Amar Manikya was the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

from 1577 to 1586.

Early life

Born Amardeva, he was a son of Maharaja Deva Manikya, but was only a prince as another family had taken over the throne. General Ranagan Narayan, the de facto ruler of Twipra, was jealous of the popularity enjoyed by Amar. Narayan invited him to a dinner where he planned to have Amar killed. However, Amar escaped and rallied his supporters to capture Narayan and have his head cut off. When Joy Manikya I, the puppet Maharaja, demanded an explanation for Narayan's death, Amar dispatched his troops against Joy, who attempted to flee before being overtaken and also beheaded. Joy's death is believed to have occurred in 1577, having reigned about 4 years. Amaradeva subsequently took power under the name Amar Manikya, thus restoring the throne to the original ruling dynasty.

Reign

Amar Manikya was digging a tank, now known as Amar Sagar, in his capital at

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

for religious reasons. He demanded various chieftains to supply labour for this task and pay tribute to Twipra. The

Rajmala ''Rajmala'' is a chronicle of the Kings of Tripura, written in Bengali verse in the 15th century under Dharma Manikya I. Overview The ''Rajmala'' chronicles the history of the Manikya kings of Tripura. While it serves as an invaluable s ...

chronicles highlights all the donations provided by the

Baro-Bhuiyan The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

s, numbering at least over 500 labourers. The

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circula ...

, Syed Musa, was the only ruler to refuse to accept such subordination as he viewed Taraf to be an independent principality. This angered Amar Manikya and started the Battle of Jilkua in Chunarughat in 1581, which was most likely the first military expedition in Amar's reign. Musa called upon Fateh Khan, a Baro-Bhuyan zamindar of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

, who came to his aid.

Isa Khan Isa Khan (Middle Bengali: , 17 April 153629 August 1599) was one of 16th-century Baro-Bhuyan chieftains of Bengal. During his reign, he successfully unified the chieftains of Bengal and resisted the Mughal invasion of Bengal. It was only afte ...

was appointed as Manikya's naval commander. The Tripuris were victorious and Syed Musa and his son Syed Adam were taken as prisoners. Syed Musa was imprisoned in Udaipur, but Adam was eventually set free. The Twipra army then proceeded to Gudhrail, via Dinarpur and the

Surma River The Surma () is a major river in Bangladesh, part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It starts when the Barak River from northeast India divides at the Bangladesh border into the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers. It ends in Kishoreganj District, ...

, where they defeated Fateh Khan with the help of their elephants. Khan was captured and transported to Udaipur via Dulali and Ita. He was treated well and later released. Amar Manikya was very proud of the successful conquest of Taraf and even minted a coin referring to himself as the ''Conqueror of Sylhet''. This coin was in the possession of

Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur (19 August 1908 – 17 May 1947) was a king (or ''Maharaja'') of Tripura State. He is known as "the architect of modern Tripura". He was succeeded by his son, Maharaja Kirit Bikram Kishore Debbarman, who was ...

in the 20th century. Following the conquest of

Noakhali Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

by the Arakanese king Min Phalaung, a large contingent was sent by Amar Manikya into the occupied regions to drive out the invaders. The army landed and captured six enemy camps successively before halting at

Ramu The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

. The Arakanese, following a failed retaliatory assault, blockaded the troops, resulting in the latter's supplies soon dwindling. Additionally, the Portuguese soldiers who formed part of the Tripura army were enticed to desert, turning their camps over to the enemy. This forced the Tripuri to begin retreating back to Chittagong, though at the

Karnaphuli River The Karnaphuli River ( ''Kôrnophuli''; also spelt Karnafuli and Khawthlangtuipui in Mizo, meaning "western river" and Borgang in Chakma, meaning "Big River") is the largest and most important river in Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tract ...

, they were attacked and defeated by the Arakanese, resulting in heavy casualties. However, upon reaching Chittagong, the army reorganised and launched a counter-assault, capturing seven of the enemy fortresses and forcing their retreat.

Death and legacy

After a brief hiatus, a second invasion of Chittagong was launched by Min Phalaung. The Tripura army were routed in the ensuing conflict, with Amar's son Jujhar Singh being killed and his other son Rajdhar suffering a serious bullet wound. The Arakanese then invaded Tripura itself, penetrating all the way to Udaipur and having it sacked and plundered. As a result of this humiliation, Amar Manikya committed suicide, with his wife later performing '' Sati'' in his funeral pyre. Amar was succeeded by his son Rajdhar Manikya I.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal, last=Long, first=James, author-link=James Long (Anglican priest), title=Analysis of the Bengali Poem Raj Mala, or Chronicles of Tripura, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iM7wdWc0bFsC&pg=PA547, page=547, journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, volume=XIX, year=1850, publisher=Asiatic society, location=Calcutta Kings of Tripura History of Tripura 1586 deaths 16th-century suicides