The Imperial Maratha Conquests (c. 1659–1761) were a series of conquests in the Indian subcontinent which led to the building of the Maratha Empire. These conquests were started by Shivaji Maharaj in 1659 from the victory at the Battle of Pratapgad. The conquests ended with the eventual fall of the Maratha empire after the second and the third Anglo-Maratha Wars.