Maratha
Maratha From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search For the town of ancient Arcadia, Greece, see Maratha (Arcadia). "Marathas" redirects here. For other uses, see Marathas (disambiguation). Maratha Engraving of a Maratha Soldier by James Forbes, 1813. Religions Hinduism Languages Marathi Populated states Major: Maharashtra Minor: Haryana, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. The Maratha are an Indian caste, originally of Marathi-speaking peasant-warriors. They established the Maratha Empire in 1674 and were the dominant power on the subcontinent for much of the following century before their downfall in 1818. They were champions of Hinduism in the face of the Islamic Mughal Empire. [1] [2] [3] The term Maratha is used in three overlapping senses: within the Marathi-speaking region it refers to the single dominant Maratha caste or