YvonneTran476 at 20:42, 13 March 2026

2026-03-13T20:42:34Z

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{{Short description|1749 battle of the Second Carnatic War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2012}}
{{infobox military conflict
|conflict =Battle of Ambur
|partof =the [[Second Carnatic War]]
|image =[[File:Death of the Nabob of the Carnatic by Paul Philippoteaux.jpg|200px|Death of [[Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan]]]]
|caption =Engraving depicting the death of the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]] at Ambur (also note: the [[sharpshooter]] upon the elephants)
|date =3 August 1749
|place =[[Ambur]]
|coordinates =
|map_type =
|map_relief =
|latitude =
|longitude =
|map_size =
|map_marksize =
|map_caption =
|map_label =
|territory =[[Chanda Sahib]] is declared the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]]
|result =Allied victory
|status =
|combatant1 = [[Mughal Empire]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the principality of Carnatic.gif}} [[Nawab of Arcot]]
|combatant2 =[[File:Royal Flag of France.svg|18px]] [[Kingdom of France]]
* [[File:Drapeau du régiment de la Compagnie des Indes en 1756.png|15px]] [[French Indies Company]]
<hr/>
* [[Chanda Sahib]]
* [[Muzaffar Jung]]
|commander1 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the principality of Carnatic.gif}} [[Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan|Anwaruddin Khan]] {{KIA}}
|commander2 =[[File:Royal Flag of France.svg|18px]] [[Joseph François Dupleix]]<br>[[File:Royal Flag of France.svg|18px]] [[Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau|De Bussy]]<br>
<hr/>
[[Mughal Empire]]
* [[Chanda Sahib]]
* [[Muzaffar Jung]]
|units1 =
|units2 =
|strength1 =20,000 total<br>100 [[war elephant]]s
|strength2 =36,000 total<br>400 Frenchmen
|casualties1 =4,000
|casualties2 =1,500
|notes =
|campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Second Carnatic War}}
}}
The '''Battle of Ambur''' (3 August 1749) was the first major battle of the [[Second Carnatic War]].<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=155}}</ref>

The battle was initiated by [[Muzaffar Jung]] and supported by [[Joseph François Dupleix]] and led by [[Chanda Sahib]], who sought to overthrow [[Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan]], the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]], for supporting [[Nasir Jung]]'s claim to be [[Nizam of Hyderabad]]. French forces were decisive in giving the allies victory; Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan was killed in the battle and Chanda Sahib seized control of the Carnatic.

== Background ==
Since the beginning of the [[Second Carnatic War]] [[Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan]], the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]], had warned the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Muhammad Shah]] of an irreversible power struggle in the Carnatic and how he wanted his interests to be legitimized by [[Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I|Nizam-ul-Mulk]], the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] who had nominated him in the first place.

Nizam-ul-Mulk died in 1748 and was succeeded as Nizam by his grandson [[Muzaffar Jung]]. This decision was confirmed by the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]] but rejected by [[Nasir Jung]], Nizam-ul-Mulk's son, who captured the city of [[Hyderabad]] after a coup.

[[Muzaffar Jung]] fled Hyderabad and tried to gain new allies. He received the support of the French Governor-General [[Joseph François Dupleix]], who helped release [[Chanda Sahib]] the son-in-law of [[Dost Ali Khan]], who was imprisoned after being overrun by the [[Maratha]]s and after his father-in-law was killed in the fray. Chanda Sahib sought the investiture of the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]] by declaring himself ''[[Nawab]] of [[Tinnevelly]]'' and gathered his own army of 3500 men and even received 400 French infantry from Dupleix. Because Muzaffar Jung was the chosen successor of Nizam-ul-Mulk his loyalists exceed 30,000. Together they marched towards [[Arcot]], the capital of the [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]] and sought to eliminate Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan, who supported [[Nasir Jung]]'s claim to the Hyderabadi throne.

Instead of entrenching himself in Arcot, Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan decided to advance towards the allied forces with his own 20,000 battle-strong army.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

== Battle ==
On 3 August 1749, the allied forces of Dupleix, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung met those of Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan at [[Ambur]]. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's forces managed to create a formidable stance by gathering around their [[howdah]]s despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, but it was the disciplined [[France|French]] infantry forces led by De Bussy that completely reversed the course of the battle against Khan.<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|author=Tucker, S.C.|date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851096725|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC|page=756|accessdate=2014-11-26}}</ref>

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan was shot and killed in a fierce confrontation while commanding his forces from a [[howdah]]. The next day Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib victoriously entered [[Arcot]] and Chanda Sahib became the next [[Nawab of the Carnatic]]. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's son, [[Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah]], fled south to [[Trichinopoly]], where he hid and sought the assistance of the [[Great Britain|British]].

== Aftermath ==
[[Image:French India 1741-1754.png|280px|thumb|[[French Indies Company]] influence 1741–1754.]]
The Battle of Ambur convincingly demonstrated the superiority of European arms and methods of discipline and infantry warfare.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

== See also ==
*[[Carnatic Wars]]
*[[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Battle of Ambur}}

{{coord missing|Tamil Nadu}}

[[Category:Battles of the Second Carnatic War|Ambur]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Mughal Empire|Ambur]]
[[Category:Battles involving the French East India Company|Ambur]]
[[Category:1749 in India]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1749|Ambur]]
[[Category:1740s in the Mughal Empire]]

Battle of Ambur - Revision history

YvonneTran476 at 20:42, 13 March 2026