Maratha Empire Timeline

Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa, beginning the rise of the Bhat family as hereditary ministers and effective rulers of the Maratha state.

Image source: Balaji Vishwanath

Balaji Vishwanath concluded the Treaty of Lonavala with Kanhoji Angre, the most powerful naval chief on the western coast, who subsequently accepted Shahu as Chhatrapati.

The new Mughal emperor granted Shahu the right to collect Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from six Deccan provinces and confirmed Maratha possession of Shivaji's former territories.

Maratha forces marched to Delhi with Sayyid Hussain Ali and helped depose Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar.

After Balaji Vishwanath's death, Shahu appointed his son Baji Rao I as Peshwa, ushering in a period of rapid Maratha expansion.

Image source: Bajirao I

Baji Rao I defeated Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I of Hyderabad, at Palkhed near Nashik in a major land campaign.

Image source: Vaijapur

Maratha forces under Raghoji Bhonsle defeated Nawab Dost Ali of Arcot in the pass of Damalcherry.

Image source: Raghuji I

Raghuji Bhonsle invaded Trichinopoly, extending Maratha military operations into the south.

Unable to resist Raghuji's forces, Chanda Sahib surrendered the fort of Trichinopoly to the Marathas.

Image source: Chanda Sahib

After Shahu died, the Peshwas became the effective rulers of the Maratha Empire, while the Bhat family consolidated hereditary control of the office.

Madhavrao I crossed the Krishna River and defeated Hyder Ali in the battles of Sira and Madgiri.

Image source: Madhavrao I

Madhavrao I died at the age of 27, ending the career of the Peshwa who had helped rebuild Maratha power after Panipat.

Maratha forces under Tukoji Rao Holkar fought Tipu Sultan and defeated him in the Battle of Gajendragad.

Image source: Gajendragad

The Treaty of Gajendragad ended the conflict with Mysore. Tipu Sultan agreed to pay war costs and annual tribute and return territory captured by Hyder Ali.

Image source: Maratha–Mysore wars

The major Maratha powers jointly fought and defeated the forces of the Nizam at Kharda, one of the confederacy's final collective victories.

Image source: Battle of Kharda

Maratha forces under Baji Rao I raided the suburbs of Delhi in a rapid campaign that demonstrated their ability to strike the Mughal capital.

Image source: Bajirao I

The Battle of Bhopal helped establish the confederacy's stable northern reach, extending from Maharashtra toward Gwalior and the eastern territories.

Raghuji Bhonsle undertook six expeditions into Bengal, while repeated Maratha raids contributed to the decline of the prosperous Nawab's state.

Image source: Maratha invasions of Bengal

Raghuji Bhonsle permanently annexed Odisha after exploiting political disorder in Bengal; a 1751 settlement ceded Cuttack to the Marathas and arranged tribute.

Responding to Safdarjung's request, Maratha forces defeated the Afghan Rohillas and captured Rohilkhand.

Image source: Afghan–Maratha War

Through an agreement with the Mughal emperor and his wazir Safdarjung, the Marathas received Chauth of the Doab and the Subahdari of Ajmer and Agra.

Raghunath Rao's Maratha army defeated the Afghan garrison and captured Delhi after the Afghan withdrawal.

Image source: Battle of Delhi (1757)

The Marathas began a northwestern conquest and extended their boundary toward Afghanistan.

After the Battle of Attock, Maratha forces defeated Afghan troops at Peshawar and captured the city.

After defeating the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power reached its greatest extent, covering more than 2.5 million square kilometres.

A large Maratha army under Sadashivrao Bhau recaptured Delhi from an Afghan garrison as the Marathas mobilized against the returning Durrani forces.

A huge Maratha army commanded by Sadashivrao Bhau clashed with Ahmad Shah Durrani's forces at Panipat. The defeat halted Maratha expansion in North India.

Image source: Third Battle of Panipat

Ten years after Panipat, Mahadaji Shinde recaptured Delhi and installed Shah Alam II as a Mughal ruler under Maratha influence.

Maratha forces defeated Mughal troops in Delhi, captured Najibabad, and restored Maratha authority in North India under the restricted Mughal monarch Shah Alam II.

Mahadaji Shinde besieged and conquered the fort of Gwalior, strengthening Maratha control in North India.

A Maratha-Sikh treaty made the small Cis-Sutlej states an autonomous protectorate of the Scindia branch of the Maratha Confederacy.

Image source: Mahadaji Shinde

A Maratha expedition against the Raja of Jaipur ended in withdrawal after the inconclusive Battle of Lalsot.

Mahadaji Shinde's armies defeated Ismail Beg, a Mughal noble who resisted Maratha authority.

The British East India Company intervened from Bombay in the succession struggle of Raghunathrao, who sought to become Peshwa.

Image source: First Anglo-Maratha War

The war ended with restoration of the pre-war status quo and the East India Company's abandonment of Raghunathrao's cause.

Large areas of the Maratha Confederacy suffered massive population loss during the Doji bara famine.

Image source: Doji bara famine

Yashwantrao Holkar was crowned king of the Holkars and captured Ujjain.

Image source: Yashwantrao Holkar

Yashwantrao Holkar marched on Pune, the seat of the Peshwa, and defeated the forces supporting the existing regime.

The British intervened in Baroda to support a claimant to the throne and recognized the new Maharaja's independence from the Maratha Confederacy in exchange for British paramountcy.

Image source: Gaekwad dynasty

After his defeat by Holkar, Peshwa Baji Rao II sought British protection and signed a treaty that enabled the East India Company to intervene directly in Maratha politics.

Image source: Treaty of Bassein (1802)

The Second Anglo-Maratha War followed the Peshwa's treaty with the British and resulted in major Maratha territorial and political losses.

Image source: Second Anglo-Maratha War

The Maratha defeat at Delhi in 1803 ended their influence over the Mughal capital and transferred control to the British East India Company.

Image source: Battle of Delhi (1803)

Daulat Rao Scindia ceded Haryana to the British East India Company under the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon, further advancing Company rule.

The Third Anglo-Maratha War resulted in the defeat of the remaining Maratha powers and the loss of Maratha independence.

Image source: Third Anglo-Maratha War

The British subdued Shinde and the Pashtun leader Amir Khan through diplomacy and pressure, formalizing the Treaty of Gwalior.

Image source: Gwalior State

Holkars, Bhonsles, and the Peshwa gave up arms by 1818, ending organized Maratha resistance and bringing the empire into the British imperial system.

The British East India Company's victory formally ended Maratha independence and incorporated the former imperial sphere into the expanding British Empire in India.