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Maharashtra is located in the western region of India. It is India's third largest state with respect to size and the second largest populated state. Mumbai, a cosmopolitan city, is the capital of Maharashtra. It is said to be the entertainment and financial capital of India. History of Maharashtra dates back to the ancient times.
The recorded history of Maharashtra dates to the third century BC, and during those days, Ashoka used to rule this region as a part of the Mauryan Empire. After the decline of the Mauryan dynasty, the Satavahanas ruled Maharashtra during 230 BC to 225 AD. During their reign, Maharashtra saw great cultural development. The official language of the Satvahanas was Maharashtri, which gradually evolved over centuries to take the shape of modern-day Marathi. Gautamiputra Satkarni, one of the famous rulers of the Satavahana dynasty, is credited with starting the Shalivahana era; a calendar which is still in usage among a section of the Marathi people.
Vakatas, the Rashtrakutas, Kalachuris, Chalukyas and the Yadavas followed the Satavahanas, and they established their successive regimes in the region. From 753 AD to 973 AD, the region was ruled by the Rashtrakutas, and then by the Chalukyas of Badami. By 1189, Maharashtra was being governed by the Yadavas of Deogiri. The Chinese traveller, Huen Tsang, visited Maharashtra between 640- 641AD. He was very impressed by the prosperity, administration and the character of its local people.
The Delhi Sultanate rulers, Ala-ud-din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq captured some parts of the Deccan in the 13th century and ruled over Maharashtra. In 1347, the Bahmani Sultanate of Bijapur took the possession of this region and governed for the next 150 years. During the 16th century, the central part of Maharashtra was ruled by the Mughals such as Adilshah, Qutubshah and Nizamshah, and the coastal region by the Portuguese.
In the beginning of the 17th century, Marathas began to gain political prominence. Shahaji Bhosale, a local general of great ambitions, attempted to establish his independent rule over Maharashtra. His ambitious son, Shivaji Bhosale was successful to govern the state. Chhatrapati Raje Shivaji Bhosale was crowned as the king in 1674. Shivaji continuously battled with the imperialistic designs of the Mughal emperors such as Adil Shah and Aurangzeb. Shivaji Raje was the most popular, respected and successful king in the history of Maharashtra.
Shivaji's grandson Shahuji Bhosle got to his throne with the help of Balaji Vishwanath, who outwitted and outmaneuvered Raje Sambhaji II - Shahuji's competitor to the Maratha throne, and son of Shahuji's aunt Tarabai. Raje Sambhaji II was guided by Trarabai herself, who had set up a competing kingdom. But Bajai Vishwanath's ingenuity got the better of the two and Shahuji eventually got his legitimate rule. Balaji Vishwanath later became Peshwa or Prime Minister to Shahuji Bhosle and started having a lot of say in the politics, economy and defence of the state. Shahu Bhosle is also responsible for starting a hereditary lineage of Peshwas. Balaji Vishwanath's son Bajirao I, whom Shahu Bhosle appointed as the successor Peshwa following Balaji Vishwanath's death, controlled Shahu Bhosle and Maharashtra from 1721 to 1740.
After Shahuji's death in 1749, Peshwas took absolute control of all aspects of governance. After the defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 from Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Maratha confederacy was disintegrated into regional kingdoms. After Panipat, the ex-generals of Peshwa governed the little kingdoms they were offered. However, the Peshwa family continued to rule Pune.
After the arrival of the British East India Company, there were three wars fought between the British and Marathas between 1777 and 1818, which eventually resulted in establishing company's rule in Mahatrashtra. These wars are known in history as the Anglo-Maratha Wars. The British ruled the region as a part of the Bombay Presidency. However, numerous Maratha states remained as princely states, who owed their allegiance to the British crown. The British rule was marked by several social reforms, improvement in the infrastructure, and also a lot of discriminatory policies, which sparked opposition and resentment from various sections of the Maratha society.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the struggle for independence was started by many revolutionaries. Among the important Maratha freedom fighters, the names of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the Chapekar Brothers deserve special mentions.
After the Indian independence in 1947, western Maharashtra and Gujarat were combined as Bombay state. In 1956, the geography of the Bombay state was increased with the inclusion of the predominantly Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada, from the erstwhile Hyderabad state, and the Vidarbha region from Madhya Pradesh. In 1960, the Gujarati and Marathi linguistic areas of the former Bombay state were separated, and the present Maharashtra state came into being.
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