who were maratahs?what effect did they have on aurangzeb's empire?
Answers
Marathas were the only one who succeeded in raising their own kingdom against the mighty Mughal Emperors of Delhi and kept it intact through the course of time though there were times when those northern rulers captured-sometimes killed-their leaders in efforts to neutralize Marathas. Still the Marathas stood still and strong and kept fighting back to keep intact what's the reason behind very existence as a community regardless of their religion or race.
It's the maratha king who’s called as the father of Indian navy namely-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It was his son Sambhaji Maharaj the 2nd ruler of maratha kingdom who fought off Aurangzeb's half a million army on many fronts throughout the Deccan without even loosing a small fort or a boat in fleet for 8 years continuously.
And maybe Shivaji Maharaj was the only person to escape and get back to homeland safely without even a bruise from Aurangzeb's prison along with his son Sambhaji Raje to leave Aurangzeb surprised/awestruck/shocked all at the same time.
Even though Aurangzeb had brutally killed Sambhaji Maharaj to neutralize the little rebellion of Marathas(that's what he used to call maratha kingdom),they still fought to their last breath to keep their honour intact.
It was the rebellion of Sambhaji Maharaj for 8 years which made him vouch that he won't wear his crown until he captures Sambhaji Maharaj. And he indeed had to leave the crown of mughal empire aside for years.
And it was this “little rebellion of Marathas" which was instrumental in digging his grave in Maharashtra itself.
There is much more to the story but you can see that much effect Marathas caused on Aurangzeb and his empire.
Answer:
Marathas were marathi speaking language warriors group from Western deccan. In 17 century they served as soldiers in the armies of mughals and later in armies of Shivagi. The deccan campaigns against the marathas resulted in the loss of prestige and mughal army. and weakened emperors position. the treasury of mughals got empty fighting with marathas which they could never recover