Raigad (Marathi:रायगड) is a hill fortress situated in the modern day Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. Shivaji Maharaj made the fort his capital in 1674 when he was crowned King of a Maratha Kingdom which later developed into the Maratha Empire eventually covering majority of modern day India.
The fort, which rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level, is located in the Sahyadri mountain range. There are approximately 1400–1450 steps leading to the fort, though today a rope-way exists to reach the top of the fort. The fort was looted and destroyed by the British upon siege.
Shivaji Maharaj had seized the site, then the fortress of Rairi, from the royal house of the Chandrarrao Mores, a junior or Cadet dynasty descended from the ancient Maurya imperial dynasty. The last More king (or raja) was a feudatory of the Sultan of Bijapur. Shivaji Maharaj renovated and expanded the Fortress of Rairi and renamed it Raigad (the King's Fort), the name he gave it when he selected it for his capital when he founded the Maratha empire. Rajgad, a hill fortress situated in Raigad District of Maharashtra, India was capital of Shivaji Maharaj's kingdom.
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