A comparative study of courtly politics in four early modern kingdoms in South India.
When Dutch traders arrived on the Indian subcontinent in the early seventeenth century, they encountered a courtly culture they perceived to be traditional, peaceful, and static. In reality, the kings and Brahmins they met were engaged in a fresh power struggle following the recent collapse of the Vijayanagara empire. In The Heirs of Vijayanagarai, Lennart Bes marshals a wealth of untapped sources from both Indian and Dutch archives to recover the dynamic complexity of political life in early modern India. By comparing four kingdoms—Ikkeri, Tanjavur, Madurai, and Ramnand—across the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, this book offers a captivating analysis of political culture, power relations, and dynastic developments in south India.
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Maps, Tables, and Illustrations
- List of Abbreviations
- Notes on Spelling and Citation
- Introduction
- Historical Background
- Sources
- Historiography
- Structure
- Chapter 1: Foundations and Foundation Myths
- Vijayanagara
- Sangamas
- Saluvas, Tuluvas, and Aravidus
- Successor States
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Conclusions
- Chapter 2: Dynastic Successions
- Vijayanagara
- Sangamas and Saluvas
- Tuluvas
- Aravidus
- Successor States
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Conclusions
- Chapter 3: The Power of Courtiers
- Vijayanagara
- Sangamas and Saluvas
- Tuluvas
- Aravidus
- Successor States
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Conclusions
- Chapter 4: Court Protocol and Insults
- Vijayanagara
- Successor States
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Conclusions
- Chapter 5: Influences from Sultanate Courts
- Vijayanagara
- Successor States
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Conclusions
- Chapter 6: Mutual Relations
- Conclusion
- Epilogue
- Aravidus of Vijayanagara
- Nayakas of Ikkeri
- Nayakas of Tanjavur
- Bhonsles of Tanjavur
- Nayakas of Madurai
- Setupatis of Ramnad
- Sources and Literature
- Unpublished Sources
- Published Sources
- Secondary Literature
- Index
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