The Peshwa or the prime minister was the foremost minister in the Ashta Pradhan, the council of ministers of Shivaji. The Peshwas gained more powers and became dominant in the eighteenth Century.
Balaji Viswanath (1713-1720)
Balaji Viswanath was one of the greatest Maratha Peshwa, who contributed to the expansion and grandeur of Maratha monarchy.
Balaji Viswanath began his career as a small revenue official and became Peshwa in 1713. As Peshwa, he made his position the most important and powerful as well as hereditary.
He played a crucial role in the civil war and finally made Shahu as the Maratha ruler. He sought the support of all Maratha leaders for Shahu.
In 1719, Balaji Viswanath got certain rights from the then Mughal emperor, Farukh Siyar. First, the Mughal emperor recognized Shahu as the Maratha king.
Second, he allowed Shahu to collect Chauth and Sardeshmukhi from the six Mughal provinces of the Deccan including the Carnatic and Mysore.
Baji Rao I (1720-1740)
After Balaji Viswanath, his son Baji Rao I was appointed Peshwa in 1720 by Shahu. Baji Rao enhanced the power and prestige of the Maratha Empire by defeating the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Rajput Governor of Malwa and the Governor of Gujarat.
He freed Bundelkhand from the control of Mughals and for this the Marathas got one third of the territories from its ruler.
The commander-in-chief, Trimbak Rao, who troubled the Peshwa, was defeated and killed in the battle of Dabhai near Baroda in 1731.
And the Peshwa assumed the office of the commander-in-chief also. By the treaty of Warna signed in 1731, Sambhaji of Kolhapur was forced to accept the sovereignty of Shahu.
Thana, Salsette and Bassein were captured from the Portuguese in 1738 and they were driven out of the Konkan coast. At the same time, the English made friendly overtures to the Marathas and got the right to free trade in the Deccan region.
Balaji Baji Rao (1740-1761)
In the days of illness and death of his father, Baji Rao, Balaji Baji Rao took up the mantle as Peshwa, from his father. Peshwa entered into an agreement with the Mughal Emperor in 1752.
According to it the Peshwa gave assurance to the Mughal Emperor that he would protect the Mughal Empire from internal and external enemies for which the Chauth of the northwest provinces and the total revenue of the Agra and Ajmer provinces would be collected by the Marathas.
Thus when Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India, it became the responsibility of the Marathas to protect India. The Marathas fought very bravely against Ahmad Shah Abdali in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. But they got defeated.
Many Maratha leaders and thousands of soldiers died in this battle. Balaji Baji Rao also died on hearing the sad end of this battle. Also, this battle gave a death blow to the Maratha power. Thereafter, the Maratha confederacy weakened due to internal conflicts among the Maratha chiefs.
After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Marathas emerged a great power in India but they could not succeed in preventing the establishment of British power in India.
The important causes for the downfall were that there was lack of unity among the Maratha chiefs like Holkar, Scindia and Bhonsle. Also, the superiority of the British army and fighting methods ultimately won.