Editing Openai/691ef1a1-976c-800d-bd1d-06358880de2a (section)

=== Mughal vs Maratha Empires: Normalizing Atrocities ===

 The Mughal Empire at its height (c.1700) covered roughly 4.0 million km² of the subcontinenten.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire#:~:text=7%20October%201858%20Area%201690,2%7D%20%281%2C500%2C000%C2%A0sq%C2%A0mi%29%20Population|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>, far more than the Maratha domain (≈2.5 million km² at peak)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire#:~:text=1818%20Area%201760,2%7D%20%28970%2C000%C2%A0sq%C2%A0mi|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Mughal rule spanned from 1526 (Babur) to 1857 (formal dissolution)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire#:~:text=The%20Mughal%20Empire%20is%20conventionally,Reduced|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>, whereas the Maratha polity existed from Shivaji’s coronation in 1674 to defeat by the British in 1818en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%C2%A0Dissolution%20of%20the%20Maratha%20Confederacy|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  In raw terms, Mughals governed a larger population for a longer time.  Simply comparing total atrocities would naturally show higher Mughal numbers.  To be fair, we must normalize by area and duration.
* Land & Time: Mughal Empire ~4.0 M km² (peak)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire#:~:text=7%20October%201858%20Area%201690,2%7D%20%281%2C500%2C000%C2%A0sq%C2%A0mi%29%20Population|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> vs Maratha ~2.5 M km²en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire#:~:text=1818%20Area%201760,2%7D%20%28970%2C000%C2%A0sq%C2%A0mi|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Mughal rule ~1526–1857en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire#:~:text=The%20Mughal%20Empire%20is%20conventionally,Reduced|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> (≈330 years) vs Maratha ~1674–1818en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_Empire#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%C2%A0Dissolution%20of%20the%20Maratha%20Confederacy|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> (≈144 years).
* Population: Mughal India held ~158 million people around 1700en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire#:~:text=7%20October%201858%20Area%201690,2%7D%20%281%2C500%2C000%C2%A0sq%C2%A0mi%29%20Population|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>; Maratha population was smaller. (We lack precise numbers for Marathas.)
* Empire structure: The Mughals were a centralized dynasty; the Marathas were a confederation of Hindu rulers under the Peshwa, but effectively controlled similar regions.

 By 1760 (map above), Maratha influence (green areas) spanned much of India.  Notably, even with less territory, Maratha armies sometimes inflicted extremely high civilian casualties in limited regions.  The most cited case is the Bargi invasions of Bengal (1742–1751). Dutch and local sources report that Maratha cavalry (“Bargis”) killed about 400,000 people in western Bengal and Bihar during that decadeen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Contemporary accounts describe mass rape, mutilation and murder by the Marathas – for example, one Bengal chronicler wrote that the invaders “slaughtered cows and women by the hundreds” and killed every Brahmin or holy man they founden.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=,and%20women%20by%20the%20hundreds|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>. By contrast, Mughal campaigns of comparable length did not show this level of civilian massacre.  Historian Richard Eaton notes that Aurangzeb’s armies “are not known to have plundered Indian villages or attacked civilians,” whereas the Marathas in Bengal caused ~400,000 deathsengelsbergideas.com<ref>{{cite web|title=engelsbergideas.com|url=https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/indias-war-on-the-mughal-empire/#:~:text=In%20reality%2C%20%E2%80%98Alamgir%20is%20not,record%20Sambhaji%E2%80%99s%20administrative%20mismanagement%2C%20his|publisher=engelsbergideas.com|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  Even Aurangzeb’s much‑cited temple‐destruction orders amounted in practice to only a dozen or so demolished Hindu templesen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=Authorities%20on%20pre,76|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> – far fewer than popular legends suggest – and his persecutions (e.g. the 1675 execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur and followers) killed only tens of individualsen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=persecution,73|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=Authorities%20on%20pre,76|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.
* Maratha Bengal raids (1742–51): ∼400,000 dead (mostly civilians)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>; included widespread rape and plunderen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.
* Mughal Deccan wars (1680–1707): No comparable civilian toll recordedengelsbergideas.com<ref>{{cite web|title=engelsbergideas.com|url=https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/indias-war-on-the-mughal-empire/#:~:text=In%20reality%2C%20%E2%80%98Alamgir%20is%20not,record%20Sambhaji%E2%80%99s%20administrative%20mismanagement%2C%20his|publisher=engelsbergideas.com|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>. Aurangzeb lost about 20% of his soldiers in decades of fightingen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Maratha_conflicts#:~:text=In%20March%201700%2C%20Rajaram%20died,handful%20forts%20mostly%20by%20bribing|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>, but there is no evidence he systematically massacred villages.
* Per-area intensity: The Bengal example implies ~40,000 deaths/year on ~250,000 km² (≈16,000 per year per 100k km²)en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.  A similar Mughal‐scale massacre would require tens of thousands killed each year across ~4 million km² – which is not documented in any Mughal campaign.
* Temple/religious violence: Aurangzeb did order some temple demolitions and reinstated the jizya taxen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=Aurangzeb%20ordered%20the%20desecration%20and,desecrated%20under%20Aurangzeb%27s%20rule%20is|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>, but Eaton finds only ~12 known temple-destruction casesen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=Authorities%20on%20pre,76|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref> (often for political reasons). The Hindu Marathas generally built and protected temples, and their wars were not directed by religious iconoclasm in the same way.

On equalized terms, the known Maratha campaigns appear at least as brutal (if not more so) per unit time and area as the Mughal record. The Mughal Empire’s greater area and centuries‑long rule meant its total victim count would naturally be larger, but no single Mughal war or decade produced carnage comparable to the Bargi ravages. Normalized comparisons thus challenge the simple view that “Mughals did far more atrocities.”  In documented cases, the Marathas’ violence per year per territory was extremely highen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>engelsbergideas.com<ref>{{cite web|title=engelsbergideas.com|url=https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/indias-war-on-the-mughal-empire/#:~:text=In%20reality%2C%20%E2%80%98Alamgir%20is%20not,record%20Sambhaji%E2%80%99s%20administrative%20mismanagement%2C%20his|publisher=engelsbergideas.com|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>.

Sources: Historical records of Mughal and Maratha rule, including modern scholarship. For instance, colonial‐era reports detail ~400,000 casualties under Maratha raids in Bengalen.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_invasions_of_Bengal#:~:text=Dutch%20East%20India%20Company%20,the%20affected%20districts%20and%20also|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>; by contrast Eaton and others note the Mughal period saw far fewer recorded massacresengelsbergideas.com<ref>{{cite web|title=engelsbergideas.com|url=https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/indias-war-on-the-mughal-empire/#:~:text=In%20reality%2C%20%E2%80%98Alamgir%20is%20not,record%20Sambhaji%E2%80%99s%20administrative%20mismanagement%2C%20his|publisher=engelsbergideas.com|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>en.wikipedia.org<ref>{{cite web|title=en.wikipedia.org|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus#:~:text=Authorities%20on%20pre,76|publisher=en.wikipedia.org|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>. These figures form the basis of the above normalized comparison.