Peshwa

A Peshwa was the chief minister of the Maratha state. From the early eighteenth century, the office became the Maratha Empire’s dominant political authority, centered at Pune.

Balaji Vishwanath: A Maratha statesman who served as Peshwa from 1713 until his death in 1720. His diplomacy and administrative reforms established the office’s growing authority.
Baji Rao I: A Peshwa from 1720 to 1740 who led major Maratha campaigns across India. His military successes carried Peshwa influence far beyond Maharashtra.
Ashtapradhan: The council of eight ministers traditionally associated with the administration of the early Maratha kingdom. The Peshwa’s office originated within this ministerial framework.
Third Battle of Panipat: A 1761 battle in which an Afghan-led coalition defeated the Maratha army in northern India. The defeat devastated the forces of Balaji Baji Rao’s empire.
Maratha Confederacy: A network of Maratha chiefs and states that shared power without a single centralized government. Peshwa authority increasingly depended on managing semi-autonomous chiefs.
Balaji Baji Rao: A Peshwa from 1740 to 1761 who presided over the Maratha Empire at its greatest extent. His tenure joined imperial expansion to the disaster at Panipat.
Shivaji: The founder of the Maratha kingdom, crowned as its ruler in 1674. His government established the ministerial structure from which the Peshwa’s office emerged.
First Anglo-Maratha War: A war fought from 1775 to 1782 between the East India Company and Maratha powers. The conflict showed that the Peshwa’s succession and authority had become matters of imperial struggle.
Chhatrapati: The title of the Maratha sovereign, whose authority was formally distinct from the Peshwa’s ministerial office. The Peshwa governed in the name of a sovereign whose practical power diminished.
Madhavrao I: A Peshwa from 1761 to 1772 who restored Maratha power after the Third Battle of Panipat. His administration revived the office’s authority after a severe military setback.

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