The Bhonsles of Nagpur were a

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

royal house that ruled the

Kingdom of Nagpur The Kingdom of Nagpur was an Indian kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the st ...

from 1739-1853. They hailed from the Bhonsle clan of Marathas and were one of the most important and powerful Maratha chiefs in the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

Origin

The

Bhonsale The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest ac ...

family were originally headmen from Deor or Deur under the forts Chandan Vandan (presently in Koregaon Taluka, District Satara and was under Deshmukhi rights of

Bhoite Bhoite is a surname found amongst the Maratha caste, mainly in the state of Maharashtra in India but it also appears in Indian states bordering Maharashtra. Origin Some sources, such as ''Shri Swami Samartha'' states Bhoites are Suryavanshi cla ...

Clan), a village in

Satara district Satara district (Marathi pronunciation: aːt̪aɾaː is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban (). Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns ...

. Raghoji's grandfather and his two brothers had fought in the armies of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

, and to the most distinguished of them was entrusted a high military command and the collection of ''chauth'' (tribute) in

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar *Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province (1724 ...

Ascension to power

After

Chand Sultan Chand Sultan (1706-1739) was a Muslim king of Nagpur. He was the eldest son and successor of Bakht Buland Shah of Deogarh. He ascended the throne of Deogarh in 1706 and shifted his capital from Deogarh to Nagpur. He carried out further reforms i ...

, the Gond raja of Nagpur's death in 1739, there were quarrels over the succession, leading to the throne being usurped by Wali Shah, an illegitimate son of Bakht Buland Shah. Chand Sultan's widow invoked the aid of the Maratha leader Raghuji Bhonsle of Berar in the interest of her sons Akbar Shah and Burhan Shah. Wali Shah was put to death and the rightful heirs placed on the throne. Raghoji I Bhonsle was sent back to Berar with a plentiful bounty for his aid. The Maratha general judged that Nagpur must be a plentiful and rich country by the magnificence of his reward. However, dissensions continued between the brothers and once again, the elder brother Burhan Shah requested the aid of Raghuji Bhonsla. Akbar Shah was driven into exile and finally poisoned at

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

. However this time, Ragoji Bhonsle did not have the heart to leave such a plentiful and rich country, with it being within his grasp. He declared himself 'protector' of the Gond king. Thus in 1743, Burhan Shah was practically made a state pensionary, with real power being in the hands of the Maratha ruler. After this event the history of the Gond kingdom of Deogarh is not recorded. A series of Maratha rulers came to power following the fall of the Gonds from the throne of

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

, starting with Raghoji Bhonsle.

History

The Bhonsles of Nagpur were near relations of

Chhatrapati Shahu Chhatrapati Shahu Bhosale I (Pronunciation: �aːɦuː CE) was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire founded by his grandfather, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Born into the Bhonsle family, he was the son of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Mahar ...

, who raised them to riches and power.

Raghoji I Bhonsle Raghoji Bhonsle or Raghoji I Bhonsale or Raghuji the Great (1695 – February 1755) of the Bhonsale dynasty, was a Maratha general who took control of the Nagpur Kingdom in east-central India during the reign of Shahu I. His successors ruled ...

overran Bengal & Bihar during the reign of

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Mar ...

,occupying Orissa from the Nawab. However, they did not play any part in the Third Battle of Panipat and

First Anglo-Maratha War The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) was the first of three Anglo-Maratha Wars fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai. The w ...

, so they gradually sank to a secondary position in the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

. The reason for their half-hearted cooperation with the other Maratha chiefs was that they were bribed by

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

. They were generally opposed to the ''

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

'', and claimed independent authority as they essentially controlled the Gond king of Nagpur.

Deposition

Raghuji Bhonsle III Raghuji Bhonsle III (1806 or 1808 – 11 December 1853) or Raghuji III Bhonsle, was the Maratha ruler of the Principal States of Nagpur in Central India from 1818 to 1853. Life Succession When Appa Sahib was arrested the Resident Mr. Jenki ...

died without a male heir in 1853, and the kingdom was annexed by the British under the

doctrine of lapse The doctrine of lapse was a policy of annexation initiated by the East India Company in the Indian subcontinent about the princely states, and applied until the year 1858, the year after Company rule was succeeded by the British Raj under the ...

. The territories of the former kingdom was administered as

Nagpur Province Nagpur Province was a province of British India that covered parts of the present-day states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the province. In 1861, Nagpur Province was merged into the Cent ...

, under a commissioner appointed by the Governor-General of India, until the formation of the Central Provinces in 1861.

Rulers

(173914Feb 1755) * Janoji Bhonsle (175521 May 1772) *

Mudhoji Bhonsle Madhoji Bhonsle was the ruler of the Nagpur kingdom from 1772 to 1788. Reign He reigned from 1772 to 1788. In 1785 he added Mandla Mandla is a city with municipality in Mandla district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the ad ...

(177219 May 1788) *

Raghoji II Bhonsle Raghuji Bhonsale II (died 22 March 1816) or Raghuji II Bhonsale was the Maratha ruler of the Kingdom of Nagpur in Central India from 1788 to 1816. Reign Raghuji was adopted as an infant by his uncle Janoji Bhonsle to be his chosen heir. Janoj ...

(178822Mar 1816) * Parsoji Bhonsle (1816 2 Feb 1817) (b.1778d.1817) *

Mudhoji II Bhonsle Mudhoji (Madhoji) II Bhonsale (died 15 July 1840), also known as Appa Sahib, of the Bhonsale dynasty, ruled the Kingdom of Nagpur in central India from 1816 to 1818. His reign coincided with the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the Maratha Empi ...

"Appa Sahib" (181715Mar 1818) (b. 1796d.1840) *

(181811Dec 1853) (b.1808d.1853)

References

{{reflist Maratha clans Nagpur