Term
Sarkhel
Etymology
Persian-Marathi, literally “commander of a body of horse” (Persian sar, head/chief + khel, troop), adapted in Maratha usage as the title of naval commander-in-chief, conferred on Kanhoji Angre by Chhatrapati Rajaram c. 1698.
Definition
The Maratha title for the senior naval commander of the empire, equivalent to Admiral in European usage. Kanhoji Angre held the office from approximately 1698 until his death in 1729 and was responsible for the entire Maratha Konkan coast naval establishment. The office passed through the Angre family for two generations after Kanhoji’s death, but Angre family control ended in 1756 when Tulaji Angre was defeated and captured by a joint British East India Company and Peshwa force at Vijaydurg; the Sarkhel title subsequently passed to other families within the Maratha naval establishment.
