Maratha Empire (1674–1818)

Overview

The Maratha Empire (1674–1818) was the last great indigenous power in India before the British conquest. Founded by Shivaji Bhonsale as a challenge to both Bijapur and Mughal rule, it grew into a vast confederacy that dominated most of the subcontinent in the 18th century. The Marathas were ultimately defeated not by any Indian power but by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1818).

Key Timeline

Shivaji Bhonsale (1630–1680)

Early Life and Rise

Key Events

Military System

Shivaji's Administration

Ashtapradhan (Council of Eight Ministers)

Key Point: Unlike the Mughal Mansabdari system, the Ashtapradhan was a functional cabinet with specialised portfolios. However, all ministers were directly accountable to Shivaji — he maintained firm personal control over the administration.

Revenue System

Religious Tolerance

Shivaji's administration was notably tolerant for its time. He employed Muslims in his army and administration, protected mosques and dargahs, and respected the religious sentiments of all communities. His conflict was with political powers (Bijapur and the Mughals), not with Islam as a religion. He forbade the molestation of women and destruction of religious places in conquered territories.

Navy

After Shivaji — Sambhaji and the Succession

The Peshwa Period (1713–1818)

The Peshwa (Prime Minister) became the de facto head of the Maratha state from the 18th century onwards, with the Chhatrapati at Satara reduced to a figurehead.

The Maratha Confederacy

By the mid-18th century, the Maratha Empire had evolved into a confederacy of powerful chiefs, each controlling semi-independent territories:

The Confederacy structure emerged under Bajirao I, whose commanders were established as semi-independent governors in newly conquered territories. While they owed allegiance to the Chhatrapati (and later the Peshwa), they controlled their own armies, revenues, and foreign policy — making Maratha unity fragile and vulnerable to British divide-and-rule strategy.

Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761)

Common Mistake: The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was NOT the end of the Maratha Empire. Madhavrao I rebuilt Maratha authority effectively in the 1760s. The empire finally ended only in 1818 after the Third Anglo-Maratha War, when Bajirao II was defeated and pensioned off by the British.

Anglo-Maratha Wars

Exam Tip: The three Anglo-Maratha Wars span 43 years (1775–1818). Remember the pattern: First War ended in stalemate (Treaty of Salbai), Second War saw British territorial gains through decisive battlefield victories (Assaye, Laswari), and Third War ended Maratha sovereignty entirely. The Treaty of Bassein (1802) is the critical turning point — it was the first time a Peshwa accepted a British subsidiary alliance.

Why the Marathas Failed

Despite being the dominant Indian power in the 18th century, the Maratha Empire ultimately collapsed due to several structural weaknesses:

1. Confederacy model — The decentralised structure meant that Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle, and Gaekwad often pursued independent or even conflicting policies; the British exploited this disunity systematically
2. Lack of pan-Indian alliances — Maratha demands for Chauth and Sardeshmukhi alienated potential allies (Rajputs, Jats, Nizam), leaving them isolated at Panipat and during the Anglo-Maratha Wars
3. No naval modernisation — After Shivaji, the Marathas neglected naval power, ceding the seas to the British and Portuguese
4. Weak later Peshwas — After Madhavrao I's death (1772), the Peshwa-ship was plagued by assassinations, regencies, and incompetent rulers (especially Bajirao II)
5. British diplomatic strategy — The British used subsidiary alliances and separate treaties with individual Maratha chiefs to dismantle the confederacy piece by piece

Legacy and Significance

• Shivaji's administration is studied as a model of indigenous state-building — the Ashtapradhan, revenue reforms, and emphasis on merit-based appointments were innovations of lasting importance
• The Maratha Empire represented the last major indigenous resistance to foreign domination before British colonial rule
• Shivaji's emphasis on Swarajya (self-rule) became a powerful symbol during India's freedom movement — Bal Gangadhar Tilak used Shivaji's legacy to inspire nationalist sentiment
• The Maratha navy tradition is recognised as an early effort at indigenous maritime defence
• The Maratha revenue system (direct collection, measurement with kathi) influenced later British land revenue experiments in western India

UPSC Relevance

Prelims Focus Areas

• Shivaji: born 19 Feb 1630 (Shivneri Fort), first conquest Torna Fort (1646), coronation 6 June 1674 (Raigad), death 3 April 1680
• Battle of Pratapgad (10 November 1659) — Afzal Khan killed with wagh nakh
• Shaista Khan night raid (5 April 1663) — lost his fingers, transferred to Bengal
• Treaty of Purandar (11 June 1665) — Jai Singh I, 23 forts surrendered
• Agra escape (17 August 1666) — baskets of sweets
• Ashtapradhan: eight ministers with specialised roles (Peshwa = PM, Amatya = Finance, etc.)
• Chauth (1/4) and Sardeshmukhi (1/10)
• Sambhaji: captured Sangameshwar (1 Feb 1689), executed 11 March 1689 at Tulapur
• Peshwas: Balaji Vishwanath (first hereditary, 1713 farman), Bajirao I (never lost, Palkhed 1728, Bhopal 1738), Balaji Bajirao (Panipat)
• Narayanrao assassination (30 August 1773) at Shaniwar Wada
• Third Battle of Panipat: 14 January 1761, Sadashivrao Bhau vs Ahmad Shah Abdali
• Maratha Confederacy: Holkar (Indore), Scindia (Gwalior), Bhonsle (Nagpur), Gaekwad (Baroda)
• Battle of Wadgaon (1779): rare British defeat in First Anglo-Maratha War
• Treaty of Bassein (31 December 1802): Bajirao II accepted British subsidiary alliance
• Battle of Assaye (1803): Arthur Wellesley's finest battle
• Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18): end of Maratha power

Mains Focus Areas

• Assess Shivaji's contribution to administration and military innovation
• Shivaji as a state-builder: was his kingdom a Hindu Swarajya or a secular polity?
• Shivaji's religious tolerance and its significance
• Why did the Marathas fail at Panipat despite being the dominant Indian power?
• Compare the Maratha Confederacy with European feudal models — why did decentralisation weaken the Marathas?
• Anglo-Maratha Wars and the transition from Indian to British dominance
• Shivaji's navy and the importance of maritime power in Indian history
• Role of Tarabai and women in Maratha resistance

Vocabulary

Guerrilla

• Pronunciation: /ɡəˈrɪlə/
• Definition: A form of irregular warfare in which small, mobile groups of fighters use hit-and-run tactics — ambushes, raids, and rapid retreats — against a larger conventional army, as perfected by Shivaji in the Western Ghats.
• Origin: From Spanish guerrilla, a diminutive of guerra ("war"), itself from Germanic werra ("strife"); the term entered English in the early 19th century during the Peninsular War against Napoleon.

Chauth

• Pronunciation: /tʃaʊθ/
• Definition: An annual levy of one-fourth (25%) of the revenue of neighbouring territories claimed by the Maratha Empire as protection money in exchange for not raiding those lands.
• Origin: From Sanskrit chaturtha (चतुर्थ, "one-fourth"), reflecting the exact proportion of revenue demanded; the tax became a major source of Maratha income from the early 18th century and was formalised through a Mughal farman in 1719.

Sardeshmukhi

• Pronunciation: /sɑːrˈdeɪʃmuːkiː/
• Definition: An additional levy of one-tenth (10%) of the revenue claimed by Shivaji and his successors over and above chauth, asserted on the basis of the Maratha ruler's position as Sardeshmukh (hereditary overlord) of Maharashtra.
• Origin: From Marathi sardeshmukh, combining sar ("head, chief") and deshmukh ("district chief"), a hereditary revenue title in the Deccan; Shivaji claimed this title as the supreme deshmukh of the Maratha homeland.

Key Terms

Shivaji's Administration

• Pronunciation: /ʃɪˈvɑːdʒiː/
• Definition: The governance system established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsale (1630–1680), centred on the Ashtapradhan (Council of Eight Ministers) with specialised portfolios, direct land revenue collection without intermediaries, payment of soldiers in cash rather than through land grants, a formidable navy, and a network of over 300 forts — representing one of the most sophisticated indigenous state-building efforts in medieval India.
• Context: The Ashtapradhan comprised eight ministers — Peshwa (PM), Amatya (Finance), Shurunavis (Secretary), Mantri (Interior), Senapati (Commander), Sumant (Foreign Affairs), Nyayadhish (Justice), and Panditrao (Religious Affairs) — drawing from Deccan administrative traditions with innovations to prevent feudal fragmentation.
• UPSC Relevance: GS1 (Medieval India). Prelims: tested on the Ashtapradhan and its members' roles, revenue system (Chauth and Sardeshmukhi), fort-based defence strategy, and Maratha navy. Mains: asked to evaluate Shivaji's state-building as an indigenous alternative to Mughal governance; compare with other medieval administrative systems. Focus on how cash-based soldier payment prevented feudalism, and the significance of the Maratha navy for Indian maritime history.

Peshwa

• Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪʃwɑː/
• Definition: The prime minister of the Maratha Empire, a position that became hereditary under the Bhat family from 1713 onwards, with the Peshwa eventually becoming the de facto head of the Maratha state while the Chhatrapati at Satara was reduced to a figurehead.
• Origin: From Persian pēshwā (پيشوا, "leader, guide"), combining pēsh ("before, in front") and the agentive suffix -wā; though of Persian origin, the term became fully integrated into Marathi political vocabulary.
• UPSC Relevance: GS1 (Medieval India). Prelims: tested on key Peshwas — Balaji Vishwanath (first hereditary Peshwa), Baji Rao I (greatest military commander), Balaji Baji Rao (Third Battle of Panipat), and Baji Rao II (last Peshwa, defeated by British in 1818). Mains: relevant for analysing the shift from Chhatrapati to Peshwa dominance, Maratha Confederacy's structural weaknesses, and the Anglo-Maratha Wars. Focus on how hereditary Peshwa rule led to internal rivalries that the British exploited.

Sources: Sabhasad Bakhar, Grant Duff — History of the Mahrattas, Jadunath Sarkar — Shivaji and His Times, NCERT — Themes in Indian History Part II, Satish Chandra — History of Medieval India