Shivaji Bhonsle I, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji, was an Indian ruler who belonged to the Bhonsle Maratha clan. From the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur, Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom, laying the groundwork for the Maratha Empire. At Raigad Fort, he was formally crowned Chhatrapati of his realm in 1674. In this article, we will discuss Shivaji (1627-1680) which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Shivaji’s Life and Conquests

• Shivaji was born in 1627 in Shivner. Shahji Bhonsle was his father, and Jija Bai was his mother. In 1637, he inherited the jagir of Poona from his father.
• Shivaji took full control of his jagir after his guardian, Dadaji Kondadev, died in 1647. He had already taken over Raigarh, Kondana, and Torna from the ruler of Bijapur.
• He kidnapped Javli from a Maratha chief named Chanda Rao More. As a result, he became the ruler of the Mavala region.
• In 1657, he attacked the Bijapur kingdom and captured a number of Konkan hill forts. The Sultan of Bijapur dispatched Afzal Khan to oppose Shivaji. However, Shivaji assassinated Afzal Khan in a daring manner in 1659.
• Shivaji's military victories established him as a legendary figure in the Maratha region. Many people volunteered to join his army.
• The Mughal emperor Aurangazeb was watching the rise of Maratha power under Shivaji with bated breath. He dispatched Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor of the Deccan, against Shivaji. Shivaji was defeated by Mughal forces and lost control of Poona.
• However, in 1663, Shivaji launched another daring attack on Shaista Khan's military camp at Poona, killing his son and injuring Khan.
• Khan's reputation suffered as a result of his daring attack, and he was summoned by Aurangazeb. Shivaji plundered and attacked Surat, the Mughals' main port, in 1664.
• This time, Aurangazeb dispatched Raja Jai Singh of Amber to fight Shivaji. He made elaborate preparations and was successful in besieging the Purander fort, which housed Shivaji's family and treasure.
• In 1665, Shivaji began negotiations with Jai Singh, and the Treaty of Purandar was signed.
• According to the treaty, Shivaji was required to surrender 23 of his 35 forts to the Mughals. The remaining 12 forts were to be handed over to Shivaji in exchange for service and loyalty to the Mughal empire.
• The Mughals, on the other hand, recognised Shivaji's right to hold certain parts of the Bijapur kingdom.
• As a result of Shivaji's request to be exempted from personal service to the Mughals, his minor son Shambaji was granted a mansab of 5000 rupees.

Shivaji’s Administration

• Shivaji was also an excellent administrator. He laid the groundwork for a solid administration system. The king served as the government's pivot.
• He was assisted by the Ashtapradhan Council of Ministers. Each minister, however, reported directly to Shivaji.
• The majority of Shivaji's administrative reforms were based on Deccan sultanate practises. The Persian title, for example, was Peshwa.
• Shivaji's revenue system was based on Malik Amber of Ahmadnagar. Lands were measured with a measuring rod known as a kathi.
• Chauth and sardeshmukhi were taxes levied outside the Maratha kingdom, in the territories of the Mughal empire or Deccan sultanates.
• Chauth was a quarter of the land revenue paid to the Marathas to avoid Maratha raids. Sardeshmukhi was a ten percent levy levied on lands over which the Marathas claimed hereditary rights.
• Shivaji was a military genius with a well-organized army.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Shivaji’s Administration

Successors of Shivaji

• After Shivaji's death, his sons, Shambaji and Rajaram, engaged in a succession war. Shambaji was victorious, but he was later captured and executed by the Mughals.
• Rajaram ascended to the throne, but the Mughals forced him to flee to Ginjee fort. He passed away in Satara. His minor son Shivaji II succeeded him, with his mother Tara Bai acting as regent.
• Shahu was the next ruler, and it was during his reign that the Peshwas rose to power.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Successors of Shivaji

The Peshwas (1713-1818)

• Shivaji's power and polity spread far beyond his swarajya into North India under the brilliant peshwas, whose office was invested with tremendous authority and made hereditary by Shivaji's grandson, Shahu.
• The Peshwai period refers to the period of Maratha power expansion under successive peshwas, with Pune serving as the seat of their power for nearly a century (1713–1818).
• Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1662–1720) was the first of a line of hereditary Peshwas from the Bhat family who seized control of the Maratha Empire in the 18th century.
• Balaji Viswanath began his career as a small revenue official before ascending to the position of Peshwa in 1713.
• Baji Rao I(1720-1740) was Balaji Viswanath's eldest son. At the tender age of twenty, he succeeded his father as Peshwa.
• He was the pinnacle of Maratha power. He established a system of confederacy among the Maratha chiefs.
• Under this system, each Maratha chief was assigned a territory that could be administered autonomously.
• Balaji Baji Rao(1740-1761), also known as Nanasaheb Peshwa, succeeded Baji Rao I.
• Raghunath Rao, who later betrayed the Marathas and joined forces with the British, and Janardan, who died when he was young, were his two brothers.
• Nanasaheb was skilled at war, diplomacy, and administration. He spent a year improving Pune's civil administration shortly after becoming peshwa.
• Madhav Rao, the son of Balaji Baji Rao, became Peshwa in 1761 under the regency of Raghoba, Peshwa's younger brother.
• Madhav Rao attempted to reclaim Maratha power lost in the battle of Panipat. A bloody battle with the Nizam of Hyderabad was fought in 1763. His expeditions against Haider Ali of Mysore (1765–1767) were successful.
• Madhav Rao I had no sons, so his younger brother Narayan Rao succeeded him as Peshwa in 1772. But he was murdered the following year.
• On the 40th day of his birth, his posthumous son Sawai Madhav Rao (Madhav Rao II) was proclaimed Peshwa.
• After Madhav Rao II died, Baji Rao II, Raghunath Rao's son, became Peshwa and was the last Peshwa.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link The Peshwas (1713-1818)

Other Indian States

• The Bhonsles
  • The Bhonsles of Nagpur were a Maratha royal house that ruled the Kingdom of Nagpur from 1739 to 1853.
  • They were from the Maratha Bhonsle clan and were one of the most powerful Maratha chiefs in the Maratha Empire.
  • The Bhonsale family were originally headmen from Deor, a village in Satara district, under the forts Chandan Vandan (currently in Koregaon Taluka, District Satara and was under Deshmukhi rights of Bhoite Clan).
  • Raghoji's grandfather and two brothers had fought in Shivaji's armies, and the most distinguished of them was given a high military command and the collection of chauth (tribute) in Berar.
  • Raghuji Bhonsle (ruled 1727–55), who was responsible for the Maratha incursions into Bengal and Bihar in the 1740s and early 1750s, is a pivotal figure in this line.
  • His successors, Janoji, Sabaji, and Mudhoji, had varying relationships with the peshwas and the Satara line, and it is in this sense that these domains can be considered loosely confederated rather than tightly bound together.
• The Gaikwads
  • The Gaekwads of Baroda are a Hindu dynasty that originated with the former Maratha Empire and its subsequent Princely States.
  • From the early 18th century until 1947, a dynasty of this clan ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India.
  • The ruler was known as Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda. The Baroda Residency managed relations with the British during the British Raj, with the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its capital.
  • The Maratha general Pilaji Rao Gaekwad conquered Baroda from the Mughal Empire in 1721, establishing the Gaekwad rule. Chhatrapati Shahu I, the Chhatrapati of the Maratha empire, granted the Gaekwads the city as a Jagir.
  • In their early years, the Gaekwads were subordinates to the Dabhade family, Gujarat's Maratha chiefs and holders of the senapati (commander-in-chief) title.
  • In the First Anglo-Maratha War, the Gaekwads fought alongside several Maratha chieftains against the British.
  • The Gaikwads rose to prominence in 1720. They were initially subservient not only to the Bhonsles, but also to the powerful Dabhade family.
  • However, it was only after Sahu's death, when the peshwas' power was further enhanced, that the Gaikwads' position truly improved.
• Holkars
  • The Holkar dynasty was an Indian Maratha clan of Dhangar origin.
  • The Holkars served as generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I and later as Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent Maratha Empire member until 1818.
  • Their kingdom later became a princely state under British India's protectorate.
  • The dynasty began with Malhar Rao, who joined the service of the Maratha Empire's Peshwas in 1721 and quickly rose to the rank of Subedar.
  • The dynasty's name was associated with the title of the ruler, who was known colloquially as Holkar Maharaja.
• Scindias
  • The Scindia dynasty was a Hindu Maratha dynasty that ruled Gwalior in the past. In Wai, it had the patel-ship of Kumberkerrab.
  • Ranoji Scindia founded it after working as a personal servant to Peshwa Bajirao I.
  • Ranoji and his descendants, along with their rivals the Holkars, played a key role in the 18th century Maratha ascendency in North India.
  • During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Gwalior state was a princely state under the British Raj.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Other Indian States

Conclusion

Shivaji was a true creative genius and nation-builder. His meteoric rise from jagirdar to Chatrapathi was breathtaking. He unified the Marathas while remaining a major foe of the Mughal empire. He was a fearless soldier and an astute administrator. Shivaji led an expedition into Carnatic territory, where he captured Ginjee and Vellore. Shivaji died in 1680, shortly after returning from this expedition.