In 1706 the mighty Mughal Empire finally captured the Maratha resistance leader tormenting them, only to lose them four days later to a daring night ambush. The mastermind was Maharani Tarabai, a widowed queen who personally directed cavalry, managed complex logistics, and outsmarted one of the world’s largest empires.

This deep dive follows her from an eight-year-old bride into a military family, through her seizure of power after her husband’s death, to her decades of guerrilla warfare, political survival, and one of history’s most audacious royal hoaxes.

• Why her military pedigree let her bypass tradition and rule as regent for her infant son
• The asymmetric strategy of expanding east and north while Aurangzeb besieged her capital
• Light cavalry raids that bled the slow, supply-heavy Mughal army in the Deccan
• Her legal argument against nephew Shahu and the shift to hereditary land rights under the Peshwa
• Inventing a grandson heir, then publicly declaring him an imposter to spite the Prime Minister