History of Satara district

The History of Satara district can be traced back to 200 BCE. Historical inscriptions of circa 200 BCE indicate the oldest known place in Satara district in Maharashtra is Karad (mentioned as Karhakada). It is also believed that the Pandavas stayed in Wai, then known as 'Viratnagari', in the 13th year of exile.

The empire of Chandragupta II, known as Mahendraditya Kumargupta I, extended as far as Satara district in Deccan when he ruled between 451 and 455 CE. The Mauryan empire in the Deccan was followed by the rules of "Satvahans" for about two centuries between 550 and 750 CE.

The first Muslim invasion of the Deccan took place in 1296. In 1636 the Nizam Shahi dynasty came to an end. In 1663 Shivaji conquered Parali and Satara fort. After the death of Shivaji, Aurangzeb conquered Satara fort later won by Parshuram Pratinidhi in 1706. In 1708 Chattrapati Shahu was crowned within the Satara fort. The direct descendents of The Great Maratha King Chh. Shivaji continue to live in Satara. The current king of Satara, Chh. Udayanraje Bhonsale is the 13th descendent of Shivaji.

After their victory in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the British Empire annexed most of the Maratha territory to Bombay Presidency, but restored the titular Raja Pratap Singh, and assigned to him the principality of Satara, an area much larger than the present district. As a result of political intrigues, he was deposed in 1839, and his brother Shahji Raja was placed on the throne. When this prince died without a male heir in 1848, Satara was annexed by the British government and added to Bombay Presidency.

In 1429 Bahmani Sultanate's Malik-ut-Tujjar, the Subedar or governor of Daulatabad, with the hereditary officers or deshmukhs, went through the country restoring order. Their first operations were against some Ramoshis in Khatav Desh and a body of banditti that infested the Mahadev hills. The army next marched to Wai and reduced several forts. So entirely had the country fallen waste that the old villages had disappeared and fresh villages had to be formed, which generally included the lands of two or three old villages. Lands were given to all who would till them, free of rent for the first year and for a horse-bag of grain for the second year. This settlement was entrusted to Dadu Narsu Kale, an experienced Brahman, and to a Turkish eunuch of the Court [Grant Duff's Marathas, Vol. I p. 51.].

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