Maratha kings

Maratha kings

Sambhaji ( 1680 - 89 )

» Sambhaji, the elder son of Shivaji, defeated Rajaram, the younger son of Shivaji, in the war of succession.
» He provided protection and support to Akbar II, the rebellious son of Aurangzeb.
» He was captured at Sangames war by a Mughal noble and executed.

Rajaram ( 1689 - 1700 )

» He succeeded the throne with the help of the ministers at Rajgarh.
» He fled from Rajgarh to Jinji in 1689 due to a Mughal invasion in which Rajgarh was captured along with Sambhaji's wife and son (Shahu) by the Mughals.
» Rajaram died at Satara, which had become the capital after the fall of Jinji to Mughal in 1698.
» Rajaram created the new post of Pratinidhi, thus taking the total number of minister to nine.

Tarabai ( 1700 - 07 )

» Rajaram was succeeded by his minor son Shivaji II under the guardianship of his mother Tarabai.
» Tarabai continued the struggle with Mughals.

Shahu ( 1707 - 1749 )

» Shahu was released by the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah.
» Tarabai's army was defeated by Shahu in the battle of Khed (1700), and Shahu occupied Satara.
» But the Southern part of the Maratha kingdom with its capital Kolhapur continued to be under the control of the descendents of Rajaram (Shivaji II and later Shambhaji II).
» Shahu's reign saw the rise of Peshwas and transformation of the Maratha kingdom into an empire based on the principle of confederacy.

Balaji Viswanath (1713-20) : The First Peshwa

» He began his career as a small revenue official and was given the title of Sena Karte (marker of the army) by Shahu in 1708.
» He became Pesh train 1713 and made the post the most important and powerful as well as hereditary.
» He played a crucial role in the final victory of Shahu by winning over almost all the Maratha Sardars to the side of Shahu.
» He concluded an agreement with the Syed Brothers-King Maker (1719) by which the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar recognised Shahu as the king of the Swarajya.