List of Maratha rulers

The Maratha rulers, belonging to the various dynasties, from the early 17th century to the early 18th century, built and ruled the Maratha Empire on the Indian subcontinent.[1][note 1] It was established by the Chhatrapati (the Maratha emperor) in 1670s. Starting in 1720s, the Peshwa were instrumental in expanding the Maratha Empire to cover large areas of the Indian subcontinent. At their empire's greatest extent in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent. Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati, but later, they became the leaders of the Marathas, and the Chhatrapati was reduced to a nominal ruler. Their power rapidly dwindled during the 19th century and later Peshwas also were reduced to nominal ruler under various Maratha nobles and later British East India Company. The last Peshwa was deposed in 1818. The Satara Chhatrapati continued to nominally rule over Satara state till 1848 and Kolhapur Chhatrapati continued to nominally rule over Kolhapur state till 1947.[3][4][5]

Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire
Details
First monarchShivaji Bhosale I
Last monarchShahaji (Satara Chhatrapati)
Shahaji II (Kolhapur Chhatrapati)
Formation1674 CE
Abolition1818 CE

1848 CE (Satara state)

1947 CE (Kolhapur state)
ResidenceRaigad fort
AppointerHereditary

Chhatrapatis

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Shivaji and his early descendants

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This is the list of the initial Chhatrapatis.

Image Name Birth Reign Death Notes
  Shivaji 19 February 1630[6] 6 June 1674 – 3 April 1680 3 April 1680
  Sambhaji 14 May 1657 16 January 1681 – 11 March 1689 11 March 1689

 

Rajaram 24 February 1670 11 March 1689 – 3 March 1700 3 March 1700

 

Shivaji II 9 June 1696 March 1700–1707, 1710–2 August 1714 (Kolhapur State) 14 March 1726
  Shahu 18 May 1682 12 January 1708 – 15 December 1749 15 December 1749

Chhatrapatis of Satara

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This is the list of the Chhatrapatis of Satara.[7]

Image Name Birth Reign Death Notes
  Shahu I 18 May 1682 12 January 1707 – 15 December 1749 15 December 1749
Rajaram II June 1726 15 December 1749 – 11 December 1777 11 December 1777
Shahu II 1763 11 December 1777 – 3 May 1808 3 May 1808
  Pratapsingh 18 January 1793 1818 – 5 September 1839 14 October 1847
  Shahaji 1802 5 September 1839 – 5 April 1848 5 April 1848

[8]

Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur

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This is the list of the Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur.[7]

Image Name Birth Reign Death Notes
Shivaji II 9 June 1696 1700–1707, 1710–1714 (Kolhapur State) 14 March 1726
  Sambhaji II 1698 1714–1760 18 December 1760
  Shivaji III 1756 22 September 1762 – 24 April 1813 24 April 1813
Sambhaji III 1801 24 April 1813 – 2 July 1821 2 July 1821
Shivaji IV 1816 July 2, 1821 – Jan 03 1822 January 3, 1822
Shahaji I 22 January 1802 3 January 1822 – 29 November 1838 29 November 1838
  Shivaji V 26 December 1830 1838–1866 4 August 1866
  Rajaram II April 13, 1850 August 18, 1866 – November 30, 1870 November 30, 1870
  Shivaji VI April 5, 1863 1871–1883 December 25, 1883
  Shahu IV (overall)
Shahu I of Kolhapur
26 June 1874 2 April 1894 – 6 May 1922 6 May 1922
  Rajaram III 31 July 1897 1922–1940 26 November 1940
  Shivaji VII 22 November 1941 31 December 1941 – 28 September 1946 28 September 1946
  Shahaji II 4 April 1910 1947–1971 9 May 1983
 
Genealogy of Kolhapur Chhatrapatis

Peshwas

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Early Peshwas

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Image Name Birth Reign Death Notes
Moropant Trimbak Pingle 1620 1674–1683 1683
Nilakanth Moreshvar Pingale 1683–1689 1689
  Ramchandra Pant Amatya 1650 1689–1708 1716
Bahiroji Pingale 1708–1711
Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni 1660 1711–1713 1718

Peshwas (Bhat family)

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Image Name Birth Reign Death Notes
  Balaji Vishwanath (Sixth appointed Peshwa) 1713–1720 Assisted the Syed Brothers in deposing the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719
  Baji Rao I (Seventh appointed Peshwa) 1720–1740 Known as Thorle (elder) Bajirao and acknowledged as the most influential of the nine Peshwas. Said to have fought for the establishment of "Hindu Pad Padshahi"(Hindu Empire). Helped conquer Central India (Malwa) and Rajputana and extended his dominions into Gujarat in the northwest and Deccan in the south. Attacked Delhi in 1737. Fought in over 41 battles and is one of the few to have never lost a single battle. Died at the age of 40 of sudden fever in camp en route to Delhi; he has been commemorated in the form of an equestrian statue erected at Shaniwar Wada in Pune.
  Balaji Bajirao (Eighth appointed Peshwa) 1740–1761 Known as Nanasaheb Peshwa. Managed to extend the Maratha territories into most of North-West, East and Central India. Captured Attock on the banks of the Indus River and Peshawar in 1758 in the Battle of Attock, 1758. Under his leadership, the Maratha Empire reached its peak but his general and cousin lost the Third Battle of Panipat against Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. Contributed to the development of the city of Pune which was the seat of the Peshwas. Built the famous Parvati Temple, Lakdi Pool and established Nana Peth (area) in Pune. Built a water reservoir near Katraj to provide clean water to Pune city; this 250-year-old system is still functioning.
  Madhav-Rao I (First hereditary Peshwa) 1761–1772 Fraught with internal dissensions and successful Wars with the Nizam. During his tenure, Maratha power recovered from the losses suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, a phenomenon known as Maratha Resurrection. Repaired the recently weakened administration, treasury, and accounts of the Maratha Empire. He died of tuberculosis in 1772; a memorial commemorating his greatness stands at Peshwe Park in Pune. One of the theory says that he was assassinated by her aunt, Anandi Bai (wife of Raghunath Rao).
   Narayan-Rao 1772–1773 Assassinated by Gardi guards. Raghunath Rao was in favor of just kidnapping him and accordingly he used the code "DHARA". But Anandi Bai (wife of Raghunath Rao) changed the code to "MAARA". Narayan Rao was assassinated in Shanivar Wada. Nowadays, it is considered one of the haunted place in Maharashtra.
  Raghunath-Rao 1773–1774 Responsible for extending the Maratha empire to the zenith in the North as a General and also saw the decline of Maratha power in North India. Deposed by Nana Phadnis and 11 other administrators in what is now called "The Baarbhai Conspiracy"
  Madhav-Rao II 1774–1796 Appointed Peshwa as an infant with a council of Maratha Generals and ministers as regents. Era dominated by the political intrigues of Nana Phadnis. Saw the resurgence of Maratha power in North India.
  Baji Rao II 1796–1802 1st Reign – Was defeated by Yashwantrao Holkar, ruler of Indore, at the Battle of Poona. Fled to British protection, and in December 1802, concluded the Treaty of Bassein with the British East India Company, ceding territory for the maintenance of a subsidiary force and agreeing to treaty with no other power. This provoked the Second Anglo-Maratha War that began the breakup of the Maratha confederacy.
Amrut Rao[9][10] (Appointed as Peshwa by Yashwantrao Holkar) 1802–1803 Appointed Peshwa by Yashwantrao Holkar after defeating Baji Rao II and Daulat Rao Sindhia in Battle of Poona.
  Baji Rao II 1803–1818 2nd Reign – During his second reign began the Third Anglo-Maratha War. After the defeat at the Battle of Koregaon in January 1818, he was on the run from the British. Eventually, the British took over his dominion and made the Maratha King Pratap Singh of Satara declare in favour of the British. This ended the Peshwa's legal position as head of the Maratha confederacy. On 3 June 1818, Baji Rao surrendered to the British; he was banished to Bithur near Kanpur.
  Nana Sahib
(Pretender of the position of the Peshwa)
1851–1857 Was a leader during the Indian Uprising of 1857. As the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, he sought to restore the Maratha confederacy and the Peshwa tradition.

Other

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Gaekwad of Baroda

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Holkar of Indore

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Shinde of Gwalior

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Bhonsle of Nagpur

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References

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  1. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (October 10, 2010). An Advanced History of Modern India. Macmillan India. ISBN 978-0-230-32885-3 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bharatiya Itihasa Samiti, Ramesh Chandra Majumdar – The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Maratha supremacy
  3. ^ Pearson, M. N. (February 1976). "Shivaji and the Decline of the Mughal Empire". The Journal of Asian Studies. 35 (2): 221–235. doi:10.2307/2053980. JSTOR 2053980. S2CID 162482005.
  4. ^ Capper, John (October 10, 1997). Delhi, the Capital of India. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120612822 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (October 10, 2010). An Advanced History of Modern India. Macmillan India. ISBN 978-0-230-32885-3 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Indu Ramchandani, ed. (2000). Student's Britannica: India (Set of 7 Vols.) 39. Popular Prakashan. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5.
  7. ^ a b Maheshwari, K.K. & K.W. Wiggins (1989). Maratha Mints and Coinage, Nashik: Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, pp.205–6
  8. ^ "The Marathas: Post Shahu Chatrapatis of Satara".
  9. ^ Wg Cdr (Retd.) Dr. M. S. Narawane, Battles of the Honourable East India Company. pg 65
  10. ^ Jadunath Sarkar, Fall of the Mughal Empire:1789–1803. pg 179

Notes

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  1. ^ Many historians consider Peshawar to be the final frontier of the Maratha Empire[2]
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