The Marathas

The Marathas Influence of Geography on Maratha History (1600-1707)Maharashtra has a long cultural and historical tradition. It is a part of the geological division of India called the Deccan. It is the homeland of the Marathas or Marathi speaking people. The topographical features of this land played a significant part in moulding the character of its people and shaping the history of this land. Its natural region, formed by the Western Ghats running parallel to the coast for nearly 600 miles, are :- 

(a) The seaboard below the Sahyadri rang called Konkan. 

(b) The Ghatmatha or the tableland.

(c) the Deccan plateau along the river valley called the Desh. 

The Ghatmahta, as well as Maval, the region around it, has played an important role in the medieval history of this region. It provides large rocky tract with suitable high platforms or mesas, formed by lava formation and the subsequent denudations in Western Maharashtra. It has thus provided natural bases for the hill forts and deep valleys. From the strategic point of view this region has been regarded as one of the best fortified regions in India of the past. The scanty rainfall on the Deccan plateau, the rugged country due to mountains and the barren soil have largely affected the mode of life and character of people of this region who have to struggle hard for bare existence. They have had to fight against many natural and other calamites. These factors have made them tenacious, hard-working, often pugnacious and lover of independence. 

Marathi, the language of the people of Maharashtra is derived from Maharashtri, a Prakrit language which was in vogue according to many linguists since the third or fourth BCE