The Marathas discussed abolishing the Mughal throne and placing Vishwasrao Peshwa on the Mughal imperial throne in Delhi but were not able to do so. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ) in the north, and Orissa & western Bengal up to the Hooghly River, in the east. Balaji and his descendants played a key role in the expansion of Maratha rule. Pleased by his help, Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the empire. Following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became the ruler with the help of Balaji Vishwanath and Dhanaji Jadhav. Known for their mobility, the Marathas were able to consolidate their territory during the Mughal–Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of the Indian subcontinent.Īfter the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by the Mughals. His father, Shahji had earlier conquered Thanjavur which Shivaji's half-brother, Venkoji Rao alias Ekoji inherited and that Kingdom was known as the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. The Marathas became prominent in the 17th century under the leadership of Shivaji Maharaj, who revolted against the Adil Shahi dynasty, and carved out a kingdom with Raigad as his capital.

The Marathas were a Marathi-speaking warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau (present-day Maharashtra) who rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya (meaning 'self-rule of Native Hindu/Indian people'). The Marathas are credited to a large extent for ending Mughal Rule over most of the Indian subcontinent. The empire formally existed from 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the Chhatrapati and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II at the hands of the British East India Company. The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was a power that dominated a large portion of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century.

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