balaji vishwanath ( bhat ) was the maratha leader who has been rightly described as the second founder of maratha empire.
which maratha leader has been rightly described as the second founder of maratha empire?
balaji vishwanath ( bhat )
the maratha war of succession between tara bai and shahu resulted in latter's victory and assumption of maratha throne as chhatrapati. in 1713, shahu appointed balaji vishwanath (bhat), as peshwa. the appointment of balaji's son, baji rao i, as peshwa in 1719 by shahu made the position hereditary in the bhat family. baji rao proved his loyalty by controlling the feudal chieftains who wanted independence from the maratha empire. the rebellion of general trimbak rao dabhade, the "senapati" (commander in chief), over chauthai (revenue collection) of gujarat is one example of such internal maratha feuds. the followers of baji and trimbak clashed at the battle of bilhapur on april 1, 1731, and trimbak was killed. in gratitude, shahu gave the peshwas and the bhat family unchallenged control over maratha empire. who also appointed baji rao's son as peshwa in 1740, gave considerable authority to the peshwas to command the maratha armies, and they responded well during his reigns.
peshwa
during much of the 18th century, the peshwas, belonging to the (bhat) deshmukh marathi chitpavan brahmin family, controlled the maratha army and later became the hereditary heads of the maratha empire from 1749 to 1818. during their reign, the maratha empire reached its zenith in 1760, dominating most of the indian subcontinent. bajirao i, a prominent peshwa (general), was only 20 when appointed peshwa. for his campaigns in north india, he actively promoted young leaders of his own age such as ranoji shinde, malharrao holkar, the puar brothers and pilaji gaekwad. these leaders also did not come from the traditional aristocratic families of maharashtra. all the young leaders chosen by bajirao i or their descendants later became rulers in their own right during the maratha confederacy era. historian k.k. datta argues that bajirao i "may very well be regarded as the second founder of the maratha empire".
history of maharashtra