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Maharaja
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<p>Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; lit. 'great ruler'; feminine: Maharani) is a South Asian royal title of <a href="/facts/Sanskrit/ychfjhlx">Sanskrit</a> origin. In <a href="/facts/Modern_India/MykvJNAx">modern India</a> and <a href="/facts/Medieval_India/kRj3l7dq">medieval northern India</a>, the title was equivalent to a <a href="/facts/Prince/g6CDfwEJ">prince</a>. However in late <a href="/facts/Ancient_India/ntYkAYDQ">ancient India</a> and <a href="/facts/History_of_South_India/eGKIYYHR">medieval south India</a>, the title denoted a <a href="/facts/King/W56qBWpo">king</a>. </p><p>The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Marathi the suffix <i>-a</i> is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" was first used in the second century BC by the <a href="/facts/Indo-Greek_Kingdom/K8ntlfEh">Indo-Greek</a> rulers (such as the kings <a href="/facts/Apollodotus_I/NBCLWKqe">Apollodotus I</a> and <a href="/facts/Menander_I/cPIshUHs">Menander I</a>) and then later by the <a href="/facts/Indo-Scythians/qFqWo0pg">Indo-Scythians</a> (such as the king <a href="/facts/Maues/Q0JDhrs7">Maues</a>), and also the <a href="/facts/Kushans/QvUh1thw">Kushans</a> as a higher ranking variant of "<a href="/facts/Raja/IkXwjj61">Raja</a>". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by <a href="/facts/Sovereignty/QnYhTTem">sovereign</a> princes and <a href="/facts/Vassal_state/k9usEEMA">vassal</a> princes, and the title "<a href="/facts/Maharajadhiraja/YLAREHVG">Maharajadhiraja</a>" was used by sovereign <a href="/facts/King/W56qBWpo">kings</a>. Eventually, during the <a href="/facts/Mughal_Empire/yRg2kAy5">Mughal</a> and <a href="/facts/British_Raj/hBe6wvPS">British eras</a>, <a href="/facts/Maharajadhiraja/YLAREHVG">Maharajadhiraja</a> too came to be used by princes, though it was used by sovereign kings as well, such as the King of Maratha. </p><p>The title ranks under the titles of <a href="/facts/Maharajadhiraja_Bahadur/YLAREHVG">Maharajadhiraja Bahadur</a>, <a href="/facts/Maharajadhiraja/YLAREHVG">Maharajadhiraja</a> and <a href="/facts/Maharaja_Bahadur/YLAREHVG">Maharaja Bahadur</a>, equal to <a href="/facts/Maharana/0gBAlnlk">Maharana</a> and <a href="/facts/Maharao/lGpgXqb6">Maharao</a> and above <a href="/facts/Raja_Bahadur/zBuv5wpl">Raja Bahadur</a>, <a href="/facts/Raja/IkXwjj61">Raja</a> and <a href="/facts/Rai_(title)/kINbrcu6">Rai</a>. </p>