Bajirao I was the 7th 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.
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.
House of Scindia or earlier known as the Sendrak was a Hindu Maratha Royal House that ruled the erstwhile Gwalior State in central India. It had the Patil-ship of Kanherkhed in the district of Satara and was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who was sardar of maratha empire and real maratha warrior clan appointed by chattrapati shahuji maharaj-1's servant family from kokan worked as prime minister also known as Peshwa Bajirao I. Ranoji and his descendants, along with their rivals the Holkars, played a leading role during the Maratha ascendancy in northern India in the 18th-century. The Gwalior State became a princely state during the British Raj in the 19th and the 20th-centuries. After India's independence in 1947 and the abolition of princely states, several members of the Scindia Dynasty went on to enter Indian politics.
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.
Madhavrao I was the son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I who served as 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. During his tenure, the Maratha Confederacy recovered from the losses they suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, an event known as Maratha Resurrection.
Shinde is a clan of the Maratha clan system variations of the name include Scindia and Sindhia, Sindia. It is found largely in Maharashtra (India), but it also appears in Indian states bordering Maharashtra like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
Baji Rao II was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him to flee his capital Poona and sign the Treaty of Bassein (1802) with the British. This resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), in which the British emerged victorious and re-installed him as the titular Peshwa. In 1817, Baji Rao II joined the Third Anglo-Maratha War against the British, after they favoured the Gaekwad nobles in a revenue-sharing dispute. After suffering several battle defeats, the Peshwa surrendered to the British, and agreed to retire in return for an estate at Bithoor and an annual pension.
Mahadaji Shinde, later known as Mahadji Scindia or Madhava Rao Scindia, was a Maratha statesman and general who served as the Maharaja of Gwalior from 1768 to 1794. He was the fifth and the youngest son of Ranoji Rao Scindia, the founder of the Scindia dynasty. He is reputed for having restored the Maratha rule over North India and for modernizing his army.
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the estate of Indore to rule by the Peshwas, during the reign of the Maratha emperor Shahu I. He was founder of the Holkar dynasty that ruled Malwa.
The Gwalior State was a state within the Maratha Confederacy located in Central India. It was ruled by the House of Scindia, a Hindu Maratha dynasty. Following the dissolution of the Confederacy, it became part of the Central India Agency of the Indian Empire under British protection.
Daulat Rao Scindia also conferred with the title "The defender of Delhi" was the Maharaja (ruler) of Gwalior state in central India from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremacy within the Maratha Empire, and wars with the expanding East India Company. Daulatrao played a significant role in the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha wars. While most Indian rulers had accepted British rule, Scindia's kingdom maintained its independence even as late as 1832 and continued collecting Chauth (taxes) from other neighbouring states and dependent Kingdoms till 1886. As per an answer given by Mill in a Parliamentary Committee in Britain on February 16, 1832, on the status of Scindia's kingdom it was mentioned that “he was independent.” This Committee finally reported to Parliament that “within the Peninsula, Sindhia is the only prince who preserves the semblance of independence.”
Visaji Krushna Chinchalkar, popularly known as Visaji Pant Biniwale, was one of the leading generals of Peshwas in Northern India during 1759 to 1772. Peshwa Madhavrao I mainly sought his assistance in his attempt to restore Maratha Empire in the North after the defeat in the Battle of Panipat (1761).
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 Great Maratha is an Indian historical drama television series directed by Sanjay Khan and produced by Numero Uno International Limited. The drama aired on DD National. The series is based on the life of Mahadaji Shinde. The show comprised 47 episodes. The music was composed by Mohammed Zahur Khayyam.
The following list includes a brief about the titles of nobility or orders of chivalry used by the Marathas of India and by the Marathis/Konkanis in general.
Tukoji Rao Holkar, belonging to the Holkar clan of the Marathas was the feudatory of Indore. Tukoji Holkar was the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, he was the second son of Shrimant Tanuji Holkar, a nephew of Malhar Rao Holkar. Thus he was also the grand-nephew of Malhar Rao Holkar. He married two wives. He had four sons Kashi Rao, Malhar Rao II Holkar, Yashwant Rao, and Vithoji Rao.
Khanderao Holkar was the only son of Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder of the Holkar dynasty of Indore, and Gautama Bai. He was the husband of Ahilyabai Holkar. He served as a Maratha Sardar and fought several campaigns on behest of the Maratha empire.
In 1771, the forces of the Maratha Confederacy led by Mahadaji Shinde captured Delhi from the Rohillas and brought back the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II to Delhi from exile in Oudh. The Marathas captured Delhi from Zabita Khan Rohilla who was put in charge by the Afghans.
Maratha Empire 