Shivaji

Shivaji: see Śivaji.

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Shivaji

 or Sivaji

(born Feb. 19, 1630, or April 1627, Shivner, Pune, India—died April 3, 1680, Rajgarh) Indian king (r. 1674–80), founder of the Maratha kingdom of India. A devout Hindu, he grew up at a time when India was ruled by Muslims, and he found their religious persecution intolerable. Collecting a band of followers, he began in c. 1655 to seize weak outposts of the sultan of Bijapur. In 1659 he lured the sultan's army to its destruction and, possessed of its horses and armaments, became overnight a formidable warlord. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sent out his most prominent general and an army of 100,000 to capture him, but Shivaji made a daring escape. Gaining even more strength, he added a naval force to his military might. In 1674 he proclaimed himself an independent sovereign. He forged an alliance with the sultans in the south, thereby blocking the spread of Mughal rule. His rule was noted for its religious tolerance. See also Maratha confederacy.