Popularly known as Nana Saheb, of 20. After the death of Shahu he succeeded his father at the age (1749 AD), the management of all state affairs was left in his hands. Shahu had nominated Ramraja (a grandson of Rajaram) as his successor, the later was imprisoned at Satara by the Peshwa on the suspicion that he was an imposter.
An agreement was reached between the Mughal Emperor (Ahmad Shah) and the Peshwa (1752 AD) that the latter would protect the Mughal empire from internal and external (Ahmed Shah Abdali) enemies in return for the Chauth of the North-West provinces and the total revenues of Agra and Ajmer provinces.
The Third Battle of Panipat (14th January, 1761) resulted in the defeat of the Maratha by Ahmed Shah Abdali and the death of Viswas Rao (Son of Nana Saheb) and Sadashiv Rao Bhau (Cousin of Nana Saheb) and several other Maratha leaders and 28000 soldiers. Nana Saheb died on hearing the news of Battle of Panipat on 23rd June, 1761.
PESHWA MADHAV RAO I (1761-72 AD)
Balaji Baji Rao was succeeded by his younger son Madhav Rao I. Raghunath Rao, the eldest surviving member of Peshwa family became regent to the young Peshwa and de facto ruler of the state. After the death of Madhav Rao, Peshwaship had lost its all power.
LATER PESHWAS
Narayan Rao (1772-73 AD) Narayan Rao was the fifth Peshwa of the Maratha empire from November, 1772 till his death by murder in August, 1773.
Sawai Madhav Rao (1774-95 AD) Also known as Sawai Madhav Rao or Madhav Rao II Narayan. He was the posthumus son of Narayan Rao Peshwa. Madhav Rao’s death was a suicide.
Baji Rao II (1796-1818 AD) Baji Rao II also known as Rao Pandit Pradhan, was a Peshwa of the Maratha confederacy and governed from 1796-1818 AD. His reign was marked by confrontations with the British.
ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE PESHWAS
The secretariat of the Peshwas i.e. Huzur Daftar, was located at Poona (present Pune). Now the feudals ruled over their jagirs independently. Village was the smallest unit of administration headed by the Patils. Kulkarnis assisted the Patils in keeping the documents of village administration
Following were the other officials
- Potdar were appointed to inspect the currency. Ballute system of exchange was prevalent in the villages
- Taraf, Pargana, Sarkar and Suba were the bigger units of administration. Mamlatdar was the highest officer and Kamavisdars subordinated him
- Deshmukh, Deshpande and Darakhdars were appointed to check corruption
- The land revenue policy of the Peshwas was based on the interest of the peasants
- Agricultural land was categorised according to its productivity
- Mirasdars had full right over the land, while Upari undertook agricultural work with the permission of the Peshwa.
- The Maratha army was also feudalised under the Peshwas
MARATHA CONFEDERACY
The origin of the Maratha confederacy may be traced to the revival of the saranjam system by Rajaram. But it was only in the time of Baji Rao I that the system made a base for itself. In this process, Shahu issued letters of authority to his various Maratha Sardars for collecting Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from various parts of India. These letters of authority were called saranjam.
The holders of these saranjams were called saranjamdars. They merely recognised the Peshwas as their nominal head after the death of Shahu. But, unfortunately, the Maratha confederacy, owning to internal desertions, fell prey to the British imperialism and their confederacy decayed