The Maratha Army was the land-based armed forces of the Maratha Empire, which existed from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries in the Indian subcontinent.
A painting depicting a Mahratta Light Horseman
A Maratha helmet and armour from Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia.
A Mahratta horseman – original pencil sketch by the artist H. Hall; standing figure in military costume with spear, left hand resting on horse
Maratha muskets - on display at Kelkar Museum, Pune
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian empire and later a confederation that controlled large portions of the Indian Subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the Bhonsle dynasty as the Chhatrapati. Although Shivaji came from the Maratha caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators, and other nobles from the Maratha and several other castes from what is known today as Maharashtra. The Maratha Kingdom was expanded into a full-fledged Empire in the 18th Century under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao I.
The Maratha Confederacy in 1760, near its peak (Yellow)
Image: Shivaji seal, reproduction
Early Maratha conquests, in Shivaji's and Shahji's time
A portrait of Shivaji I
