Shivaji in the context of Sack of Surat

The Maratha caste is composed of 96 clans, originally formed in the earlier centuries from the amalgamation of families from the peasant (Kunbi), shepherd (Dhangar), blacksmith (Lohar), pastoral (Gavli), carpenter (Sutar), Bhandari, Thakar and Koli castes in Maharashtra. Many of them took to military service in the 16th century for the Deccan sultanates or the Mughals. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries, they served in the armies of the Maratha Kingdom, founded by Shivaji, a Maratha Kunbi by caste. Many Marathas were granted hereditary fiefs by the Sultanates, and Mughals for their service.

According to the Maharashtrian historian B. R. Sunthankar, and scholars such as Rajendra Vora, the "Marathas" are a "middle-peasantry" caste which formed the bulk of the Maharashtrian society together with the other Kunbi peasant caste. Vora adds that the Marathas account for around 30 per cent of the total population of the state and dominate the power structure in Maharashtra because of their numerical strength, especially in the rural society.

The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave the seat of Peshwa to Bajirao Ballal. During the reign of Shahu, the office of Peshwas were handed more responsibilities to keep the Jagirdars and Vatandars of the Maratha Empire from rebelling. After the passing of Shahu I the empire had no male heir apparent; hence the duty of maintaining peace lay with the Peshwas till the heir apparent (Rajaram II) was of age. The Peshwas from the time of Balaji Rao became the supreme authority in Maratha empire and the Chhatrapati's position became nominal.

All Peshwas during the rule of Shivaji, Sambhaji and Rajaram belonged to Marathi Deshastha Brahmin community. The first Peshwa was Moropant Pingle, who was appointed as the head of the Ashta Pradhan (council of eight ministers) by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom. The initial Peshwas were all ministers who served as the chief executives to the king. The later Peshwas held the highest administrative office and also controlled the Maratha confederacy. Under the Bhat family, the Peshwas became the de facto hereditary administrators of the Confederacy. The Peshwa's office was most powerful under Baji Rao I (r. 1720–1740).

Raja (/ˈrɑːdʒɑː/; from IAST rājan-) is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a rājan- is a ruler, see for example the daśarājñá yuddhá, the "Battle of Ten Kings".

The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput clan. It was established by Rao Dulha Rai, possibly the last ruler of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty of Gwalior who later migrated from Narwar to Dausa and started his kingdom there with the support of Chahamanas of Shakambhari with coalition of Gaur dynasty of sheopur in the 11th century. Mostly through 11th to 15th century, the kingdom faced stagnation, and resources were scarce. Under Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, its Raja Pajjwan dev of Ajmer, battled Muhammad Ghori. Raja Chandrasen of Amber became a Sisodia under him and fought in the Battle of Bayana and The Battle of Khanwa under Raja Prithviraj Kachhwaha.

Under Raja Bharmal, the kingdom heavily aligned with the Mughals and Akbar. His son and grandson Raja Bhagwant Das and Raja Man Singh I were leading generals in Akbar's army and helped him in expanding the empire. Mirza Raja Jai Singh I served under Shah Jahan and became a distinguished general. He fell out of Aurangzeb's favour when he was suspected of helping Shivaji escape from Mughal captivity in 1664. Sawai Jai Singh II became the ruler during the decline of the Mughal Empire. He successfully rebelled against the Mughals in 1708 to regain his confiscated kingdom. After Jai Singh's death, the kingdom was drained of its resources during the civil war amongst his sons Ishwari Singh and Madho Singh I and the Marathas.

The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former.

The Marathas were a Marathi-speaking peasantry group from the western Deccan Plateau (present-day Maharashtra) that rose to prominence under leadership of Shivaji (17th century), who revolted against the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughal Empire for establishing "Hindavi Swarajya" (lit. 'self-rule of Hindus'). The religious attitude of Emperor Aurangzeb estranged non-Muslims, and the Maratha insurgency came at a great cost for his men and treasury. The Maratha government also included warriors, administrators, and other nobles from other Marathi groups. Shivaji's monarchy, referred to as the Maratha Kingdom, expanded into a large realm in the 18th century under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I. Marathas from the time of Shahu I recognised the Mughal emperor as their nominal suzerain, similar to other contemporary Indian entities, though in practice, Mughal politics were largely controlled by the Marathas between 1737 and 1803.

The Gujarat Subah (Persian: صوبه گجرات) was a province (subah) of the Mughal Empire, encompassing the Gujarat region. The region first fell under Mughal control in 1573, when the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) defeated the Gujarat Sultanate under Muzaffar Shah III.

Muzaffar tried to regain the Sultanate in 1584 but failed. Gujarat remained the Mughal province governed by the viceroys and officers appointed by the Mughal emperors from Delhi. Akbar's foster brother Mirza Aziz Kokaltash was appointed as the subahdar (viceroy) who strengthened Mughal hold over the region. The nobles of former Sultanate continued to resist and rebel during the reign of the next emperor Jahangir (1605–1627) but Kokaltash and his successor subahdars subdued them. Jehangir also permitted the British East India Company to establish factories in Surat and elsewhere in Gujarat. The next emperor Shah Jahan (1627–1658) expanded his territories in south and his subahdars made hold over Kathiawar peninsula including Nawanagar. Shah Jahan had also appointed his prince Aurangzeb, who was involved in religious disputes, prince Dara Shikoh and later prince Murad Bakhsh as subahdars. Following battle of succession, Aurangzeb (1658–1707) came to the Mughal throne and his policies resulted in revolts and discontent. During his reign, the Maratha Kingdom under Shivaji raided Surat (1666) and their incursions in Gujarat started. Till then Gujarat prospered due to political stability, peace and growing international trade.

Vidarbha (Pronunciation: [ʋid̪əɾbʱə]) is a geographical region in the west Indian state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati and Nagpur divisions. As per the 2011 Census, the region had a population of 23,003,179. The region occupies 31.6% of the total area and is home to 21.3% of the total population of Maharashtra. Situated in central India, it borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the south and Marathwada and Uttar Maharashtra regions of Maharashtra to the west.

According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Rukmini, the wife of lord Krishna, was born to Bhishmaka, the king of the Vidarbha kingdom. Vidarbha was part of the Satavahana Empire during 1st to 2nd century CE). The coins and inscriptions from the period of Paramara king Jagadeva, the son of the Udayaditya (reigned c. 1060–1086) have been found in the northern parts the region. According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the region was part of Berar Subah, in the Medieval period. In 1680, the region was captured by Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji, who was the founder of Maratha empire. In 1724, Asaf Jah, who later became the Nizam of Hyderabad, declared independence and brought most of the region under his nominal rule. The administration and right of collecting taxes were held by the Marathas. In 1803, following the defeat of the Marathas, the region came under the rule of British East India Company. Later, the British Empire took control of the region from the British East India Company in 1857, and the region was part of Berar and Central Provinces. After Indian Independence in 1947, the region remained a part of the Central Provinces and Berar. After the Re-organization of Indian states, majority of the region became part of Bombay State in 1957. After the bifurcation of Bombay State, into Gujarat and Maharashtra, the region became part of Maharashtra.

Shahaji Bhonsale (Marathi pronunciation: [ʃəˈɦaːdʑiː ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 15 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th-century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynasty, Shahaji inherited the Pune and Supe jagirs (fiefs) from his father Maloji, who previously served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. During the Mughal invasion of the Deccan, Shahaji joined the Mughal forces and served under Emperor Shah Jahan for a short period. After being deprived of his jagirs, he defected to the Bijapur Sultanate in 1632 and regained control over Pune and Supe. In 1638, he received the jagir of Bangalore after Bijapur's invasion of Kempe Gowda III's territories. Afterwards, he became the chief general of Bijapur and oversaw its expansion. He was the father of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Kingdom.

The Marathi people (/məˈrɑːti/; Marathi: मराठी लोक, Marāṭhī lōk) or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, Marāṭhī) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a Marathi-speaking state of India on 1 May 1960, as part of a nationwide linguistic reorganisation of the Indian states. The term "Maratha" is generally used by historians to refer to all Marathi-speaking peoples, irrespective of their caste; However, it may refer to a Maharashtrian caste known as the Maratha which also includes farmer sub castes like the Kunbis.

The Marathi community came into political prominence in the 17th century, when the Maratha Empire was established by Shivaji in 1674.

Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi) (Marathi: ISO 15919: Kuṇabī, Gujarati: ISO 15919: Kaṇabī) is a generic term applied to several castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Masaram, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil), Vanjari, Lonare and Tirole communities of Vidarbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra but also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (now called Patidar), Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Kunbis are included among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra.

Most of the Mavalas serving in the armies of the Maratha Empire under Shivaji came from this community. The Shinde and Gaekwad dynasties of the Maratha Empire are originally of Kunbi origin. In the fourteenth century and later, several Kunbis who had taken up employment as military men in the armies of various rulers underwent a process of Sanskritisation and began to identify themselves as Marathas. The boundary between the Marathas and the Kunbi became obscure in the early 20th century due to the effects of colonisation, and the two groups came to form one block, the Maratha-Kunbi.

The Bhandari is a caste that inhabits the western coast of India. Their traditional occupation was "toddy tapping". They were also good naval warriors. They form the largest caste group in the state of Goa, reportedly being over 30% of that state's Hindu population, and play a major role in deciding the future of any political party there. The Bhandaris are included in the Other Backward Class (OBC) list in Goa and Maharashtra. However, in Uttarakhand, Bhandaris are recognized as part of the Rajput community, tracing their lineage back to the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Known for their valor, leadership, and warrior spirit, the Bhandari Rajputs have historically played a significant role in governance, administration, and military affairs. Their rich heritage reflects a legacy of bravery, honor, and dedication to their land and people.

Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of chhatra (parasol or umbrella) and pati (master/lord/ruler). This title was used by the House of Bhonsle, between 1674 and 1818, as the heads of state of the Maratha Empire and later by the states of Satara and Kolhapur.

Sambhaji (Sambhajiraje Shivajiraje Bhonsle, Marathi pronunciation: [saːmˈbʱaːdʑiː ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689), also known as Shambhuraje, ruled from 1681 to 1689 as the second king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Empire, a prominent state in early modern India. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

At the age of nine, Sambhaji was taken as a political hostage of the Mughal Empire, to guarantee his father's compliance with the treaty of Purandar. He later accompanied his father to Agra where both were placed under house arrest by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb; they subsequently escaped. He was later confined by his father at Panhala Fort, with some theories suggesting that it was due to his addiction to "sensual pleasures" or for violating a Brahmin woman. He subsequently defected to the Mughal Empire and served under Diler Khan in the Battle of Bhupalgarh against his father. He ascended the throne following his father's death, with his rule being largely shaped by the ongoing wars between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire, as well as other neighbouring powers such as the Siddi of Janjira, the Wadiyars of Mysore and the Portuguese Empire in Goa.

Rajaram I (Rajaram Bhonsale, Marathi pronunciation: [[ɾaːd͡ʒaɾaːm ˈbʱos(ə)le]; 24 February 1670 – 3 March 1700), also known as Ram Raaje, was the third king (Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of Shivaji, the founder of the kingdom, and younger paternal half-brother of Sambhaji, whom he succeeded. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. He was succeeded by his infant son Shivaji II under the regentship of his Rajmata Maharani Tarabai.

The Treaty of Purandar was signed on 11 June 1665, between Mirza Raja Jai Singh I, commander of the Mughal Empire, and Shivaji. Shivaji was forced to sign the agreement after Jai Singh besieged Purandar fort.