Balaji Baji Rao, often referred to as Nana Saheb I, passed away on 23 June 1761, aged 40, at Parvati Hill, Pune, Maratha Confederacy (modern day Maharashtra, India). He was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, Peshwa Bajirao I.
During his tenure, the Chhatrapati (Maratha Emperor) was a mere figurehead. At the same time, the Maratha empire started transforming into a confederacy, in which individual chiefs—such as the Holkars, the Scindias and the Bhonsles of Nagpur kingdom — became more powerful. During Balaji Rao's tenure, the Maratha territory reached its zenith. A large part of this expansion, however, was led by the individual chiefs of the Maratha Empire.
Balaji Bajirao's administration worked with his cousin Sadashivrao
Bhau, introducing new legislative and financial systems in the state. Under his
leadership, the borders of the Maratha Empire expanded to Peshawar in
present-day Pakistan, Srirangapatna in Karnataka, and Medinipur in West
Bengal. Nanasaheb built canals, bridges, temples and lodges for travellers in
the capital city of Pune and in other parts of the Maratha Empire. In his
twenty-year reign as the Peshwa, Nanasaheb subdued three major powers under his
tenure, viz. Mughals in the North, the Nizam in the South and the Bengal
Sultanate. Along with that he also weakened the Afghan control over Punjab,
stopped their repeated invasions on the imperial capital of Delhi, subdued
the Rajputs and Rohillas and neutralized the state of Oudh.
