By March 1775, the leadership situation at Poona, the Maratha capital, had stabilised, and the Marathas joined an alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad to oppose Hyder. The Maratha army was routed by one of Hyder's Generals in 1776, and Hyder either bribed or sufficiently threatened the Nizam's military leaders so that they withdrew from the campaign. This only temporarily halted the conflict, which was fought with renewed vigor until 1779. Hyder successfully extended his domain to the Krishna River after a lengthy siege of Dharwad. In a controversial action, Hyder in 1779, dealt harshly with Madakari Nayaka, the ruler of Chitradurga. Madakari had supported Hyder in earlier conflicts, but in 1777 had changed allegiance to the Marathas. After seizing Chitradurga, Hyder sent Madakari Nayaka to Seringapatam as a prisoner, where he died. Hyder further sent 20,000 of Madakari's followers to Seringapatam, where the boys among them were allegedly forcibly converted to Islam and formed into so-called "chela" battalions in the Mysorean army.