The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

MARATHA

The Maratha are a Hindu warrior people of western India who in the 17th and 18th centuries led a military revival against Muslim expansion. The Maratha rose to prominence under the inspired leadership of Sivaji, who, after victories against the Moguls, established a Maratha kingdom in 1674. Their great age was the early 18th century when, after a temporary collapse, they benefited from Mogul decline to sweep over the north and central Deccan. They seemed poised for all-India mastery, but failure in 1761 of their bid to take Delhi (in the battle of Panipat) was followed by increasing internal disunity. Authority had passed from Sivaji's line to a Brahmin family based at Pune, who as hereditary peshwas struggled to hold the dissident chiefs together. Rivalry among these 'confederates', notably the Sindhia, Holkar, Bhonsla, and Gaekwar families, prevented a united stand against expanding British power.
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