<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian power that dominated much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century . The empire formally existed from 1674 with the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II and which overthrew Muslim power in India . </P> <P> The Marathas were a Marathi warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau (present day Maharashtra) that rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya . The Marathas became prominent in the seventeenth century under the leadership of Shivaji who revolted against the Adil Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Empire and carved out a kingdom with Raigad as his capital . Known for their mobility, the Marathas were able to consolidate their territory during the Mughal--Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of the Indian subcontinent . </P> <P> Chhattrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by the Mughals after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb . Following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became the ruler and appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the empire . Balaji and his descendants played a key role in the expansion of Maratha rule . The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar (modern - day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) in the north, and Bengal in the east . In 1761, the Maratha Army lost the Third Battle of Panipat to Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Afghan Durrani Empire, which halted their imperial expansion into Afghanistan . Ten years after Panipat, the young Peshwa Madhavrao I's Maratha Resurrection reinstated Maratha authority over North India . </P>

Maratha kingdom was located in which part of india