The Shirke, or Shirkhe is a clan ( Gotra) of

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

caste and

Marathas 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 a ...

(a group of several

castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

who served in

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 ...

), found largely in Maharashtra and bordering states of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

The Shirke clan held

Deshmukh Deshmukh (IAST:Dēśamukh), is a historical title conferred to the rulers of a . It is used as a surname in certain regions of India, specifically in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh whose family received it as a ...

i rights in the areas of coastal

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

in present day state of Maharashtra and some inland areas of Western Maharashtra during 15th century under the

Bahamani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

and in 16th and 17th century under the successor Deccan sultanates of

Adilshahi The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's T ...

and

Nizamshahi The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was a late medieval Indian Muslim kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur. Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor of Junnar after defeating the Bahmani army led by general J ...

During the Bahamani era, the seat of Shirke fief was at Khelna (Vishalgad). The Shirkes intermarried with the Surves and kept command over their regions. In the mid 17th century,

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 ...

, the founder of

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 ...

got the Surve and Shirke to join him by force or by forming marital alliances. The Shirkes were relatives of 17th Bhosale rulers,

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

Sambhaji Sambhaji Bhosale (14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, ruling from 1681 to 1689. He was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Sambhaji's rule was largely shaped by the ongoing ...

, and Rajaram.Although Sambhaji's wife came from the Shirke family, his positions were spied upon. Sambhaji and 25 of his advisors were captured by the Mughal forces of

Muqarrab Khan Muqarrab Khan of Golconda also known as Khan Zaman Fath Jang was the most experienced commander of Qutb Shahi Dynasty, during the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. He is known for betraying Abul Hasan Qutb Shah during Siege of Golconda. He arreste ...

in a skirmish at

Sangameshwar Sangameshwar Taluka is a taluka in Ratnagiri subdivision of Ratnagiri district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The headquarters for the taluka is the town of Devrukh.The headquarters was moved from the village of Sangameshwar to Devrukh in 1 ...

in February 1689. The Shirke were relations and confidantes of the Raja Pratapsinha of the short lived Satara state. He also sent a member of the Shirke family to London to plead his case of restoring him to power in 1839.

History

See also

References

Further reading