The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c4.8

c4.8

But a policy of aggression proves futile if it is not provided with a proper implement. An imperial power with an aggressive programme must have an efficient instrument of war. So long as its army remained efficient the empire flourished and prospered; when the army grew weak and inefficient the Marathas naturally lost the pre-eminence and prestige they once enjoyed and had to make room for their better equipped rival. An enquiry into the causes of the decline and decay of the Maratha army may therefore reveal the real causes that led to the decline and decay of the Maratha empire.