Balaji Baji Rao was the seventh Peshwa (prime minister) of the Maratha Empire. He was also known as Nana Saheb. He succeeded his father, Peshwa Bajirao I, in 1740 and served under Chhatrapati Shahu and later his successor, Rajaram Bhonsle II. He served as Peshwa for two decades until his death in 1761. During his tenure as the Peshwa, the Maratha emperor (chhtrapati) was reduced to just a titular head, as leading Maratha families — Sindhia, Bhonsle, Holkar, and Gaekwar—extended their sway over northern and central India, taking the Maratha Empire to its peak. Its territory extended from the northern part of the present-day Kerala in South to Lahore and Peshawar in modern-day Pakistan in the North, to Bengal in the East. He is credited to have converted Pune into a buzzing town. He was, however, not a great military leader and could not foresee the threat coming from ‘the invasions of Ahmad Shah Durrani’ in northern India, which ultimately led to a crushing Maratha defeat at the ‘third battle of Panipat,’ in which several Maratha leaders perished.