Pune is the 9th most populous city in India and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after the state capital Mumbai. The history of the city is closely related to the rise of the Maratha empire of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century, Pune became the political centre of the Indian subcontinent, as the seat of the Peshwas who were the prime ministers of the Maratha Empire.Pune is a sprawling city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. It was once the base of the Peshwas (prime ministers) of the Maratha Empire, which lasted from 1674 to 1818.