Balaji Vishwanath
The seeds of this battle go to the year 1713, when Maratha King Shahu, appointed Balaji Vishwanath as his "Peshwa" or Prime Minister. Within a decade, Balaji had managed to extract a significant amount of territory and wealth from the fragmenting Mughal Empire. In 1724, Mughal control lapsed, and Asaf Jah I, the 1st Nizam of Hyderabad declared himself independent of Mughal rule, thereby establishing his own kingdom known as Hyderabad Deccan.