Pratapgarh

Pratapgarh is associated with the hill-fort landscape of western Maharashtra, where the Western Ghats divide the coastal Konkan from the inland Deccan. Steep slopes, forested approaches, and narrow passes gave fortified heights considerable military value. Whoever controlled these routes could influence travel, trade, and the movement of armies between coast and plateau. Villages in the surrounding country supplied food, labor, and knowledge of terrain to competing authorities.

Shivaji ordered the fort built to protect the Par pass and nearby river valleys; it was completed in 1656. In 1659 he met the Bijapur commander Afzal Khan below the fort. Their meeting ended in Khan's death, and the ensuing battle was a Maratha victory. Accounts of their encounter differ in detail. Pratapgad remained involved in Maratha politics and was surrendered to the East India Company in 1818.