Shahu Bhosale I was the fifth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire created by his grandfather, Shivaji Maharaj. Shahu, as a child, was taken prisoner along with his mother in 1689 by Mughal sardar, Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jang after the Battle of Raigarh ( 1689 ). After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Shahu was released by Bahadur Shah I, the new Mughal emperor. The Mughals released Shahu with a force of fifty men, thinking that a friendly Maratha leader would be a useful ally and also to incite civil war amongst the Marathas. This ploy did work as Shahu fought a brief war with his aunt Tarabai in an internecine conflict to gain the Maratha throne in 1708. However, the Mughals found themselves with a more powerful enemy in Shahu Maharaj. Under Shahu's reign, Maratha power and influence extended to all corners of the Indian subcontinent. During Shahu's reign, Raghoji Bhosale expanded the empire Eastwards, reaching present-day Bengal. Khanderao Dabhade and later his son, Triambakrao, expanded it Westwards into Gujarat. Peshwa Bajirao and his three chiefs, Pawar (Dhar), Holkar (Indore), and Scindia (Gwalior), expanded it Northwards up to Attock. However, after his death, power moved from the ruling Chhatrapati to his ministers (the Peshwas) and the generals who had carved out their own fiefdoms such as Bhonsle of Nagpur, Gaekwad of Baroda, Sindhia of Gwalior and Holkar of Indore.