1489–1948 → 1931 839 km (324 sq mi) Today part of Maharashtra | Established 1489 1931 110,389 | |
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Janjira State was a princely state in India during the British Raj. Its rulers were a Sidi dynasty of African descent and the state was under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency.
Contents
Janjira State was located on the Konkan coast in the present-day Raigad district of Maharashtra. The state included the towns of Murud and Shrivardhan, as well as the fortified island of Janjira, just off the coastal village of Murud, which was the capital and the residence of the rulers. The state had an area of 839 km2, not counting Jafrabad, and a population of 110,389 inhabitants in 1931. Jafrabad, or Jafarabad state was a dependency of the Nawab of Janjira State located 320 km to the NNW.
History
In 1489 an African trader at the service of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate took over the island of Janjira and established his rule. In the century that followed the rulers put themselves under the overlordship of the Sultanate of Bijapur. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century Janjira successfully resisted the repeated attacks of the Maratha Empire.
According to Ottoman records, a combined force from the Ottomans and Janjira routed a Portuguese fleet in 1587 at Yemen. From this moment onwards Janjira played an important role in resisting Portuguese influence in the region.
There's further record of Cooperation with the Ottoman Empire when the Ottoman fleet first arrived in Aceh prior to Ottoman expedition to Aceh has included 200 Malabar sailors from Janjira to aid the region Batak and the Maritime Southeast Asia in 1539. Fernão Mendes Pinto Particularly noted the Ottoman admiral named Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis has set sail of 22 ships carrying soldiers, military equipment and other supplies, and visited Aden, Djibouti, Muscat, Hormuz, Debal, Surat, Janjira, and Lanka (Sri Lanka) before arrived at Aceh in 1569
The ruler of Janjira State was officially recognized as Nawab by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1676, even though the rulers of Janjira had used the title earlier. In 1759 Janjira State entered into personal union with Jafarabad State, located far away to the north on the coast of Gujarat. In 1762 Jafarabad was transferred to the Nawab of Janjira, who paid the debts of the state and appointed a governor.
According to one records at one time Sultan Aurangzeb supplied the Siddis of Janjira state with 2,000 men, provisions, ammunitions along with two Frigates and two large Man-of-war battleships. the ship arrived at Bombay harbor under the commands of Siddi Kasim and Siddi Sambal at 1677. The largest Mughal ship named Ganj-I-Sawai Which equipped with 800 guns and 400 musketeer type soldiers also stationed in the port of Surat
Another record from East India Company factory which written 1673 has reported the Siddis fleet which wintered from Bombay has five Frigates and two Man-of-wars beside of fifteen grabs vessels. It is because the formidable naval warfare skills of Siddis in Janjira that Aurangzeb granting annual payment of 400.000 Rupee for the maintenance of their fleet
When the British came to the Konkan area, the repeated attacks of the Marathas against Janjira ceased. Janjira State was administered as part of the Deccan States Agency of the Bombay Presidency, founded in 1799. In the nineteenth century the rulers maintained a military force of 123 men.
Following the independence of India in 1947, the island's inhabitants had expressed the desire to remain as a separate state. Their decision, however, was disregarded and Janjira State acceded to the Indian Union on 8 March 1948, becoming part of Bombay Province.
Rulers
The royal family of Janjira were Sidis, also known as 'Habshi', assumed to be from Abyssinia. Initially the rulers of the state held the title of 'Wazir', but after 1803 the title of 'Nawab' was officially recognized by the British Raj. They were entitled to an 11 gun salute by the British authorities.