Bhonsle

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Maratha king Shivaji Bhonsle

The Bhonsle or Bhonsale (pronounced Bhoslay) were a prominent Maratha clan who served as rulers of several states in India .

The most prominent member of the clan was Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire. His successors ruled as maharajas from their capital at Satara, although de facto rule of the empire passed to the Peshwas, the Marathas' hereditary chief ministers, during the reign of Shahu I.

In addition to the Bhonsle Maharajas of Satara, rulers of the Bhonsle clan established themselves at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu in the 17th century, and at Nagpur and Kolhapur in modern-day Maharashtra in the 18th century. The Bhonsle of Thanjavur were descendants of Sivaji's half-brother Venkaji, while the Bhonsle of Satara and Kolhapur were descended from Sivaji's sons, Sambhaji and Rajaram.

After the British defeat of the Marathas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the Marathas were forced to accept British rule. The four Bhonsle dynasties continued as rulers of their princely states, acknowledging British sovereignty while retaining local autonomy. The states of Nagpur, Thanjavur, and Satara came under direct British rule in the mid-nineteenth century when their rulers died without male heirs; Kolhapur continued as a princely state until India's independence in 1947, when the rulers acceded to the Indian government.