HOME



picture info

Bajirao
Bajirao I (né Visaji, ; 18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed Peshwa at the age of nineteen by Shahu I, following the death of his father, Balaji Vishwanath. He is credited with establishing the Marathas as the supreme power in the Indian subcontinent, displacing Mughal Empire, Mughal dominance. In the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region, the Nizam of Hyderabad emerged as a major power. The relations between the two states deteriorated after the Marathas under the leadership of Fateh Singh Bhonsle invaded Karnataka in 1725, which came under the Nizam's influence. Alarmed by these incursions, the Nizam decided to contest the Maratha taxation rights in the Deccan granted via Balaji Vishwanath#Northward expansion, the Mughal-Maratha treaty of 1718-19 and attacked Pune. Bajirao in response led a campaign against the Nizam in which the latter suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Palkhed. This victory solidified the Marathas' ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Mastani
Mastani (29 August 1699 – 28 April 1740) was either the daughter of Nizam Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad or Chhatrasal Bundela of Bundelkhand. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Baji Rao I. The marriage was arranged to promote diplomatic ties with the Maratha Empire. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy and well adapted in Indian novels and cinema. Biography Early life Mastani was born to Chhatrasal, and his Persian concubine Ruhani Begum. Her father was the founder of the Panna State. She and her father were followers of the Pranami Sampradaya, a Hindu sect based on the Bhakti worship of Sri Krishna, but as her mother was Shia, she was also a follower of Shia Islam. Accounts, however with regard to her origin vary. Some consider her the daughter of the Nizam, while others refer to her as a courtesan of the court of some Muslim chief. The Nizam on suggestion of his wife married her to ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Kashibai
Kashibai Bhat was the first wife of Bajirao I, the Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu. With Bajirao, she had four children, including Balaji Baji Rao and Ragunath Rao. Balaji succeeded Bajirao as Peshwa upon the latter's death in 1740. Also following Bajirao's death, Kashibai fostered her step-son, Shamsher Bahadur, whose mother was Bajirao's second wife, Mastani. Family Kashibai was the daughter of Mahadji Krishna Joshi and Bhabanibai of Chas, belonging to a wealthy banker family. She was fondly called "Laadubai" and was born and raised in Chaaskaman village, which is located 70 kilometers away from Pune. Kashibai's father, Mahadji Krishna Joshi, was originally from Talsure village in Ratnagiri and later shifted to Chaaskaman. Mahadji was a wealthy '' sahukar'' (moneylender) as well as the ''subedar'' of the Maratha empire in Kalyan, a factor which played a strong role in the alliance of Bajirao and Kashibai. Mahadji had also helped the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Balaji Baji Rao
Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, Peshwa Bajirao I. During his tenure, the Chhatrapati (Maratha Emperor) was a mere figurehead. At the same time, the Maratha empire started transforming into a confederation, confederacy, in which individual chiefs—such as the House of Holkar, Holkars, the Scindias and the Bhonsles of Nagpur kingdom—became more powerful. During Balaji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory reached its zenith. A large part of this expansion, however, was led by the individual chiefs of the Maratha Empire. Balaji Bajirao's administration worked with his cousin Sadashivrao Bhau, introducing new legislative and financial systems in the state. Under his leadership, the borders of the Maratha Empire expanded to Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, Srirangapatna in Karnataka, and Midnapore, Medinipur in West Beng ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. The Marathas were a Marathi language, Marathi-speaking peasantry group from the western Deccan Plateau (present-day Maharashtra) that rose to prominence under leadership of Shivaji (17th century), who revolted against the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughal Empire for establishing "Hindavi Swarajya" (). The religious attitude of Aurangzeb, Emperor Aurangzeb estranged Kafir, non-Muslims, and the Deccan wars, Maratha insurgency came at a great cost for his men and treasury. The Maratha government also included warriors, administrators, and other nobles from other Marathi people, Marathi groups. Shivaji's monarchy, referred to as the Maratha Kingdom, expanded into a large realm in the 18th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Peshwa
The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave the seat of Peshwa to Bajirao I, Bajirao Ballal. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwa grew in power and the Peshwas came to be the ''de facto'' rulers of the Maratha Confederacy. Eventually, the Chhatrapati title became titular and the main heads were the Peshwas according to the Sangola pact. All Peshwas during the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji and Rajaram I, Rajaram belonged to Marathi people, Marathi Deshastha Brahmin community. The first Peshwa was Moropant Trimbak Pingle, Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the h ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Chimaji Appa
Chimaji Balaji Bhat (c. 1707 – 17 December 1740), born as Antaji more commonly known as Chimaji Appa, was a military commander and statesman of the Maratha Empire. As the younger brother of Peshwa Bajirao I and the son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, Chimaji played a crucial role in expanding and consolidating Maratha power during the early 18th century. Known for his strategic acumen and leadership in various military campaigns, Chimaji is particularly celebrated for his successful campaign against the Portuguese, which culminated in the capture of the Vasai fort in 1739. Chimaji's military career was marked by several key campaigns, including the Peshwa's Gujarat campaign and the battles of Dabhoi and Bundelkhand. However, his most notable achievement was his campaign against the Portuguese in the Western Ghats, where he systematically weakened their strongholds and eventually captured the vital Vasai Fort after a series of strategic victories. Peshwa's Gujarat campaign W ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Balaji Vishwanath
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1 January 1662 – 12 April 1720) was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Confederacy and other Mughal vassals during the early 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha king Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistently intruded on by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. Early life and career Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was born into a Marathi Konkanastha Chitpavan Brahmin family. The family hailed from the coastal Konkan region of present-day Maharashtra and were the hereditary Deshmukh for Shrivardhan under the Siddi of Janjira. He went out in search of employment to the upper regions of western ghats and worked as a mercenary trooper under various Maratha generals. According to Kincaid & Parasnis, Balaji Vishwanath entered the Maratha administration during the reign of Sambhaji or the regency of his brother, Rajaram. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Shamsher Bahadur I (Krishna Rao)
Shamsher Bahadur I ( born Krishna Rao 1734 – 18 January 1761), was a ruler of the Maratha dominion of Banda in northern India. He was the son of Peshwa Bajirao I and Mastani. Early life Krishna Rao was the son of Peshwa Baji Rao I and his second wife Mastani, daughter of KingChhatrasal and his muslim concubine, Ruhani Bai. Bajirao wanted his son to be accepted as a Hindu Brahmin, but because his mother was a Muslim, Brahmin priests refused to conduct the Hindu upanayana ceremony for him. Thus, Bajirao ordered that he be raised as a Muslim. His education and military training was conducted in line with other sons of the Peshwa family, even though many Maratha nobles and chiefs did not recognize Mastani as a legitimate wife of the Peshwa. After the death of both Baji Rao and Mastani in 1740, Shamsher was taken into the household of Kashibai, Baji Rao's widow, and raised as one of her own. He married Laal Kunwar daughter of Abdul Momin (Lakshadhira Dalpatrao Pawar) on 14 January ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Shahu I
Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; ; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati or head of state of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Shivaji I. He was born into the House of Bhonsle (Royal House), Bhonsle family and was the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Sambhaji I and Yesubai Bhonsale, Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and held captive. He was released from captivity after the death of Aurangzeb in the hope of engineering an internecine struggle among the Maratha factions of Tarabai and Shahu. Shahu emerged victorious in the bloody Battle of Khed and was crowned as Chhatrapati. During Shahu's reign, Maratha power and influence extended to much of central and western India, which had then created a strong Maratha Kingdom. After his death, his ministers and generals such as the Maratha Peshwa and Generals from Bhat Family, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Battle Of Bundelkhand
The Battle of Jaitpur was fought between the Maratha Empire under Peshwa Baji Rao I, on behalf of Chhatrasal, Chhatrasal Bundela, the ruler of Bundelkhand; and the Mughal Empire under Muhammad Khan Bangash in March 1729. Bangash attacked the state of Bundelkhand in December 1728. Being too old to fight, as well as heavily outnumbered, Chhatrasal appealed to Peshwa Bajirao , Baji Rao for assistance - under whose leadership the Maratha with 25,000 horsemen with the Bundela troops defeated the Muhammad Khan Bangash, Muhammad khan Bangash. Background In Bundelkhand, Chhatrasal had rebelled against the Mughal Empire and established an independent kingdom. In December 1728, a Mughal force led by Muhammad Khan Bangash attacked him and besieged his fort and family. Although Chhatrasal repeatedly sought Baji Rao's assistance, he was busy in Malwa at the time. He compared his dire situation to that of Gajendra Moksha. In his letter to Baji Rao, Chhatrasal wrote the following words: Battle ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]