Sultan of Brunei

Hassanal Bolkiah, 59,

The Sultan of Brunei is one of the world's wealthiest individuals. His personal wealth is said to exceed over $40 billion.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah assumed the throne following the voluntary abdication of his father, Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien.

Besides being sultan, he is 'concurrently prime minister, defence minister, finance minister and head of the religion of Brunei Darussalam.'

After primary schooling in Malaya, he moved to the United Kingdom where he qualified for admission as an officer cadet at the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. Commissioned as a captain in 1967, he left Sandhurst in October that year to ascend the throne.

Married to Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajjah Saleha, he has 10 children -- four princes and six princesses.


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King Abdullah II , 43, Jordan
A qualified scuba diver, pilot and a free-fall parachutist. His other interests include motor racing, water sports and collecting ancient weapons and armaments.

Meet His Majesty King Abdullah II, king of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan.

Born in Amman, educated in the UK and the US, Abdullah -- the eldest of five brothers and six sisters -- took over as king when his father, King Hussein, passed away on February 7, 1999.

Abdullah has courses at Sandhurst and Oxford in England and Georgetown University, Washington, DC, under his belt, and was a major general heading Jordan's special forces before ascending the throne.

He married Queen Rania in June 1993. They have two sons and two daughters, the youngest son born January 30 this year.

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King Fahd bin Abdelaziz al-Saud, 84, Saudi Arabia
King Fahd, the 11th son of the founder of the Saudi kingdom, Ibn Saud, was declared king in June 1982, following his brother King Khalid's death.

After Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdelaziz, 80, (inset) who is the first deputy prime minister and commander of the national guard, has taken on an increasingly prominent role in the country's leadership.

Despite murmurs of dissent from the younger royals, Abdullah, in turn, is expected to name as his heir Prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz, the 81-year-old defense minister who has held that post since 1962.

Though Abdullah handles the day-to-day duties of the monarch, Fahd, whose personal wealth is estimated at over $20 billion

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Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah, 77, Kuwait
Another oil-rich nation, Kuwait's 1962 constitution calls for a hereditary emirate government. The current emir, Sheikh Jaber, has been in power since 1977.

Briefly deposed after the August 2, 1990 Iraqi invasion (he fled to Saudi Arabia and established a government in exile there) he returned to the throne after the first Gulf War ended in March 1991.

As head of the government, he appoints the prime minister and council of ministers, comprising members of the ruling family and prominent members of the national assembly, whose members are elected every four years.

Though the 50-member national assembly is supposed to act as a government watchdog, the emir can veto its legislation or even dissolve it, as he did in 1994 and 1999 following differences.

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Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa, 55, Bahrain
A British protectorate from 1861 to 1971, Bahrain was a traditional Arab monarchy, ruled by an emir selected from the al-Khalifa dynasty, through an appointed cabinet led by a prime minister.

After the British withdrew in 1971, Bahrain became independent under the rule of Sheikh Isa al-Khalifa, the current monarch's father.

The current emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, introduced constitutional changes in February 2002 which made him head of state of a constitutional monarchy.

Educated in Britain (Aldershot and Sandhurst) and the US, (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) the emir governs with the support of an appointed cabinet of ministers. He is advised by the Majlis as-Shura or people's council, elected for the first time in October 2002. Its 40 members serve in single-seat constituencies for a four-year term.

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Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, 55, Qatar

Following a series of treaties with the British, the Al Thani family, which ruled Qatar since the mid 19th century, became recognised as de facto rulers of the tiny peninsular nation, and continued to rule after independence in September 1971.

In 1995, Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad seized power in a bloodless coup from his father, Sheikh Khalifah Bin-Hamad Al Thani, who was in Switzerland at the time.

After surviving an assassination attempt a year later, Sheikh Hamad took his father to court over state funds. But the matter was settled out of court and father and son reconciled at the end of 1996.

Sheikh Hamad has initiated some political reforms, including the creation of an elected central municipal council which women are allowed to vote for and contest, the emir continues to hold supreme executive and legislative power.

Qaboos Bin-Said Al Said, 65, Oman
Another ruler who dethroned his father in a bloodless coup was Sultan Qaboos, who overthrew his father, Sultan Said Bin-Taymur, in 1970.

Qaboos, who graduated from the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and joined a British infantry battalion on operational duty in Germany for one year, studied local government in England and went on a world tour before returning to Oman in 1964.

The country was at that time facing a rebellion from various tribes, and his father had invited the British to help crush it.

Angered by this, some military leaders and officials forced the king to abdicate on July 23, 1970, and placed Qaboos on the throne.

By 1976, Qaboos had quelled the rebellion through adroit military and political moves, In 1996, he unveiled the country's first constitution, which promises citizens equal treatment under the law, regardless of gender, origin, colour, language, religion, sect, domicile or social status.

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King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, 59 Nepal

Gyanendra ascended the throne on June 4, 2001 in dramatic circumstances after his brother King Birendra Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace three days earlier.

The alleged killer, crown prince Dipendra, was crowned king before he succumbed to supposedly self-inflicted wounds three days later.

Along with the crown, Gyanendra inherited a nation wracked by political turmoil, with Maoists bent on the abolishment of the monarchy and the political parties apparently unable to stem the rot.

In an attempt to restore the rule of law, Gyanendra dismissed the elected government in 2002 and appointed a series of loyalists as prime ministers.

After a short ceasefire collapsed in the summer of 2004, Gyanendra outlawed the Maoists as terrorists and declared a state of emergency.

When that failed to dent the Maoist onslaught, he sacked the Sher Bahadur Deuba government appointed a year earlier and assumed full control of the Himalayan kingdom on February 1, 2005.

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Jigme Singye Wangchuck, 50, Bhutan
Educated in India and the UK, he was barely 17 when he ascended the throne as the Druk Gyalpo or the Dragon King of one of the world's most reclusive kingdoms in July 1972.

Officially crowned two years later, he went on to marry four sisters in 1979. Today, they have five sons and an equal number of daughters, of whom Dasho Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck is the crown prince.

While keen to preserve Bhutan's culture, the kingdom -- where television only appeared in 1999 -- has started a slow move towards democratisation.

The king relinquished some of his absolute powers in 1988, and on a trip to India this January, he said he had prepared a draft constitution which he hopes to put up for referendum later in March.

‘We have put many clauses which do not exist anywhere in the world to make sure that the institution benefits the people,’ he said. ‘The king should not be a king just because he was born to be a king.’

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Bhumibol Adulyadej, 78, Thailand
He is the only Thai monarch to have been born abroad, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His father was then studying medicine at Harvard.

After primary school in Bangkok, his family moved to Switzerland, and he entered Lausanne University to study science.

But he had to rush home following the mysterious death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, in June 1946. Today, he is the world's longest reigning monarch.

His son Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn (born 1952) is seen as the heir-apparent, though his sister Princess Sirindhorn (born 1955) enjoys equal rank due to her dedicated work on royal rural projects.

Though a constitutional monarch, expected to stay neutral at times of political crisis, the king commands immense respect in the country, now led by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

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Norodom Sihamoni, 53, Cambodia
The eldest son of former monarch Prince Norodom Sihanouk and his sixth wife Monique, Sihamoni is a former ballet dancer and a music-loving bachelor.
After specialising in music and dance in Prague, Sihamoni was living in North Korea studying cinematography when the murderous Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975.

He returned, reportedly following a letter forged in his father's name, and was placed under house arrest with the rest of the royal family.

After the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed in 1979, Sihamoni moved to France to pursue dance, and was later named Cambodia's ambassador to UNESCO.

It was when he officiated on his father's behalf at the independence day ceremony in 2002 that Sihamoni was first noticed. Two years later, Sihanouk went into self-imposed exile, citing ill-health, shuttling between Pyongyang and Beijing.

After he formally announced his abdication on October 7, 2004, Sihamoni took over and was crowned later that month.

Muttawa

soo many!!! but still there are a few missing, like the Emirates (UAE)!!

biggest pile of losers all in 1 place

Brothers,

Whatever knowledge I had I put over here.

Please add more and lets discuss about the monarchs.


Muttawa

Can we not talk about ancient kings? Like Xerxes, or Saladin? I think that will be better, since most of the people posted above are knigs only in name.

What do you say guys?

My favourite leader has to be "Alexander-The Great" he titled himself "King of Asia" and rightly so. He defeated the Indian War King Porus who had well over 50 War elephants in his army.. very Impressive!

Dont judge him based on his movie, just like "troy" or "Arthur" it was rubbish, for one "Alexander was not gay" he really loved his childhood friend but he was not a homosexual" also alexander is the only king to go down in history to have never lost a battle. He also remained undefeated till his death.

How about you guys?

Please.....Go ahead.

We can talk of ancient kings of Asia also.

I respect alexander bcoz at such a young age he faught a lot of battles and won his child dream to rule persia.

The only problem is when we talk history every historian have different views, like there are many views about death of Alexander.

And guyz now please make sure that we have some healthy chat otherwise it will bcome Hindu Kings V/S Muslim Kings

Peace

Muttawa

I aggree, perhaps i should not have added that part about porus, but then again Alexander was not muslim. So how about you muttawa? Do you have a favourite? Past or present?

Man now you are getting emotional.

I know alexander was not a muslim and no offence if you put Porus defeat story as its true.

I read it somewhere that when Porus was brought in front of alexander,

He(Alexander) asked him "How should I treat you?"

Porus replied "Like a king"

and then Alexander treat him like a king.

I have no offence even if we talk about Hindu kings and Muslim kings but the debate should be fair.

As I told you every historian has different views.

Regarding my favourate.

Man I dont like kings, I like heros. Heros who set examples by themselves and become role model.

But still my favourate from Past and Present are

I appriciate King Abdullah II of Jordan as he is far better than any Arab King.

I also like some things about Indian or let me better say Mughal King Akbar as he is role model for me in some things.

I am not a history student but I read lot of History books.



Peace Forever

Muttawa

Akbar the Great

Akbar (1542-1605), third Mughal emperor of India (1556-1605), generally considered the true founder of the Mughal Empire. The son of Emperor Humayun, he was born in Umarkot, Sind (now in Pakistan), and succeeded to the throne at the age of 13. He first ruled under a regent, Bairam Khan, who recaptured for the young emperor much of the territory usurped at the death of his father. In 1560, however, Akbar took the government into his own hands. Realizing that Hindu acceptance and cooperation were essential to the successful rule of any Indian empire worthy of that name, he won the allegiance of the Rajputs, the most belligerent Hindus, by a shrewd blend of tolerance, generosity, and force; he himself married two Rajput princesses. Having thus secured the Hindus, he further enlarged his realm by conquest until it extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River. Akbar's supreme achievement, however, was the establishment of an efficient administrative system that held the empire together and stimulated trade and economic development. Almost as notable was his promulgation of a new religion, the Dini-Ilahi (Divine Faith), a blend of Islam, Brahmanism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Although this attempt failed, Akbar surrounded himself with learned men of all faiths and, although illiterate himself, made his court a center of arts and letters.

"Akbar," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Ashoka the Great



Ashoka the Great (also Asoka, Aśoka, pronounced as Ashok-uh, not Ashokaa) was the ruler of the Mauryan empire from 273 BC to 232 BC. A convert to Buddhism, Ashoka reigned over most of the Indian subcontinent, from present day Afghanistan to Bengal and as far south as Mysore.

The name "Ashoka" translates into 'without sorrow' in Sanskrit (a – without, shoka – sorrow). Asoka was the first ruler of ancient Bharata (India), after the famed Mahabharata rulers, to unify such a vast territory under his empire, which in retrospect exceeds the boundaries of the present-day republic of India.

The British author H. G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'Their Highnesses', 'Their Majesties' and 'Their Exalted Majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."

Tipu Sultan, also known as Tipu Sahib (1753 - May 4, 1799) was ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782, and one of the primary native sources of resistance to the establishment of British rule in India. He was nicknamed The Tiger of Mysore for this resistance.

He was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. In 1767 in the invasion of the Carnatic he commanded a corps of cavalry, and he distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775-1779.

At the age of 15, when he accompanied his father Hyder Ali to war against the British in the First Mysore War. He was put at the head of a large body of troops, and defeated Brathwaite on the banks of the Coleroon in February 1782.

The Second Mysore War followed five years later, and though the British were defeated this time, Tipu Sultan became convinced that the British were a new kind of threat in India. Upon becoming Sultan after his father's death in 1782, he worked to check British advances through a series of alliances. At first he attempted to secure pacts with the Marathas and the Mughal Empire.

When this failed, he turned to France, which had been a rising European power in India in decades previous, but had had their strength broken by the Seven Years' War. Expecting more from the alliance than he was to get, in 1789 he invaded the nearby state of Travancore, which was a British protectorate. This sparked the Third Mysore War, which lasted three years and resulted in a resounding defeat for Mysore. Poor timing - France became embroiled in the French Revolution at the start of the war - was a key factor in the loss.

Tipu Sultan's death was caused by the Fourth Mysore War. Napoleon's landing in Egypt in 1798 was intended to threaten India, and Mysore was a key to that next step. Although Horatio Nelson crushed Napoleon's ambitions at the Battle of the Nile, three armies - one from Bombay, and two British (one of which was commanded by Arthur Wellesley the future 1st Duke of Wellington) - nevertheless marched into Mysore in 1799 and besieged the capital, Srirangapatnam. On May 4, the armies broke through the defending walls and Tipu Sultan died of a gunshot wound near the gates of his fortress.

One notable military advance championed by Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali was the use of mass attacks with rocket brigades in the army. Tipu wrote a military manual called 'Fathul Mujahidin' in which he described 200 rocketmen as being assigned to each Mysorean 'cushoon'. The areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as Tara Mandalpet (roughly translated as Galaxy Place).

A study of similar Maratha rockets (about 2000 of which were fired simultaneously at the battle of Panipat by the Marathas) led to the publication of 'A Concise Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rocket System' in 1804 by William Congreve.

Many historians have regarded Tipu's rule as one that fostered secular and liberal views. An interesting aspect of Tipu's life was that he was a founder-member of the Jacobin Club. While accepting the membership, he declared of France thus -

" Behold my acknowledgement of the standard of your country, which is dear to me, and to which I am allied; it shall always be supported in my country, as it has been in the Republic, my sister !"

He then proceeded to call himself "Citizen Tipu Sultan", a radical shift in the policy of an Indian ruler, among his contemporaries who in general, tolerated no liberal or socialist opinions.

Chandragupta Maurya (c.321 BC - c.298 BC) (Greek Sandrocottus) was a Hindu emperor of India, founder of the Maurya dynasty and grandfather of Asoka the Great. He conquered the Magadha kingdom (in modern Bihar and Jharkhand) and eventually controlled all India north of the Vindhya Hills. In c.305 BC, Chandragupta, with a huge army, defeated Seleucus I (Nicator) who had invaded NW India in an attempt to regain Alexander the Great's Indian provinces. Seleucus had to yield parts of Afghanistan to Chandragupta. Chandragupta also took Seleucus' daughter Helen as a concubine to ensure Seleucus' compliance with the terms of the truce. From Megasthenes, a Seleucid envoy at the court of Chandragupta, comes considerable information about the period. The emperor dwelt in an enormous, ornate palace at Pataliputra (Patna) and administered a highly complex and bureaucratic government. He was advised by Kautilya (also called Chanakya), a very able but unscrupulous Brahmin, to whom is attributed the Arthasastra, a guide to statecraft. Chandragupta established a vast secret service system. Jain tradition says that he abdicated his throne, became a Jain monk, and fasted to death.

Darius I of Persia
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Seal of Darius I, showing the king hunting on his , and the symbol of
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Seal of Darius I, showing the king hunting on his chariot, and the symbol of Ahuramazda

Darius the Great (Pers. داریوش Dâriûsh, old Persian Darayavaush), the son of Hystaspes, Persian Emperor, from 521 to 485 BC.

The principal source for his history is his own inscriptions, especially the great inscription of Behistun, in which he relates how he gained the crown and put down the rebellions. In modern times his veracity has often been doubted, but without any sufficient reason; the whole tenor of his words shows that we can rely upon his account. The accounts given by Herodotus and Ctesias of his accession are in many points evidently dependent on this official version, with many legendary stories interwoven, e.g. that Darius and his allies left the question as to which of them should become king to the decision of their horses, and that Darius won the crown by a trick of his groom.

Darius belonged to a younger branch of the royal family of the Achaemenidae. When, after the suicide of Cambyses II (March 521), the usurper Gaumata ruled undisturbed over the whole empire under the name of Bardiya (Smerdis), son of Cyrus, and no one dared to gainsay him. Darius, "with the help of Ahuramazda," attempted to regain the kingdom for the royal race. His father Hystaspes was still alive, but evidently had not the courage to urge his claims. Actually, according to his incription found at Susa, both his father Hystaspes and his grandfather Arsames, were alive when he became the king. Assisted by six noble Persians, whose names he proclaims at the end of the Behistun inscription, he surprised and killed the usurper in a Median fortress (October 521), and gained the crown. He also married Atossa, the widow of false Smerdis and daughter of King Cyrus the Great of Persia. (Darius was succeeded on the throne by his and Atossa's son Xerxes.)

But this sudden change was the signal for an attempt on the part of all the eastern provinces to regain their independence. In Susiana, Babylon, Media, Sagartia, and Margiana, usurpers arose, pretending to be of the old royal race, and gathered large armies around them; in Persia itself Vahyazdata imitated the example of Gaumata and was acknowledged by the majority of the people as the true Bardiya. Darius with only a small army of Persians and Medes and some trustworthy generals overcame all difficulties, and in 520 and 519 all the rebellions were put down (Babylon rebelled twice, Susiana even three times), and the authority of Darius was established throughout the empire.

Darius in his inscriptions appears as a fervent believer in the monotheistic religion of Zoroaster. He was also a great statesman and organizer. The time of conquests had come to an end; the wars which Darius undertook, like those of Augustus, only served the purpose of gaining strong natural frontiers for the empire and keeping down the barbarous tribes on its borders. Thus Darius subjugated the wild nations of the Pontic and Armenian mountains, and extended the Persian dominion to the Caucasus; for the same reasons he fought against the Sacae and other Turanian tribes. But by the organization which he gave to the empire he became the true successor of the great Cyrus. His organization of the provinces and the fixing of the tributes is described by Herodotus (iii. 90 if.), evidently from good official sources. He divided the Persian Empire into twenty provinces, each under the supervision of a governor or satrap (SAY-trap). The satrap position was usually hereditary and largely autonomous, allowing each province its own distinct laws, traditions, and elite class. Every region, however, was responsible for paying a gold or silver tribute to the emperor; many areas, such as Babylonia, underwent severe economic decline resulting from these quotas.

Nevertheless, he fixed the coinage and introduced the gold coinage of the Daric. He tried to develop the commerce of the empire, and sent an expedition down the Kabul and the Indus, led by the Carian captain Scylax of Caryanda, who explored the Indian Ocean from the mouth of the Indus to Suez. He dug a canal from the Nile to Suez, and, as the fragments of a hieroglyphic inscription found there show, his ships sailed from the Nile through the Red Sea by Saba to Persia.

He had connections with Carthage (i.e. the Karka of the Nakshi Rustam inscription), and explored the shores of Sicily and Italy. At the same time he attempted to gain the good-will of the subject nations, and for this purpose promoted the aims of their priests. He allowed the Jews to build the Temple of Jerusalem. In Egypt his name appears on the temples which he built in Memphis, Edfu and the Great Oasis. He called the high-priest of Sais, Tzahor, to Susa (as we learn from his inscription in the Vatican), and gave him full powers to reorganize the "house of life," the great medical school of the temple of Sais.

In the Egyptian traditions he is considered as one of the great benefactors and lawgivers of the country. In similar relations he stood to the Greek sanctuaries (cf. his rescript to "his slave" Godatas, the inspector of a royal park near Magnesia on the Maeander, in which he grants freedom of taxes and forced labour to the sacred territory of Apollo); all the Greek oracles in Asia Minor and Europe therefore stood on the side of Persia in the Persian Wars and admonished the Greeks to attempt no resistance.

About 512 Darius undertook a war against the Scythians. A great army crossed the Bosporus, subjugated eastern Thrace, and crossed the Danube. The purpose of this war can only have been to attack the nomadic Turanian tribes in the rear and thus to secure peace on the northern frontier of the empire. It was based upon a wrong geographical conception; even Alexander and his Macedonians believed that on the Hindu Kush (which they called the Caucasus Indicus) and on the shores of the Jaxartes (which they called Tanais, i.e. Don) they were quite near to the Black Sea. Of course the expedition undertaken on these grounds could not but prove a failure; having advanced for some weeks into the Russian steppes, Darius was forced to return. The details given by Herodotus (according to him Darius had reached the Volga!) are quite fantastical; and the account which Darius himself had given on a tablet, which was added to his great inscription in Behistun, is destroyed with the exception of a few words.

Although European Greece was intimately connected with the coasts of Asia Minor, and the opposing parties in the Greek towns were continually soliciting his intervention, Darius did not meddle with their affairs. The Persian wars were begun by the Greeks themselves. The support which Athens and Eretria gave to the rebellious Ionians and Carians made their punishment inevitable as soon as the rebellion had been put down. But the first expedition, that of Mardonius, failed on the cliffs of Mount Athos (492), and the army which was led into Attica by Datis in 490 was beaten at Marathon. Before Darius had finished his preparations for a third expedition an insurrection broke out in Egypt (486). In the next year Darius died, probably in October 485, after a reign of thirty-six years. He is one of the greatest rulers the east has produced.

The mauryan Army at it's zenith had 600,000 infantry, 30,000 mounted cavalry and 9,000 war elephants.

Can you imagine something that size !!!!!

Darius was a great King and leader.

Muttawa
nice informative effort, good work,

Mauryan Army was the main reason to send back Alexander.

Asoka was Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya and son of Bimbisar.

Peace Forever,

Muttawa

Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj (India) 1628-1680


He founded the Hindu kingdom in the Deccan against all odds , fighting against the mighty Mughals.He inspired and united the common man to fight against the tyranny of Mughal ruler Aurangjeb, by inculcating a sense of pride and nationality in them.

At the age of 16, he took a pledge to establish a sovereign Hindu state.He clearly outstands all the rulers and generals of India by the exemplary life he lived and is thus respected by the entire cross section of Indians. Shivaji's military skills could be compared to those of Napolean.

He raised a strong army and navy,constructed and repaired forts, used gureilla warfare tactics,developed a strong intelligence network,gave equal treatment to the people from all religions and castes based on merit,and functioned like a seasoned Statesman and General.He appointed ministers with specific functions such as Internal security,Foreign affairs,Finance,Law and Justice,Religious matters,Defence etc.

He introduced systems in revenue collection and warned the officials against harassment of subjects.He thought ahead of times and was a true visionary.In his private life, his moral virtues were exceptionally high.His thoughts and deeds were inspired by the teachings of his mother Jijabai,teacher Dadaji Konddev,great saints like Dnyaneshwar & Tukaram and the valiancy and ideals of the Lords Rama and Krishna.

The tiny kingdom established by Chhatrapati Shivaji known as "Hindavi Swaraja" (Sovereign Hindu state)grew and spread beyond Attock in Northwest India (now in Pakistan)and beyond Cuttack in East India in course of time, to become the strongest power in India. After the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji & his son Sambhaji their prime ministers or'The Peshwas'became the defacto rulers. The Peshwas and the Maratha Sardars (Chieftans) like Shindes of Gwalior, Gaekwads of Baroda & Holkars of Indore contributed to the growth of the Maratha Confederacy.

The history of India is incomplete without the history of Marathas and Shivaji is the nucleus of Maratha history.Shivaji has been a source of inspiration and pride to the past generations and will continue to inspire generations in future.We salute this legend and humbly dedicate this website to him.

Who are Marathas?

Marathas are a blend of the Warrior and Agrarian classes, speaking Marathi and generally having their roots in Maharashtra. They are also found in large Nos in Karnataka, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat. There are contradictory theories about the Historic origins of Marathas and hence are not discussed here.

A few Maratha clans claim themselves to be Kshatriyas (Warriors). Some such families were the Bhosales, Ghorpades, Jadhavs, Nimbalkars, Mores, Manes, Ghatges, Dafleys, Sawants, Shirkes, Mahadiks and the Mohites. The prominent Maratha families mentioned above were serving under the Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar and Adil Shah of Bijapur. These families are generally referred as the 96 clans or kulis which comprise of 96 different main clans with their different sub clans. Marathas are descendents of Rashtrakuts, Mauryas, Pariharas/Parmar (Pawar), Pratiharas, Shilahars, Kadambas, Yadavas, Chalukyas and many other royal clans in India.

Maloji Bhosale (c.1552-1606) then the patil of verul joined Nizam Shah with a small band of cavalry. His son, Shahaji (1599-1664) served under Nizam Shah and Adil Shah, and came to prominence as a leading General. His son Shivaji (1627-1680) established the Hindavi Swarajya (Sovereign Hindu state), which happened to be the nucleus of the Maratha power that came into being later on. The Marathas, who had been till then serving as Deshmukhs (Jagirdars) to the Muslim rules, now had their own king and kingdom.

The majority of Marathas, however belong to the peasantry class. The dividing line between the Kshatriya classes and the peasantry classes has become thin with the passage of time.A lot of matrimonial alliances are also taking place amongst them, unlike those in North or South India. The Maratha army and the administration also had people from all castes taking pride in it.

The fanatic Brahmins of those times had refused to coronate Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and subsequently Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur since they didn't consider Marathas, as 'Kshatriyas'. The Brahmins declared that 'Only Kshatriyas are entitled to be crowned as the Kings' and Marathas being 'Shudras' were not entitled to be crowned. Chhatrapati Shivaji brought Gagabhat of Varanasi to establish his lineage with the Sisodias (Rajputs) of Rajasthan & testify his being Kshatriya, whereas the great social reformer Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj extended the vedic rights to non brahmins and empowered them do the jobs of the brahmins.


Rajarshi Shahu realised the falacy in the caste system and corrected it by bringing all the sections of the society on one platform to fight this brahmin fanatism. Throughout his life, he struggled for the upliftment and education of the downtrodden. . It is a worthwhile to see the majority lot of Maharashtrians identifying themselves as Marathas. It is a case of inculcation of pride in masses, a case study for sociologists.

Marathas consider themselves to be the saviours of Hinduism who fought the onslaught of fanatic Mughal Emperor Aurangjeb. It is generally agreed by Historians that had the Maratha power not been there after the Mughals, the whole of India would have become Pakistan after Independence.

The death of Chhatrapti Shivaji in 1680 and his son Sambhaji in 1687 pushed the Maratha kingdom in the period of instability upto 1707. The tiny Maratha kingdom , established by Chattrapati Shivaji was expanded by the Peshwas, who were the Brahmin Prime Ministers. The real credit for expanding the Maratha kingdom goes to Bajirao Peshwa I(1721-1740) . The Peshwas subsequently ruled the Maratha Kingdom as defacto rulers. The Maratha Sardars or chieftanslike Gaekwads of Baroda, Shindes of Gwalior, Holkars of Indore expanded the power in North India and became powerful after the Peshwas.They then established their own kingdoms.

At one time, the Marathas rule spread from Attock in Paktoonistan to Bengal (beyond Cuttack) in East India to become a Maratha confederacy. The Great Maratha, 'Mahadji Shinde' was the kingmaker at Delhi who played a dominant role in deciding the fate of Delhi rulers but never thought of occupying the throne for himself.

In the battle that took place near Delhi ,after the Mughal power declined, the Marathas conclusively defeated Afgan-Rohila forces led by Shah Abdali & Najib Khan in 1756. Najib Khan surrendered to the Marathas and became their prisoner. This battle liberated Punjab from the Muslim dominion after 800 years. The Marathas chased and drove the Afghans back to Afghanistan. Thereafter Najib Khan woed Malharrao Holkar to his side and in return secured his release. Thus Marathas released Najib Khan. He again invited Shah Abdali for his second invasion in 1759. Marathas formed alliance with the Jat King Suraj Mal of Bharatpur This alliance led by Shrimant Sadshiv Rao Bhau and Shrimant Vishwas Rao (the Peshwa Shrimant Balaji Baji Rao's son) won spectacular victories and captured Delhi and Kunjapura. This was the time when the entire North & Central India was in the Maratha Command.

Here the alliance developed cracks about handling of Delhi matters and ultimately split. Suraj Mal withdrew from the alliance. The Marathas then marched upto Panipat and blockedg the way of the Afghans back to Afghanistan, instead of continuing their attacks to completely defeat the partly defeated Abdali and Najib Khan. Seeing their way back to their homeland blocked, the Afghans in turn, blocked the way of the Marathas back into the Deccan. This standoff continued for a few months, while the Afghans cut-off all supplies to the huge Maratha army. The Afghans with Najib Khan meanwhile recaptured Delhi and Kunjpura.

On the decisive day of 14th January 1761, the Marathas decided to break-through the Afghan blockade and re-enter Deccan. The disastrous battle saw about one hundred thousand Maratha troops killed in a matter of eight hours. Nanasaheb Peshwe (Balaji Bajirao) lost his brother, Sadashivrao, and also his first son, Vishwasrao, in this battle. Nanashaeb , unable to bear the shock also died shortly. It was one of the worst defeats for Marathas, Hinduism & the Indian Nationalist Forces. The dream of bringing India under one unified Hindu rule was thus shattered. The Afghans too suffered heavy losses and decided enough was enough and went back to Afghanistan. Abdali never returned to India after this stormy campaign. The Peshwas also lost control on the Maratha empire thereafter and the Maratha Generals like Shindes (Gwalior) and Holkars (Indore) consolidated themselves after this, in the North & Central India.

Peace Forever,

Muttawa

Darius I

Peace Forever,

Muttawa

Don't forget Genghis Khan (Chengez Khan) & his sons, who had an empire which stretched from the Pacific to the Atlantic.


Genghis Khan - the greatest conqueror in human history

Genghis Khan's empire was the largest in the world, it has never been surpassed.

He has never lost a war & destroyed 20 different Monarchies

Thanx for banning me Saira.

Peace Forever,

Muttawa

why were u banned ?