The Maratha Empire is also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy. The historian Barbara Ramusacksays that the former is a designation preferred by Indian nationalists, while the latter was that used by British historians. She

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The empire had its head in the Chhatrapati as de jure, but the de facto governance was in the hands of the Peshwas after Chhatrapati Shahu I's reign. After his death and with the death of

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Shivaji
Shivaji (1627–1680) was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosaleclan who is the founder of the Maratha empire. Shivaji led a resistance to free the

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In a bid to effectively manage the large empire, Madhavrao Peshwa gave semi-autonomy to the strongest of the knights. After the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I, various chiefs and statesmen became de facto rulers and regents for the infant Peshwa

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• In 1659, Shivaji killed Afzal Khan at Pratapgad– he had come to demolish the Maratha kingdom. More than 3,000 soldiers of the Bijapur army were killed and one sardar of high

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The Ashtapradhan (The Council of Eight) was a council of eight ministers that administered the Maratha empire. This system was formed by Shivaji. Ministerial designations were drawn

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During this era, Peshwas belonging to the Bhat family controlled the Maratha Army and later became de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire till 1772. In due course of time, the Maratha Empire dominated most of the Indian subcontinent.
Balaji Vishwanath

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