Medieval and early modern periods 1206
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Preceded by Shivaji Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire 1680
– 1689
Succeeded by Rajaram
Rajaram and Tarabai Early life He was brought up by his mother Soyarabai. He was declared Chhatrapati at the age of 10 (on 21 April 1680) by a faction of the Maratha Courtiers after Shivaji's death. However, Sambhaji prevailed and assumed the throne. Coronation and escape to Jinji After the death of Sambhaji, Rajaram was crowned at Raigad on 12 March 1689. As the Mughals started laying siege to the region around Raigad on 25 March 1689, the widow of Sambhaji, Maharani Yesubai and her minister Ramchandra Pant Amatya sent young Rajaram to the stronghold of Pratapgad through Kavlya ghat. The Maratha army fought with the Mughals and led the new Maratha king, Rajaram to escape through Kavlya ghat to the fort of Jinji in present day state of Tamil Nadu via Pratapgad and Vishalgad forts, Rajaram reached Keladi in disguise and sought refuge from Keladi Chennamma - The brave queen fought the Mughals and ensured safe passage and escape of Rajaram to Jinji, Keladi Chennamma fought the jungle warfare which frustrated the Mughals and the Mughals proposed peace accord for the first time with an Indian ruler, Keladi Chennamma ensured safe travel of Rajaram to jingi by fighting the mughals where he reached after a month and a half long journey on 1 November 1689. Details of this escape are known from the incomplete poetical biography of Rajaram, the Rajaramacharita written by his Rajpurohit, Keshav Pandit, in Sanskrit.
Aurangzeb deputed Ghazi-ud-din Firoze Jung against the Marathas in the Deccan, and specially sent Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung to capture the Jingi Fort. He laid siege to it in September, 1690. After three failed attempts, it was finally captured after seven years on 8 January 1698. Rajaram, however, escaped and fled first to Vellore and later to Vishalgarh. Rajaram tried to counter with a siege of the town of Berar, but was checked by Prince Bedarbakht and Zulfiqar Khan had to return.
Rajaram occupied the fort at Jinji from 11 Nov. 1689, but left before it fell in 1698, setting up his court at fort Satara. During that period when Jinji remained unconquered, "the intrepid Maratha commanders, Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav, wrought 216 | P a g e
havoc in the Karnataka and Maharashtra by defeating the Mughal generals and cutting off their lines of communication." Santaji Ghorpade whose father Senapati Maloji Ghorpade died in the battle of Sangameshwar along with Sambhaji, was directed by Sambhaji to Raigad to rescue the queen and Rajaram. He secured the release of Rajaram from the siege of Raigad. At this stage, the Marathas were nearly defeated. But Santaji managed to ford the River Bhima despite floods, and attacked the Mughal camp. Aurangzeb, however, survived. Santaji is credited with the defeat of at least three major Mughal chiefs. One Mughal general Kasim Khan was driven to suicide. Later, however, he fell out with Rajaram and Dhanaji Jadhav. He was killed while taking a bath by Nagoji Mane. The severed head of Santaji was presented to Aurangzeb for a reward. Death Rajaram died of an unspecified illness in 1700 at Sinhagad near Pune in Maharashtra. Thereafter the Maratha empire suffered a power vacuum until the release of his nephew, Shahuji in 1707. In the interim, Rajaram's wife, Tarabai ruled the empire as regent for her young son, Shivaji II. Eventually, Shahuji succeeded Rajaram as the fourth Chattrapati in 1708. Shahu After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Shahuji, son of Sambhaji (and grandson of Shivaji), was released by Bahadur Shah I, the new Mughal emperor but his mother was kept a hostage of the Mughals in order to ensure that Shahuji adhered to the release conditions. Upon release, Shahu 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. However, Shahu was finally accepted as Chhatrapati of the Marathas. His mother was still held captive and he could only obtain her release in 1719 when the Marathas became strong enough. Shahu appointed the Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath as peshwa. During regime of Shahu, Raghuji Bhosale expanded the empire in East reaching present-day Bengal. Senapati Dabhade expanded in West. Peshwa Bajirao and his three chiefs Pawar(Dhar), Holkar (Indore) and Scindia (Gwalior) expanded in North. All these houses became hereditary, thereby eventually undermining the Chhatrapati's authority there.
During this era, Peshwas belonging to the (Bhat) Chitpavan family controlled the Maratha army and later became de facto ruler of the Maratha Empire. During their rein,
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the Maratha empire reached its zenith ruling most of the Indian subcontinent. They oversaw the greatest expansion of the Maratha Empire around 1760 with the help of Sardars like Holkar, Scindia, Bhosale (Nagpur), Gaekwad and Puars. Other petty Generals such as Pantpratinidhi, Panse, Vinchurkar, Pethe, Raste, Phadke, Patwardhan, Pawar, Pandit, Purandare and Mehendale also played important part in the expansion. The areas controlled by the Peshwa were annexed by the British East India Company in 1818. Balaji Vishwanath Shahu appointed the Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath in 1713. From his time, the office of Peshwa became supreme while Shahuji became a figure head. His first major achievement was the conclusion of the Treaty of Lanavala in 1714 with Kanhoji Angre, the most powerful naval chief on the Western Coast. He later joined the Marathas. In 1719, an army of Marathas marched up to Delhi along with Sayyid Hussain Ali, the Mughal governor of Dekkan and managed to depose the Mughal emperor. Thus, Marathas realized for the first time their potential to "make and unmake" Mughal Emperors.
After Balaji Vishwanath's death in April 1720, his son, Baji Rao I, was appointed Peshwa by Shahu.Baji Rao is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire, especially in the north. He fought over 41 battles before his death in 1740 and is reputed to have never lost one. The Battle of Palkhed was a land battle that took place on 28 February 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.The battle is considered an example of brilliant execution of military strategy. In 1737, Marathas under Bajirao I raided the suburbs of Delhi in a blitzkrieg in the Battle of Delhi (1737). The Nizam left Deccan to rescue Mughals from the invasion of Marathas, but was defeated decisively in the Battle of Bhopal. The Marathas extracted large tributaries from Mughals and signed a treaty which ceded Malwa to the Marathas. The Battle of Vasai was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a village lying near Bombay in the present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Baji Rao. Maratha victory in this war was a major achievement of Baji Rao's time in office.
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Baji Rao's son, Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb), was appointed as the next Peshwa by Shahuji despite opposition of other chiefs In 1740, the Maratha forces came down upon Arcot and defeated the Nawab of Arcot, Dost Ali, in the pass at Damalcherry. In the war that followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali, and a number of other prominent persons lost their lives. This initial success at once enhanced Maratha prestige in the south. From Damalcherry, the Marathas proceeded to Arcot, which surrendered to them without much resistance. Then, Raghuji invaded Trichinopoly in December 1740. Unable to resist, Chanda Saheb surrendered the fort to Raghuji on 14 March 1741. Chanda Saheb and his son were arrested and sent to Nagpur. After the successful campaign of Karnatak and the Battle of Trichinopolly, Raghuji returned from Karnatak. He undertook six expeditions in Bengal from 1741 to 1748. Raghuji was able to annex Odisha to his kingdom permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha after the death of their Governor, Murshid Quli Khan, in 1727. Constantly harassed by the Bhonsles, Odisha or Cuttack, Bengal and parts of Bihar were economically ruined. Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding in perpetuity Cuttack up to the river Subarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs.1.2 million annually in lieu of the Chauth of Bengal and Bihar. Rajputana also came under Maratha domination during this time. Balaji Bajirao 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. Delhi was captured by Maratha army under Raghunath Rao in August 1757 defeating Afghan garrison in the Battle of Delhi. This laid the foundation for the Maratha conquest of North-west India. In Lahore, as in Delhi, the Marathas were now major players. After Battle of Attock, 1758, the Marathas captured Peshawar defeating the Afghan troops in the Battle of Peshawar on 8 May 1758. In 1759, The Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau (referred to as the Bhau or Bhao in sources) responded to the news of the Afghans' return to North India by sending a big army to North. Bhau's force was bolstered by some Maratha forces under Holkar, Scindia, Gaikwad and Govind Pant Bundele. The combined army of over 100,000 regular troops had re-captured the former Mughal capital, Delhi, from an Afghan garrison in August 1760. Delhi had been reduced to ashes many times due to previous invasions, and in addition there being acute shortage of supplies in the Maratha camp. Bhau ordered the sacking of the already depopulated city. He is said to have planned to place his nephew and the Peshwa's son, Vishwasrao, on the Mughal throne. By 1760, with defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith with a territory of over 2,800,000 km² acres. Maratha Armour from Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia.
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Ahmad Shah Durrani, then called Rohillas and Nawab of Oudh to assist him in driving out 'infidel' Marathas from Delhi. Huge armies of Muslim forces and Marathas collided with each other on 14 January 1761 in the Third Battle of Panipat. The Maratha army lost the battle which halted imperial expansion. The Jats and Rajputs did not support the Marathas. Their withdrawal from the ensuing battle played a crucial role in its result. Hindutva-sympathisising historians have criticised the Maratha treatment of fellow Hindu groups. Kaushik Roy says "The treatment of Marathas with their co-religionist fellows – Jats and Rajputs was definitely unfair, and ultimately they had to pay its price in Panipat where Muslim forces had united in the name of religion." 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 Maratha general Sadashivrao Bhau did not heed the advice to leave soldier's families (women and children) and pilgrims at Agra and not take them to the battle field with the soldiers, rejected their cooperation. Their supply chains (earlier assured by Raja Suraj Mal and Rajputs) did not exist. Peshwa Madhav Rao I He worked as a unifying force in the Maratha Empire. He personally moved to the south to subdue Nizam and Mysore to assert Maratha power in the South. To North, he sent his generals like Bhonsle, Scindia, Holkar etc. who re- established Maratha authority there by the early 1770s. Prof G.S.Chhabra wrote: Young though he was, Madhav Rao had a cool and calculating head of a seasoned and experienced man. The diplomacy by which he could win over his uncle Raghoba when he had no strength to fight, and the way he could crush his power when he had the means to do so later on proved in him a genius who knows when and how to act. The formidable power of the Nizam was crushed, Hyder Ali who was a terror even to the british was effectually humbled, and before he died in 1772, the Marathas were almost there in the north where they had been before Panipat. What could not have the Marathas achieved if Madhav had continued living just for a few years more? Destiny was not in favour of the Marathas, the death of Madhav was a greater blow than their defeat of Panipat, and from this blow they could never again recover. Assessing the impact of the loss of Madhavrao, British historian James Grant Duff wrote "And the plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Empire than the early end of this excellent prince..." 220 | P a g e
His death is considered to be the most fatal blow to the Maratha Empire and from that time Maratha power started to move on a downward trajectory with working as a confederacy than an empire. He died at the age of 27 in 1772. Confederacy era In a bid to effectively manage the large empire, Madhavrao Peshwa gave semi- autonomy to the strongest of the knights. After the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I, various chiefs and statesman became de facto rulers and the Peshwa was relegated to a secondary position and became the ceremonial king. Thus, the semi-autonomous Maratha states came into being in far-flung regions of the empire : Peshwas of Pune Gaekwads of Baroda Holkars of Indore Scindias of Gwalior (Chambal region) and Ujjain (Malwa Region). Bhonsales of Nagpur (no blood relation with Shivaji's or Tarabai's family) Puars (or Pawars) of Dewas & Dhar 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, Phaltan, Miraj etc. Pawars of Udgir were also part of confederacy. After the Battle of Panipat, Malhar Rao Holkar attacked the Rajputs and defeated them at the battle of Mangrol. This largely restored Maratha power in Rajasthan. Under the leadership of Mahadji Shinde, the ruler of the state of Gwalior in central India, the Marathas defeated the Jats, the Rohilla Afghans and took Delhi which remained basically under Maratha control for the next three decades. His forces conquered modern day Haryana and he also humbled many Sikh Sardars in Punjab and made them pay tributes to him. Shinde was instrumental in resurrecting Maratha power after the débâcle of the Third Battle of Panipat, and in this he was assisted by Benoît de Boigne. In 1767 Madhavrao I crossed the Krishna River and inflicted defeats on Hyder Ali in the battles of Sira and Madgiri. He also rescued the last queen of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom, who had bene kept in confinement by Hyder Ali in the fort of Madgiri. In early 1771, ten years after the collapse of Maratha authority over North India following the Third Battle of Panipat, Mahadji recaptured Delhi and installed Shah Alam II as a puppet ruler on the Mughal throne. receiving in return the title of deputy Vakil-ul-Mutlak or vice-regent of the Empire and that of Vakil-ul-Mutlak being at his request conferred on the Peshwa. The Mughals also gave him the title of Amir-ul-Amara (head of the amirs). Mahadji ruled the Punjab as it used to be a Mughal territory and Sikh sardars and other Rajas of the cis-Sutlej region paid tributes to him. After taking control of Delhi, the Marathas sent a large army in 1772 to "punish" Afghan Rohillas for their involvement in Panipat. Their army devastated 221 | P a g e
Rohilkhand by looting and plundering, as well as taking members of the royal family as captives. After the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji. So he sent his army conquer the states such as Bhopal, Datiya, Chanderi, Narwar, Salbai and Gohad. However, he launched an unsuccessful expedition against the Raja of Jaipur, but withdrew after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot in 1787. The Battle of Gajendragad was fought between the Marathas under the command of Tukojirao Holkar (the adopted son of Malharrao Holkar) and Tipu Sultan from March 1786 to March 1787 in which Tipu Sultan was defeated by the Marathas. By the victory in this battle, the border of the Maratha territory extended till Tungabhadra river. The strong fort of Gwalior was then in the hands of Chhatar Singh, the Jat ruler of Gohad. In 1783, Mahadji besieged the fort of Gwalior and conquered it. He delegated the administration of Gwalior to Khanderao Hari Bhalerao. After celebrating the conquest of Gwalior, Mahadji Shinde turned his attention to Delhi again.
In 1788 Mahadji's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted the Marathas. The Rohilla chief Ghulam Kadir, Ismail Beg's ally, took over Delhi, capital of the Mughal dynasty, and deposed and blinded the king Shah Alam II, placing a puppet on the Delhi throne. Mahadji intervened and killed him, taking possession of Delhi on 2 October, restoring Shah Alam II to the throne and acting as his protector. Jaipur and Jodhpur, the two most powerful Rajput sates, were still out of direct Maratha domination. So, Mahadji sent his general Benoît de Boigne to crush the forces of Jaipur and Jodhpur at the Battle of Patan. Marwar was also captured on 10 September 1790. Another achievement of the Marathas was their victories over the Nizam of Hyderabad's armies including in the Battle of Kharda. British intervention Background After the death of Madhavrao Peshwa in 1772, his brother Narayanrao became Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. However, Raghunathrao, Narayanrao's uncle, had his nephew assassinated in a palace conspiracy that resulted in Raghunathrao becoming Peshwa, although he was not the legal heir. Narayanrao's widow, Gangabai, gave birth to a posthumous son, who was legal heir to the throne. The newborn infant was named 'Sawai' Madhavrao (Sawai means "One and a Quarter"). Twelve Maratha chiefs, led by Nana Phadnavis directed an effort to name the infant as the new Peshwa and rule under him as regents.
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Raghunathrao, unwilling to give up his position of power, sought help from the British at Bombay and signed the Treaty of Surat on 6 March 1775. According to the treaty, Raghunathrao ceded the territories of Salsette and Bassein to the British, along with part of the revenues from Surat and Bharuch districts. In return, the British promised to provide Raghunathrao with 2,500 soldiers. The British Calcutta Council condemned the Treaty of Surat, sending Colonel Upton to Pune to annul it and make a new treaty with the regency. The Treaty of Purandhar (1 March 1776) annulled that of Surat, Raghunathrao was pensioned and his cause abandoned, but the revenues of Salsette and Broach districts were retained by the British. The Bombay government rejected this new treaty and gave refuge to Raghunathrao. In 1777 Nana Phadnavis violated the treaty with the Calcutta Council by granting the French a port on the west coast. The British replied by sending a force towards Pune. The tangle was increased by the support of the London authorities for Bombay, which in 1778 – 79 again supported Raghunathrao. Peace was finally restored in 1782. The British occupied Salsette Island, Thana Fort, Fort Versova, and the island fort of Karanja in 1774.
British troops under the command of Colonel Keating left Surat on March 15, 1775 for Pune. But they were checked by Haripant Phadke at Adas and were totally defeated on May 18, 1775. Casualties for Keating's force, accompanied by Raghunathrao, included 96 killed. The Marathas casualties in the Battle of Adas (Gujarat) included 150 killed. Warren Hastings estimated that direct actions against Pune would be detrimental. Therefore, the Supreme Council of Bengal condemned the Treaty of Surat, sending Colonel Upton to Pune to annul it and make a new treaty with the regency. An agreement between Upton and the ministers of Pune called Treaty of Purandar was signed on March 1, 1776. The Treaty of Purandhar (1 March 1776) annulled that of Surat, Raghunath Rao was pensioned and his cause abandoned, but the revenues of Salsette and Broach districts were retained by the British. Wadgaon Following a treaty between France and the Poona Government in 1776, the Bombay Government decided to invade and reinstate Raghoba. They sent a force under Col. Egerton reached Khopoli and made its way through the Western Ghats at Bhor Ghat and onwards toward Karla, which was reached on 4 Jan. 1779 while under Maratha attacks. Finally the British were forced to retreat back to Wadgaon, but were |
