Third Battle of Panipat, 1761: In Northern India, the predominantly Muslim Afghani Durrani Empire beats the mostly Hindu Maratha Empire in one of the century's major wars.
On 14 January 1761, a northern invading army of the Maratha Empire and the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani, with two Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Oudh—fought at Panipat, roughly 60 miles north of Delhi. The fight is regarded as one of the largest fought in the 18th century, with the most casualties known in a single day in a typical formation combat between two armies. The fight halted future Maratha advances in the north and destabilised their territory for almost ten years. An estimated 60,000–70,000 people were slain in the combat, and around 40,000 Maratha captives were slaughtered as a result.
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