Maratha Empire

Different Maratha (also called as Rastriks or Maha-rathis or Mahrattas) rulers during Medieval period (before 12th century) include Satavahana and Rashtrakuta. They re-united into historical prominence under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the 17th century. Shivaji Maharaj, born into the Bhosale clan of Marathas, secured an independent state by dint of lifelong struggle and thereby founded an empire, the remnants of which lasted until the independence of India in 1947. The state thus founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji attained its zenith under the Peshwas in the 18th century, extending from the Indus in present-day Pakistan to Orissa in the east and from the Punjab to central Karnataka in the south. The kingdom of Thanjavur in present-day Tamil Nadu was also ruled by a Maratha dynasty, albeit outside the ambit of the main Maratha Empire. At its peak, the Maratha Empire established a protectorate over the Mughal emperor and paramountcy over the numerous Rajput chieftains of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Central India and elsewhere. They had also brought the Punjab under their sway and ended Muslim rule there, setting the conditions for later Sikh control. This vast empire declined gradually after the third battle of Panipat (1761); by 1818, all of present-day India had fallen to the British East India Company.

Influence

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The history of the states and dynasties comprising the Maratha Empire constitutes a major portion of the history of late medieval India. While that extensive history is detailed elsewhere, it is noteworthy that the rise of the Marathas:

• represented the revival of the political power of the Hindus in north India after many centuries of Muslim rule;
• prevented the spread of the Mughal Empire and associated Islamic culture to south India;
• was the primary cause of the decline of the Mughal Empire;
• led to the dilution of the caste system as an overwhelming number of Brahmins too, fought along with them;
• led to the modernisation of India's armed forces, as they introduced indigenously designed and manufactured muskets (known as Gardi muskets)
• encouraged the development of the Marathi language and was seminal to the consolidation of a distinct Maharashtrian identity.