Balaji Vishwanath

Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1662–1720), better known as Shrimant Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, the first of a series of hereditary Peshwas hailing from the Bhat family who gained effective control of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. Balaji Vishwanath assisted a young Maratha Emperor Shahu to consolidate his grip on a kingdom that had been racked by civil war and persistently intruded on by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. He was called the Second Founder of the Maratha State. Later, his son Bajirao I became the Peshwa.