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The Maratha Empire was an early modern Indian empire and later a confederation that controlled large portions of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the Bhonsle dynasty as the Chhatrapati. Although Shivaji came from the Maratha caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators, and other nobles from the Maratha and several other castes from what is known today as Maharashtra. The Maratha Kingdom was expanded into a full-fledged Empire in the 18th Century under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I.
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 empire, 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 empire. 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 Vishwanath Bhat (1662–1720) 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. He secured a grant from the Mughal court that confirmed Shahu as the legitimate Mughal vassal, at the expense of his rival Sambhaji. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.
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Annaji Datto Sachiv was the Sachiv in the Ashta Pradhan mandal of the Maratha Empire during the rule of Shivaji.
The Sachiv was an important member of the ministry in the Maratha Empire. Sachiv was one of the Ashta Pradhans of Maratha Empire during the rule of Chachtrapathi Shivaji. Later during the reign of Rajaram I, the office became hereditary like most of the others instituted by Shivaji. Shankaraji Narayan Pant Sachiv, who was appointed to the post in 1698 by Rajaram I was a hereditary Pant Sachiv. The Pant Amatya and The Pant Sachiv were the most powerful civil functionaries in the Maratha Empire next to the Peshwa until the death of Shahu I.
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References
- 1 2 Udgaonkar 1986, p. 94.
- ↑ Bond 2006, p. 773.
- ↑ Bhatia 1986, p. 70.
- ↑ Pant 1989, p. 12.
- ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay. Asiatic Society of Bombay. 1908. p. 142.