The Military System of the Marathas, with a Brief Account of Their Maritime Activities c9.57

c9.57

The elaborate machinery designed by Shivaji to ensure his authority in the forts survived till the close of the Peshwa period, but it ceased to function with effect soon after his death. He had demolished the adulterine castles, but the new barons took possession of the very forts Shivaji had built or captured, and they served to strengthen the disintegrating forces of feudalism instead of uniting the country under a strong central government. They were no doubt still held on behalf of the King but not for him.