After Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the local lord Shivaji founded an independent Maratha nation in 1674, with Raigad as its capital. Shivaji died in 1680, leaving a large, but vulnerably located kingdom. The Mughals invaded, fighting an unsuccessful 25 year long war from 1682 to 1707. Shahu, a grandson of Shivaji, ruled as emperor until 1749. During his reign, Shahu appointed a Peshwa (prime minister) as head of government under certain conditions. After the death of Shahu, the Peshwas became the de facto leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in Satara. Covering a large part of the subcontinent, the Maratha Empire kept the British forces at bay during the eighteenth century, until dissension between the Peshwas and their sardars, or army commanders, tore at their cohesion.
The Maratha Empire was at its height in the eighteenth century, under Shahu and the Peshwa Baji Rao I. Losses at the Third Battle of Panipat, in 1761, suspended further expansion of the empire and reduced the power of the Peshwas. In 1761, after severe losses in the Panipat war, the Peshwas lost control of the Kingdom. Many sardars like Shinde, Holkar, Gayakwad, PantPratinidhi, Bhosale of Nagpur, Pandit of Bhor, Patwardhan, and Newalkar became kings in their respective regions. The empire gave way to a loose Confederacy, with political power resting in a "pentarchy" of five mostly Maratha dynasties: The Peshwas of Pune; the Sindhias (originally "Shindes") of Malwa and Gwalior; the Holkars of Indore; the Bhonsles of Nagpur; and the Gaekwads of Baroda. A rivalry between the Sindhia and Holkar dominated the confederation's affairs into the early nineteenth century, as did the clashes with the British and the British East India Company in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars. In the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II, was defeated by the British in 1818. Most of the former Maratha Empire was absorbed by British India, although some of the Maratha states persisted as quasi-independent princely states until India became independent in 1947.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj :-
In this region around Satara, in the western portion of the Deccan plateau, where the plateau meets the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats mountains—had successfully resisted incursions into the region by the Muslim Mughal rulers of northern India. Under their leader, Shivaji Maharaj, the Marathas freed themselves from the Muslim sultans of Bijapur to the southeast, and became much more aggressive and began to frequently raid Mughal territory, ransacking the Mughal port of Surat in 1664. Shivaji Maharaj proclaimed himself emperor taking the title (Chhatrapati) in 1674. The Marathas had spread and conquered some of central India by Shivaji Maharaja's death in 1680, but later lost it to the Mughals and the British.
Sambhaji :-
Shivaji had two sons: Sambhaji and Rajaram. Sambhaji, the elder son, was very popular among the courtiers. As well as being a competent politician and a great warrior, he was also a poet. In 1681, Sambhaji had himself crowned and resumed his father's expansionist policies. Sambhaji had earlier defeated the Portuguese and Chikka Deva Raya of Mysore. To nullify any Rajput-Maratha alliance, as well as all Deccan Sultanates, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb himself headed south in 1682. With his entire imperial court, administration, and an army of about 4 lakh troops he proceeded to conquer the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda. During the eight years that followed, Sambhaji led the Marathas, never losing a battle or a fort to Aurangzeb.
