MARATHA EMPIRE

The Maratha Empire was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. The empire was founded and consolidated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhosle. He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital,^[20] and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom.^[21] The Maratha Empire waged war for 27 years with the Mughals from 1681 to 1707, which became the longest war in the history of India. The Marathas eventually emerged victorious. Shivaji pioneered "Shiva sutra" or Ganimi Kava (guerrilla tactics), which leveraged strategic factors like demographics, speed, surprise and focused attack to defeat his bigger and more powerful enemies.^[22] While Venkoji, the younger half-brother of Shivaji, founded the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.

Chattrapati Shahu, a grandson of Shivaji became ruler in 1707. During this period, he appointed Peshwas as the prime ministers of the Maratha Empire. After the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire expanded greatly under the rule of the Peshwas. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu^[23][24] in the south, to Peshawar^[25] (modern-day Pakistan) on the Afghanistan border in the north and led Expeditions to Bengal in the east. Ahmad Shah Abdali, amongst others, were unwilling to allow the Maratha's gains to go unchecked. In 1761, the Maratha army lost the Third Battle of Panipat which halted imperial expansion.

After 1761, young Madhavrao Peshwa reinstated the Maratha authority over North India, 10 years after the battle of Panipat. In a bid to effectively manage the large empire, semi-autonomy was given to strongest of the knights, which created a confederacy of Maratha states. They became known as Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore and Malwa, the Scindias of Gwalior and Ujjain, Bhonsales of Nagpur.^[26] In 1775, the British East India Company intervened in a succession struggle in Pune, which became the First Anglo-Maratha War. Marathas remained the preeminent power in India until their defeat in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1805–1818), which left Britain in control of most of India.