Senapati (Sanskrit:सेनापति[seːnɑːpɐt̪i],sena meaning "army",pati meaning "lord") is a title inancient India denoting the rank ofGeneral.[1]
It was a hereditary title of nobility used in theMaratha Empire. During wartime, aSardar Senapati orSarsenapati (also colloquially termedSarnaubat) functioned as theCommander-in-Chief of allMaratha armies, coordinating the commands of the variousSardars in battle.
Ranking under theheir-apparentcrown prince (yuvaraja) and other hereditaryprinces (rajkumar), the titleSenapati most closely resembles aBritishDuke orGermanHerzog in rank and function. On occasion, the titleMahasenapati (Sanskrit: महाmaha- meaning "great") was granted; this equates toField Marshal, and closely resembles aGrand Duke or a GermanGroßherzog.
UnlikeSardar,Senapati is aprimogeniture hereditary title that is passed on to the eldest son. There are several royalSenapati families alive today, including theGhorpade andDabhade 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.
InCambodia, the termsena padei (Khmer:សេនាបតី) means "military commander". It is used in the title of the current Prime Minister of Cambodia,Hun Sen.
In ancientPhilippines, this title was used bySang pamegat senāpati di Tundun, the "Commander-in-chief" ofTondo represented byJayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah mentioned in theLaguna Copperplate Inscriptionc. 900 AD.[2]
InIndonesia, the termsenapati has been absorbed intoOld Javanese and eventuallyJavanese language to refer to "general" or "army commander". In Javanese it can be rendered asSenapati orSenopati. For example, the title ofSutawijaya, the founder of 16th century JavaneseMataram Sultanate, wasSenapati ing Alaga, which means "general of battle".[3]
The following is a list of Senapatis of the Maratha Empire from the reign of Shivaji to Shahu subsequently: