Question

explain maratha rule.

Answer 1

• The Maratha kingdom was a powerful regional kingdom to arise out of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule.
• Shivaji (1627-1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families (deshmukhs).
• Groups of highly mobile, peasant pastoralists(kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha army.
• After Shivaji’s death, effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s successors as Peshwa (or principal minister).
• Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom Under the Peshwas, the Marathas developed a very successful military organisation.
• Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha empire expanded.
• It gradually chipped away at the authority of the Mughal Empire.
• By the 1730s, the Maratha king was recognised as the overlord of the entire Deccan peninsula.
• Expansion brought enormous resources, but it came at a price. These military campaigns also made other rulers hostile towards the Marathas. As a result, they were not inclined to support the Marathas during the third battle of Panipat in 1761.
• Agriculture was encouraged and trade revived.