Battle of Alegaon

01Uncle and nephew

Madhavrao became Peshwa at sixteen in 1761, after his father died of grief at the news from Panipat. His uncle Raghunathrao acted as regent and resented the boy’s growing independence and his trust in ministers like Trimbakrao Pethe. In 1762 Raghunathrao left Poona, gathered his own following, and made an alliance with Nizam Ali of Hyderabad, the enemy the Marathas had beaten at Udgir only two years earlier, promising him the return of lands lost there.

02Surrender on the Bhima

Madhavrao marched against the combined armies and was outmatched. After fighting near Alegaon on the Bhima in November 1762 his army broke up, and on 12 November he rode alone into his uncle’s camp and surrendered, choosing to end a civil war rather than prolong it. Raghunathrao took charge of the state and rewarded the Nizam with territory. The young Peshwa bided his time, and within a year the Nizam’s greed turned the Marathas against him again.

Dynasty · 1713–1818 CEThe Peshwas of PuneThe Peshwas were the hereditary chief ministers of the Chhatrapatis, and from 1713 to 1818 they ran the Maratha state from Pune. Under Bajirao I and his son Nanasaheb the Marathas became the strongest power in India, until Panipat in 1761 and the British wars that ended the line in 1818.Read →