The siege continued for five long years
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Answer:
Just two years after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj died, Aurangzeb himself arrived in the Deccan. It had been his lifelong dream to extend the Mughal empire deep into the south, by finishing off the kingdoms of the Deccan.
Aurangzeb’s army had over five lakh soldiers and his military camp looked like a small city. In contrast, the Marathas would field their largest army nearly a century later – and it would still be just a third of the Mughal army which had descended on the Sahyadris. So, Aurangzeb believed it would be short work and hence decided to begin his campaign by attacking a not so large fort called Ramsej. After all, his father – Shah Jahan – had also begun his Deccan campaign by attacking Ramsej Fort. The forts in the Nashik – Baglan region had then fallen like ninepins and before long the Mughal sway had extended to Kalyan. An entire dynasty – the Nizamshahi – had disappeared in the fray. Aurangzeb perhaps believed the fort was a lucky talisman for the Timurids. There were some practical reasons: the fort guarded important trade routes; it was just seven miles from Nashik and about 3,000 feet from sea level, it was a good thousand feet less than the famous forts of Rajgad and Torna. What’s more, it was nearly half the height of the tallest hill fort – Salher, which is close by. An easy target thought Aurangzeb.