Sira Subah
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The Subah of Sira (), also known as Carnatic-Balaghat, was a
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 ...
(imperial first-level province) of 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 ...
in
South 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 ...
that was established in 1687 by conquering emperor
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 ...
(like
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 ...
in 1686 and
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 ...
in 1687) and lasted until 1757. The province, which comprised the
Carnatic region The Carnatic region is the peninsular South Indian region between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, in the erstwhile Madras Presidency and in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and southern coastal Andhra Pradesh. During the Bri ...
south of the
Tungabhadra river The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...
, had its capital in the town of Sira. It was composed of seven ''
pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...
s'' (districts): Basavapatna, Budihal, Sira,
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 ...
, Dod-Ballapur,
Hoskote Hoskote (historically known as Ooscota or Ooscata) is a taluk or city in Bangalore Rural District, India. Headquartered at the Hoskote town, it consists of five hoblis - Kasaba , Anugondanahalli, Jadigenahalli, Nandagudi and Sulibele. There ...
and
Kolar Kolar may refer to: Places India * Kolar, Karnataka, a city in India **Kolar Assembly constituency *Kolar district, in Karnataka, India *Kolar Gold Fields, former gold mines in Karnataka, India **KGF (disambiguation) **Kolar Gold Field Assembly co ...
; in addition,
Harpanahalli Harapanahalli is a small city, taluk and sub-divisional headquarter in Vijayanagara District in the Indian state of Karnataka. In 1947, the 30th Kannada Sahithya Sammelana was organised in Harapanahalli under the presidency of C.K.Venkataramaia ...
, Kondarpi,
Anegundi Anegundi, previously called Kishkindha, is a village in Gangavathi, Koppal district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is older than Hampi, situated on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra River. Nimvapuram, a nearby village, has a mount ...
,
Bednur Nagara () is a historic village in the Shivamogga district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is from Hosanagara or from Shivamogga. This was called Bidanur (Bidanoor) () or Bidnur (Bidanoor) earlier during the 16th century, this was the l ...
, Chitaldroog and
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
were considered by the Mughals to be tributary states of the province.


History

After the
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
armies overran the region of the Mysore plateau, 12
pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...
s were annexed to the newly formed province (''subah'') of Sira. The remaining region was allowed to remain under the rule of the Palaiyakkarars (Polygars), who were required to pay tribute to the provincial government in Sira. In 1757, Sira was overrun by the Marathas, only to be restored to the Mughals again in 1759. Two years later,
Haidar 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 ...
, whose own father had been the Mughal military governor (or ''Faujdar'') of
Kolar district Kolar district () is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. Kolar, Karnataka, Kolar (ಕೋಲಾರ) is the district headquarters. Located in southern Karnataka, it is the state's easternmost district. The district is surrounded by the ...
in the province, captured Sira, and soon conferred on himself the title of "Nawab of Sira." However, the defection of his brother, a military governor, in 1766 caused the province to be lost again to the Marathas. In 1767,
Madhavrao I Madhavrao I (formerly known as Madhavrao Ballal Bhat) was the second son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao and grandson of Peshwa Bajirao I, who served as the 9th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his tenure, the Maratha Empire recovered from losse ...
organized a 2nd expedition against
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 ...
and inflicted defeats on
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 ...
in the battles of Sira and
Madhugiri Madhugiri is a city in Tumkur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The city derives its name from a hillock, Madhu-giri (honey-hill) which lies to its south. Madhugiri is one of the 34 educational districts of the Karnataka state. Geogr ...
and absorbed Sira subah into Maratha confederacy. who retained it until Haidar's son,
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 ...
, recaptured the area for his father in 1774.


Subahdars (governors)

Qasim Khan (also, Khasim Khan or Kasim Khan) was appointed 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- ...
'' (governor) of the province in 1686. After successfully "regulating and improving" the province for eight years, he died in 1694 under mysterious circumstances, either during an assault by
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 ...
raiders, or by his own hand in disgrace after the raiders seized a treasure in his care. Most ''subahdars'' who came after him lasted only a year or two, and the frequent changes at the helm continued until the appointment of Dilavar Khan in 1726, whose term, which lasted until 1756, finally brought some stability to the province.


Administration

In the annexed regions, in which tax assessment on cultivation was under ''amāni'' or ''Sarkār'' (''i.e.'' provincial government) management, several types of officers collected and managed revenue. Most offices had existed in the region under the previous
Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...
administration, and consisted, among others, of ''Deshmūks'', ''Deshpāndes'', ''Majmūndārs'', and ''Kānungoyas''. The ''Deshmūks'' "settled accounts" with the village headmen (or ''patels''); the ''Deshpāndes'' verified the account-books of the village registrars (or ''kārnāms''); the ''Kānungoyas'' entered the official regulations in the village record-books and also explained decrees and regulations to the village governing officers and residents. Lastly, the ''Majmūndārs'' prepared the final documents of the "settlement" (''i.e.'' the assessment and payment of tax) and promulgated it. Until the mid-seventeenth century, both villagers- and district (''taluq'') accounts had been prepared in the language and script of
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
, the region's traditional language. However, after the Bijapur invasions,
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 ...
chieftains came to wield authority in the region and brought in with them various officials who introduced the
Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...
and script into the "public accounts." The new language found its way even into lands ruled by some Palaiyakkarars (Polygars) chiefs. These chieftains had brought in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
-speaking horsemen from the northern Bijapur realms for their newly formed cavalry units; consequently, they resorted to hiring Maratha accountants for the benefit of these cavalrymen. After the province of Sira was created, the official language of 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 ...
,
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 ...
, came to be used.


The capital and its monuments

The capital of the province, Sira town, too, prospered most under Dilavar Khan and expanded in size to accommodate 50,000 homes. Palaces and public monuments of Sira became models for other edifices. Both Haidar Ali's palace in Bangalore and Tipu Sultan's in Seringapatam were modeled after Dilavar Khan's palace in Sira. Moreover, according to the , Bangalore's
Lal Bagh Lalbagh Botanical Garden or simply Lalbagh (), is a botanical garden in Bengaluru, India, with an over 200-year history. First planned and laid out during the dalavayi, dalavaiship of King Hyder Ali, the garden was later managed under numerous ...
as well as
Bangalore fort Bangalore Fort began in 1537 as a mud fort. The builder was Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore. King Hyder Ali in 1761 replaced the mud fort with a stone fort and it was further improved by his son Ki ...
may have been designed after Sira's Khan Bagh gardens and Sira fort respectively. Sira's civil servants, however, could not be as readily reproduced: after Tipu Sultan had succeeded his father as Sultan of Mysore in 1782, he deported 12,000 families, mainly of city officials, from Sira to Shahr Ganjam, a new capital he founded on Seringapatam island. There are Mughal-era buildings that still stand in the town. Among them are the Juma Masjid in Sira.


The other towns

Different towns and regions fared differently during the eventful seventy-year history of the province. In
Bangalore district Bengaluru District was a district in the state of Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with ...
, for example, Bangalore town was sold to the W''adiyar'' Raja of Mysore for
Rs. Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afri ...
300,000. The rest of the district was divided in the following fashion: the north was made a part of
Chik Ballapur Chikkaballapur or Chikkaballāpura is the district headquarters of the newly created Chikkaballapur district in the state of Karnataka, India, which was carved out from Kolar district. It is located within 3 km of Muddenahalli (the birthpla ...
, other parts were added to Sira ''taluk'' (district), and the remainder, which included the town of Dod Ballapur, was constituted into a ''
jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...
''. This was first gifted to a general named A. H. Khuli Khan, who, however, died shortly thereafter. The ''jagir'', which was to yield an annual revenue of 54,000
pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...
s, then passed on to his son, Darga Khuli Khan the ''subahdar'' of Sira during 1714–1715, who too retained it for a mere year. It was then "attached to the government of Sira" for 49 years until it was seized by the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad, and eventually captured by Haidar Ali.


See also

* Sira town * History of Mysore and Coorg, 1565–1760 * History of Mysore and Coorg, 1761–1799


Notes


References

* * * {{coord missing, India Mughal subahs 1687 establishments in Asia