Shahu I

Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; Marathi pronunciation: [ʃaːɦuː]; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati or head of state of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Shivaji I. He was born into the Bhonsle family and was the son of Sambhaji I and Yesubai. At a young age, he was taken into custody at the Siege of Raigad by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and held captive. He was released from captivity after the death of Aurangzeb in the hope of engineering an internecine struggle among the Maratha factions of Tarabai and Shahu. Shahu emerged victorious in the bloody Battle of Khed and was crowned as Chhatrapati.

During Shahu's reign, Maratha power and influence extended to much of central and western India, which had then created a strong Maratha Kingdom. After his death, his ministers and generals such as the Peshwa Bhats and their lieutenants of the Shinde and Holkar house, Senasahibsubha Bhonsles of Nagpur, and Senakhaskhel Gaikwad of Baroda administered their sections of the confederacy under a loose coalition under the orders of the Chhatrapati.