The Marathas

The Marathas:The term Maratha referred broadly to all the speakers of the Marathi language. In the 17th century, it also served as a designation for peasants from the Deccan Plateau who served as soldiers in the armies of Muslim rulers and later in the armies of Shivaji.

The strong and brave Maratha people lived in the hilly region that now forms Maharashtra.Shahji Bhosle was a small Maratha chieftain Initially , he was a feudatory under the rule of Ahmadnagar.Later,he joined the Mughals before moving on to join service In Bijapur. Shivaji (1627-1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families (Deshmukhs). Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, referred to as Rajmata Jijabai or Jijau, was the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire. Groups of highly mobile, peasant- pastoralists ( kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used these forces to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula. After Shivaji’s death, effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a family of Chitpawan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s successors as Peshwa (or principal minister) Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,Shivaji was the son of Shahji Bhosle and Bai.He was very close to his mother because was brought up by her as Shahji was mostly away from home.Dadaji Kondadev was his tutor.He learnt horse riding and the art of warfare at a young age .Shivaji was ambitious and dream building a Maratha empire.He gathered other Marathas and trained them in guerilla war.In 1647, the ruler of Bijapur was unwell .Shivaji took advantages of this situation ,captured the fort of Torna ,and built a new fort called Raigarh the Torna.Later ,he raided the Town of Junnar Occupied the Fort of Purandhar .All the conquest alarmed both the rulers of Bijapur the Mughals.

He was the founder of Maratha empire in western India in 1664, was well known for his forts; he was in possession of around 370 at the time of his death. Many, like Panhala Fort and Rajgad existed before him but others, like Sindhudurg and Pratapgad, were built by him from scratch.

The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb did not like the growing influence of Shivaji. In 1663, he sent Shaista Khan to invade Shivaji's Kingdom. In 1665,Aurangzeb's trusted Rajput General Jai Singh defeated Shivaji and forced him to sign the Treaty of Purandhar with the following conditions:

To accept Aurangzeb as his overload and pay an annual tribute to him.

To surrender twenty -three forts to Aurangzeb.

To meet Aurangzeb in his court.

The left Shivaji with only twelve forts.To honour his commitment,Shivaji went to Aurangzeb's court where he was mistreated and later arrested.But Shivaji managed crowned himself the king of Raigarh.

Shivaji's administration was largely influence by Deccan administrative practices. He appointed eight ministers who were called 'Astapradhan' who assists him in administrative helm of affairs. These eight Ministers were:

Peshwa or Pantpradhan (Prime Minister) was the head of the council and in charge of general administration.

Senapati (Commander) was the chief of the army who managed infantry,cavalry,artiliery and navy.

Nyayadhish (chief justice) was in charge of Justice.

Amatya or Majumdar looked after the Finance.

Pant Sachiv (General Secretary) prepare royal edicts.

Sumanta was in charge of Foreign affairs.

Mantri (Minister) was the head of intelligence and spies.

Dandadhyaksha or Panditrao looked after the religious matters.

Shivaji's Kingdom was divided into various provinces .These provinces were further subdivided into parganas and villages.Patil was the head of the village .The village panchayat looked after the problems of the village.

In his own Kingdom ,Shivaji collected two fifths of the produce as land tax .The territories not directly under his control had to pay two tributary taxes -Chauth and Sardeshmukhi.

Sample Questions

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Question : 1

Shivaji Maharaj built a fort at _______ .
A. Raigad	B. Chattisgarh	C. Bijapur	D. Udaipur
Right Option : A
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Question : 2

How did the marathas became a successful military organization ?
A. By bypassing the fortified areas of the mughals
B. By raiding cities
C. By engaging mughal armies in areas where their supply lines and reinforcements could be easily disturbed
D. All of them
Right Option : D
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