Sambhaji, also known as Shambhuraje, was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire, as well as other neighbouring powers such as the Abyssinians of Janjira, Wadiyars of Mysore and the Portuguese Empire in Goa. After Sambhaji's execution by Aurangzeb, his brother Rajaram I succeeded him as the next Chhatrapati and continued the Mughal–Maratha Wars.
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.
The Peshwa was the 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.
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.
Shahu I was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family, and was the son of Sambhaji I and Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by 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.
Balaji Vishwanath Bhat 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. He was called the Second Founder of the Maratha State. He secured a grant from the Mughal court that confirmed Shahu as the legitimate Mughal vassal, at the expense of his rival Sambhaji II. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.
Rajaram Bhonsle I was the third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of Shivaji, the founder of the empire and younger half-brother of Sambhaji, whom he succeeded. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. He was succeeded by his infant son Shivaji II under the regentship of his dowager Maharani Tarabai.
Rajaram Bhonsle II, also known as Ramaraja, was the sixth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy. He was an adopted son of Chhatrapati Shahu I. Tarabai 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 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.
Maharani Tarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) 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 acclaimed for her role in keeping alive the resistance against Mughal rule in Konkan, and acting as the regent of the Maratha Empire during the minority of her son, Shivaji II. She defeated Mughal forces of Aurangzeb in several battles and expanded the Maratha Empire.
The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was a central figure in what has been called "the Maratha insurgency" against the Mughal state. Both he and his son, Sambhaji, or Shambuji, typically, alternated between rebellion against the Mughal state and service to the Mughal sovereign in an official capacity. It was common practice in late 17th-century India for members of a ruling family of a small principality to both collaborate with the Mughals and rebel.
Ramchandra Neelkanth Bawadekar (1650–1716), also known as Ramchandra Pant Amatya, served on the Council of 8 as the Finance Minister (Amatya) to Emperor (Chhatrapati) Shivaji, dating from 1674 to 1680. He then served as the Imperial Regent to four later emperors, namely Sambhaji, Rajaram, Shivaji II and Sambhaji II. He authored the Adnyapatra, a famous code of civil and military administration, and is renowned as one of the greatest civil administrators, political thinkers, diplomats and military strategists of the Maratha Empire.
Shankaraji Narayan Gandekar (1665–1707), also known as Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev or Shankaraji Narayan, was a popular Minister (Pradhan) and Count (Sardar) of the Maratha Kingdom. He also served as Imperial Secretary (Sacheev) during Rajaram's reign. He also served as Deputy to the Crown (Rajadnya) under Sambhaji. His contribution to the war of independence against Mughal rule is considered to be immensely supportive. He was also the founder of the princely state of Bhor located, in Pune district.
Panhala fort, is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas. Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British the grand son's of chhatrapati shivaji maharaj East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur, Tarabai Ranisaheb, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact. It is also called as the 'Fort of Snakes' as it is zigzagged in shape.
The Shirke is a clan (Gotra) found in several castes such as Koli, Maratha, Agri, found largely in Maharashtra and bordering states of India.
Vijaydurg, the oldest fort on the Sindhudurg coast, was constructed during the regime of Raja Bhoja II of the Shilahar dynasty and restructured by Shivaji.
The Kolhapur State was a Maratha princely state of India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. It was considered the most important of the Maratha principalities with the others being Baroda State, Gwalior State and Indore State. Its rulers, of the Bhonsle dynasty, were entitled to a 19-gun salute – thus Kolhapur was also known as a 19-gun state. The state flag was a swallow-tailed saffron pennant.
Shivaji Bhonsle II was the fourth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Kingdom. He was the son of the Maratha Chhatrapati Rajaram I, and his wife Tarabai. He later became the first Raja of Kolhapur assuming the title as Shivaji Bhonsle I of Kolhapur.
Sambhaji II or Sambhaji I of Kolhapur was a Raja of Kolhapur from Bhonsle dynasty. He was a grandson of Shivaji and the second son of Chhatrapati Rajaram with his second wife, Rajasbai. After defeat by Shahu, Sambhaji's stepmother, Tarabai then set up a rival court in Kolhapur with her son Shivaji II as Raja of Kolhapur in 1710, who then ruled as Shivaji I of Kolhapur line. However, in 1714, Rajasbai instigated a coup against Tarabai and installed her own son, Sambhaji II on the Kolhapur throne. Sambhaji ruled from 1714 to 1760.
The Bhonsle dynasty is an Indian Marathi royal house. The Bhonsles claimed descent from the Rajput Sisodia dynasty, but were likely Kunbi Marathas.
