Kurnool state was a small

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

during the

Company rule in India Company rule in India (sometimes, Company ''Raj'', from hi, rāj, lit=rule) refers to the rule of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when ...

. It had its capital at the town of

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

in the present-day state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and was eventually annexed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

History

Kurnool State was established by a Pathan general. It was ruled by ''Nawabs'' until the British Government took over in 1839. Kurnool was initially under the suzerainty of the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. After the Nizam ceded the region to the

, the ''nawab'', Aluf Khan, agreed to pay a voluntary ''peishcush'' of rupees one lakh to the Company government.

Uprising against the company

Ghulam Rasul Khan Bahadur (died on 12 July 1840) was the last

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

. He ruled from 1823 to 1839 until the kingdom was defeated by the

. The Wahhabi movement was popularised in India by Shah Ismail Dehlvi in the 18th century. Mubarez-ud-Daulah, younger brother of the ''Nizam'' of Hyderabad,

Nasir-ud-Daulah Mir Farqunda Ali Khan (25 April 1794 – 16 May 1857) commonly known as Nasir-ud-Daulah, was Nizam of Hyderabad, a princely state of British India, from 24 May 1829 until his death in 1857. Born as Farqunda Ali Khan to Nizam Sikandar Jah an ...

, was inspired by the Wahhabi movement. According to Thomas Herbert Maddock, Mubarez-ud-Daulah was instrumental in spreading the Wahhabi movement in the Deccan region. Nawab Rasool Khan of Kurnool was also influenced by the movement. When Mubarez-ud-Daulah learned of it, he struck a secret deal with him. According to the deal, Rasool Khan would set up a secret arsenal to manufacture arms. In return, Mubarez-ud-Daulah would provide monetary help. In , a rumour spread that a Russian army was advancing towards India from Central Asia. It was also believed that the combined armies of Mubarez-ud-Daulah and Rasool Khan would overthrown the East India Company and defeat Nizam

. Subsequently, the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

would be restored and Mubarez-ud-Daulah would be appointed ''

subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

'' of Deccan by

Mohammad Shah Qajar Mohammad Shah (; born Mohammad Mirza; 5 January 1808 – 5 September 1848) was the third Qajar dynasty, Qajar ''shah'' of Qajar Iran, Iran from 1834 to 1848, having succeeded his grandfather Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Fath-Ali Shah. From a young age, M ...

, the Shah of Persia. On 12 October 1839, a war broke out between

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

and the kingdom and continued for six days until the king was detained on 18 October. He was subsequently sent to

Tiruchirappalli Central Prison Tiruchirapalli Central Prison is located in Tiruchirapalli, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most ...

where he died on 12 July 1840.

Rulers

List of the Pathan ''nawabs'' of Kurnool- *? - 1674 - Khizr Khan *1690 - ? - Daud Khan *? - 1724 - Ibrahim Khan *1724 - 1733 - Alif Khan *1733 - 1751 - Himayat Bahadur Khan *1751 - 1792 - Munawwar Khan *1792 - 1815 - Aluf Khan/Alif Khan II *1815 - Muzaffar Khan *1815 - 1823 - Munawwar Khan *1823 - 1839 - Ghulam Rasul Khan

References

{{coord missing, Andhra Pradesh Princely states of Andhra Pradesh

History

Uprising against the company

Rulers

See also

References