Page 109 - SST Class 07

Balaji Vishwanath (1713-1720) Bala Baji Rao (1740-1761)

Balaji Vishwanath took advantage of the weak- Balaji Baji Rao was the next Peshwa. After the
ness of the Later Mughals to capture more death of Shahu in 1749, he became the head of
territories. He forced Farrukhsiyar to return all the Marathas. He shifted the capital from Satara
the territories which had been under Shivaji. to Poona (now Pune). During his reign, the
Besides, the Marathas also got the right to collect Maratha armies reached as far as Punjab and
chauth and sardeshmukhi from six provinces in Rajasthan in the north and Bengal and Odisha in
the Deccan. the east. The kingdoms of Mysore and
Baji Rao I (1720-1740) Hyderabad were forced to hand over territories
and pay tribute. Under Balaji Baji Rao, Maratha
Baji Rao I succeeded Balaji Vishwanath. He
power was at its zenith.
conquered Malwa, Southern Gujarat and parts of
Bundelkhand. Towards the south, he defeated Third Battle of Panipat (1761)
the Nizam of Hyderabad and got the right to The Marathas became weak after their defeat at
collect taxes from some provinces of the Deccan. the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the Third
He also captured Salsette and Bassein from the Battle of Panipat. The various Maratha chiefs
Portuguese. He is known as the ‘Fighting broke away and started ruling over small areas.
Peshwa’ as he spent greater part of his reign This battle also allowed the English to strengthen
fighting wars. their position in India.

Terminology

Provinces : a principal administrative division of a country or empire
Suppressed : forcibly put to an end
Spirituality : the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or
physical things
Plundered : steal goods from (a place or person), typically using force and in a time of war or civil
disorder

Inside Story
Inside Story
g The decay of the Mughal empire started during the last 25 years of Aurangzeb’s reign.
g Three of the largest provinces to become independent were Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad.

g Saadat Khan and his successors virtually ruled Awadh as independent rulers.
g Muhammad Shah was powerless to stop him and had to agree to all his decisions.
g Guru Gobind Singh asked all Sikh men to wear five sacred symbols.
g Haider Ali defeated then in the First Anglo-Mysore War in 1769.
g The Sardeshmukhi was an additional one-tenth of the land revenue.

g Balaji Vishwanath took advantage of the weakness of the Later Mughals to capture more
territories.

g Baji Rao I succeeded Balaji Vishwanath. He conquered Malwa, southern Gujarat and parts
of Bundelkhand.
g The Marathas became weak after their defeat at the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the
Third Battle of Panipat.

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