Venkata III (born Pedda Venkata Raya; reigned 1632 – 10 October 1642) was the grandson of

Aliya Rama Raya Aliya Rama Raya (1484 – 23 January 1565) was a statesman of the Vijayanagara Empire, the son-in-law (Aliya in Kannada) of Emperor Krishna Deva Raya and the progenitor of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire, the fourth and last dynasty ...

. Venkata III belonged to a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

family. and became the King of the

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 ...

from 1632 to 1642. His son-in-law

Pedda Koneti Nayak Pedda Koneti Nayak was a governor of Penukonda under the Vijayanagar Empire who later proclaimed his independence and founded the Penukonda Nayak kingdom. He reigned from 1635 to 1652.He ruled Penukonda, Rayadurgam and Kundurpi Forts. Ancestry a ...

was ruler of

Penukonda Penukonda also called Penugonda is a town in the Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 70 km away from Anantapur town. Demography According to ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Penukonda was a subdivision and talu ...

. His brothers-in-law were Damarla Venkatappa Nayaka and Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka, both sons of Damarla Chennapa Nayakadu. * * * * *

Seizure by Timma Raja

His paternal uncle, Timma Raja, another brother of

Sriranga II Sriranga II (died February 1615), also known as Sriranga Chika Raya, was nominated in 1614 by Emperor Venkata II to succeed him as the Emperor of Vijayanagara. Sriranga was supported by a faction headed by Yachama Nayaka of Recherla Velama dy ...

, considering himself to have a better claim, seized the government at

Vellore Fort Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by the Emperors of Vijayanagara. The fort was at one time the imperial capital of the Aravidu Dynasty of the Vijayanagar ...

, compelling Venkata III to remain in his native

. The Nayaks 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 ...

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...

and

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 ...

declared support for Venkata III, while Timma Raja got support from no-one and was looked upon as a usurper. Timma Raja nevertheless made a lot of trouble and civil strife continued until his death in 1635. Initially he was winning, until the King Pedda Venkata (Venkata III)'s nephew,

Sriranga III Sriranga III (died 1678/1681) was the last ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, who came to power in 1642 following the death of his uncle Venkata III. He was also a great grandson of Aliya Rama Raya. Early rebellions Before his accession to the ...

took to the field and defeated Timma Raja with help from the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Pulicat Pulicat or Pazhaverkadu is a historic seashore town in Chennai Metropolitan Area at Thiruvallur District, of Tamil Nadu states and territories of India, state, India. It is about north of Chennai and from Elavur, on the southern periphery of ...

, compelling him to accept Venkata III's claim. Timma Raja was allowed some territories under his control, but stirred up trouble for a second time, only to be slain by the Nayak of

in 1635. Peace was finally restored and Pedda Venkata Raya or Venkata III returned to Vellore to take charge.

Madras Land Grant

On 22 August 1639, Francis Day of 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 ...

obtained a small strip of Land in the

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 ...

from Pedda Venkata Raya in Chandragiri as a place to build a factory and warehouse for their trading activities. The region was under the control of the Damerla Venkatadri Nayakudu, a Recherla Velama

Nayak of Kalahasti The Nayakas of Kalahasti were a line of rulers of Kalahasti and Vandavasi principalities. Members of the group include Damarla Chennapa Nayaka, after whom the city of Chennai is named. The Kalahasti Nayaks had their origins in the Velama warri ...

and

Vandavasi Vandavasi (formerly anglicised as Wandiwash) is a Municipality and Taluk in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larg ...

. Venkatadri Nayakudu was son of Damerla Chennappa Nayakudu. This is widely regarded at the founding event of the formation of the

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

(Madras) Metropolis and is to the day celebrated as Madras Day.

Trouble from Southern Nayaks

In 1637 the

Nayaks of Tanjore The Thanjavur Nayak dynasty (or Thanjavur Nayak kingdom) were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries founded by Sevappa Nayaka. The Nayaks, who were Telugu Balijas,* * * * * * * * * were originally appointed as prov ...

and

, out of some complications attempted to seize Venkata III and attacked

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

but were defeated and peace was established.

Sriranga III's rebellion

The King's loyal nephew,

, for some reason turned against the King in 1638 and engineered an invasion from

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

. The Bijapur – Sriranga III combine initially attacked

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

making the King Venkata III buy peace after an expensive deal. In 1641, the same combine launched another attack and were just from

, but their camp was attacked with backing by Southern Nayaka famous general Ramaiyan.

War with Golkonda and death

In 1642, the

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established ...

of Golconda watching the disorder, sent a huge force along the East Coast. The

Golkonda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

army, after facing a stiff resistance near

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 ...

by Venkata III's army backed by Damerla Venkatadri Nayak of

Kalahasti Srikalahasti is a town in Tirupati district located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the revenue division of Srikalahasti mandal and Srikalahasti revenue division. It is a part of the Tirupati Urban Development Auth ...

and the

Gingee Nayak The Nayaks of Gingee (Senji) were Telugu people, Telugu rulers of the Gingee principality of Tamil Nadu between 16th to 18th century CE. The Gingee Nayaks had their origins in the Balija warrior clans of present-day Andhra Pradesh. * * * * * ...

, marched towards the

. But Venkata III, now badly under threat from all sides retreated to the jungles of

Chittoor Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division respectively. The city has a popul ...

and died on 10 October 1642. Venkata III had no son and was immediately succeeded by his treacherous nephew

, who came to

after deserting the Bijapur camp.

References

* Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. ''Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu'' (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., 6p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; . * Sathianathaier, R. ''History of the Nayaks of Madura'' icroformby R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the university, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (

adras Mike Adras (born June 25, 1961) is an American college basketball coach. He most recently was the head men's basketball coach at Northern Arizona University. He was promoted from assistant coach after the 1998–99 season, when Ben Howland left ...

: Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ( ondon: H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819. * K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002) . {{DEFAULTSORT:Raya, Pedda Venkata 1642 deaths Vijayanagara emperors Indian Hindus Telugu monarchs Year of birth unknown 17th-century Indian monarchs Aravidu dynasty