Canberra, 11 October 2022 The Maratha Empire originated as a small jagir handed over to a young Shivaji by his father to learn the rudiments of land management under the watchful eyes of Dadaji Kondadev. As Shivaji gradually grew it into a kingdom, of necessity the administrative system of the budding State also changed, expanded […]
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Tag Archives: Rajaram
The Marathas Part 21 The Creation, Evolution and Decline of the Maratha Army Section II; Feudalism to Final Decline
September 20, 2022 
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Canberra, 20 September 2022 In the annals of the history of the sub-continent, the Marathas came into prominence suddenly and swiftly and dissipated and collapsed as a ruling entity equally rapidly. While the rationale for their rise have been adequately chronicled, the causes for their downfall and the speed at which the collapse took place […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 20 The Prominent Feudatories of the Empire Section I: The Rajas of Kolhapur
August 13, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 13 August 2022 On Chhatrapati Shivaji’s son and successor Sambhaji being killed by the Mughals, his younger half-brother Rajaram ascended the throne in 1689. He ruled for 11 years and died in 1700, whereupon his widow Tarabai declared her young son Shivaji II the king and started to rule the kingdom as the Regent. […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 19 The Saranjamdari System
August 8, 2022 0 Comments
Canberra, 8 August 2022 The great king Shivaji established a well-knit monarchy, within which the king doubled as the supreme military commander and the head of the civil administration. The Maratha military forces, amounting to a standing army of 200,000, were always led into battle by the king, minor skirmishes and battles being delegated to […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 11 Beginning of the Maratha Confederacy
October 30, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 30 October 2021 Aurangzeb’s death initiated the inevitable succession struggle. Shah Alam, the eldest surviving son based in Peshawar, reached Delhi first and claimed the throne after taking over the treasury. Azam Shah from Ahmednagar opposed him and started the march north, without concluding any formal agreement with the marauding Marathas. On the advice […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 9 Triumph of the Marathas
October 16, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 16 October 2021 Sambhaji’s brutal execution and Rajaram’s hurried flight to Ginji were events that severely shocked the Maratha psyche. However, the Marathas are one of the most resilient of peoples, oriented towards action and therefore, the despondency did not linger for long. In May 1690 a combined Maratha army, commanded by many military […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 8 The Regency of Rajaram: Taking on the Mughals
October 7, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 07 October 2021 Even though there was no denial of Sambhaji’s character flaws and grave faults in his behaviour pattern, the Maratha nobles fully resented the way he had been treated by the Mughal emperor—after all, he was the king of the Marathas. Sambhaji left behind his wife Yesubai and a six-year-old son Shahu, […]
Continue readingThe Marathas Part 7 Sambhaji Bhonsle Section I: Accession and Early Rule
September 28, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 28 September 2021 On hearing of his father’s illness, Sambhaji hurried from Panhala to Raigarh but could not reach the fort before Shivaji’s death. He carried out the last rites and then returned to Panhala. The mourning period was followed by a short, but vicious power struggle for succession. The 23-year-old Sambhaji, as the […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section VII: The Curtain Falls
February 23, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 23 February 2021 After the capture and execution of Shambhuji, it would have been logical for Aurangzeb to return to Delhi—the three major powers in the Deccan, the Adil and the Qutb Shahis and the Marathas, had been effectively destroyed or subdued and their territories annexed to the Empire. There was nothing more to […]
Continue readingIndian History Part 84 Aurangzeb Section VI: The Last Foray into the Deccan
February 23, 2021 0 Comments
Canberra, 23 February 2021 On 8th September 1681 Aurangzeb, 63 years old and having been on the throne for 23 years, made a hasty peace with Mewar and set out from Ajmer for the Deccan, reaching Burhanpur on 13th November 1681. This was the culmination of a sequence of events in Rajputana, most of which […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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