Mughal Emperors - Marathas

Marathas

Maratha chieftains were originally in the service of Bijapur sultans in the western Deccan, which was under siege by the Mughals.

Shivaji Bhonsle (1630–80) Shivaji was a fighter regarded as the "father of the Maratha nation," who took advantage of this conflict and carved out his own principality near Pune, which later became the Maratha capital. Adopting guerrilla tactics, he waylaid caravans in order to sustain and expand his army, which soon had money, arms, and horses. Shivaji led a series of successful assaults in the 1660s against Mughal strongholds, including the major port of Surat. Shivaji's battle cries were swaraj (translated variously as freedom, self-rule, independence), swadharma (religious freedom), and goraksha (cow protection). Aurangzeb relentlessly pursued Shivaji's successors between 1681 and 1705 but eventually retreated to the north as his treasury became depleted and as thousands of lives had been lost either on the battlefield or to natural calamities. In 1717 a Mughal emissary signed a treaty with the Marathas confirming their claims to rule in the Deccan in return for acknowledge the fictional Mughal suzerainty and remission of annual taxes.

The Marathas, despite their military prowess and leadership, were not equipped to administer the state or to undertake socio economic reform till death of Shivaji, but Shahuji Bhosle understood the limitations & brought Peshwa raaj, like PM's of current day & expanded his empire in 2/3rd of current India. They were primarily suited for stirring the regional & Hindu dharma pride rather than for attracting loyalty to an all-India confederacy. They were left virtually alone and without supplies before the invading Afghan forces, headed by Ahmad Shah Abdali (later called Ahmad Shah Durrani), Maratha's won 2 battles of Panipat, but lost third Battle of Panipat|Panipat in 1761, due to no co-operation by Rajput & Sikh empires, to whom Maratha's never attacked & respected till. The shock of defeat hastened the break-up of their loosely knit confederacy into five independent states and extinguished the hope of Maratha dominance in India.