| Royal Title: | Chhatrapati |
| Realm: | Maratha Empire |
| First Monarch: | Shivaji Bhosale I |
| Last Monarch: | Shahaji (Satara Chhatrapati) Shahaji II (Kolhapur Chhatrapati) |
| Residence: | Raigad fort |
| Appointer: | Hereditary |
| Began: | 1674 CE |
| Ended: | 1818 CE 1848 CE (Satara state) 1947 CE (Kolhapur state) |
The Maratha rulers, belonging to the various dynasties, from the early 17th century to the early 18th century, built and ruled the Maratha Empire on the Indian subcontinent.[1] It was established by the Chhatrapati (the Maratha emperor) in 1670s. Starting in 1720s, the Peshwa were instrumental in expanding the Maratha Empire to cover large areas of the Indian subcontinent. At their empire's greatest extent in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled much of the Indian subcontinent. Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati, but later, they became the leaders of the Marathas, and the Chhatrapati was reduced to a nominal ruler. Their power rapidly dwindled during the 19th century and later Peshwas also were reduced to nominal ruler under various Maratha nobles and later British East India Company. The last Peshwa was deposed in 1818. The Satara Chhatrapati continued to nominally rule over Satara state till 1848 and Kolhapur Chhatrapati continued to nominally rule over Kolhapur state till 1947.[2] [3] [4]
This is the list of the initial Chhatrapatis.
| Image | Name | Birth | Reign | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shivaji | 19 February 1630[5] | 6 June 1674 – 3 April 1680 | 3 April 1680 | ||
| Sambhaji | 14 May 1657 | 16 January 1681 – 11 March 1689 | 11 March 1689 | ||
| Rajaram | 24 February 1670 | 11 March 1689 – 3 March 1700 | 3 March 1700 | ||
| Shivaji II | 9 June 1696 | March 1700–1707, 1710–2 August 1714 (Kolhapur State) | 14 March 1726 | ||
| Shahu | 18 May 1682 | 12 January 1708 – 15 December 1749 | 15 December 1749 | ||
This is the list of the Chhatrapatis of Satara.[6]
| Image | Name | Birth | Reign | Death | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahu I | 18 May 1682 | 12 January 1707 – 15 December 1749 | 15 December 1749 | |||
| Rajaram II | June 1726 | 15 December 1749 – 11 December 1777 | 11 December 1777 | |||
| Shahu II | 1763 | 11 December 1777 – 3 May 1808 | 3 May 1808 | |||
| Pratapsingh | 18 January 1793 | 1818 – 5 September 1839 | 14 October 1847 | |||
| Shahaji | 1802 | 5 September 1839 – 5 April 1848 | 5 April 1848 |
This is the list of the Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur.
| Image | Name | Birth | Reign | Death | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shivaji II | 9 June 1696 | 1700–1707, 1710–1714 (Kolhapur State) | 14 March 1726 | |||
| Sambhaji II | 1698 | 1714–1760 | 18 December 1760 | |||
| Shivaji III | 1756 | 22 September 1762 – 24 April 1813 | 24 April 1813 | |||
| Sambhaji III | 1801 | 24 April 1813 – 2 July 1821 | 2 July 1821 | |||
| Shivaji IV | 1816 | July 2, 1821 – Jan 03 1822 | January 3, 1822 | |||
| Shahaji I | 22 January 1802 | 3 January 1822 – 29 November 1838 | 29 November 1838 | |||
| Shivaji V | 26 December 1830 | 1838–1866 | 4 August 1866 | |||
| Rajaram II | April 13, 1850 | August 18, 1866 – November 30, 1870 | November 30, 1870 | |||
| Shivaji VI | April 5, 1863 | 1871–1883 | December 25, 1883 | |||
| Shahu IV (overall) Shahu I of Kolhapur | 26 June 1874 | 2 April 1894 – 6 May 1922 | 6 May 1922 | |||
| Rajaram III | 31 July 1897 | 1922–1940 | 26 November 1940 | |||
| Shivaji VII | 22 November 1941 | 31 December 1941 – 28 September 1946 | 28 September 1946 | |||
| Shahaji II | 4 April 1910 | 1947–1971 | 9 May 1983 |
| Image | Name | Birth | Reign | Death | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moropant Trimbak Pingle | 1620 | 1674–1683 | 1683 | ||||
| Nilakanth Moreshvar Pingale | 1683–1689 | 1689 | |||||
| Ramchandra Pant Amatya | 1650 | 1689–1708 | 1716 | ||||
| Bahiroji Pingale | 1708–1711 | ||||||
| Parshuram Trimbak Kulkarni | 1660 | 1711–1713 | 1718 | ||||
| Image | Name | Birth ! | Reign | Death ! | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balaji Vishwanath (Sixth appointed Peshwa) | 1713–1720 | Assisted the Syed Brothers in deposing the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719 | ||||
| Baji Rao I (Seventh appointed Peshwa) | 1720–1740 | Known as Thorle (elder) Bajirao and acknowledged as the most influential of the nine Peshwas. Said to have fought for the establishment of "Hindu Pad Padshahi"(Hindu Empire). Helped conquer Central India (Malwa) and Rajputana and extended his dominions into Gujarat in the northwest and Deccan in the south. Attacked Delhi in 1737. Fought in over 41 battles and is one of the few to have never lost a single battle. Died at the age of 40 of sudden fever in camp en route to Delhi; he has been commemorated in the form of an equestrian statue erected at Shaniwar Wada in Pune. | ||||
| Balaji Bajirao (Eighth appointed Peshwa) | 1740–1761 | Known as Nanasaheb Peshwa. Managed to extend the Maratha territories into most of North-West, East and Central India. Captured Attock on the banks of the Indus River and Peshawar in 1758 in the Battle of Attock, 1758. Under his leadership, the Maratha Empire reached its peak but his general and cousin lost the Third Battle of Panipat against Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. Contributed to the development of the city of Pune which was the seat of the Peshwas. Built the famous Parvati Temple, Lakdi Pool and established Nana Peth (area) in Pune. Built a water reservoir near Katraj to provide clean water to Pune city; this 250-year-old system is still functioning. | ||||
| Madhav-Rao I (First hereditary Peshwa) | 1761–1772 | Fraught with internal dissensions and successful Wars with the Nizam. During his tenure, Maratha power recovered from the losses suffered during the Third Battle of Panipat, a phenomenon known as Maratha Resurrection. Repaired the recently weakened administration, treasury, and accounts of the Maratha Empire. He died of tuberculosis in 1772; a memorial commemorating his greatness stands at Peshwe Park in Pune. One of the theory says that he was assassinated by her aunt, Anandi Bai (wife of Raghunath Rao). | ||||
| Narayan-Rao | 1772–1773 | Assassinated by Gardi guards. Raghunath Rao was in favor of just kidnapping him and accordingly he used the code "DHARA". But Anandi Bai (wife of Raghunath Rao) changed the code to "MAARA". Narayan Rao was assassinated in Shanivar Wada. Nowadays, it is considered one of the haunted place in Maharashtra. | ||||
| Raghunath-Rao | 1773–1774 | Responsible for extending the Maratha empire to the zenith in the North as a General and also saw the decline of Maratha power in North India. Deposed by Nana Phadnis and 11 other administrators in what is now called "The Baarbhai Conspiracy" | ||||
| Madhav-Rao II | 1774–1796 | Appointed Peshwa as an infant with a council of Maratha Generals and ministers as regents. Era dominated by the political intrigues of Nana Phadnis. Saw the resurgence of Maratha power in North India. | ||||
| Baji Rao II | 1796–1802 | 1st Reign – Was defeated by Yashwantrao Holkar, ruler of Indore, at the Battle of Poona. Fled to British protection, and in December 1802, concluded the Treaty of Bassein with the British East India Company, ceding territory for the maintenance of a subsidiary force and agreeing to treaty with no other power. This provoked the Second Anglo-Maratha War that began the breakup of the Maratha confederacy. | ||||
| Amrut Rao[8] [9] (Appointed as Peshwa by Yashwantrao Holkar) | 1802–1803 | Appointed Peshwa by Yashwantrao Holkar after defeating Baji Rao II and Daulat Rao Sindhia in Battle of Poona. | ||||
| Baji Rao II | 1803–1818 | 2nd Reign – During his second reign began the Third Anglo-Maratha War. After the defeat at the Battle of Koregaon in January 1818, he was on the run from the British. Eventually, the British took over his dominion and made the Maratha King Pratap Singh of Satara declare in favour of the British. This ended the Peshwa's legal position as head of the Maratha confederacy. On 3 June 1818, Baji Rao surrendered to the British; he was banished to Bithur near Kanpur. | ||||
| Nana Sahib (Pretender of the position of the Peshwa) | 1851–1857 | Was a leader during the Indian Uprising of 1857. As the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, he sought to restore the Maratha confederacy and the Peshwa tradition. |