Sack of Delhi
1757 CE.
Shown on the map at 28.657°, 77.223°.
The sack of Delhi occurred from 28 January to 22 February 1757, carried out by the Durrani Empire under the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Durrani. Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire, experienced multiple invasions by the Afghans during the 18th century. The decline of the Mughal Empire began with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707. The Mughals faced numerous invasions from the Maratha Empire and internal conflicts over succession. The Mughals continued declining under Muhammad Shah, allowing adventurers such as Nader Shah to invade Mughal territories and sack Delhi. Following Nader Shah's death, his eastern domains were taken over by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who formed the Durrani Empire and centered his power base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. After three invasions by the Afghans, the Mughals lost numerous territories including Kashmir, Punjab, and Sindh. Invited to invade India in 1756, Ahmad Shah assembled his forces and overran the Punjab with an army of 80,000 men. After brushing aside light Maratha resistance, he reached Delhi on 28 January and soon forced the Mughal emperor Alamgir II to submit to him.
Text from the Wikipedia article Sack of Delhi (1757), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.