Bajirao I was the 7th and most powerful Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He after Shivaji, is considered to be the most charismatic and dynamic leader in Maratha history. He was just twenty years old and already had a reputation for rapid decisions and a passion for military adventure.
The Maratha Confederacy, also referred to as the Maratha Empire, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states often subordinate to the former. It was established in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the Maratha Chhatrapati and recognised by Emperor Bahadur Shah I as a tributary state in 1707 following a prolonged rebellion. Following this, the Marathas continued to recognise the Mughal emperor as their nominal suzerain, similar to other contemporary Indian entities, though in practice, imperial politics at Delhi were largely influenced by the Marathas between 1737 and 1803.
Peshwa was second highest office in the Maratha Confederacy, 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 after the death of Shahu in 1749. 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. However following the defeat of the Marathas in 1761, the office of the Peshwa became titular as well and from that point onwards served as the ceremonial head of the Confederacy underneath the Chhatrapati.
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar princely state.
Balaji Baji Rao, often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, the Peshwa Bajirao I.
Gaekwads, a Hindu Maratha dynasty of the former Maratha Confederacy and its subsequent (erstwhile) princely state of Baroda in western India from the early 18th century until 1947. The ruling prince was known as the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its capital, during the British Raj its relations with the British were managed by the Baroda Residency. It was one of the largest and wealthiest princely states existing alongside British India, with wealth coming from the lucrative cotton business as well as rice, wheat and sugar production.
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat was the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire and the Mughal vassals of the Marathas 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. He was called the Second Founder of the Maratha State. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.
Maharani Tarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) was the regent of the Maratha Kingdom from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram I, and daughter-in-law of the kingdom'd founder Shivaji I. She is acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal rule in Konkan, and acting as the regent during the minority of her son, Shivaji II and defeated Aurangazeb
Pilajirao Gaekwad was a Maratha general. He is considered to be the founder of the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Empire, who became Maharaja of Baroda.
Ranoji Shinde was the founder of the Scindia dynasty, a Maratha clan that produced outstanding Maratha military commanders during the 18th century. Later the Scindia served as vassals of the British from the northern Princely state of Gwalior.
Senapati is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of General.
Dabhade surname signifies Maratha and Koli clans found largely in Maharashtra, India. The Maratha Dabhades were originally centered on Talegaon Dabhade, but became the chiefs of Gujarat. They held the hereditary title of Senapati (commander-in-chief) and several jagirs in Gujarat until 1751. That year, Umabai Dabhade and her relatives were arrested for a rebellion against the Peshwa, and were stripped of their titles.
Umabai Dabhade was a prominent member of the Maratha Dabhade clan. The members of her family held the hereditary title senapati (commander-in-chief), and controlled several territories in Gujarat. After the deaths of her husband Khande Rao and her son Trimbak Rao, she exercised executive powers while her minor son Yashwant Rao remained the titular senapati. Her unsuccessful rebellion against Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao resulted in the downfall of the Dabhade family.
Kampel is a panchayat village in the Indore block of the Indore district, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was the headquarters of a pargana in Mughal Empire before the administrative center of the region was shifted to Indore city under the Holkars of the Maratha Empire.
Rao Nandlal Chaudhary was a Gaur Brahmin and the chief of the Zamindars of Kampel, near Indore. Under the suzerainty of the Mughals, he controlled Kampel and some of its surrounding area including Indore. He accepted the suzerainty of the Marathas, after the Nizam acceded to the Peshwa's demands in 1724.
The Afghan–Maratha War was fought between the Afghan Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Maratha Confederacy and the Sikh Confederacy between 1758 and 1761. It took place in north-west India, primarily the region around Delhi and Punjab.
The Battle of Jaitpur was fought between the Maratha Confederacy under Peshwa Baji Rao I, on behalf of 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 Baji Rao for assistance - under whose leadership the Maratha with 25,000 horsemen with the bundela troops defeated the Muhammad khan bangash.
Damaji Rao Gaekwad was the second Maharaja of Baroda reigning from 1732 to 1768 until his death.
Trimbak Rao Dabhade was a Senapati of Maratha empire during 1729–1731. He was the son of Khande Rao Dabhade and Umabai Dabhade.
The Bhat Peshwa family earlier known as Bhat family is a prominent Indian Chitpavan Brahmin family who dominated India for around 100 years in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Most of the members in this family were the Peshwas in the Peshwa Era of the Maratha Empire, and Peshwa later became their family name. During their regime, most of the Indian subcontinent was under their control. The last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The territory was annexed to the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency, and he was pensioned.
Bajirao's Maratha faction 
Trimbak Rao Dabhade †