Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 17 views

    Marathas

    Uploaded by

    yadijit499
    The Maratha Empire was an early modern Indian empire that controlled large portions of India in the 18th century. It began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the ruler of the Maratha people. Under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I in the 18th century, the Maratha Kingdom expanded into a full-fledged empire. The Marathas rose to prominence by revolting against the Mughal Empire and Adil Shahi dynasty, gaining control over much of central and northern India and contributing to the decline of the Mughal Empire. At its peak in 1758, the Maratha Empire stretched from modern Maharashtra to the Sutlej River, though it

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Marathas

    Uploaded by

    yadijit499
    17 views1 page
    The Maratha Empire was an early modern Indian empire that controlled large portions of India in the 18th century. It began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the ruler of the Maratha people. Under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I in the 18th century, the Maratha Kingdom expanded into a full-fledged empire. The Marathas rose to prominence by revolting against the Mughal Empire and Adil Shahi dynasty, gaining control over much of central and northern India and contributing to the decline of the Mughal Empire. At its peak in 1758, the Maratha Empire stretched from modern Maharashtra to the Sutlej River, though it

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The Maratha Empire was an early modern Indian empire that controlled large portions of India in the 18th century. It began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the ruler of the Maratha people. Under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I in the 18th century, the Maratha Kingdom expanded into a full-fledged empire. The Marathas rose to prominence by revolting against the Mughal Empire and Adil Shahi dynasty, gaining control over much of central and northern India and contributing to the decline of the Mughal Empire. At its peak in 1758, the Maratha Empire stretched from modern Maharashtra to the Sutlej River, though it

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    17 views1 page

    Marathas

    Uploaded by

    yadijit499
    The Maratha Empire was an early modern Indian empire that controlled large portions of India in the 18th century. It began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the ruler of the Maratha people. Under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I in the 18th century, the Maratha Kingdom expanded into a full-fledged empire. The Marathas rose to prominence by revolting against the Mughal Empire and Adil Shahi dynasty, gaining control over much of central and northern India and contributing to the decline of the Mughal Empire. At its peak in 1758, the Maratha Empire stretched from modern Maharashtra to the Sutlej River, though it

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    The Maratha Empire (/məˈrɑːtə/;[3] also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy) was an early

    modern Indian empire and later a confederation that controlled large portions of the Indian
    subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674[note 1] with the coronation
    of Shivaji of the Bhonsle dynasty as the Chhatrapati. Although Shivaji came from the Maratha
    caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators, and other nobles from the
    Maratha and several other castes from what is known today as Maharashtra.[5] The Maratha
    Kingdom was expanded into a full-fledged Empire in the 18th Century under the leadership of
    Peshwa Bajirao I.[note 2]
    The Marathas were a Marathi-speaking warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau (present-
    day Maharashtra) who rose to prominence by establishing Hindavi Swarajya (meaning "self-rule
    of Hindus").[8][9] The Marathas became prominent in the seventeenth century under the leadership
    of Shivaji, who revolted against the Adil Shahi dynasty and the Mughals to carve out a kingdom
    with Raigad as his capital. Marathas were one of the major causes of the decline of the Mughal
    Empire in the early eighteenth century.[10][11][12] The religious attitude of Mughal Emperor
    Aurangzeb estranged non-Muslims, and his inability to suppress the resulting Maratha
    insurgency after a 27-year war came at a great cost for his men and treasury and eventually
    ensured Maratha ascendency and their control over sizeable portions of former Mughal
    dominions in the north of the Indian subcontinent.[13][14]
    After the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Shivaji's grandson Shahu under the
    leadership of Peshwa Bajirao revived Maratha power and confided a great deal of authority to the
    Bhat family, who became hereditary peshwas (prime ministers). After his death in 1749, they
    became the effective rulers. The leading Maratha families—Sindhia, Holkar, Bhonsle, and
    Gaekwar—extended their conquests in northern and central India and became more
    independent and difficult to control. The Marathas rapid expansion was halted with the
    great defeat of Panipat in 1761, at the hands of the Afghans however within a decade
    they recovered most of their territories under their new Peshwa Madhavrao I but the death of this
    young peshwa in 1772 ended the effective control of the peshwas.[15][16][17] Thereafter the Maratha
    state was a confederacy of five chiefs under the nominal leadership of the Peshwa
    at Poona (now Pune) in western India. These leaders became known as
    the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore and Malwa, the Scindias of Gwalior and Ujjain,
    and the Bhonsles of Nagpur. Though they united on occasion, as against the East India
    Company (1775–1782), more often they quarreled. After he was defeated by the Holkar dynasty
    in 1802, the Peshwa Baji Rao II sought protection from the Company, whose intervention
    destroyed the confederacy by 1818 after the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars.[citation needed]
    The empire, at its peak in 1758, stretched for a brief time from modern-day Maharashtra[18] in the
    south to the Sutlej River in the north after their victory against the Afghans at the Battle of Delhi
    in 1757, to Orissa in the east[19] or about one-third of the subcontinent. However the Marathas
    lost Delhi in 1761 after their defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat but soon recovered it after
    achieving a decisive victory over the Pashtun-Rohillas of Rohilkhand in 1771.[20][21]
    A large portion of the Maratha empire was coastline, which had been secured by the
    potent Maratha Navy under commanders such as Kanhoji Angre. He successfully kept foreign
    naval ships at bay, particularly those of the Portuguese and British.[22] Securing the coastal areas
    and building land-based fortifications were crucial aspects of the Maratha's defensive strategy
    and regional military history.

    You might also like