Qualla: Sack of Surat https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Sack of Surat https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat Sack of Surat: Introduction https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat/ George Oxenden had eighty thousand pounds worth of East India Company goods behind a single wall, and on the other side of that wall, Shivaji's soldiers were stripping Surat to the bone. It was January 1664, and the Maratha leader had arrived at the gates of the Mughal Empire's wealthiest port city with four thousand troops and a straightforward demand: money. The governor had fled to the castle. The merchants had scattered. But the president of the English factory decided to stay, fortified his compound with artillery, and bet everything on holding the line. The gamble defined not just a few desperate days but the trajectory of European power in western India.

Read more: Sack of Surat on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/b/sack-of-surat-wp/tegb-sack-of-surat-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Sack of Surat: A War Chest from Someone Else's Vault https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat/ Shivaji's finances were desperate. His Maratha forces had been fighting the Mughal nawab Shaista Khan across the Deccan for more than three years, and the campaign had drained his treasury. Surat offered a solution that was elegant in its brutality: the city generated a million r...

Read more: Sack of Surat on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/b/sack-of-surat-wp/tegb-sack-of-surat-a-war-chest-from-someone-elses-vault.mp3 0:06 2 full Sack of Surat: The Governor Who Ran https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat/ News of Shivaji's approach struck Surat with fear. Through special agents, Shivaji conveyed his demands to Governor Inayat Khan and the city's prominent merchants: Haji Zahid Beg, Virji Vora, and Haji Qasim were to present themselves at the Maratha camp with substantial tribute. ...

Read more: Sack of Surat on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/b/sack-of-surat-wp/tegb-sack-of-surat-the-governor-who-ran.mp3 0:06 3 full Sack of Surat: Three Days of Plunder https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat/ The Maratha army moved systematically through Surat's wealthy quarters. Soldiers stripped the houses of Virji Vora, Haji Zahid Beg, and Haji Kasim of cash, gold, silver, pearls, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. Those who failed to produce adequate tribute suffered mutilation -- on...

Read more: Sack of Surat on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/b/sack-of-surat-wp/tegb-sack-of-surat-three-days-of-plunder.mp3 0:06 4 full Sack of Surat: Aftermath and the Forty Percent https://qualla.com/sack-of-surat/ Shivaji departed Surat as swiftly as he had arrived, having learned that a Mughal force was approaching under the viceroy Mahabat Khan. He left behind heaps of clothing and household articles for the town's residents -- the bulk was too heavy to carry -- but the gold, silver, and...

Read more: Sack of Surat on Qualla

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/e/g/b/sack-of-surat-wp/tegb-sack-of-surat-aftermath-and-the-forty-percent.mp3 0:06 5 full