The Carnatic Sultanate (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ;

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: ;

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ) also known as Carnatic State or Arcot State was a kingdom in

southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

between about 1690 and 1855, ruled by a Muslim

nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

under the legal purview of the

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Their rule is an important period in the history of the Carnatic and

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

regions, in which the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

gave way to the rising influence of the Maratha India, and later the emergence of the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Borders

The old province, known as the Carnatic, in which

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

(Chennai) was situated, extended from the

Krishna River The Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau is the third-longest in India, after the Ganga, Ganga and Godavari. It is also the fourth-largest in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Indus and Godav ...

to the

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

, and was bounded on the West by

Mysore kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in South India, southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted su ...

and Dindigul, (which formed part of the Sultanate of Mysore). The Northern portion was known as the ' Mughal Carnatic', the Southern the '

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

Carnatic' with the

fortresses of

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

and Ranjankudi. Carnatic thus was the name commonly given to the region of Southern India that stretches from the East Godavari of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

in the north to the

fort of Ranjangudi in the south (including the

delta), and Coromandal Coast in the east to Western Ghats in the west.

History

With the decline of

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

in 1646, the Hindu nayaks, established in Madurai, Tanjore and Kanchi, made themselves independent. However, they quickly became tributaries to the kings of Golconda and Bijapur, who divided the Carnatic between them.

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

in 1692 appointed Zulfiqar Khan as the first

subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

of the Carnatic with his seat at Arcot as a reward for his victory over the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

led by Rajaram I. With the decline of the Mughal empire, the Carnatic

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

became independent as the Carnatic Sultanate, which controlled a vast territory south of the

. The Nawab

Saadatullah Khan I Sa'adatullah Khan I or Sa'adatullah Khan was Nawab of Carnatic (r.1710–1732). He was an adventurer from Konkan in Maharashtra. Life He was born to Muhammad Ali in Bijapur, to a respectable family of Nawayat Konkani Muslims, who inhabited ...

moved his court from

to Arcot. His successor Dost Ali Khan conquered and annexed

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

in 1736. In 1740, the

forces descended on Arcot. They attacked the Nawab, Dost Ali Khan, in the pass of Damalcherry. In the war that followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali, and a number of prominent persons lost their lives. This initial success at once enhanced Maratha prestige in the south. From Damalcherry, the Marathas proceeded to Arcot, which surrendered to them without much resistance. Chanda Sahib and his son were arrested and sent to

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah became the ruler in 1749, however he was not officially crowned until 1752, and he was only recognised as an independent ruler by the Emperor of Delhi in 1765. The growing influences of the English and the French and their colonial wars had a huge impact on the Carnatic. Wallajah supported the English against the French and

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

, placing him heavily in debt. As a result, he had to surrender much of his territory to the

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

. Paul Benfield, an English businessman, made major loans to the Nawab for the purpose of enabling him, who, with the aid of the English, had invaded and conquered the

state of Tanjore, to satisfy some claims of the Dutch at Tranquebar on territories of the Rajah of Tanjore. The thirteenth Nawab, Ghulam Muhammad Ghouse Khan, died, and the British annexed the Carnatic Nawabdom, applying the doctrine of lapse. Ghouse Khan's uncle Azim Jah was created the first Prince of Arcot (Amir-e-Arcot) in 1867 by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, and was given a tax free-pension in perpetuity.

List of rulers

Mughal Subedar of the Carnatic

Independent Nawabs of the Carnatic

Nawabs of the Carnatic under European influence

Nawabs of the Carnatic as a
British Protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

* ''Silver shade signifies the French East India Company'' * ''Yellow shade signifies the

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

'' * ''* Signed the Carnatic Treaty ceding tax rights''

Princes of Arcot

Gallery

Fort St. George, Chennai.jpg, In the year 1702,

Nawab Daud Khan Daud Khan Panni (d. ) or simply Daud Khan, was a Pashtun nobleman and military commander of the Mughal Empire. Historians Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam characterise him as an important figure of Mughal history spanning the later years ...

, the

's local

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

of the Carnatic, besieged and blockaded Fort St. George for more than three months, the governor of the fort,

Thomas Pitt Thomas Pitt (5 July 1653 – 28 April 1726) was an English merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian ...

, was instructed by the

to vie for peace Death of the Nabob of the Carnatic by Paul Philippoteaux.jpg, Death of the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan Anwaruddin Khan (1672 – 3 August 1749), also known as Muhammad Anwaruddin, was the first Nawab of Arcot of the second dynasty. He belonged to a family of Qannauji Sheikhs. He was a major figure during the first two Carnatic Wars. He was a ...

in a battle against the French in 1749, by Paul Philippoteaux WAR ELEPHANTS CHARGE THE GATES OF THE FORT AT ARCOT..gif, The

Siege of Arcot The siege of Arcot (23 September – 14 November 1751) took place at Arcot, India between forces of the British East India Company led by Robert Clive allied with Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah and forces of Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, ...

was a major battle fought between

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

and the combined forces of the

's Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, assisted by a small number of troops from the French East India Company Wallajah2.jpg, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, (1717–1795) Umdat ul-Umara.jpg, Umdat ul-Umara the Nawab of the Carnatic was a covert ally of

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

Azim Jah.jpg, Azim Jah, eleventh and penultimate Nawab of the Carnatic, 1867 to 1874. Azim-ud-Daula, Nawab of the Carnatic and His Son Azam Jah.jpg, Azim-ud-Daula, Nawab of the Carnatic and his son Azam Jah.

References

External links

Indian Princely States – Arcot
on uq.net.au

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nawab Of The Carnatic Princely states of India Islam in Tamil Nadu Former sultanates