
TheFirst Siege of the Shivneri Fort was a military engagement between theMughal Army and theMaratha Army near Shivneri Fort; the Mughals were victorious and the Marathas were defeated.
Shivneri Fort, a mile west ofJunnar, was of strategic importance as it guarded the Mughal frontier in the north ofPune district and blocked the shortest route by which he could raid theDeccan from NorthKonkan. Another important fact was that it was the birthplace of the Maratha king,Shivaji. The Mughal governor of Shivneri Fort was Abdul Aziz Khan, aBrahman convert to Islam and a loyal servant ofAurangzeb. Shivaji attempted to persuade him to surrender the fort by giving him a large amount of gold. Abdul Aziz pretended to comply with his terms and asked Shivaji for 25,000[1] cavalry, but at the same time informed the Mughal generalBahadur Khan of the plot. The Maratha army fell into an ambush planned by the Mughals and retired with heavy losses.[2][3][4]