Province of Sira
Encyclopedia
The Province of Sira in southern India was a province
(suba) of the Mughal empire
that was established in 1687 and lasted until 1757. The province, which comprised the Carnatic region
south of the Tungabhadra river
, had its capital in the town of Sira
. Known also as Carnatic-Balaghat, it was composed of seven districts (pargana
s): Basavapatna
, Budihal, Sira
, Penukonda
, Dod-Ballapur, Hoskote
, and Kolar
; in addition, Harpanahalli
, Kondarpi, Anegundi
, Bednur, Chitaldroog
, and Mysore were considered by the Mughals to be tributary states of the province.
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. In 1757, Sira was overrun by the Marathas, only to be restored to the Mughals again in 1759. Two years later, Haidar Ali, whose own father had been the Mughal military governor (or Faujdar) of Kolar district
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, who retained it until Haidar's son, Tipu Sultan
, recaptured it for his father in 1774.
as well as Bangalore fort
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.
, for example, Bangalore town
was sold to the wodeyar Raja of Mysore for Rs. 300,000. The rest of the district was divided in the following fashion: the north was made a part of Chik Ballapur, other parts were added to Sira taluk
(district), and the remainder, which included the town of Dod Ballapur
, was constituted into a jagir
. 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
s, then passed on to his son, Darga Khuli Khan the subhahdar 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.
After the Moghul armies overran the region of the Mysore table-land, 12 pargana
s were annexed to the newly formed province (subah) of Sira. The remaining region was allowed to remain under the rule of the Poligars, who were required to pay tribute to the provincial government in Sira. 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
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 village- and district (taluq) accounts had been prepared in the language and script of Kannada
, the region's traditional language.
However, after the Bijapur invasions, Maratha
chieftains
came to wield authority in the region and brought in with them various officials who introduced the Marathi language
and script into the "public accounts." The new language found its way even into lands ruled by some poligar chiefs. These chieftains had brought in Marathi
-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 Moghul empire, Persian, came to be used.
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
(suba) of the Mughal empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
that was established in 1687 and lasted until 1757. The province, which comprised the Carnatic region
Carnatic region
The Carnatic coast is the region of South India lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast, in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, south eastern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh....
south of the Tungabhadra river
Tungabhadra River
The Tungabhadra River is a sacred river in southern India that flows through the state of Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, where it serves as the chief tributary of the Krishna River...
, had its capital in the town of Sira
Sira, India
Sira is a town and taluk headquarters of Sira Taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the National Highway NH-4 and NH-234 .-Geography:...
. Known also as Carnatic-Balaghat, it was composed of seven districts (pargana
Pargana
A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent, used primarily, but not exclusively, by the Muslim kingdoms.Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate, and the word is of Persian origin. As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which are the smallest...
s): Basavapatna
Davanagere district
Davanagere District , also known as Devangere District, is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Davanagere is the district headquarters. It had a population of 1,790,952 of which 30.32% was urban as of 2001.This district was carved out of Chitradurga district...
, Budihal, Sira
Sira Taluk
Sira is a taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka, India. Its headquarters, Sira town lies on the National Highway NH-4 .-History:Sira was politically and militarily an important region of south India prior to the British Raj....
, Penukonda
Penukonda
Penukonda or Penu Konda is a small town in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 70 km away from Anantapur town.-Geography:Penukonda is located at...
, Dod-Ballapur, Hoskote
Hoskote
Hoskote Hoskote is a taluk in Bangalore Rural District. Headquartered at the Hoskote town, it consists of 5 Hoblis - Anugondanahalli, Jadigenahalli, Kasaba, Nandagudi and Sulibele...
, and Kolar
Kolar
Kolara is a city in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar District. It is known for being one of the gold mining sites in India....
; in addition, Harpanahalli
Harpanahalli
Harpanahalli is a town in Davanagere district in the Indian state of Karnataka.-Geography:Harpanahalli is located at . It has an average elevation of 633 metres . Harapanahalli is the biggest town in this district next to Davangere...
, Kondarpi, Anegundi
Anegundi
Anegundi is a village in Gangavathi taluk, Koppal district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is part of the Hampi World Heritage Site.Anegundi, older than Hampi, is situated on the northern bank of Tungabhadra River...
, Bednur, Chitaldroog
Chitradurga
Chitradurga is a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of Chitradurga district. Chitradurga was also known by the names Chitradurg, Chitrakaladurga, Chittaldurg. Chittaldrug was the name officially used by the British Govt.-Geography:Chitradurga is...
, and Mysore were considered by the Mughals to be tributary states of the province.
The governors
Qasim Khan (also, Khasim Khan or Kasim Khan) was appointed the first Subahdar (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 MarathaMaratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
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. In 1757, Sira was overrun by the Marathas, only to be restored to the Mughals again in 1759. Two years later, Haidar Ali, whose own father had been the Mughal military governor (or Faujdar) of Kolar district
Kolar district
Kolar district is a district in Karnataka state of India. The town of Kolar is the district headquarters. Kolar district is located in the southern region of the State and is the eastern-most district of the Karnataka State...
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, who retained it until Haidar's son, Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
, recaptured it for his father in 1774.
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" class="wikitable" ! bgcolor="#DDDDDD" colspan="4" | The Subahdars of Sira |
|||
| Name | Period of tenure | Name | Period of Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qasim Khan | 1686–1694 | Ghalib Khan | 1713–1714 |
| Atish Khan | 1694–1697 | Darga Quli Khan | 1714–1715 |
| Murad Mansur Khan | 1697–1704 | Abid Khan | 1715–1716 |
| Dliakta Masnur Khan | 1704–1706 | Mulahavar Khan | 1716–1720 |
| Pudail Ulla Khan | 1706–1707 | Darga Quli Khan | 1720–1721 |
| Daud Khan | 1707–1709 | Abdul Rasul Khan | 1721–1722 |
| Sa'adatullah Khan | 1709–1711 | Tayar Muhammad Khan | 1722–1726 |
| Amin Khan | 1711–1713 | Dilavar Khan | 1726–1756 |
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 , Bangalore's Lal BaghLal Bagh
- History :Hyder Ali commissioned the building of this garden in 1760 but his son, Tipu Sultan, completed it. Hyder Ali decided to create this garden on the lines of the Mughal Gardens that were gaining popularity during his time. Hyder Ali laid out these famous botanical gardens and his son added...
as well as Bangalore fort
Bangalore Fort
Bangalore Fort was originally built by Kempe Gowda a feudatory of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore as a mud fort. It was converted into a stone fort by Haider Ali in 1761. It was a stronghold of Tipu Sultan that was captured by the army of the British East India Company led by...
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.
The other towns
Different towns and regions fared differently during the eventful seventy-year history of the province. In Bangalore districtBangalore district
In 1986 Bangalore District was split into Bangalore Urban district and Bangalore Rural district.It was located in Karnataka, India....
, for example, Bangalore town
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
was sold to the wodeyar Raja of Mysore for Rs. 300,000. The rest of the district was divided in the following fashion: the north was made a part of Chik Ballapur, other parts were added to Sira taluk
Sira Taluk
Sira is a taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka, India. Its headquarters, Sira town lies on the National Highway NH-4 .-History:Sira was politically and militarily an important region of south India prior to the British Raj....
(district), and the remainder, which included the town of Dod Ballapur
Dod Ballapur
Doddabollapurakn:ದೊಡ್ಡಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರ, is a town and municipal council in Bangalore Rural district in the state of Karnataka, India. Dodda means big in the native Kannada; contrasted with Chikkaballapura or the 'little Ballapura'. The city is near the historic regions of...
, was constituted into a jagir
Jagir
In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...
. 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
Pagoda (coin)
Pagoda was a unit of currency, a coin made of gold or half gold minted by Indian dynasties as well as the British, the French and the Dutch. It was issued by various dynasties in medieval southern India, including the Kadambas of Hangal, the Kadambas of Goa, and the Vijaynagar Empire.There were two...
s, then passed on to his son, Darga Khuli Khan the subhahdar 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.
Administration
Pargana
A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent, used primarily, but not exclusively, by the Muslim kingdoms.Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate, and the word is of Persian origin. As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which are the smallest...
s were annexed to the newly formed province (subah) of Sira. The remaining region was allowed to remain under the rule of the Poligars, who were required to pay tribute to the provincial government in Sira. 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
Adil Shahi
The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi dynasty ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur in the Western area of the Deccan region of Southern India from 1490 to 1686. Bijapur had been a province of the Bahmani Sultanate , before its political decline in the last quarter of the 15th century and eventual break-up in 1518...
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 village- and district (taluq) accounts had been prepared in the language and script of Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, the region's traditional language.
However, after the Bijapur invasions, Maratha
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
chieftains
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
came to wield authority in the region and brought in with them various officials who introduced the Marathi language
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and script into the "public accounts." The new language found its way even into lands ruled by some poligar chiefs. These chieftains had brought in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
-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 Moghul empire, Persian, came to be used.
See also
- Sira townSira, IndiaSira is a town and taluk headquarters of Sira Taluk of Tumkur district in the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the National Highway NH-4 and NH-234 .-Geography:...
- History of Mysore and Coorg, 1565–1760
- History of Mysore and Coorg, 1761–1799