Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

  Shivaji Bhonsale I ( 1627/February 19, 1630 – April 3, 1680 ) was an Indian warrior-king and a member of the   Bhonsle   Maratha clan . Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining   Adilshahi sultanate   of   Bijapur   that formed the genesis of the   Maratha Empire . In 1674, he was formally crowned as the   Chhatrapati   (emperor) of his realm at   Raigad . Over the course of his life, Shivaji engaged in both alliances and hostilities with the  Mughal Empire ,  Sultanate of Golkonda  and  Sultanate of Bijapur , as well as European colonial powers. Shivaji's military forces expanded the Maratha sphere of influence, capturing and building forts, and forming a Maratha navy. Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with well-structured administrative organisations. He revived ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted the usage of  Marathi language . Shivaji'...

  The attacks on Shaista Khan and Surat enraged Aurangzeb. In response he sent the   Rajput   Mirza Raja   Jai Singh I   with an army numbering around 15,000 to defeat Shivaji.   Throughout 1665, Jai Singh's forces pressed Shivaji, with their cavalry razing the countryside, and their siege forces investing Shivaji's forts. The Mughal commander succeeded in luring away several of Shivaji's key commanders, and many of his cavalrymen, into Mughal service. By mid-1665, with the fortress at Purandar besieged and near capture, Shivaji was forced to come to terms with Jai Singh. In the  Treaty of Purandar , signed between Shivaji and Jai Singh on 11 June 1665, Shivaji agreed to give up 23 of his forts, keeping 12 for himself, and pay compensation of 400,000 gold  hun  to the Mughals. Shivaji agreed to become a vassal of the Mughal empire, and to send his son Sambhaji, along with 5,000 horsemen, to fight for the Mughals in the Deccan as a  mans...

  Until 1657, Shivaji maintained peaceful relations with the Mughal Empire. Shivaji offered his assistance to  Aurangzeb  who then, was the Mughal  viceroy  of the Deccan and son of the Mughal emperor, in conquering Bijapur in return for formal recognition of his right to the Bijapuri forts and villages under his possession. Dissatisfied with the Mughal response, and receiving a better offer from Bijapur, he launched a raid into the Mughal Deccan.  Shivaji's confrontations with the Mughals began in March 1657, when two of Shivaji's officers raided the Mughal territory near  Ahmednagar .  This was followed by raids in  Junnar , with Shivaji carrying off 300,000  hun  in cash and 200 horses.  Aurangzeb responded to the raids by sending Nasiri Khan, who defeated the forces of Shivaji at Ahmednagar. However, Aurangzeb's countermeasures against Shivaji were interrupted by the rainy season and his battle of succession with his brothe...

  Having defeated the Bijapuri forces sent against him, Shivaji's army marched towards the Konkan and   Kolhapur , seizing   Panhala fort , and defeating Bijapuri forces sent against them under   Rustam Zaman   and Fazl Khan in 1659.   In 1660, Adilshah sent his general Siddi Jauhar to attack Shivaji's southern border, in alliance with the Mughals who planned to attack from the north. At that time, Shivaji was encamped at Panhala fort with his forces. Siddi Jauhar's army besieged Panhala in mid-1660, cutting off supply routes to the fort. During the bombardment of Panhala, Siddi Jauhar purchased grenades from the English at   Rajapur   to increase his efficacy, and also hired some English artillerymen to assist in his bombardment of the fort, conspicuously flying a flag used by the English. This perceived betrayal angered Shivaji, who in December would retaliate by plundering the English factory at Rajapur and capturing four of the factors, impris...

  Adilshah was displeased at his losses to Shivaji's forces, which his vassal Shahaji disavowed. Having ended his conflict with the Mughals and having a greater ability to respond, in 1657 Adilshah sent   Afzal Khan , a veteran general, to arrest Shivaji. Before engaging him, the Bijapuri forces desecrated the   Tulja Bhavani Temple , holy to Shivaji's family, and the   Vithoba   temple at   Pandharpur , a major pilgrimage site for the Hindus. Pursued by Bijapuri forces, Shivaji retreated to  Pratapgad  fort, where many of his colleagues pressed him to surrender. The two forces found themselves at a stalemate, with Shivaji unable to break the siege, while Afzal Khan, having a powerful cavalry but lacking siege equipment, was unable to take the fort. After two months, Afzal Khan sent an envoy to Shivaji suggesting the two leaders meet in private outside the fort to  parley . The two met in a hut at the foothills of Pratapgad fort on 10 No...

  In 1645, the 15-year-old Shivaji bribed or persuaded Inayat Khan, the Bijapuri commander of the   Torna Fort , to hand over possession of the fort to him.   The Maratha   Firangoji Narsala , who held the   Chakan   fort, professed his loyalty to Shivaji, and the fort of Kondana was acquired by bribing the Bijapuri governor.   On 25 July 1648, Shahaji was imprisoned by Baji Ghorpade under the orders of Bijapuri ruler   Mohammed Adilshah , in a bid to contain Shivaji. According to Sarkar, Shahaji was released in 1649 after the capture of  Jinji  secured Adilshah's position in Karnataka. During these developments, from 1649–1655 Shivaji paused in his conquests and quietly consolidated his gains. [37]  After his release, Shahaji retired from public life, and died around 1664–1665 in a hunting accident. Following his father's release, Shivaji resumed raiding, and in 1656, under controversial circumstances, killed  Chandrarao More ...

  Shivaji was devoted to his mother   Jijabai , who was deeply religious. His studies of the Hindu epics, the   Ramayana   and the   Mahabharata , also influenced his lifelong defence of Hindu values.   He was deeply interested in religious teachings, and regularly sought the company of Hindu saints.   Shahaji, meanwhile had married a second wife, Tuka Bai from the   Mohite   family. Having made peace with the Mughals, ceding them six forts, he went to serve the Sultanate of Bijapur. He moved Shivaji and Jijabai from Shivneri to Pune and left them in the care of his   jagir   administrator,   Dadoji Konddeo , who has been credited with overseeing the education and training of young Shivaji. Many of Shivaji's comrades, and later a number of his soldiers, came from the  Maval  region, including Yesaji Kank, Suryaji Kakade, Baji Pasalkar,  Baji Prabhu Deshpande  and  Tanaji Malusare . Shivaji traveled...

 After a lifetime of exploits and guerrilla warfare with Adilshah of Bijapur and Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, the local lord Shivaji founded an independent Maratha nation in 1674, with Raigad as its capital. Shivaji died in 1680, leaving a large, but vulnerably located kingdom. The Mughals invaded, fighting an unsuccessful 25 years long war from 1682 to 1707. Shahu, a grandson of Shivaji, ruled as emperor until 1749. During his reign, Shahu appointed a Peshwa ( prime minister) as head of government under certain conditions. After the death of Shahu, the Peshwas became the de facto leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rules from their base in Satara. Covering a large part of the subcontinent, the Maratha Empire kept the British forces at bay during the eighteenth century, until dissension between the Peshwas and their sardars, or army commanders, tore at their cohesion. The Maratha Empire was at its height in the eighteenth century, u...

 Maratha Empire (also transliterated, Mahratta), or the Maratha Confederacy, was a Hindu state located in present-day India. It existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire's territories covered 250 million acres (1 million km2) or one-third of South Asia. The state was ruled by a series of Prime Ministers who were advised by a Council of eight. As the British expanded their presence in India, the Marathas represented a major threat to their territorial ambitions. After fighting a series of wars with the British, the Marathas were defeated in 1818. Under British paramountcy, various princely states emerged from its ruins. However, the spirit of the Maratha Empire lives on in the Indian state of Maharashtra, "Great Nation", which was created in 1960 as a Marathi-speaking state. Traditions, such as social mobility regardless of caste and religious pluralism, continue to characterize life in this part of India. Although the empire had been pitted for many years against...

 Shivaji (1627-1680) was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosale clan who is the founder of the Maratha empire. Shivaji led a resistance to free the people from the Sultanate of Bijapur in 1645 by winning the fort Torna, followed by many more forts, placing the area under his control and establishing Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule of Hindu people). He created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati (sovereign) of the new Maratha kingdom in 1674. The Maratha kingdom comprised about 4.1% of the subcontinent, but it was spread over large tracts. At the time of his death, it was reinforced with about 300 forts, and defended by about 40000 cavalries, and 50000 soldiers, as well as naval establishments along the west coast. Over time, the kingdom would increase in size and heterogeneity; by the time of his grandson's rule, and later under the Peshwas in the early 18th century, it w...