The Marathas 1600-1818

by Stewart Gordon

Overview

In this book, Dr. Stewart Gordon presents the first comprehensive history of the Maratha polity, which was an important regional kingdom in the seventeenth century and the largest political entity of eighteenth century India. He focuses on the origins of the elite families, problems of legitimacy and loyalty, military organization and change, and the development of administration, tax collection and religious patronage. Through the use of a vast array of documents, the author also gives a picture of everyday life in the Maratha polity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521268837
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/16/1993
Series:	The New Cambridge History of India , #4
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

List of maps; General editor's preface; Acknowledgements; Glossary; Introduction: historiography and bibliography; 1. The geopolitics of Maharashtra; 2. Marathas and the Deccan sultanates; 3. Shivaji (1630–80) and the Maratha polity; 4. Family responses to invasion (1680–1719); 5 Baji Rao I's northern expansion (1720–1740); 6. Conquest to administration (1740–1760); 7. Centripetal forces (1760–1803); Epilogue (1803–1818); Conclusions; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The Marathas is extremely detailed and covers a great many topics in the two century period it treats. It is written with an eye to the use that various groups with political and cultural agendas have made of the history of Maharashtra. The story The Marathas itself tells is dispassionate, judicious, and absorbing." Rachana Kamtekar, Chicago South Asia Newsletter

"As a synthesis of current interpretations and as a comprehensive reference work, Gordon's volume amply fulfills the goals of the New Cambridge History of India series of which it forms a part. Gordon distills a massive array of original and secondary sources into a succinct and readable summary of Maratha history, while at the same time acquainting readers with the main issues in the field. Copious bibliographic references and a glossary provide further assistance to the nonspecialist, as do the nine excellent maps. For the many of us who have yearned to understand something of Maratha history, yet have been too faint of heart to face the enormity of the task given the vast (and often rather dense) literature involved, Gordon has performed a welcome service." Cynthia Talbot, Journal of Asian Studies

"...an intelligent and insightful new synthesis on the Marathas and their polity....a brilliant and compelling reading of the Maratha's political and military enterprise." Frank F. Conlon, American Historical Review

From the Publisher