So before we look at the genesis, the waxing and waning of one of the great of empires that India has witnessed, we should place them in the context of modern Indian history.
Maratha empire dominated the period of modern indian history from middle of 17th century to the early 19th century. This was also the time period of rise of British, fall of great Mughals, Battle of plassey, third battle of Panipat and also the demise of kingdom of Mysore. ie fall of Tipu sultan. The Maratha kingdom Jawaharlal Nehru in discovery of India says was the only kingdom that could challenge the British other than Mughals and Mysore but this did not happen and with their demise in 1818 the British ascendancy or supremacy was unchallenged. Lets see how one of the greatest empires came into being and what were its strengths and weaknesses, the fascinating political and military stratagems that the empire witnessed and employed and how it finally fell prey to British conquest.
Maratha's were the military and landed aristocracy in the Bijapur empire that was annexed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It was here that the founder of this kingdom Shivaji Bhonsle claimed suzerainty- the region being western deccan area and the time being 1630. Since the kingdom of Bijapur was gone, shivaji claim as the chattrapati and the ruler of that area brought him into conflict with Aurangzeb. The Bijapur kingdom had already been annexed by the mughal king.
This story is somewhat like king A defeats King B and the latter concedes defeat but from the defeated kings regime rises one of the able military general's and proclaims that no we have not lost. Come again losers!!
So came Aurangzeb with all the might of the mughal empire, and mind you the mughal empire was at its helm during this time. Although the wars with Maratha kings would not yield any substantial ground for expansion to the mughal regime and would even cost them money and men but it would do little to affect the mughals. People often criticise Aurangzeb as being the nero of mughal empire.
See, although i respect the sentiments behind the statements but the fact of the matter is Aurangzheb left the empire larger in area than he had got from Shah jahan, his father. Moreover how else could he have dealt with the Maratha's that were challenging his supremacy in the deccan. If Aurangzheb is to be blamed it should be his policy of conflict with Rajputana rulers and his policy of religious intolerance etc. The actual decay of mughals began after the death of Aurangazheb when the succession of weak rulers came to have the kingship.
coming back to Shivaji and Aurangzheb. By 1660s Shivaji had expanded and made pune the capital city of Marathas. However in 1666 he was captured by Aurangzheb and tortured to death.
Now Shivaji had 2 sons. doesnot matter who. But both the sons died. What remained were their own sons. One was Shahu and the other was Shivaji -2 each from a different father. ( shivaji 2z mother was Tara Bai This is not the Tara Bai Shinde who wrote the Stri Purush Tulna during the socio religious reform movements of the 19th century). So these two grandsons of Shivaji were to fight for the throne of marathwada. And this minor battles outcome would have immense significance for both maratha kingdom and India. Lets see how
So Tara Bai who claimed her infant son Shivaji -ii to the throne supported by few of the nobel/military generals was brought into conflict with Shahu who had come back released from Aurangzhebs imprisonment. Now Shahu won the battle and went on to become the unquestioned head of the empire however he owed he victory in large measures to a man called Balaji Vishwanath. (Not the one on quora, but it should suffice to say that great men share similar traits and i guess similar names too)
Shahu made Balaji Vishawanath his Prime Minister (Not like our PM who claims he is the pradhan sewak). Now before we look into the formation of the confederacy we have to look at the administrative and structural aspects of the maratha empire.
So the Maratha state was a military state were power and military victory ruled the roost. Unlike in other kingdoms where a kings authority was often challenged by powerful nawabs and landlords, (such a Bengal Oudh Mysore) here it was the military generals that were the powerful lot. The military generals had their own area and army and used to independently declare war and peace. This was more like Mughal's Mansabdari system but on a more miniature scale.
However under the prudence of the wise Peshwa the military generals decided to remain united but with as much individual authority and autonomy as possible. So a confederacy was formed where
1.Bhonsle
2.Gaekwad
3.Holkar
4. Sindhia
accepted Shahu as their king and decided to rule their own provinces in his name. They were largely autonomous. The confederacy insured that in times of danger the powers shall unite together to ward of the enemy. (Much like NATOs article 5). Such a fine arrangement based on the principle of unity in diversity, decentralisation and not to mention sabbe bhavantu shukhina.(all remain happy)
And later we shall see that the maratha empire was not defeated in one go ie confederacy VS east india company rather individually breaking their unity.
So the Maratha kingdom flourished and prospered and the able peshwas continued to guide the kingdom and the confederacy. The decline of the Mughal Empire following the 27-year Mughal-Maratha war (1680–1707) had led to rapid territorial gains for the Maratha Empire. Under Peshwa Baji Rao, Gujarat, Malwa and Rajputana came under Maratha control. Finally, in 1737, Baji Rao defeated the Mughals on the outskirts of Delhi, and brought much of the former Mughal territories south of Delhi under Maratha control. Baji Rao's son, Balaji Baji Rao (popularly known as Nana Saheb), further increased the territory under Maratha control by invading Punjab in 1758. This brought the Marathas into direct confrontation with the Durrani empire of Ahmad Shah Abdali. So before we go on to the Third battle of Panipath 1761. Have a look at the extent of Maratha empire
In 1757 - it is like the most pivotal year in the whole history of modern India. India lost from both east and west and both times to a different foreign power. In the east it was the British that conquered Bengal in the Battle of Plassey. In the west it was Ahmed Shah Abdali that conquered Punjab and kashmir from the mughal empire.
Now the Marathas having conquered Delhi, malwa, rajputana etc invaded Punjab in 1758 and that brought them into direct conflict with the durrani empire in 1761.
So that was that. Having lost the the third battle of Panipath in 1761 to ahmed shah abdhali the maratha fortune would now begin to wane. It is said that the support of Shuja ud daulah (the same guy who would later fight the pivotal battle of Buxar 1764) won the Abdhali guy his victory. Shuja supported Afghans for he believed in the army of Islam (More like the fiyadeens/ mjahideens of today) Moreover Marathas got no support or what so ever from their allies such as Rajputs jats and sikhs. Now the peshwa died of heart attack and one of his sons died in the battle. It is said that it was one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th century and almost every family in maratha region lost one or two male members.
( This also happened during the english civil war as aptly described by Scarlett ohara in Gone with the wind. The thing is in such battles men are gone and as a result women are forced out into the open - marriage to a man becomes a much sought after affair due to the latters dearth - the whole institution of family is kind of toppled and consequently the society too becomes very very different)
Anyways, Madhorao , the next peshwa somewhat seemed to have revived the maratha empire, but this was marginal. Now after this peshwa the fortunes of maratha empire will begin to sway. After Madavrao died his brother became the peshwa. However this was challenged by his uncle Raghunath Rao who wanted the coveted rank for himself. But this did not happen as the coterie of officials around the peshwa Narayanrao b/o Madhavrao supported him and not his uncle. Nana phadnavis one of the most popular officers of the day and also in contemporary times too supported the same.
FIRST ANGLO MARATHA WAR 1775-1782
Now a a rather dramatic tale over the fight for throne ensues. The uncle Raghunath rao, although not successful in becoming the peshwa was able to have the reigning peshwa killed ie Narayan rao was killed sadly. But the political vacuum as anticipated by the former did not arise, for the deceased peshwa had left a heir in the womb of his wife. So Raghunath rao's planning and conspiracy were foiled even after narayan raos death and his posthumous son was made the king. Damn!!
If the first anglo maratha war was a testimony to the maratha unity, the second one was symptomatic of their disintegration and fragmentation. Some peshwa Baji rao 2 tried to play of one member of the cofederacy against the other. In this attempt he got killed the brother of Holkar king. This made Holkar an arch enemy of the peshwa who swore on peshwas life. The sindhia and bhonsle too did not say anything.
Therefore in an attempt to save his life, the reigning cowardly peshwa took british help and signed subsidiary alliance with the british raj. Now this infuriated the sindhia's and the Bhonsles and they
Maratha empire dominated the period of modern indian history from middle of 17th century to the early 19th century. This was also the time period of rise of British, fall of great Mughals, Battle of plassey, third battle of Panipat and also the demise of kingdom of Mysore. ie fall of Tipu sultan. The Maratha kingdom Jawaharlal Nehru in discovery of India says was the only kingdom that could challenge the British other than Mughals and Mysore but this did not happen and with their demise in 1818 the British ascendancy or supremacy was unchallenged. Lets see how one of the greatest empires came into being and what were its strengths and weaknesses, the fascinating political and military stratagems that the empire witnessed and employed and how it finally fell prey to British conquest.
Maratha's were the military and landed aristocracy in the Bijapur empire that was annexed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It was here that the founder of this kingdom Shivaji Bhonsle claimed suzerainty- the region being western deccan area and the time being 1630. Since the kingdom of Bijapur was gone, shivaji claim as the chattrapati and the ruler of that area brought him into conflict with Aurangzeb. The Bijapur kingdom had already been annexed by the mughal king.
This story is somewhat like king A defeats King B and the latter concedes defeat but from the defeated kings regime rises one of the able military general's and proclaims that no we have not lost. Come again losers!!
So came Aurangzeb with all the might of the mughal empire, and mind you the mughal empire was at its helm during this time. Although the wars with Maratha kings would not yield any substantial ground for expansion to the mughal regime and would even cost them money and men but it would do little to affect the mughals. People often criticise Aurangzeb as being the nero of mughal empire.
See, although i respect the sentiments behind the statements but the fact of the matter is Aurangzheb left the empire larger in area than he had got from Shah jahan, his father. Moreover how else could he have dealt with the Maratha's that were challenging his supremacy in the deccan. If Aurangzheb is to be blamed it should be his policy of conflict with Rajputana rulers and his policy of religious intolerance etc. The actual decay of mughals began after the death of Aurangazheb when the succession of weak rulers came to have the kingship.
coming back to Shivaji and Aurangzheb. By 1660s Shivaji had expanded and made pune the capital city of Marathas. However in 1666 he was captured by Aurangzheb and tortured to death.
Now Shivaji had 2 sons. doesnot matter who. But both the sons died. What remained were their own sons. One was Shahu and the other was Shivaji -2 each from a different father. ( shivaji 2z mother was Tara Bai This is not the Tara Bai Shinde who wrote the Stri Purush Tulna during the socio religious reform movements of the 19th century). So these two grandsons of Shivaji were to fight for the throne of marathwada. And this minor battles outcome would have immense significance for both maratha kingdom and India. Lets see how
So Tara Bai who claimed her infant son Shivaji -ii to the throne supported by few of the nobel/military generals was brought into conflict with Shahu who had come back released from Aurangzhebs imprisonment. Now Shahu won the battle and went on to become the unquestioned head of the empire however he owed he victory in large measures to a man called Balaji Vishwanath. (Not the one on quora, but it should suffice to say that great men share similar traits and i guess similar names too)
Shahu made Balaji Vishawanath his Prime Minister (Not like our PM who claims he is the pradhan sewak). Now before we look into the formation of the confederacy we have to look at the administrative and structural aspects of the maratha empire.
So the Maratha state was a military state were power and military victory ruled the roost. Unlike in other kingdoms where a kings authority was often challenged by powerful nawabs and landlords, (such a Bengal Oudh Mysore) here it was the military generals that were the powerful lot. The military generals had their own area and army and used to independently declare war and peace. This was more like Mughal's Mansabdari system but on a more miniature scale.
However under the prudence of the wise Peshwa the military generals decided to remain united but with as much individual authority and autonomy as possible. So a confederacy was formed where
1.Bhonsle
2.Gaekwad
3.Holkar
4. Sindhia
accepted Shahu as their king and decided to rule their own provinces in his name. They were largely autonomous. The confederacy insured that in times of danger the powers shall unite together to ward of the enemy. (Much like NATOs article 5). Such a fine arrangement based on the principle of unity in diversity, decentralisation and not to mention sabbe bhavantu shukhina.(all remain happy)
And later we shall see that the maratha empire was not defeated in one go ie confederacy VS east india company rather individually breaking their unity.
So the Maratha kingdom flourished and prospered and the able peshwas continued to guide the kingdom and the confederacy. The decline of the Mughal Empire following the 27-year Mughal-Maratha war (1680–1707) had led to rapid territorial gains for the Maratha Empire. Under Peshwa Baji Rao, Gujarat, Malwa and Rajputana came under Maratha control. Finally, in 1737, Baji Rao defeated the Mughals on the outskirts of Delhi, and brought much of the former Mughal territories south of Delhi under Maratha control. Baji Rao's son, Balaji Baji Rao (popularly known as Nana Saheb), further increased the territory under Maratha control by invading Punjab in 1758. This brought the Marathas into direct confrontation with the Durrani empire of Ahmad Shah Abdali. So before we go on to the Third battle of Panipath 1761. Have a look at the extent of Maratha empire
In 1757 - it is like the most pivotal year in the whole history of modern India. India lost from both east and west and both times to a different foreign power. In the east it was the British that conquered Bengal in the Battle of Plassey. In the west it was Ahmed Shah Abdali that conquered Punjab and kashmir from the mughal empire.
Now the Marathas having conquered Delhi, malwa, rajputana etc invaded Punjab in 1758 and that brought them into direct conflict with the durrani empire in 1761.
So that was that. Having lost the the third battle of Panipath in 1761 to ahmed shah abdhali the maratha fortune would now begin to wane. It is said that the support of Shuja ud daulah (the same guy who would later fight the pivotal battle of Buxar 1764) won the Abdhali guy his victory. Shuja supported Afghans for he believed in the army of Islam (More like the fiyadeens/ mjahideens of today) Moreover Marathas got no support or what so ever from their allies such as Rajputs jats and sikhs. Now the peshwa died of heart attack and one of his sons died in the battle. It is said that it was one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th century and almost every family in maratha region lost one or two male members.
( This also happened during the english civil war as aptly described by Scarlett ohara in Gone with the wind. The thing is in such battles men are gone and as a result women are forced out into the open - marriage to a man becomes a much sought after affair due to the latters dearth - the whole institution of family is kind of toppled and consequently the society too becomes very very different)
Anyways, Madhorao , the next peshwa somewhat seemed to have revived the maratha empire, but this was marginal. Now after this peshwa the fortunes of maratha empire will begin to sway. After Madavrao died his brother became the peshwa. However this was challenged by his uncle Raghunath Rao who wanted the coveted rank for himself. But this did not happen as the coterie of officials around the peshwa Narayanrao b/o Madhavrao supported him and not his uncle. Nana phadnavis one of the most popular officers of the day and also in contemporary times too supported the same.
FIRST ANGLO MARATHA WAR 1775-1782
Now a a rather dramatic tale over the fight for throne ensues. The uncle Raghunath rao, although not successful in becoming the peshwa was able to have the reigning peshwa killed ie Narayan rao was killed sadly. But the political vacuum as anticipated by the former did not arise, for the deceased peshwa had left a heir in the womb of his wife. So Raghunath rao's planning and conspiracy were foiled even after narayan raos death and his posthumous son was made the king. Damn!!
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.
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 first anglo maratha war happened between the British and the maratha confederacy from 1775 to 1782. However none of the parties emerged victorious. The war ended in status quo.
SECOND ANGLO MARATHA WAR 1803-1805
If the first anglo maratha war was a testimony to the maratha unity, the second one was symptomatic of their disintegration and fragmentation. Some peshwa Baji rao 2 tried to play of one member of the cofederacy against the other. In this attempt he got killed the brother of Holkar king. This made Holkar an arch enemy of the peshwa who swore on peshwas life. The sindhia and bhonsle too did not say anything.
Therefore in an attempt to save his life, the reigning cowardly peshwa took british help and signed subsidiary alliance with the british raj. Now this infuriated the sindhia's and the Bhonsles and they
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