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Thanjavur Maratha kingdom
1674–1855
Map of Tanjore
Approximate extent of the Thanjavur Kingdom, at the time of its accession to the British in 1798
Capital	Tanjore
Common languages	Tamil,Telugu,Marathi,Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Principality
Raja
• (first) 1674 - 1684	Venkoji
• (last) 1832 - 1855	Shivaji II of Thanjavur
History
• Conquest of theMadurai Nayak Kingdom byVenkoji	April 1674
• Disestablished	1855
Preceded by Succeeded by Thanjavur Nayak kingdom Ramnad estate Company rule in India
Today part of	India

TheThanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by theBhonsle dynasty was a principality ofTamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language wasThanjavur Marathi.Vyankoji Bhosale was the founder of the dynasty.

Following the demise ofChola rule in the 13th century (specifically around 1279), theThanjavur area came under the rule of thePandyas and then, followingthe invasion of Malik Kafur, it fell into disorder.

Pandya nadu very quickly reasserted their independence and added Thanjavur to their domain. Soon afterwards, however, they were conquered by theVijayanagara Empire. The Emperor appointed his trusted Kin, who belonged to theTelugu-speakingBalija caste as Governors (Nayakas) of Madurai and Tanjavur.^[1] An internal family squabble betweenChokkanatha Nayak ofMadurai Nayak dynasty and his uncleVijayaraghava Nayaka of Tanjavur led to a war and eventually ended in the defeat of Thanjavur. The rule of theThanjavur Nayaks lasted until 1673, whenChokkanatha Nayak, the ruler ofMadurai, invaded Thanjavur and killed its ruler, Vijayaraghava.

Chokkanatha placed his brother Alagiri on the throne of Thanjavur, but within a year the latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was forced to recognise the independence of Thanjavur. A son of Vijaya Raghava induced the Bijapur Sultan to help him get back the Thanjavur throne. In 1675, the Sultan of Bijapur sent a force commanded by theMaratha generalVenkoji (alias Ekoji) to recapture the kingdom from the new invader. Venkoji defeated Alagiri, and occupied Thanjavur. He did not, however, place his protege on the throne as instructed by the Bijapur Sultan, but seized the kingdom and made himself king. Thus began the rule of theMarathas over Thanjavur.

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Vyankoji, a half-brother of the Maratha kingShivaji, was the first Raja of Thanjavur from the Bhosale dynasty. It is believed^{[by whom?]} that he took over the administration of Thanjavur in April 1674 and ruled until 1684. During his reign, Shivaji invadedGingee and Thanjavur in 1676–1677 and made his brother Santaji the ruler of all lands to the north of theColeroon. During the last years of his reign, Vyankoji also allied with Chokkanatha ofMadurai to repulse an invasion fromMysore.

Shahuji I was the eldest son of Venkoji and he ascended the throne at the age of twelve. During his reign, the Mughals occupied theCoromandel coast andTiruchirapalli and forced him to pay tribute. Shahuji was a patron ofliterature. During his reign, there were frequentskirmishes andbattles with the Raja of Madurai and Ramnad for control of the border lands.

Serfoji I was a younger son of Venkoji and he ruled from 1712 to 1728. His rule was marked by regular warfare and disputes with the Madurai Nayaks.

Tukkoji, a younger brother of Serfoji I, ruled Thanjavur from 1728 to 1736. His reign witnessed the invasion ofChanda Sahib and he is credited with having repulsed a Muslim invasion of Madurai.

A period of anarchy followed the death of Tukkoji and came to an end whenPratapsingh came to the throne in 1739. He ruled until 1763. He allied with Muhammad Ali, theNawab of the Carnatic, and aided theBritish East India Company against theFrench East India Company in theCarnatic Wars and theSeven Years' War. He was the last king to be addressed by the Directors of the British East India Company as "His Majesty". In 1762, a tripartite treaty was signed between Thanjavur, Carnatic and the British East India Company by which he became a vassal of the Nawab of the Carnatic.

Thuljaji was a very weak ruler and the last independent ruler of Thanjavur. In 1773, Thanjavur was annexed by the Nawab of the Carnatic who ruled till 1776. The throne was restored to him by the Directors of the British East India Company but that restoration came at a heavy price as it deprived him of his independence.

Thuljaji was succeeded by his teenage sonSerfoji II in 1787. Soon afterwards, he was deposed by his uncle and regentAmarsingh who seized the throne for himself. With the help of the British, Serfoji II recovered the throne in 1798. A subsequent treaty forced him to hand over the reins of the kingdom to the British East India Company, becoming part of theTanjore District (Madras Presidency). The district collectorate system was installed thereafter to manage the public revenues. Serfoji II was however left in control of the Fort and the surrounding areas. He reigned till 1832. His reign is noted for the literary, scientific and technological accomplishments of the Tanjore country.

Shivaji was the last Maratha ruler of Thanjavur and reigned from 1832 to 1855. As his first wife did not have any male heir, the Queen adopted her nephew, and the adoption took place after the Maharaja's (Shivaji I) death in 1855. The British did not accept this adoption and Thanjavur was annexed by them as per the provisions of theDoctrine of Lapse.

The Thanjavur Maratha rulers patronized production of literature in four languages:^[2][3]

1. Tamil (the popular language of the Thanjavur region)
2. Telugu (the language of the precedingNayaka rulers)
3. Marathi (the language of the court elite)
4. Sanskrit (the liturgical language of the Vedic Scriptures)

The notable Marathi authors from the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom include Raghunatha Pandita, Ananda-tanaya, Gosavi-nandana and Subhan Rao. They mainly wrote short works onPuranic or other religious subjects, on the royal family members, or on the splendours of Thanjavur.^[4]

In 1693, Shahaji renamed the village ofThiruvisanallur as Shahaji-raja-puram and established an assembly of 45 scholars and poets there. These scholars included Ramabhadra Dikshita, Bhaskara Dikshita, Veda-kavi, Mahadeva-kavi, and Shridhara Venkatesvara. Shahaji's ministerTryambaka-yajvan wrote the Sanskrit-language textsDharmakuta (a commentary onRamayana) andStrī-dharma-paddhati. Other members of his family also composed various works. His grandson Narayana-raya wroteVikrama-sena-champu. His brother Bhagavanta-raya wroteMukunda-vilasa,Uttara-champu, andRaghavabhyudaya. His nephew Ananda-raya wroteAshvala-yana-grhya-sutra-vritti,Jivananda-nataka, andVidya-parinaya-nataka (with a commentary). His grand-nephew Nrsimha-raya wroteTripura-vijaya-champu.Dhundhiraja, another writer patronized by Shahaji, wrote the Sanskrit-language textsShaha-vilasa-gita andMudra-rakshasa-vyakhya.^[4]

Serfoji built theSaraswathi Mahal Library within the precincts of the palace to house his enormous book and manuscript collection. Apart from Indian languages, Serfoji II was proficient in English, French, Dutch, Greek and Latin as well.^{[citation needed]}

The king was assisted in the administration of his country by a council of ministers. The supreme head of this council of ministers was aMantri orDalavoy. TheDalavoy was also the Commander-in-chief of the Army. Next in importance at the court was aPradhani orDewan also calledDabir Pandit. The country was divided intosubahs,seemais andmaganams in decreasing order of size and importance. The five subahs of the country werePattukkottai,Mayiladuthurai (erstwhile Mayavaram),Kumbakonam,Mannargudi andTiruvadi.

The ruler collected his taxes from the people through hismirasdars orputtackdars. They were collected right from the village level onwards and were based on the agricultural produce of the village. Rice was one of the primary crops in the region and the land used for cultivation was owned by big landlords. It was Anatharama Sashtry who proposed collecting taxes to improve conditions for the poor. No foreign trade was carried out. The only foreign trade in the country was carried out by European traders who paid a particular amount of money as rent to the Raja. The currency system used was that of achakram orpon (1 chakram = one and three-fourths of a British East India Company rupee). Other systems of coinage used were that ofpagoda (1 pagoda = three and a half Company rupees), a bigpanam (one-sixth of a Company rupee) and a smallpanam (one-thirteenth of a Company rupee).

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