Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", '' pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

denoting the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. During wartime, a ''Sardar Senapati'' or ''Sarsenapati'' (also colloquially termed ''Sarnaubat'') functioned as the Commander-in-Chief of all Maratha armies, coordinating the commands of the various ''

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

s'' in battle. Ranking under the

heir-apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

(

yuvaraja Yuvaraja (), also rendered Yuvraj, is an Indian title for the crown prince, and the heir apparent to the throne of an Indian (notably Hindu) kingdom, empire or (notably in the Mughal Empire or Indian Empire) princely state. It is usually applie ...

) and other hereditary

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

s (rajkumar), the title ''Senapati'' most closely resembles a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Herzog (; feminine ; masculine plural ; feminine plural ) is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to ...

'' in rank and function. On occasion, the title Mahasenapati (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: महा ''maha-'' meaning "great") was granted; this equates to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

, and closely resembles a

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

or a German ''Großherzog''. Unlike ''Sardar'', ''Senapati'' is a

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

hereditary title that is passed on to the eldest son. There are several royal ''Senapati'' families alive today, including the Ghorpade and

Dabhade Dabhade (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪abʱaːɖe surname signifies Maratha clan, Maratha and Koli people, Koli clans found largely in Maharashtra, India. The Maratha clan, Maratha Dabhades were originally centered on Talegaon Dabhade ( ...

families. ''Senapati'' as Surname is almost equivalent to Sardars in India . Outside of India too, this type of similar surnames are being used like "''Senopati''" in Indonesia, Walters in Germany which means Commander of the Army, etc.

Outside of India

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, the term ''sena padei'' () means "military commander". It is used in the title of the current Prime Minister of Cambodia,

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

. In ancient

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, this title was used by ''Sang pamegat senāpati di Tundun'', the "Commander-in-chief" of Tondo represented by

Jayadewa Jayadewa or Jayadeva (Sanskrit: जयदेव; full title: Dang Hwan Nāyaka tuhan Pailah Jayadewa) was the name of the Senapati of Tundun and the Lord of Pailah at the time that the Laguna Copperplate Inscription was written in . According to ...

, Lord Minister of Pailah mentioned in the

Laguna Copperplate Inscription The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is an official acquittance ( debt relief) certificate inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 ( Gregorian A.D. 900). It is the earliest-known, extant, calendar-dated document found within the Phil ...

. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, the term ''senapati'' has been absorbed into

Old Javanese Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Special Region o ...

and eventually

Javanese language Javanese ( , , ; , Aksara Jawa, Javanese script: , Pegon script, Pegon: , IPA: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indones ...

to refer to "general" or "army commander". In Javanese it can be rendered as ''Senapati'' or ''Senopati''. For example, the title of

Sutawijaya Panembahan Senapati, formally styled Panembahan Senapati ing Ngalaga Sayyidin Panatagama (died in Jenar (now Purwodadi, Purworejo), 1601), was the founder of the Mataram Sultanate. Origin Born Danang Sutawijaya, known as Dananjaya, he was the s ...

, the founder of 16th century Javanese

Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese people, Javanese kingdom on the island of Java (island), Java before it was Dutch Empire, colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the inte ...

, was ''Senapati ing Alaga'', which means "general of battle".

Senapatis of the Maratha Empire

The following is a list of Senapatis of the Maratha Empire from the reign of Shivaji to Shahu subsequently: *Mankoji Dahatonde (first) * Netaji Palkar (second) *

Prataprao Gujar Prataprao Gujar (also ''Kudtoji Gujar'', ; – 24 February 1674) was a Maratha general who served as the 3rd Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji. He commanded the Maratha Army until 1674. Military career Pr ...

(third) * Anandrao (fourth) *

Hambirrao Mohite Hansaji Mohite (1630–1687), popularly known as Hambir Rao Mohite, was a prominent Maratha general who held the esteemed position of the 5th Senapati of the Maratha Army during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was recognized for ...

(fifth) *Maloji Ghorpade (sixth) *

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Ghorpade (Santaji Mhaloji Ghorpade, ; 1660–1696) was a Maratha (caste), Maratha general and statesman who served as the 7th Senapati of the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chattrapati Rajaram I. He is widely regarded as one of the ...

(seventh) * Dhanaji Jadhav Rao (eighth) *Chandrasen Jadhav (ninth) * Khanderao Dabhade (tenth) * Trimbak Rao Dabhade (eleventh)

References

{{reflist Hindi words and phrases Military history of India Honorifics Men's social titles Feudalism in Asia Titles in India

Outside of India

Senapatis of the Maratha Empire

See also

References