History of Pune

Pune is the 9th most populous city in India and one of the largest in the state of Maharashtra.

Although area around Pune has history going back millennia, the more recent history of the city is closely related to the rise of the Maratha empire from the 17th–18th century. Pune first came under Maratha control in the early 1600s when Maloji Bhosale was granted fiefdom of Pune by the Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar. When Maloji's son, Shahaji had to join campaigns in faraway southern India for the Adil Shahi sultanate, he selected Pune for the residence of his wife, Jijabai and younger son, Shivaji (1630-1680), the future founder of the Maratha empire.[1] Although Shivaji spent part of his childhood and teenage years in Pune, the actual control of Pune region shifted between the Bhosale family of Shivaji, the Adil Shahi dynasty, and the Mughals.

In the early 1700s, Pune and its surrounding areas were granted to the newly appointed Maratha Peshwa, Balaji Vishwanath by Chhatrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji. Balaji Vishwanath's son, and successor as the Peshwa, Bajirao I made Pune as his seat of administration. That spurred growth in the city during Bajirao's rule which was continued by his descendants for the best part of 18th century. The city was a political and commercial center of the Indian subcontinent during that period.[2] This came to an end with the Marathas losing to the British East India Company during the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818.