Mahratta Empire

Maratha Empire
1674–1818
Flag
Territory under Maratha control in 1760 (yellow), with its vassals.
Capital		Raigad Fort (Maharashtra) Gingee (Tamil Nadu) Satara (city) Pune (Maharashtra)
Languages		Marathi, Sanskrit
Religion		Hinduism
Government		Monarchy
Chhatrapati
•	1645–1680	Shivaji (first)
•	1808–1818	Raja Pratap Singh, Raja of Satara (last)
Peshwa
•	1674–1689	Moropant Pingle (first)
•	1803–1818	Baji Rao II (last)
Legislature		Ashta Pradhan
History
•	Deccan Wars	1674
•	Anglo-Maratha War	1818
Area
		2,800,000 km2 (1,100,000 sq mi)
Population
•	1700 est.	Not known
Currency		Rupee, Paisa, Mohor, Shivrai, Hon
Preceded by Succeeded by Mughal Empire Adil Shahi dynasty Company rule in India
Today part of		India  Bangladesh  Pakistan

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian power that dominated much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. The empire formally existed from 1674 with the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II. The Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending the Mughal rule in India.

The Marathas are a Hindu warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau (present day Maharashtra) that rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya. The Marathas became prominent in the seventeenth century under the leadership of Shivaji who revolted against the Adil Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Empire and carved out a kingdom with Raigad as his capital. Known for their mobility, the Marathas were able to consolidate their territory during the Mughal–Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of the Indian subcontinent.

Chhattrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by the Mughals after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb. Following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became the ruler and appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the empire. Balaji and his descendants played a key role in the expansion of Maratha rule. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) in the north, and Bengal and Andaman Islands in the east. In 1761, the Maratha Army lost the Third Battle of Panipat to Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Afghan Durrani Empire which halted their imperial expansion into Afghanistan. Ten years after Panipat, the young Peshwa Madhavrao I's Maratha Resurrection reinstated Maratha authority over North India.