Maratha Rule (1674–1818)

Maratha Rule was established by Shivaji Bhosale in western India in the 17th century. Shivaji’s father, Shahaji Bhosale and his grandfather, Maloji Bhosale acquired lands in return for service to the Deccan Sultanates. As a teenager, Shivaji, who was raised on his father’s jagir lands near Pune, began a series of campaigns, supported by local youth, to seize land and forts in the western ghats. Shivaji had himself crowned king in 1674 and adopted the honorific titles of Chhatrapati and Maharaj. Through his military campaigns, Shivaji challenged the Deccani Sultanates based in Bijapur and Ahmednagar; in declaring himself king, Shivaji challenged the authority of the Mughal regime. Though he died in 1680, the Maratha kingdom that he established remained in existence until 1818. After his death, while his descendants occupied the titular throne, power was consolidated in the office of Peshwa, located in Pune. The Peshwa was occupied by a hereditary line of Chitpavan Brahmins, who expanded the reach of the Maratha empire and retained control of large sections of western and central India in the face of expanding British colonial power. The Marathas finally succumbed to British power in 1818. The life and accomplishments of Shivaji, as well as the Peshwai that inherited his regime, have become important focal points in debates about caste, religion, and national identity in western India during the colonial and postcolonial periods.