Bhonsles of Nagpur in the context of "Maratha Empire"

Chhattisgarh (/ˈtʃætɪsɡɑːr/; Hindi: [ˈtʃʰət̪ːiːsgəɽʱ]) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the northwest, Maharashtra to the southwest, Jharkhand to the northeast, Odisha to the east, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the south. Formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was granted statehood on 1 November 2000 with Raipur as the designated state capital.

The Sitabenga caves in Chhattisgarh, one of the earliest examples of theatre architecture in India, are dated to the Mauryan period of 3rd century BCE.The region was split between rivaling dynasties from the sixth to twelfth centuries, and parts of it were briefly under the Chola dynasty in the 11th century. Eventually, most of Chhattisgarh was consolidated under the Kingdom of Haihaiyavansi, whose rule lasted for 700 years until they were brought under Maratha suzerainty in 1740. The Bhonsles of Nagpur incorporated Chhattisgarh into the Kingdom of Nagpur in 1758 and ruled until 1845, when the region was annexed by the East India Company, and was later administered under the Raj until 1947 as the Chhattisgarh Division of the Central Provinces. Some areas constituting present-day Chhattisgarh were princely states that were later merged into Madhya Pradesh. The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 placed Chhattisgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and it remained a part of that state for 44 years.

The Kingdom of Haihaiyavansi, ruled by the Kalachuris of Raipur was a kingdom which consisted of the central part of the present-day state of Chhattisgarh located in India.

In 1740, the Maratha general of Nagpur, Bhaskar Pant conquered the kingdom for Raghoji I Bhonsle. The Raipur branch of the kingdom survived until 1753, also being annexed by the Marathas of Nagpur.

The Kingdom of Nagpur was a kingdom within the Maratha Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was ruled by the Maratha Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the state.

After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, it became a princely state of the British Empire in 1818, and was annexed to British India in 1853 becoming Nagpur Province.

Shahu I (Shivaji Sambhaji Raje Bhonsale; Marathi pronunciation: [ʃaːɦuː]; 18 May 1682 – 15 December 1749) was the fifth Chhatrapati of 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 Empire under a loose coalition under the orders of the Chhatrapati.