Overview
The dominant Indian power of the 18th century. Founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (r. 1674-1680), who carved out a Maratha kingdom from Bijapur and Mughal territory in the Deccan. After Aurangzeb's protracted Deccan Wars (1681-1707), the Maratha Confederacy expanded dramatically under the hereditary Peshwas of Pune — particularly Bajirao I (1720-1740) and Balaji Baji Rao (1740-1761). At its 1758-1761 peak the Confederacy exercised suzerainty from Attock Fort in the northwest to Bengal in the east. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761) against Ahmad Shah Durrani shattered Maratha hegemony; the Confederacy partially recovered under Madhavrao I but fragmented into five houses: Scindia (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Bhonsale (Nagpur), Gaikwad (Baroda), and Peshwa (Pune). Defeated by the British East India Company in three Anglo-Maratha Wars, ending with the deposition of Peshwa Baji Rao II in 1818.
Maratha Empire / Bhonsale dynasty and Peshwa administration
The Maratha Empire, founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsale (r. 1674-1680), was the dominant Indian power of the 18th century. After the Bhonsale dynasty and the Peshwa office were established, real power passed to the hereditary Peshwas of Pune — particularly Bajirao I (1720-1740) and Balaji Baji Rao (1740-1761). At its 1758-1761 peak the Confederacy exercised suzerainty from Attock to Bengal. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1782, 1803-1805, 1817-1818) progressively dismantled the polity, ending with the deposition of Peshwa Baji Rao II in 1818.
Territory Phases
Maratha Kingdom (Shivaji)1674 CE – 1689 CE
The founding Maratha kingdom under Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsale (r. 1674-1680). Shivaji was coronated at Raigad Fort on 6 June 1674, establishing the first independent Maratha state. He had carved this kingdom from the Bijapur Sultanate (still extant to 1686) and Mughal Deccan territory through a series of campaigns beginning in the 1640s. The kingdom encompassed the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) ridge, the Konkan coast, and the central Deccan plateau. Shivaji died on 3 April 1680; his son Sambhaji (r. 1680-1689) continued the resistance against Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns until his capture and execution on 11 March 1689.
Maratha Resistance (Aurangzeb Wars)1689 CE – 1713 CE
The Maratha survival phase during Aurangzeb's Deccan Wars. After Sambhaji's execution (1689), Rajaram fled to Jinji (1689-1698); after Rajaram's death (1700), Tara Bai assumed the regency and continued guerrilla resistance from Satara and Panhala. Despite Aurangzeb's occupation of Raigad and most of the plateau, the Marathas never formally surrendered. After Aurangzeb's death (March 1707), Shahu (Sambhaji's son, released by the Mughals) established a rival court at Satara, creating a split with Tara Bai's Kolhapur line (Sambhaji II, crowned 1710). Balaji Vishwanath, appointed first hereditary Peshwa in 1713 by Shahu, established the institutional framework for the Peshwa-led confederacy that would follow. Polygon covers the main Satara (Shahu) line; the Kolhapur branch is treated as a sub-polity.
Maratha Confederacy (Bajirao I)1713 CE – 1740 CE
The first great Peshwa expansion under Bajirao I (r. 1720-1740), son of Balaji Vishwanath. Bajirao's military genius opened the entire subcontinent to Maratha power: Malwa was raided and occupied from 1724, formally recognised by treaty in 1738; Gujarat and Rajputana chiefs paid tribute from the 1730s; his 1737 raid reached the outskirts of Delhi — the first Maratha army to camp under the walls of the Mughal capital. The Battle of Bhopal (1739) where he defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk was the decisive confirmation of Maratha hegemony in the Deccan and central India. Bajirao died on 28 April 1740 of fever at Raver on the Narmada.
Maratha Confederacy (Peak)1740 CE – 1761 CE
Maximum territorial extent under Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao 'Nana Saheb' (r. 1740-1761). The Maratha Confederacy exercised suzerainty from Attock Fort (Raghunathrao's 1758 campaign into Punjab) to Bengal (tribute extracted from the Nawabs). Shah Alam II was installed in Delhi under Maratha protection. The northern and eastern extensions (1758-1760) represent tribute/raiding reach, not permanent administration — the NW corridor through Rajputana is kept narrow (72-74E, 25-28N) to reflect this. Rajput principalities and the nascent Sikh misls retained internal autonomy. The phase ends at the Third Battle of Panipat, 14 January 1761, where approximately 100,000 Maratha soldiers and camp followers were killed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's Afghan forces — the single most catastrophic defeat in Maratha history.
Maratha Confederacy (Fragmented)1761 CE – 1818 CE
The post-Panipat Maratha Confederacy, dominated by five quasi-independent houses: Scindia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, Bhonsale of Nagpur, Gaikwad of Baroda, and Peshwa of Pune. Madhavrao I (r. 1761-1772) achieved a remarkable recovery, restoring much of the Confederacy's prestige. The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782) ended in the Treaty of Salbai, restoring the pre-war status quo. The Second (1803-1805) forced Scindia and Bhonsale to cede large territories to the British East India Company after defeats at Assaye and Laswari. The Third (1817-1818) was the final blow: Peshwa Baji Rao II was defeated and deposed, the Peshwa title abolished, and the remaining Maratha chiefs reduced to princely states under British paramountcy.
Key Rulers
Shivaji Bhonsale I
Chhatrapati, Haindava Dharmodharak
Also known as: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shivaji
1674 CE – 1680 CE
★★★★★
Founder and first Chhatrapati of the Maratha kingdom. Coronated at Raigad Fort on 6 June 1674 with elaborate Vedic ceremony, asserting Kshatriya status for the Bhonsale lineage. Had spent decades carving an independent state from Bijapur Sultanate and Mughal Deccan territory before formalising sovereignty. Built a sophisticated administrative system (Ashta Pradhan council), a navy, and a network of Sahyadri hill forts. Died 3 April 1680 at Raigad; cause uncertain (possibly fever). Venerated as the architect of Maratha independence and a symbol of Hindu political revival.
Sambhaji Bhonsale
Also known as: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj
1680 CE – 1689 CE
★★★★
Second Chhatrapati of the Maratha kingdom, son of Shivaji. Fought a continuous war against Aurangzeb's massive Deccan campaign (the largest Mughal military deployment since Akbar). Despite being outnumbered, he prevented any decisive Mughal consolidation for nine years. Captured by Mughal forces in February 1689 and publicly executed on Aurangzeb's orders on 11 March 1689 at Tulapur — tortured and killed after refusing to convert to Islam. His execution hardened Maratha resistance and became a foundational martyrdom narrative.
Key Events
Coronation of Shivaji at Raigad1674 CE
Raigad Fort
Shivaji Bhonsale was coronated Chhatrapati (Lord of the Umbrella) at Raigad Fort on 6 June 1674, with elaborate Vedic ceremony supervised by the Brahmin scholar Gaga Bhatt of Varanasi. The coronation asserted Kshatriya (warrior-ruler) status for the Bhonsale lineage, establishing the legal and symbolic basis for Maratha sovereignty independent of both the Mughal Emperor and the Bijapur Sultanate. It marks the formal founding of the Maratha state.
Death of Aurangzeb — Maratha resurgence begins1707 CE
Ahmadnagar
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died at Ahmadnagar on 3 March 1707, aged 88, after 25 years of a costly Deccan campaign that failed to extinguish the Maratha state. His death triggered an immediate Mughal succession war among his sons, which freed the Marathas. Shahu (Sambhaji's son, held as a Mughal hostage since 1689) was released by the new emperor to create a succession dispute with Tara Bai, weakening the Maratha resistance but opening the way for the Peshwa-led expansion.
Balaji Vishwanath becomes first Peshwa1713 CE
Satara
Chhatrapati Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath Bhat as Peshwa (prime minister) in 1713, inaugurating the hereditary Peshwa office that would effectively govern the Maratha Confederacy for a century. Balaji Vishwanath consolidated the Satara court's authority, negotiated with Delhi to have Maratha sardars recognised, and established the administrative and financial framework that Bajirao I would use to build the empire.
Bajirao I becomes Peshwa1720 CE
Satara
On his father Balaji Vishwanath's death in 1720, Bajirao I (aged 20) was appointed Peshwa by Chhatrapati Shahu. This was the first hereditary succession to the Peshwa office. Bajirao immediately began an aggressive expansion policy, arguing that the Marathas should fill the power vacuum created by Mughal decline rather than wait for the Mughals to recover.
Maratha raid on Delhi outskirts1737 CE
Delhi outskirts
Bajirao I led a Maratha force to the outskirts of Delhi in 1737, camping within sight of the Mughal capital — the first time a Maratha army had reached Delhi. The Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah panicked; the imperial army sent to stop Bajirao was easily outmanoeuvred. Bajirao withdrew without besieging the city but the political impact was enormous: it confirmed that the Mughal Emperor was militarily helpless.
Battle of Bhopal — Bajirao I defeats Nizam-ul-Mulk1739 CE
Bhopal area
Bajirao I decisively defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I (founder of Hyderabad) at Bhopal in January 1739. The Nizam had allied with the Mughal Emperor against the Marathas. After his defeat, the Nizam recognised Maratha rights to chauth (tribute) from Malwa and Gujarat by treaty, permanently formalising Maratha suzerainty over central India. This battle opened the floodgates for the Peshwa expansion that would follow under Balaji Baji Rao.
Third Battle of Panipat1761 CE
Panipat
The catastrophic Maratha defeat at the hands of Ahmad Shah Durrani's Afghan forces, 14 January 1761. Approximately 45,000 Maratha fighting men were killed on the field; with camp followers the total Maratha dead reached an estimated 100,000. Peshwa Vishwasrao (son of Balaji Baji Rao) and commander-in-chief Viswasrao Bhau were killed. The battle ended the Maratha bid for pan-Indian hegemony. Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao died of grief on 23 June 1761. The battle left North India in a power vacuum that the British East India Company would fill.
Treaty of Bassein1802 CE
Bassein (Vasai)
Peshwa Baji Rao II signed the Treaty of Bassein (31 December 1802) with the British East India Company, accepting British protection and agreeing to station a British subsidiary force at Pune. The treaty represented Maratha sovereignty's effective end: Baji Rao II traded independence for British military support against his Maratha rivals (Holkar had just defeated him at Poona). The Scindia and Bhonsale chiefs refused to accept the treaty and launched the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805), in which they were defeated.
Third Anglo-Maratha War ends — Confederacy dissolved1818 CE
Pune
The Third Anglo-Maratha War (November 1817 – June 1818) ended with the complete defeat of the Peshwa and the Pindari chieftains. Peshwa Baji Rao II surrendered to General John Malcolm on 3 June 1818 and was exiled to Bithur near Kanpur with a pension. The Peshwa title was abolished. The Bhonsale of Nagpur and the Holkar of Indore also submitted to British authority. Only the Scindia of Gwalior and the Gaikwad of Baroda survived as nominally sovereign princely states under British paramountcy. The Maratha Confederacy ceased to exist as a political entity.
Related Civilisations
Successors
Sources
- Gordon, Stewart (1993) The Marathas 1600-1818(The standard English-language monograph on the Maratha polity. Covers territorial expansion, the Peshwa system, and the three Anglo-Maratha Wars with detailed maps. The authoritative modern work for phase boundaries and political chronology.)
- Sarkar, Jadunath (1961) Shivaji and His Times(The foundational scholarly biography of Shivaji. Based on Persian, Marathi, and European sources. Covers the maratha_shivaji phase in detail including the coronation, military campaigns, and administrative system.)
- Sardesai, G.S. (1946-48) New History of the Marathas, 3 vols.(Comprehensive 3-volume history of the Marathas from origins to British annexation. Covers all phases including the Peshwa era and the Anglo-Maratha Wars.)
- Cooper, Randolf G.S. (2003) The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India(Detailed military history of the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars (1803-1805, 1817-1818). Key source for the maratha_confederacy decline phase.)
- Sabhasad Bakhar (c. 1697)(Marathi chronicle of Shivaji's reign written by Krishnaji Anant Sabhasad, a court official. The earliest detailed Marathi-language account of the founding of the Maratha state. Documents campaigns, administration, and the Raigad coronation ceremony.)
- Gagabhatta (Gaga Bhatt), Shivrajyabhishek Prayog (c. 1674), ed. V.S. Bendrey (1960)(The ritual manual composed by Gaga Bhatt of Varanasi for Shivaji's coronation ceremony at Raigad (6 June 1674). The Bendrey edition (Bombay: P.P.H. Bookstall, 1960) provides the scholarly text. This is the primary contemporary authority for the coronation date, procedure, and Shivaji's formal assumption of the Chhatrapati title. Validates the founding date of the maratha_shivaji phase.)