Rajaram II (Rajaram Bhonsale, ; June 1726 – 11 December 1777), also known as Ramaraja, was the sixth

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of '' chhatra'' ('' parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and '' pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). This title was used by the Ho ...

of the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

.V.S. Kadam, 1993. ''Maratha Confederacy: A Study in its Origin and Development.'' Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi. He was an adopted son of Chhatrapati

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 B ...

Tarabai Maharani Tarabai Bhonsle ( Marathi: ̪aːɾabaːi; ; 1675 – 9 December 1761) was the regent of the Maratha Empire from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram I, and daughter-in-law of the kingdom's founder Shivaji I. She is acclaim ...

had presented him to Shahu as her own grandson and used him to grab power after Shahu's death. However, after being sidelined, she stated that Rajaram II was only an impostor. Nevertheless,

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 Chhatra ...

retained him as the Chhatrapati. In reality, Peshwa and other chiefs had all the executive power, while Rajaram II was only a nominal head of the Marathas.

Early life

After Shahu's death, Rajaram II was appointed as the new Chhatrapati, the King of Marathas. When

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 t ...

left for the Mughal frontier, Tarabai urged Rajaram II to remove him from the post of Peshwa. When Rajaram refused, she imprisoned him in a dungeon at Satara, on 24 November 1750. She claimed that he was an imposter from Gondhali caste and she had falsely presented him as her grandson to Shahu. His health deteriorated considerably during this imprisonment. Tarabai later signed a peace treaty with the Balaji Rao, acknowledging his superiority. On 14 September 1752, Tarabai and Balaji Rao took an oath at Khandoba temple in

Jejuri Jejuri (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʒed͡zuɾiː is a city and a municipal council in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Khandoba Mandir is an important Hindu temple to the Hindu Lord Khandoba, one of the most visited tirtha (holy pla ...

, promising mutual peace. At this oath ceremony, Tarabai also swore that Rajaram II was not her grandson, but an impostor from the Gondhali caste. Nevertheless, the Peshwa retained Rajaram II as the titular Chhatrapati and a powerless figurehead.

Reign

During Rajaram II's reign, the power of the

based in Satara was almost totally overshadowed by his hereditary Peshwas belonging to the Bhat family in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

and other commanders of the confederacy such as the

Holkar The Holkars (pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ were the ruling house of the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy, and earlier held the rank of Subahdar under Peshwa Baji Rao I of the Maratha Empire. When the Maratha Confederacy began to we ...

s, Gaekwad,

Scindia House of Scindia or earlier known as the Sendrak was a Hindu Maratha Royal House that ruled the erstwhile Gwalior State in central India. Ranoji Scindia rose as a prominent military commander under Peshwa Bajirao I. Ranoji and his descendants ...

and

Bhonsale Bhonsle are a group within the Maratha clan system. Bhonsle or its variants may also refer to: * Anubha Bhonsle, Indian TV and print journalist, author * Nagesh Bhonsle (also Bhosle or Bhosale), Indian film, television and theatre actor * Dig ...

(Nagpur). During this period, the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

s were engaged in a continual conflict with the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

based in Afghanistan. the

Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghan (ethnonym), Af ...

took place in his time. The Marathas and the Mughals signed an agreement in 1752. The Marathas agreed to help the Mughals defeat external aggression as well as internal rebellions. The Mughals agreed to appoint Peshwa Balaji Rao as the

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

and

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

subah. The Marathas were also granted the right to collect ''

chauth Chauth (from ) was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, on lands that were under nominal M ...

'' from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

subahs as well as some districts of Hissar and

Moradabad Moradabad () is an industrial city, commissionerate, and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Del ...

. However, the Mughal emperor had also ceded Lahore and Multan to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to pacify him. In addition, he did not ratify the transfer of Rajput-ruled territories like Ajmer to the Marathas. This brought the Marathas in conflict with Durranis as well as Rajputs. Madho Singh sought help from Shuja-ud-Daula as well as the Afghan king

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

(Abdali). The Marathas- Jat relations also worsened during Rajaram's reign. He was succeeded by another adopted titular ruler Shahu II of Satara.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajaram 02 Of Satara Rajas of Satara Maratha kings