Maratha Empire - Quiz

Sai Bhosale (c.1633- 5 September 1659) was the first wife and chief consort of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire. She was the mother of her husband's successor and the second Chhatrapati, Sambhaji.

Saibai was a member of the prominent Nimbalkar family, whose members were the rulers of Phaltan from the era of the Pawar dynasty and served the Deccan sultanates and the Mughal Empire. She was a daughter of the fifteenth Raja of Phaltan, Mudhojirao Naik Nimbalkar and a sister of sixteenth Raja, Bajaji Rao Naik Nimbalkar. Saibai's mother Reubai was from the Shirke family.

In 1666, Aurangzeb invited Shivaji to Agra, along with his nine-year-old son Sambhaji. Aurangzeb's plan was to send Shivaji to Kandahar, now in Afghanistan, to consolidate the Mughal empire's northwestern frontier. However, in the court, on 12 May 1666, Aurangzeb made Shivaji stand behind mansabdārs (military commanders) of his court. Shivaji took offence and stormed out of court,[23]:78 and was promptly placed under house arrest under the watch of Faulad Khan, Kotwal of Agra.

Shivaji feigned severe illness and requested to send most of his contingent back to the Deccan, thereby ensuring the safety of his army and deceiving Aurangzeb. Thereafter, on his request, he was allowed to send daily shipments of sweets and gifts to saints, fakirs, and temples in Agra as offerings for his health. After several days and weeks of sending out boxes containing sweets, Sambhaji, being a child had no restrictions and was sent out of the prison camp and Shivaji, disguised as labourer carrying sweet basket escaped on 17 August 1666, according to the Mughal documents. Shivaji and his son fled to the Deccan disguised as sadhus (holy men). After the escape, rumours of Sambhaji's death were intentionally spread by Shivaji himself in order to deceive the Mughals and to protect Sambhaji. Recent research has proposed that Shivaji simply disguised himself as a Brahmin priest after performance of religious rites at the haveli grounds on 22 July 1666, and escaped by mingling within the departing priestly entourage of Pandit Kavindra Paramananda. Sambhaji was removed from Agra and taken to Mathura later by Shivaji's trusted men.

Baji Rao is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire, especially in North India, which contributed to its reaching a zenith during his son's reign twenty years after his death. In his military career spanning 20 years, Baji Rao never lost a battle. According to the British Army officer Bernard Montgomery, Baji Rao was possibly the finest cavalry general ever produced by India.

On November 12, 1736, the Peshwa started a march to the Mughal capital Delhi from Pune. On hearing about the advancing Maratha army, Mughal emperor asked Saadat Ali Khan I to march from Agra and check the Maratha advance. The Maratha chiefs Malhar Rao Holkar and Pilaji Jadhav crossed Yamuna and plundered the Mughal territories in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Saadat Khan led a force of 150,000 against them, and defeated them. He then retired to Mathura, thinking that the Marathas had retreated. However, Baji Rao advanced to Delhi and encamped at Talkatora. The Mughal emperor dispatched a force led by Mir Hasan Khan Koka to check his advance. The Marathas defeated this force in the Battle of Delhi on March 28, 1737. Baji Rao then retreated from Delhi, apprehensive about the approach of a larger Mughal force from Mathura.

The Battle of Palkhed was fought on February 28, 1728 at the village of Palkhed, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra, India between the Maratha Peshwa, Baji Rao I and the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad. The Marathas defeated the Nizam.

Balaji Baji Rao (December 8, 1720-June 23, 1761), also known as Nana Saheb, was a Peshwa (prime minister) of the Maratha Empire in India.

During his tenure, the Chhatrapati (Maratha king) was reduced to a mere figurehead. At the same time, the Maratha empire started transforming into a confederacy, in which individual chiefs--such as the Holkars, the Scindias and the Bhonsles of Nagpur kingdom--became more powerful. During Balaji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory reached its zenith. A large part of this expansion, however, was led by the individual chiefs, whose acts of plundering alienated the masses.

During the Ganesh Festival of 1773 (the actual date was 30 August 1773, the last day of Ganesh Festival i.e. Anant Chaturdashi), several Gardi guards, led by their captain, Sumer Singh Gardi, entered the palace and started creating a commotion. They then charged towards the sleeping Peshwa's chambers, killing a clerk on the way. They intended to release Raghunathrao. Raghunathrao and his wife Anandibai, who were opposed to Narayanrao, had promised the Gardis that they would mediate in their dispute with Narayanrao. The Gardis followed Narayanrao to his uncle's chamber and a menial pulled him while Sumer Singh Gardi cut him down. His corpse was cremated secretly by the river at midnight.

According to popular legend, Raghunathrao had sent a message to Sumer Singh Gardi to fetch Narayanrao using the Marathi word dharaa (धरा) or 'hold' (actual phrase in Marathi - "Narayanrao-ana dhara"). This message was intercepted by his wife Anandibai who changed a single letter to make it read as maaraa or 'kill' . The miscommunication led the Gardis to chase Narayanrao, who, upon hearing them coming, started running towards his uncles' residence screaming, "Kaka! Mala Vachva!!" ("Uncle! Save me!"). But nobody came to help him and he was killed in the presence of his uncle. Rumour has it that Narayanrao's body was hacked into so many pieces that they had to carry the pieces in a pot, henceforth it was taken near the river and cremated at midnight. This act brought ill fame to the Peshwa administration, which was being looked after by the minister Nana Phadnavis. The Chief Justice of the administration, Ram Shastri Prabhune was asked to conduct an investigation into the incident, and Raghunathrao, Anandibai and Sumer Singh Gardi were all prosecuted in absentia. Although Raghunathrao was acquitted, Anandibai was declared an offender and Sumer Singh Gardi the culprit. Sumer Singh Gardi died mysteriously in Patna, Bihar in 1775, and Anandibai performed Hindu rituals to absolve her sins.

At its peak in 1758, the Maratha Empire stretched for a brief time from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) in the north.

Balaji Vishwanath helped Shahu to become the Maratha ruler after his release from Mughal captivity and was appointed as the Peshwa. He and his descendants played a key role in the expansion of Maratha rule.

To effectively manage the large Maratha Empire, Madhav Rao gave semi-autonomy to the strongest of the knights, creating a confederacy of Maratha states. These leaders became known as the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore and Malwa, the Scindias of Gwalior and Ujjain, the Bhonsales of Nagpur, the Jadhavs of Vidarbha, the Dabhades of Gujarat, and the Puars of Dhar and Dewas.

According to the paragraph, the growth in power of feudal lords like Malwa sardars, landlords of Bundelkhand, and Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan, they refused to pay tribute to Mahadji, so he sent his army to conquer the states.