Miraj

Miraj is a fortified town in the southern Maratha country, near the Krishna River. Its fort was an important stronghold of the Bijapur sultans, whose authority extended across this part of the Deccan. The town later became the seat of the Patwardhan family, Maratha commanders who held estates in the region.

After Shivaji’s victory over Afzal Khan in 1659, Maratha forces laid siege to Miraj. Shivaji himself arrived in January 1660 to press the attack, but news of a Bijapur invasion drew him away to Panhala. A century later, in 1761, Peshwa Madhavrao assigned the fort and several posts to Govindrao Patwardhan for the maintenance of troops. Miraj became a centre of Patwardhan power as the Maratha political order took shape around regional military families.