The rule
of the Thanjavur Nayaks lasted until 1673 when Chokkanatha Nayak the ruler of
Madurai invaded Thanjavur and killed the ruler Vijayaraghava.
Chokkanatha
placed his brother Alagiri on the throne of Thanjavur, but within a year the
latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was forced to recognise the
independence of Thanjavur. A son of Vijaya Raghava induced the Bijapur Sultan
to help him get back the Thanjavur throne. In 1675, the Sultan of Bijapur sent
a force commanded by the Maratha general Venkoji (alias Ekoji) to recapture the
kingdom from the new invader. Venkoji defeated Alagiri, and occupied Thanjavur.
He did not, however, place his protege on the throne as instructed by the
Bijapur Sultan, but seized the kingdom and made himself king. Thus began the
rule of the Marathas over Thanjavur.
Venkoji
Raje Bhonsale, a half-brother of the great Maratha king Shivaji was the first
Raja of Thanjavur from the Bhosale dynasty.
Coins of Thanjavur Marathas:
Mostly
the Thanjavur marathas issued coins in Devanagari legend and also a few coins
with Tamil legend. The coins with Tamil legend are rare and very few coins of
this variety were published so far.
They are
ardent devotees of Lord Shiva, we can see this from their coinage.
