| Native Name: | State of Carnatic |
| Common Name: | State of Carnatic |
| Image Map Caption: | Nawabate of Arcot, on the Bay of Bengal, marked as "Carnatic" at its height of power. |
| Era: | Mughal rule in India Company rule in India |
| Government Type: | Monarchy |
| Title Leader: | Nawab |
| Year Leader1: | 1692–1703 (first) |
| Leader1: | Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung |
| Year Leader2: | 1710–1732 (first independent) |
| Leader2: | Saadatullah Khan I |
| Year Leader3: | 1824–1855 (last) |
| Leader3: | Ghulam Muhammad Ghouse Khan |
| Year Start: | 1692 |
| Year End: | 1855 |
| Event1: | Siege of Arcot |
| Date Event1: | 23 September – 14 November 1751 |
| Event2: | Carnatic Treaty |
| Date Event2: | 26 July 1801 |
| Event Pre: | Progenitor of family appointed governor |
| Date Pre: | 1692 |
| P1: | Madurai Nayak |
| P2: | Mughal Empire |
| S1: | Company rule in India |
| Flag S1: | Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg |
| Capital: | Gingee (1692–1710), Arcot (1710–1768), Chepauk (1768–1855) |
| Common Languages: | Tamil, Telugu, Persian |
| Religion: | Islam (state religion) |
| Today: | India |
| Conventional Long Name: | Carnatic Sultanate |
| Status Text: |
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| Status: | Dependency of the Mughal Empire (1692–1710) De jure Mughal Independent (1710–1801) Princely State under the paramountcy of the British East India Company (1801–1855) |
The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise.[1] [2] 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.
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 Carnatic', the Southern the 'Maratha Carnatic' with the Maratha fortresses of Gingee and Ranjankudi. 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.
With the decline of Vijayanagara Empire in 1646, the Hindu nayaks, 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 Marathas led by Rajaram I.[3]
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.[4]
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.
| Name | Reign began | Reign ended | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung | 1692 | 1703 | Son of Asad Khan, a renowned nobleman in the court of Emperor Aurangzeb | |
| 2 | Daud Khan Panni | 1703 | 1710 | Before he was made Nawab, the Emperor Aurangazeb appointed him as a leading commander of the Mughal Army. | |
| 3 | Sa'adatullah Khan I | 1710 | 1732 | He was the last Mughal governor who was appointed as Nawab of Carnatic. Belonging to a Navaiyit family,[5] he had no children and so he adopted his brother Ghulam Ali Khan's son Dost Ali Khan as his own and nominated him as successor. | |
| 1 | Sa'adatullah Khan I | 1710 | 1732 | He was the last Mughal governor who was appointed as Nawab of Carnatic. Having no children, he adopted his brother Ghulam Ali Khan's son Dost Ali Khan as his own and nominated him as successor. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Dost Ali Khan | 1732 | 1740 | Nephew of Sa'adatullah Khan I | |
| 3 | Safdar Ali Khan | 1740 | 1742 | Son of Dost Ali Khan | |
| De facto | Nawab Muruza Ali Khan | November 1742 | December 1742 | Cousin and Brother-in-Law of Safdar Ali Khan | |
| 4 | Sa'adatullah Khan II | 1742 | 1744 | Son of Safdar Ali Khan. He was murdered in July 1744 at Arcot. So, with him, the first dynasty of the Nawabs of Arcot came to an end. | |
| 5 | Anwaruddin Khan | 1744 | 3 August 1749 | He was the 1st Nawab of Arcot of the second dynasty. He was of Qannauji Sheikh origin.[6] |
| Names | Reign began | Reign ended | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chanda Shahib | 1749 | 1752 | Son-in-law of the Dost Ali Khan,[7] under whom he worked as a Dewan. Supported the French in Carnatic Wars. | |
| 2 | Muhammad Ali Khan Wala-Jah | 3 August 1749 | 16 October 1795 | Son of Anwaruddin Khan. Supported the British in Carnatic Wars. Moved the capital from Arcot to Chepauk | |
| 3 | Umdat ul-Umara | 1795 | 1801 | Son of Muhammad Ali Khan Wala-Jah | |
| 4 | Azim-ud-Daula | 1801 | 1819 | Signed the Carnatic Treaty, ceding tax rights to the British | |
| 1 | Azim-ud-Daula | 1801 | 1819 | Nephew of Umdat ul-Umara | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Azam Jah | 1819 | 1825 | Son of Azim-ud-Daula | |
| 3 | Ghulam Muhammad Ghouse Khan | 1825 | 1855 | Son of Azam Jah. He died in 1855 at the age of 31. He did not leave behind any male heir. |
| Lineage | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir | Reign | Notes | ||||
| 1867–1874 | younger son of Azim-ud-DaulaThe 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. | |||||
| Sir Zahir-ud-Daula Bahadur | 1874–1879 | Son of Azim Jah | ||||
| Intizam-ul-Mulk Muazzal ud-Daula Bahadur | 1879–1889 | younger son of Azim Jah | ||||
| Sir Muhammad Munawar Khan Bahadur | 1889–1903 | nephew of Intizam-ul-Mulk | ||||
| Sir Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan Bahadur | 1903–1952 | Son of Muhammad Munawar Khan | ||||
| Ghulam Mohiuddin Khan Bahadur | 1952–1969 | younger son of Muhammad Munawar Khan | ||||
| 1969–1993 | Son of Ghulam Mohiuddin Khan | |||||
| 1993– | Son of Ghulam Mohammed Abdul Khader | |||||