Carnatic Sultanate

 ( Princely States Of India ) 

The Carnatic Sultanate (Persian language: ; Tamil language: ஆற்காடு நவாப்; Urdu: ) also known as Carnatic State or Arcot State was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, ruled by a Muslim nawab under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise.

N. S. Ramaswami (1984). 9780836412628, Abhinav Publications. . ISBN 9780836412628

They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Their rule is an important period in the history of the Carnatic and Coromandel Coast regions, in which the Mughal Empire gave way to the rising influence of the Maratha Empire, and later the emergence of the British Raj.

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Borders The old province, known as the Carnatic, in which Madras (Chennai) was situated, extended from the Krishna River to the Kaveri River, and was bounded on the West by Mysore kingdom and Dindigul, (which formed part of the Sultanate of Mysore). The Northern portion was known as the 'Mughal Empire Carnatic region', the Southern the 'Maratha Empire Carnatic region' with the Maratha fortresses of Gingee and Ranjankudi Fort. Carnatic thus was the name commonly given to the region of Southern India that stretches from the East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh in the north to the Maratha fort of Ranjangudi in the south (including the Kaveri River delta), and Coromandal Coast in the east to Western Ghats in the west.

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History With the decline of Vijayanagara Empire in 1646, the Hindu Nayaka dynasties, 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 Aurangzeb in 1692 appointed Zulfiqar Khan as the first subahdar of the Carnatic with his seat at Arcot as a reward for his victory over the Maratha Empire led by Rajaram I.

With the decline of the Mughal empire, the Carnatic subah became independent as the Carnatic Sultanate, which controlled a vast territory south of the Krishna River. The Nawab Saadatullah Khan I moved his court from Gingee to Arcot. His successor Dost Ali Khan conquered and annexed Madurai in 1736.

In 1740, the Maratha 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.

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, placing him heavily in debt. As a result, he had to surrender much of his territory to the East India Company. 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 Maratha state of Tanjore, to satisfy some claims of the Dutch at Tranquebar on territories of the Rajah of Tanjore."Benfield, Paul" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

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

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List of rulers mughal_">

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[[Mughal|Mughal Empire Subedar of the Carnatic

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Independent Nawabs of the Carnatic

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Nawabs of the Carnatic under European influence

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Nawabs of the Carnatic as a Protectorate

• Silver shade signifies the French East India Company
• Yellow shade signifies the British East India Company
• * Signed the Carnatic Treaty ceding tax rights

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Princes of Arcot

1867–1874	younger son of Azim-ud-Daula The Chepauk Palace, the official residence of the princes of the Carnatic had been taken over by the British in 1859. He constructed a new residence, the Amir Mahal, in Royapettah.
1874–1879	Son of Azim Jah
1879–1889	younger son of Azim Jah
1889–1903	nephew of Intizam-ul-Mulk
1903–1952	Son of Muhammad Munawar Khan
1952–1969	younger son of Muhammad Munawar Khan
1969–1993	Son of Ghulam Mohiuddin Khan
1993–	Son of Ghulam Mohammed Abdul Khader

==Gallery==