Rise of Autonomous States – Medieval History Notes

In the annals of medieval history, a fascinating phenomenon emerged that forever altered the political landscape of the time—the rise of autonomous states. As feudal structures began to evolve and central authority weakened, local entities seized the opportunity to assert their independence, giving birth to a diverse tapestry of self-governing regions. This era witnessed the ascendancy of city-states, feudal domains, and other autonomous entities, each navigating the complex interplay of power, allegiance, and territorial control. The Rise of Autonomous States not only reshaped the political dynamics of medieval societies but also laid the groundwork for the intricate geopolitical landscapes that would characterize the ensuing centuries. Delving into the intricacies of this transformative period unveils a complex web of social, economic, and political forces that propelled these autonomous entities into prominence and forever altered the course of medieval history.

Rise of Independent States

The decline of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century led to the emergence of the successor states that rose to power in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. These states were formed by various local rulers and were characterized by their own distinct political, cultural, and economic identities. Some of the most notable successor states were the Marathas, the Sikhs, and the Nawabs of Bengal, Awadh, and Hyderabad.

The emergence of New States

The Mughal Empire gradually fragmented into several independent, regional states during the 18th century.
The emerging states can be divided into three groups: old Mughal provinces, watan jagirs, and states under the control of Marathas, Sikhs, and others.
Old Mughal provinces like Awadh, Bengal, and Hyderabad were extremely powerful and quite independent but did not break their formal ties with the Mughal emperor.
States that had enjoyed considerable independence under the Mughals as watan jagirs included several Rajput principalities.
Rajput rulers attempted to extend their control over adjacent regions by holding the governorship of other areas.
States under the control of Marathas, Sikhs, and others had seized their independence from the Mughals after a long-drawn armed struggle.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad’s founder, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, was appointed by Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar.
He was assigned the governorship of Awadh first, and then the Deccan later on.
He reigned completely independently, with no intervention or guidance from Delhi.
The state of Hyderabad was perpetually at odds with the Marathas to the west and with autonomous Telugu military chiefs (nayakas).

Awadh

Burhan-ul-Mulk In 1722, Sa’adat Khan was named subadar of Awadh.
Awadh was a flourishing region that ruled over the fertile alluvial Ganga plain and the main commerce route connecting north India and Bengal.
Burhan-ul-Mulk was the combined subadari, diwani, and faujdari.
Burhan-ul-Mulk attempted to reduce Mughal power in the Awadh region by lowering the number of Mughal-appointed officeholders (jagirdars).
Loans were obtained from local bankers and Mahajan.
The privilege to collect the tax was sold to the highest bidder. These “revenue farmers” (ijaradars) agreed to pay a set amount of money to the state. As a result, they were granted great leeway in tax assessment and collection.
These improvements enabled new social groups, like moneylenders and bankers, to exert influence over the management of the state’s tax system, which had not previously occurred.

Bengal

Bengal progressively broke away from Mughal power under Murshid Quli Khan, who was designated as the naib, or deputy to the governor of the province, even though he was neither a legal subadar nor a naib.
He oversaw the state’s income management, as did the kings of Hyderabad and Awadh.
He sent all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a detailed evaluation of Bengal’s income to limit Mughal authority in Bengal.
Revenue was collected in cash from all zamindars with tremendous zeal.
This demonstrates that the richest merchants and bankers in all three states, Hyderabad, Awadh, and Bengal, were earning a stake in the new political order.

The Rajputs’ Watan Jagirs

Many Rajput monarchs, particularly those from Amber and Jodhpur, were granted significant autonomy in their watan jagirs.
In the 18th century, these kings strove to expand their dominance over neighboring areas.
As a result, Gujarat was governed by Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur, and Malwa was governed by Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber.
They also attempted to expand their holdings by conquering parts of imperial lands adjacent to their waters.

The new States

The Sikhs

The Sikhs’ formation as a political community in the seventeenth century aided regional state-building in Punjab.
Guru Gobind Singh battled against Rajaput and Mughal kings; after his death, the war was carried on by Banda Bahadur.
During Baisakhi and Diwali, the entire body would gather in Amritsar to make collective decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas).”
Rakhi, a system that offers protection to planters in exchange for a 20% tax on the produce, was created.
Their tight-knit organization allowed them to successfully resist Mughal administrators and then Ahmad Shah Abdali, who had conquered the rich province of Punjab and the Sarkar of Sirhind from the Mughals.
In 1765, the Khalsa asserted their sovereign rule by minting their coin. The coin was the same as it had been under Band Bahadur’s reign.
In 1799, Maharaja Ranjit Singh unified the factions and built his capital at Lahore.

The Maratha Empire

Another powerful regional monarchy arose as a result of persistent opposition to Mughal control.
Shivaji (1627-1680) established a stable kingdom with the help of powerful warrior families (Deshmukh). The Maratha army was supported by groups of highly mobile peasant-pastoralists (kunbis).
Poona was designated as the capital of the Maratha kingdom.
Following Shivaji, Peshwas [chief ministers] established a highly effective military organization by attacking cities and confronting Mughal forces in locations where supply lines and reinforcements could be easily disrupted.
By the 1730s, the Maratha king had established himself as the supreme ruler of the whole Deccan peninsula. He had the authority to impose Chauth [a quarter of the land revenue claimed by zamindars]. and sardeshmukhi [9-10% of land revenue provided to the head revenue collector in the Deccan] throughout the region.
After invading Delhi in 1737, the Maratha empire’s frontiers grew, but these places were not technically included in the Maratha empire and were forced to pay tribute as a manner of admitting Maratha control.
Other monarchs became hostile to the Marathas as a result of these military actions. As a result, they were reluctant to back the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat in 1761.
By all accounts, cities [Malwa, Ujjain, etc.] were huge and rich, serving as key commercial and cultural centers, demonstrating the Marathas’ efficient administrative capabilities.

The jats

The Jats, too, established their influence in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
They gained control of lands west of Delhi under their king, Churaman, and by the 1680s, they had come to dominate the region between the two imperial towns of Delhi and Agra.
The Jats were affluent agriculturists, and towns such as Panipat and Ballabhgarh grew into important commercial centers in the areas they ruled.
When the Shah of Iran, Nadir Shah, stormed Delhi in 1739, many of the city’s notables sought sanctuary there.
Jawahir Shah had troops and gathered others from Maratha and Sikhs to oppose the Mughals.

Mysore: The Emergence of Autonomous States During the Mughal Empire

From 1399 to 1950, the Wadiyar dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Mysore, with a brief interlude in the late 1700s. They were a feudatory dynasty under the Vijayanagara Emperor, but they exploited the Vijayanagara Empire’s vulnerability and achieved independence. Raja Odeyar seized Srirangapatna, the seat of the Vijayanagar Viceroy, in 1610. The kingdom adopted a Sultanate administration style during a brief era of Mughal control. Following its independence from British rule, the kingdom was included in the Dominion of India.

Mysore during the Mughals

The Wadiyars (or Wodeyars) of Mysore benefited from the 17th-century struggle in western India between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas.
The Wodeyars ruled this country at the meeting point of the Eastern and Western Ghats.
Various powers, all of which were interested in this land, turned it into a never-ending struggle.
Finally, the Mysore state was placed under the authority of Haider Ali, who struggled to govern the state.
In 1610, the Wadiyar monarch of Mysore captured Seringapatam (now Shrirangapattana); later, Bangalore (now Bengaluru) was also seized, solidifying Wadiyar’s authority.
Following the death of Aurangzeb, the last major Mughal emperor, in 1707, later rulers of Mysore leveraged internal power struggles among the Mughals to enhance their authority.
The Wodeyars’ victories, however, were relatively short-lived, since maladministration at home and interference in succession struggles in the plains finally led to the military adventurer Hyder Ali’s capture of power in 1761.
His invasions of the Malabar Coast and the Karnataka Plateau extended Mysore’s dominion, but they also resulted in the Mysore Wars, the death of his energetic son Tippu Sultan at Seringapatam in 1799 during the Fourth Mysore War, and the eventual British conquest of Mysore.

Rise of Autonomous State – Mysore

The autonomous state of Mysore emerged after the downfall of the Vijayanagar Empire.
The kingdom of Mysore maintained its independence with the modernization of its army.
French experts trained the infantry and artillery, instilling European discipline in the soldiers.
Haider and Tipu Sultan introduced a system of land taxes on peasants, collected in cash through hired officials.
This boosted the state’s resources and allowed it to consolidate its military hegemony.
Mysore’s territorial ambitions and commercial interests led to conflicts with other regional powers and the English.
Haider defeated the English at Madras in 1769.
Tipu Sultan continued his father’s policies after Haider died in 1782.
Tipu questioned the Mughal emperor’s political legitimacy and sought a sanad from the Ottoman Khalif to legitimize his rule.
Tipu considered himself a realist, accepting Mughal authority when it suited him and rejecting it when it did not.
Tipu was defeated by the English in 1799, leading to the end of his reign.

Haider Ali

He was born into a humble family in 1721 and started his career in the Mysore army as a horseman.
Despite being illiterate, Haider was an intelligent and capable leader, both diplomatically and militarily.
In 1761, with the support of the French army, he became the de facto king of Mysore and introduced Western training techniques into his army.
Between 1761 and 1763, he conquered the Nizami army and the Marathas and took control of several territories, including Dod Ballapur, Sera, Bednur, and Hoskote.
He also implemented a system of collecting taxes from the growers.
Haider Ali collaborated with the French to establish an armaments factory in Dindigul and to train his army using Western methods.
He was skilled in diplomacy and successfully outmaneuvered his adversaries.
Although he paid significant sums of money to the Marathas for peace, he invaded them repeatedly between 1774 and 1776, regaining all his lost territories and expanding further.
On December 6, 1782, Haider Ali passed away due to a malignant tumor on his back while in his tent.

Tipu Sultan:

Haidar Ali’s son was born in 1750.
Well-educated, spoke Arabic, Persian, Kanarese, and Urdu fluently.
Emphasized the development and upkeep of a capable military force.
Organized his army on the European model with Persian commands.
Enlisted French commanders to teach his troops but never allowed them to become a pressure group.
Established a Board of Admiralty and envisioned a strong naval force.
Developed three dockyards but was unable to fulfill his naval ambitions.
Supported science and technology, known as the “pioneer of rocket technology” in India.
Promoted sericulture in Mysore.
Supported democracy and helped French soldiers establish a Jacobin Club in 1797.
Died in 1799 defending Srirangapatna against the English.

Conclusion

The region where Mysore is located has a history of being dominated by the Wodeyars.
Different groups with varying interests in the area turned it into a battleground over time.
Haider Ali took over the leadership of Mysore and ruled with challenges.
Tipu Sultan, Haider Ali’s son, continued the struggle against the British just like his father.
In conclusion, the history of Mysore is a story of continuous conflict and struggle for power between various groups.

Kerala

Kerala was divided among feudal chiefs and rajas at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
The four most important states were Calicut, Chirakkal, Cochin, and Travancore.
Travancore rose into prominence under King Martanda Varma, who conquered Quilon and Elayadam, defeated the Dutch, and organized a strong army on the Western model with the help of European officers and modern weapons.
Martanda Varma expanded northwards, undertook many irrigation works, built roads and canals for communication, and gave active encouragement to foreign trade.
By 1763, all the petty principalities of Kerala had been absorbed or subordinated by the three big states of Cochin, Travancore, and Calicut.
Haidar Ali invaded Kerala in 1766 and annexed northern Kerala up to Cochin, including the territories of the Zamorin of Calicut.
The eighteenth century saw a remarkable revival in Malayalam literature, in part due to the rajas and chiefs of Kerala who were great patrons of literature.
Trivandrum became a famous centre of Sanskrit scholarship in the second half of the eighteenth century, under the reign of Rama Varma, who was a poet, scholar, musician, renowned actor, and a man of great culture.

Rajput

The Rajputs were a group of patrilineal clans in the Indian subcontinent who traditionally held a high social rank and were associated with warriors. The term “Rajput” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Rajputra,” which means “son of a king.” The Rajputs have a long and complex history, and their social and political influence has varied over time. They have been known for their bravery in battle and their adherence to a strict code of honour, and many Rajputs served as rulers and administrators in various parts of India. During the Mughal period, many Rajput rulers formed alliances with the Mughal emperors, which helped them gain power and influence in their respective regions.
The Rajputs gained political power after the disintegration of ancient India’s great empires, and they ruled over regions such as Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, and the Western Gangetic plains from the 7th century onwards.
The Pratihara empire was the first major kingdom ruled by the Rajputs, with its capital in Ujjain and later Kannauj.
While the term “Rajput” was used anachronistically to describe earlier lineages that emerged in northern India from the 6th century, it did not acquire its present meaning until the 16th century.
The title “rajaputra” was given to royal officials in the 11th century, but the Rajputs evolved into a social class that included people of different races and geographic backgrounds.
Although there were claims to Rajput status in later years, membership in this class became mostly hereditary in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Rajput-ruled kingdoms dominated central and northern India until the 20th century.

Rajputs and Mughals

The Rajputs opposed Babur, a Timurid prince when he invaded Hindustan and defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.
Babur’s superior strategies and tactics helped him to win the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, where Rana Sanga led the Rajputs in opposition to Babur.
Akbar, the first Mughal ruler, developed a Rajput policy to address the issue of subjugating the Rajput monarchs.
Akbar’s conciliatory Rajput policy included marriage alliances and top positions in the Mughal court for the Rajput nobility.
Akbar recognized the value of having solid partners with the Indian people rather than relying on outsiders and abolished the practice of enslaving prisoners of war.
Akbar conquered Rajput strongholds like Chittor, Merta, Ranthambore, and Kalinjar and was pleased with the Rajputs’ gallantry, devotion, daring, and combat skills.
As a result, the Rajputs became an ally rather than an adversary of the Mughal Empire.

Aurangzeb and Rajputs

Aurangzeb’s policies towards the Rajputs were different from Akbar’s.
His harsh laws and religious policies went against Akbar’s diplomatic approach with the Rajputs.
The reimposition of Jizya, which Akbar had abolished, was an example of these restrictions.
The Mughal army had many Rajput commanders in its highest ranks, but they were exempt from paying Jizya.
Despite this exemption, the Rajputs rebelled against the Mughal Empire.
Aurangzeb’s wars with the Rajputs started in the early 1680s and played a significant role in the Mughal Empire’s downfall.
Due to Aurangzeb’s administrative and religious practices, the Rajput kingdoms of Udaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaipur were separated from the Mughal Empire.

Rise of Autonomous State – Rajputs

In the 17th century, the Mughals’ attempts to control the Rajputs led to a rise in Rajput autonomy and independence.
Later Mughal rulers attempted to reconcile with the Rajputs, but by then, the Rajputs no longer trusted the Mughals enough to join forces with them.
In the 18th century, the Rajputs were influenced by the Maratha kingdom and attempted to reclaim their independence.
The East India Company engaged in discussions with the Rajput kings in the late 18th century.
By 1818, all the Rajput kingdoms had allied with the East India Company.
Historically, the Rajputs had ruled over a vast area that extended from Delhi’s south to the western shore.

Rajput Rebellion

The Rajput rebellion began in 1708 due to the harsh treatment of Rajput Rajas by the Mughal emperor.
It lasted for two years and led to an insurrection across Rajputana, forcing the Mughal emperor to plead for peace and offer gifts.
Bahadur Shah was forced to flee south and could not return until June 12, 1710.
The rebellion was led by Jai Singh and Durgadas Rathore, and the Rajput kingdoms of Marwar and Amber banded together against the Mughals.
The Rajput Rajas established military outposts at Rewari and Narnaul and sent soldiers to annoy the Mughals at Delhi, Rohtaka, and Agra.
Jai Singh also tried to sow discontent with the Mughals by sending letters to the Bundelas, Sikhs, and Marathas.
Bahadur Shah returned and had to bargain with the Rajputs, offering gifts and messages to the rebel Rajas.
Jai Singh and Ajit Singh were granted robes of honor, gifts, and governorships of Malwa and Gujarat on June 11, 1710, after concerns increased in the Mughal court due to the emergence of Banda Singh Bahadur and the murder of the faujdar of Sarhind.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What led to the rise of autonomous states during the medieval period?

A1: The rise of autonomous states during the medieval period was primarily driven by the decentralization of power. As the Roman Empire collapsed, centralized authority weakened, leading to the emergence of local rulers and feudalism. Feudal lords gained autonomy over their territories, establishing independent states that operated with a degree of self-governance.

Q2: How did economic factors contribute to the autonomy of medieval states?

A2: Economic factors played a crucial role in the autonomy of medieval states. The decline of long-distance trade and the disruption of traditional economic systems prompted local communities to become more self-reliant. Feudal lords, responsible for protecting their territories, gained economic autonomy as they controlled local resources, agricultural lands, and production. This economic independence further solidified their status as autonomous rulers.

Q3: What role did the decline of a strong central authority play in the formation of autonomous states?

A3: The decline of a strong central authority, exemplified by the fall of the Roman Empire, created a power vacuum that allowed for the rise of autonomous states. With a weakened central government unable to enforce its control over distant regions, local rulers and lords seized the opportunity to establish their own rule. The absence of a unified central authority facilitated the fragmentation of political power, paving the way for the emergence of autonomous states in medieval history.

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