Medieval Indian History
Maratha Empire
1674–1818 empire in the Indian subcontinent
Overview
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. For most of its existence, it comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former and nominal loyalty to the Chhatrapatis who were successors of Shivaji.
Source: Wikipedia — Maratha Empire (CC BY-SA)
Key concepts
How Maratha Empire connects to the ideas, people and events around it.
Anatomically modern humans are estimated to have first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago.
A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political, institutionalized, social relations and have a capacity to mobilize resources. It is the unit or entity of a political community or body politic.
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia south of the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west.
The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire (1674-1818), next in rank and prestige after the Chhatrapati.
Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of chhatra and pati (master/lord/ruler).
Shivaji I was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji inherited a fiefdom from his father who served as a retainer for the Sultanate of Bijapur, which later formed the genesis of the Maratha Kingdom.
Marathi is a classical Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by the Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and is also spoken in Goa and the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The Deccan Plateau or Peninsular Plateau, is a plateau that extends over an area of 422,000 km2 (163,000 sq mi) on the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.
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Questions about Maratha Empire
What is Maratha Empire?
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. For most of its existence, it comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former and nominal loyalty to the Chhatrapatis who were successors of Shivaji.
What are the key concepts related to Maratha Empire?
The main concepts connected to Maratha Empire include History of India, Polity, Indian subcontinent, Peshwa, Chhatrapati, Shivaji, Marathi language, Deccan Plateau. Each is linked on the map above with its own summary.
Which exams cover Maratha Empire?
Maratha Empire is part of Medieval Indian History, which appears in the syllabus of UPSC CSE, UPSC CAPF, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and 41 more exams.