Balaji Vishwanath assisted the Maratha Emperor Shahu to consolidate power after a period of civil war and attacks from the Mughals. He helped establish the Maratha State and came from a Konkani Brahmin family from coastal Maharashtra. Bajirao I was a legendary general and Peshwa of the Maratha Empire from 1720-1740, expanding the Empire's territory significantly. He came from the Bhat family and was the son of Balaji Vishwanath. His successors also contributed to the growth of the Maratha Empire, though internal conflicts and attacks from outsiders also challenged it.

1. ..

2.  Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha
Emperor Shahu to consolidate his grip on a
kingdom that had been racked by civil war and
persistent attack by
the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called
"the second founder of the Maratha State."

3.  Balaji Vishwanath (Bhat) was born into
a konkani chitpavan Brahmin family[2][3][4].The
family hailed from the coastalKonkan region of
present-day Maharashtra and were the
hereditary Deshmukh for Shrivardhan under
the Siddi of Janjira.[5] He was named "Balaji,"
which is a form of the given name Ballal

5.  Bajirao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740) was a
general of the Maratha Empire in India. He served
as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth
Maratha Chhatrapati (king) Shahu from 1720 until
Bajirao's death. He is also known by the names
Bajirao Ballal and Thorale (Marathi for Elder)
Bajirao.[3]
 Bajirao is credited with expanding the Maratha
Empire, especially in the north, which contributed
to its reaching a zenith during his son's reign
twenty years after his death. Bajirao is generally
regarded as the most influential of the nine
Peshwas from the Bhat family.

6.  Bajirao was born into the Bhat
family of Chitpavan Brahmin lineage.[5] His
father Balaji Vishwanath was the
first Peshwaof Chhatrapati Shahu; his mother was
Radhabai. Bajirao had a younger brother Chimaji
Appa.[6]
 Bajirao would often accompany his father on military
campaigns. He was with his father when the latter was
imprisoned by Damaji Thorat before being released for
a ransom.[6] When Vishwanath died in 1720, Shahu
appointed the 20-year old Bajirao as the Peshwa.[7] He
is said to have preached the ideal of Hindu Pad
Padshahi (Hindu Empire),[8] but there are doubts over
his or his successors' sincerity on this matter

7.  Bajirao died on 28 April 1740, at the age of 39 of a
sudden fever, possibly heat stroke, while
inspecting his jagirs. At that time, he was en route
to Delhi with 100,000 troops under his command at
his camp in the district of Khargon, near the city
ofIndore. He was cremated on 28 April 1740, at
Raverkhedi on the river Narmada.
The Scindias built a chhatri as a memorial at this
place. The memorial is enclosed by a dharmashala.
The compound has two temples, dedicated to
Nilkantheshwara Mahadeva (Shiva) and
Rameshvara (Rama).[19]

9.  Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761),
also known as Nana Saheb, was a Peshwa (prime
minister) of theMaratha Empire in India.[1]
 During his tenure, the Chhatrapati (Maratha king)
was reduced to a mere figurehead. At the same
time, the Maratha empire started transforming into
a confederacy, in which individual chiefs — such
as the Holkars, the Scindias and
theBhonsles of Nagpur — became more powerful.
During Balaji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory
reached its zenith. A large part of this expansion,
however, was led by the individual chiefs, whose
acts of plundering alienated the masses

10.  Balaji Rao was born in the Bhat family, to
Peshwa Baji Rao I, on 8 December 1720. After
Baji Rao died in April 1740,Chhatrapati
Shahu appointed 19-year old Balaji as the
Peshwa in August 1740, despite opposition
from other chiefs such as Shahu's own
relative Raghoji I Bhonsle.

11.  The defeat at Panipat resulted in heavy losses
for the Marathas, and was a huge setback for
Peshwa Balaji Rao. He received the news of the
defeat Panipat on 24 January 1761 at Bhilsa,
while leading a reinforcement force. Besides
several important generals, he had lost his own
son Vishwasrao in the Battle of Panipat. He
died on 23 June 1761, and was succeeded by his
younger son Madhav Rao I.

13.  Madhav Rao I (or Pantpradhan Shrimant
Madhavrao (Ballal) Peshwa I aka Thorle
Madhav Rao Peshwa ) (14 February 1745 – 18
November 1772) was the fourth Peshwa of
the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the
Maratha empire recovered from the losses they
suffered during the Panipat Campaign, a
phenomenon known as the "Maratha
Resurrection". He is considered one of the
greatest Peshwas in Maratha history.

14.  On 3 December 1767, the British officer Mastin
arrived in Pune. The colonial rulers wanted to
set up their armies in the regions of Vasai and
Sashthi, but Madhavrao had anticipated their
intentions. Mastin’s repeated requests to
acquire these regions in return for conquering
Hyder Ali fell on deaf ears, the Peshwa never
agreed to them.

15.  18 November 1772, early morning
approximately at eight: Madhavrao died at the
temple premises of Chintamani, Theur.
Thousands of citizens visited the site and paid
their last respects. His
wife Ramabai performed sati during his
cremation later that day. Madhavrao was
cremated on the banks of the river which was
about half a mile from the temple. A small
memorial carved out of stone rests today at
that place as a memorial.

17.  Narayan Rao (10 August 1755 – 30 August
1773) was the fifth Peshwa or ruler of
the Maratha Empire from November 1772 until
his murder in August 1773. He married
Gangabai Sathe who later gave birth to Sawai
Madhavrao Peshwa.

18.  Narayanrao was the third son of Peshwa Balaji
Bajirao (or Nanasaheb) and Gopikabai.
Narayanrao was born on 11 August 1755. His
elder brother Vishwasrao had died in the Third
Battle of Panipat and the second
brother Madhavraosucceeded Balaji Bajirao,
their father after the latter's death. Narayanrao
was made Diwan of Peshwa from 1770.

19.  During the Ganesh Festival of 1773 (the actual date was
30 August 1773, the last day of Ganesh Festival i.e.
Anant Chaturdashi), several Gardi guards, led by their
captain, Sumer Singh Gardi, entered the palace and
started creating a commotion. They then charged
towards the sleeping Peshwa's chambers, killing a clerk
on the way. They intended to
release Raghunathrao. Raghunathrao and his
wife Anandibai, who were opposed to Narayanrao,
had promised the Gardis that they would mediate in
their dispute with Narayanrao. The Gardis followed
Narayanrao to his uncle's chamber and a menial pulled
him while Sumer Singh Gardi cut him down. His
corpse was cremated secretly by the river at midnight.

21.  Shreemant Raghunathrao Ballal
Peshwa (aka Ragho Ballal or Ragho
Bharari[1])(b. 18 Aug.1734 – d. 11 Dec.1783)
was Peshwa of the Maratha Empire from 1773
to 1774.

22.  Raghunathrao, also known as "Raghoba",
"Raghoba Dada" and "Ragho Bharari," was the
younger brother ofNanasaheb Peshwa. His
father was Peshwa Bajirao I & mother was
Kashibai. Raghunathrao was born in Mahuli
nearSatara on 8 December 1734. Much of his
childhood was spent in Satara.

23.  Raghunathrao died on 11 December 1783 of
unknown causes. He had two sons Baji Rao
II and Chimaji Rao II; in addition, he had
adopted Amrit Rao. After his death, his wife
Anandi Bai and his three sons were kept in
confinement by the Peshwa's minister Nana
Fadnavis.

25.  Peshwa Madhav Rao II (b. 18 Apr. 1774 – d. 27
Oct. 1795), (aka Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa or
Madhav Rao II Narayan), was Peshwa of
the Maratha Empire in India, from his infancy.
He was known as Sawai Madhav Rao or
Madhav Rao Narayan. He was the posthumous
son of Narayanrao Peshwa, murdered in 1773
on the orders ofRaghunathrao Madhavrao was
considered the legal heir, and was installed
as Peshwa by the treaty of Salbai[1] in 1782.

26.  Madhavrao was the son of Peshwa Narayanrao
and his wife , Gangabai. Gangabai (Nee, Sathe)
was pregnant at the time of Narayanrao's murder.
After Narayanrao's murder, Raghunathrao became
Peshwa but was soon deposed by the courtiers and
knights of the Maratha Empire. They instead
installed Gangabai's new born son, Madhavrao II,
as the Peshwa with the courtiers themselves, led
by Nana Fadnavis, as the Regents. His time in
power was dominated by the political intrigues
of Nana. He was made Peshawa when he was
barely 40 days. He is the youngest Peshawa ever
seen in history.

27.  Madhavrao committed suicide at the age of
twenty-one by jumping off from the high walls
of the Shaniwar Wada inPune.

29.  Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851),
also Rao Pandit Pandham, was Peshwa of
the Maratha Empire, and governed from 1796
to 1818. His reign was marked by
confrontations with the British. He was the
grandson of Bajirao I .

30.  Baji Rao was the son of the
former Peshwa Raghunathrao and Anandibai.
Raghunathrao had defected to the English,
causing the First Anglo-Maratha War, which
ended with the Treaty of Salbai. Baji Rao was
born in 1775, when both his parents were kept
in imprisonment by the then Peshwa's cabinet.
Till the age of 19, he along with his brothers
were kept in confinement denying even basic
rights of education.