Maratha Empire

Native name	मराठा साम्राज्य Maratha Samrajya
Conventional long name	Maratha Confederacy
Common name	Maratha Empire
Continent	Asia
Region	South Asia
Status	Confederation
Year start	1674
Year end	1820
Date start	June 06
Date end	September 21
Event start	Established
Event end	Ended
P1	Mughal Empire
Flag p1	Flag of the Mughal Empire.svg
S1	British Raj
Flag s1	British Raj Red Ensign.svg
Flag	List of Indian flags#Historical
Image map caption	The Maratha Empire in 1760 in yellow.
Capital	Raigad, then later Pune
Religion	Hinduism
Common languages	Marathi
Government type	Monarchy
Title leader	Chattrapathi
Leader1	Shivaji
Year leader1	1674-1680
Leader2	Sambhaji
Year leader2	1681-1689
Leader3	Rajaram
Year leader3	1689–1700
Leader4	Tarabai
Year leader4	1700–1707
Leader5	Shahu
Year leader5	1707–1747
Leader6	Rajaram II
Year leader6	1747–1777
Title deputy	Peshwa
Stat year1	1700
Stat pop1	150000000
Stat area4	2800000
Currency	Hon, Rupee, Paisa, Mohor

The Maratha Empire ( Marāṭhā Sāmrājya; also transliterated Mahratta) or the Maratha Confederacy was located in the south west of present-day India. It existed from 1674 to 1818 and at its peak the empire's territories covered much of South Asia. The empire was founded and consolidated by Shivaji Bhosale. After the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb it expanded greatly under the rule of the Peshwas, the Prime Minister of the Maratha empire. In 1761, the Maratha army lost the Third Battle of Panipat which halted the expansion of the empire. Later, the empire was divided into a confederacy of Maratha states which eventually were lost to the British in the Anglo-Maratha wars by 1818.

A large portion of the empire was coastline and secured with a potent navy under commanders such as Kanhoji Angre. He was very successful in keeping foreign naval ships, particularly Portuguese and British, under check. Building and securing coastal as well as land based forts played an important role in Maratha's military history.

Brief history

After a lifetime of exploits and guerrilla warfare with Adilshah of Bijapur and Mughal King Aurangzeb, King Shivaji the Great founded an independent Maratha kingdom in 1674 with Raigad as its capital. Shivaji died in 1680, leaving a large, but vulnerably located kingdom. The Mughals invaded, fighting an unsuccessful War of 27 years from 1681 to 1707. Shahu, a grandson of Shivaji, ruled as emperor until 1749. During his reign, Shahu appointed a Peshwa (prime minister) as head of government under certain conditions. After the death of Shahu, the Peshwas became the de facto leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in Satara. Covering a large part of the subcontinent, the Maratha Empire kept the British forces at bay during the 18th century, until dissension between the Peshwas and their sardars (or army commanders) saw a gradual downfall of the empire

The Maratha Empire was at its height in the 18th century under Shahu and the Peshwa Baji Rao I. Losses at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 suspended further expansion of the empire in the North-west and reduced the power of the Peshwas. In 1761, after severe losses in the Panipat war, the Peshwas slowly started losing the control of the kingdom. Many military chiefs of the Maratha Empire like Shinde, Holkar, Gaikwad, PantPratinidhi, Bhosale of Nagpur, Pandit of Bhor, Patwardhan, and Newalkar started to work towards their ambition of becoming kings in their respective regions. However, under Madhavrao Peshwa, Maratha authority in North India was restored, 10 years after the battle of Panipat. After the death of Madhavrao, the empire gave way to a loose Confederacy, with political power resting in a 'pentarchy' of five mostly Maratha dynasties: the Peshwas of Pune; the Sindhias (originally "Shindes") of Malwa and Gwalior; the Holkars of Indore; the Bhonsles of Nagpur; and the Gaekwads of Baroda. A rivalry between the Sindhia and Holkar dominated the confederation's affairs into the early 19th century, as did the clashes with the British and the British East India Company in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars. In the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British in 1818. Most of the former Maratha Empire was absorbed by British India, although some of the Maratha states persisted as quasi-independent princely states until India became independent in 1947.

Chatrapati Shivaji

, founder of the Maratha Confederacy]] The Marathas had lived in the Desh region around Pune for a long time, in the western portion of the Deccan plateau, where the plateau meets the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. They had resisted incursions into the region by the Mughal rulers of northern India. Under their leader Shivaji Maharaj, the Marathas freed themselves from the Muslim sultans of Bijapur to the southeast under the leadership of Shivaji Maharaj., and became much more aggressive, frequently raiding Mughal territory and ransacking the Mughal port of Surat in 1664 and again in 1670.shivaji,s great deed like murder of afjalkhan, escape from panhala fort to vishaldad, escape from prison of agra give him great honor in all over india. In 1674 Shivaji proclaimed himself king taking the title (Chhatrapati). By Shivaji Maharaja's death in 1680, the Marathas had expanded their territory to include some parts of central India but later lost it to the Mughals and the British. According to Indian historian Tryambak Shankar Shejwalkar, Shivaji was inspired by the great Vijayanagara Empire, a bulwark against Muslim invasion of South India. The victories of the then king of Mysore, Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar against the Sultan of Bijapur also inspired Shivaji . According to the legend, Shivaji was the first king in India whose vision encompassed the dev (god), desh (country) and dharma (religion).

Chatrapati Sambhaji

Chatrapati Shivaji had two sons: Sambhaji and Rajaram. Sambhaji, the elder son, was very popular among the courtiers. He was a great warrior, great politician and a poet. In 1681, Sambhaji had himself crowned and resumed his father's expansionist policies. Sambhaji had earlier defeated the Portuguese and Chikka Deva Raya of Mysore. To nullify any Rajput-Maratha alliance, as well as all Deccan Sultanates, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb himself headed south in 1682. With his entire imperial court, administration, and an army of about 400,000 troops he proceeded to conquer the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda. During the eight years that followed, Sambhaji led the Marathas, never losing a battle or a fort to Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb had almost lost the campaign but for an event in early 1689. Sambhaji called his commanders for a strategic meeting at Sangameshwar to decide on the final onslaught on the Mughal forces. In a meticulously planned operation, Ganoji Shirke and Aurangzeb's commander, Mukarrab Khan attacked Sangameshwar when Sambhaji was accompanied by a few men. Sambhaji was ambushed and captured by Mughal troops on 1 Feb, 1689. He and his advisor, Kavi Kalash were taken to Bahadurgad. Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash were tortured to death on March 11, 1689.

Rajaram and Tarabai

Rajaram, Chattrapati Sambhaji's brother, now assumed the throne. Mughals laid siege to Raigad. Rajaram fled to Vishalgad and then to Jinji for safety. From there Marathas raided the Mughal territory and many forts were captured by Maratha commanders Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav. In 1697, Rajaram offered a truce but this was rejected by the emperor. Rajaram died in 1700 at Sinhagad. His widow, Tarabai, assumed control in the name of her son Ramaraja (Shivaji II). Then Tarabai heroically led the Marathas against the Mughals; by 1705, they had crossed the Narmada River and entered Malwa, then in Mughal possession.

Malwa was a decisive battle for the Maratha empire. The Mughals lost their eminent position on the Indian subcontinent forever and the subsequent Mughal Emperors became titular kings. The Marathas emerged victorious after a long drawn-out and fiercely fought battle. The soldiers and commanders who participated in this war achieved the real expansion of the Maratha empire. The victory also set the foundations for the imperial conquests achieved later, under the Peshwas.

Shahu

After Emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Shahuji, son of Sambhaji (and grandson of Shivaji), was released by Azam Shah, the next Mughal emperor, under conditions which rendered him a vassal of the Mughal emperor but his mother was still held captive to ensure good behaviour from Shahuji. He immediately claimed the Maratha throne and challenged his aunt Tarabai and her son. This promptly turned the now-spluttering Mughal-Maratha war into a three-cornered affair. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707, because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. By 1710 two separate principalities had become an established fact, eventually confirmed by the Treaty of Warna in 1731.

In 1713 Farrukhsiyar declared himself Mughal emperor. His bid for power depended heavily on two brothers, known as the Saiyids, one of whom was the governor of Allahabad and the other the governor of Patna. However, the brothers had a falling-out with the emperor. Negotiations between the Saiyids and Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, a civilian representative of Shahu, drew the Marathas into the vendetta against the emperor.

An army of Marathas commanded by Parsoji Bhosale, and Mughals, marched up to Delhi unopposed and managed to depose the emperor. In return for this help, Balaji Vishwanath managed to negotiate a substantial treaty. Shahuji would have to accept Mughal rule in the Deccan, furnish forces for the imperial army, and pay an annual tribute. But in return he received a firman, or imperial directive, guaranteeing him Swaraj, or independence, in the Maratha homeland, plus rights to chauth and sardeshmukh (amounting to 35 percent of the total revenue) throughout Gujarat, Malwa, and the now six provinces of the Mughal Deccan. This treaty also released Yesubai, Shahuji's mother, from Mughal prison. The same applied to the less prominent kings of Kerala. Chhatrapati Shahu did not rule the following states unofficially, namely Delhi, Agra, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir as the Mughuls were prominent in these areas.

Peshwas

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Bawdekar was a court administrator who rose from the ranks of a local Kulkarni to the ranks of Ashtapradhan under guidance and support of Shivaji. He was one of the prominent Peshwas from the time of Shivaji, prior to the rise of the later Peshwas who controlled the empire after Shahuji.

When Chhatrapati Rajaram fled to Jinji in 1689 leaving Maratha empire, he gave a "Hukumat Panha" (King Status) to Pant before leaving. Ramchandra Pant managed the entire state under many challenges like influx of Mughals, betrayal from Vatandars (local satraps under the Maratha kingdom) and social challenges like scarcity of food. With the help of Pantpratinidhi, Sachiv, he kept the economic condition of Maratha empire in an appropriate state. He received military help from the Maratha commanders - Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav. On many occasions he himself participated in battles against Mughals and played the role of shadow king in absence of Chhatrapati Rajaram.

In 1698, he happily stepped down from the post of "Hukumat Panha" when Rajaram offered this post to his wife, Tarabai. Tarabai gave an important position to Pant among senior administrators of Maratha State. He wrote "Adnyapatra" मराठी: आज्ञापञ in which he has explained different techniques of war, maintenance of forts and administration etc.

But owing to his loyalty to Tarabai against Shahuji (who was supported by more local satraps), he was sidelined after arrival of Shahuji in 1707.

Baji Rao I

After Balaji Vishwanath's death in April, 1719, his son, Baji Rao I was appointed as Peshwa by Chattrapati Shahuji, one of the most liberal emperors. Shahuji possessed a strong capacity for recognising talent, and actually caused a social revolution by bringing capable people into power irrespective of their social status. This was an indication of a great social mobility within the Maratha empire, enabling its rapid expansion.

Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhatt (August 18, 1699- April 25, 1740), also known as Baji Rao I, was a noted general who served as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu between 1719 until Baji Rao's death. He is also known as Thorala (Marathi for Elder) Baji Rao. Like his father, despite being a Brahmin, he took up leading his troops. During his lifetime, he never lost a battle. He is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire that reached its zenith twenty years after his death. Baji Rao is thus acknowledged as the most famous of the nine Peshwas.

Balaji Baji Rao

Baji Rao's son, Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb), was appointed as a Peshwa by Shahuji. The period between 1741 and 1745 was one of comparative calm in the Deccan. Shahuji died in 1749.

Nanasaheb encouraged agriculture, protected the villagers, and brought about a marked improvement in the state of the territory. Continued expansion saw Raghunath Rao, the brother of Nanasaheb, pushing into in the wake of the Afghan withdrawal after Ahmed Shah Abdali's plunder of Delhi in 1756. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith with a territory of over 250 million acres (1 million km²) or one-third of the Indian sub-continent.

Decline

Indian Muslim rulers that included Rohillas, Shuja-ud-daula, Najib-ud-daula. The Maratha army was decisively defeated on January 14, 1761 at the Third Battle of Panipat. The defeat at Paniput checked Maratha expansion towards Northwest and fragmented the empire. After the battle, the Maratha Confederacy never fought again as one unit.

The Marathas had antagonised the Jats and Rajputs by taxing them heavily, punishing them after defeating the Mughals and interfering in their internal affairs. The Marathas were abandoned by Raja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur and the Rajputs who quit the Maratha alliance at Agra before the start of the great battle and withdrew their troops, as the arrogant and over-confident Maratha general Sadashivrao Bhau did not heed the advice to leave soldiers' families (women and children) and pilgrims at Agra and not take them to the battle field with the soldiers, rejected their cooperation, insulted them and even tried to arrest them. Their supply chains (earlier assured by Raja Suraj Mal and Rajputs) did not exist, they lost the cooperation of the local populace) as a pensioner of the British. The Maratha heartland of Desh, including Pune, came under direct British rule, with the exception of the states of Kolhapur and Satara, which retained local Maratha rulers. The Maratha-ruled states of Gwalior, Indore, and Nagpur all lost territory, and came under subordinate alliance with the British

Maratha Confederacy

After 1761, young Madhavrao Peshwa tried his best to rebuild the empire in spite of his frail health and reinstated the Maratha authority over North India, 10 years after the battle of Panipat. In a bid to effectively manage the large empire, semi-autonomy was given to strongest of the knights. Thus, the autonomous Maratha states came into being in far flung regions of the empire:

the Peshwas of Poona

the Gaekwads of Baroda

the Holkars of Indore and Malwa

the Scindias (or Shindes) of Gwalior and Ujjain

Bhonsales of Nagpur (no blood relation with Shivaji's or Tarabai's family)

Even in the Maharashtra itself many knights were given semi-autonomous charges of small districts which led to princely states like Sangli, Aundh, Bhor, Bawda, Jat, Phaltan, Miraj etc. Pawars of Udgir were also part of confederacy.

In 1775 the British East India Company, from its base in Bombay, intervened in a succession struggle in Pune, on behalf of Raghunathrao (also called Raghobadada), which became the First Anglo-Maratha War. That ended in 1782 with a restoration of the pre-war status quo. In 1802 the British intervened in Baroda to support the heir to the throne against rival claimants, and they signed a treaty with the new Maharaja recognizing his independence from the Maratha empire in return for his acknowledgement of British paramountcy. In the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), the Peshwa Baji Rao II signed a similar treaty.

The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818), a last-ditch effort to regain sovereignty, resulted in the loss of Maratha independence: it left Britain in control of most of India. The Peshwa was exiled to Bithoor (near Kanpur, U.P.) as a pensioner of the British. The Maratha heartland of Desh, including Pune, came under direct British rule, with the exception of the states of Kolhapur and Satara, which retained local Maratha rulers. The Maratha-ruled states of Gwalior, Indore, and Nagpur all lost territory, and came under subordinate alliance with the British Raj as princely states that retained internal sovereignty under British 'paramountcy'. Other small princely states of Maratha knights were retained under the British Raj as well.

Rulers

and describes the Maratha Empire as the "Hindavi Swarajya", or the "Self-rule of those who are from the Hind"]] -->

Royal Houses

*Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630–1680)

Chhatrapati Sambhaji (1657–1689)

Chhatrapati Rajaram (1670–1700)

Queen Tarabai

Chhatrapati Shahu (alias Shivaji II, son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji)

Chhatrapati Ramaraja (nominally, grandson of Chhatrapati Rajaram and Queen Tarabai)

;Kolhapur:

Queen Tarabai (wife of Chhatrapati Rajaram) in the name of her son Shivaji II

Chhatrapati Sambhaji (son of Chhatrapati [Rajaram] from his second wife)

Chhatrapati Shahu IV

Peshwa & chieftains

Kanhoji Angre

Hambirrao Mohite

Tanaji Malusare

Sonopant Dabir (1640–1674)

Moropant Trimbak Pingle (1674–1683)

Moreshwar Pingale (1683–1689)

Ramchandra Pant Amatya (1689–1708)

Bahiroji Pingale (1708–1711)

See also

Battles involving the Maratha Empire

Thanjavur Marathas

Marathas and Marathi people

Maharashtra

Shaniwar Wada

List of British Indian Princely States

Maratha clan system

Military history of India

Notes

References

James Grant Duff - A History of the Mahrattas, 3 vols. London, Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green (1826) ISBN 8170209560

Bombay University - Maratha History - Seminar Volume

Ranade, Mahadev Govind, Rise of the Maratha Power (1900); reprint (1999) ISBN 8171171818

Samant, S. D. - Vedh Mahamanavacha

Kasar, D.B. - Rigveda to Raigarh making of Shivaji the great, Mumbai: Manudevi Prakashan (2005)

Apte, B.K. (editor) - Chhatrapati Shivaji: Coronation Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, Bombay: University of Bombay (1974–75)

Desai, Ranjeet - Shivaji the Great, Janata Raja (1968), Pune: Balwant Printers - English Translation of popular Marathi book.

Pagdi, Setu Madhavrao - Hindavi Swaraj Aani Moghul (1984), Girgaon Book Depot, Marathi book

Deshpande, S.R. - Marathyanchi Manaswini, Lalit Publications, Marathi book

Suryanath U. Kamath (2001). A Concise History of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002), OCLC: 7796041.

Charles Augustus Kincaid - History of the Maratha People Vol1 Vol2 Vol3

Category:1820 disestablishments Category:Empires and kingdoms of India Category:Historical Hindu empires Category:Maharashtra Category:Former countries in South Asia Category:States and territories established in 1674