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{{Short description|Princely state of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|native_name = जंजीरा रियासत
|conventional_long_name =Janjira State
|common_name =Janjira
|nation = [[British India]]
|status_text = [[Princely State]] of [[British India]]<br />In union with [[Jafarabad State|Jafrabad]] (1759–1948)
|era =
|year_start = 1489
|date_start =
|event_start=
|year_end = 1948
|date_end =
|event_end= [[Partition of India|Indian independence]]
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|p1 =
|s1 = India
|flag_p1 =
|flag_s1 = Flag of India.svg
|image_flag = Flag of Janjira.svg
|image_coat =
|image_map = Janjira 1896.jpg
|image_map_caption =Janjira State, 1896
|stat_area1 =839
|stat_year1 = 1931
|stat_pop1 = 110,389
|today = [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
|footnotes =
}}
[[File:Janjira State Merchant Flag vector.svg|thumb|Merchant flag]]
[[File:Murud Janjira Fort.JPG|thumb|275px|View of Janjira Fort]]
[[File:Janjira-Bhor.jpg|thumb|Janjira State in the ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'']]
'''Janjira State''' was a [[princely state]] in [[India]] during the [[British Raj]].<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Janjira |volume=15 |page=152}}</ref> It was governed by the [[Siddi]] Khan dynasty of [[Habesha peoples|Habesha]] African descent<ref name=EB1911/> and the state was under the suzerainty of the [[Bombay Presidency]].

Janjira State was located on the [[Konkan coast]] in the present-day [[Raigad district]] of [[Maharashtra]]. The state included the towns of [[Murud, Raigad|Murud]] and [[Shrivardhan]], as well as the fortified island of [[Murud-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 km<sup>2</sup>, not counting [[Jafarabad State|Jafarabad]], and a population of 110,389 inhabitants in 1931. Jafarabad State (also spelled Jafrabad) was a dependency of the [[Nawab]] of Janjira State, and located 320 km to its north-northwest.

==History==

=== Establishment ===
According to legend, Janjira was invaded in 1489 when the [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]] sent its [[admiral]] Piram Khan (of Ethiopian descent) with orders to capture the [[Murud-Janjira]] from [[Ram Patil]]. Owing to the castle's fortifications, Khan could not attack conventionally.

He and his team disguised themselves as merchants and asked Ram Patil to safeguard their three hundred large boxes containing silks and wines from [[Surat]]. As thanks, Piram Khan threw a party with wine. Once Ram Patil and his soldiers were intoxicated, Piram Khan opened the boxes, which contained his soldiers, and used the opportunity to capture the castle and the island on which it stands.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DigPvwHTqJ4C&q=Ram+Patil+Janjira&pg=PA92|title=An African Indian Community in Hyderabad: Siddi Identity, Its Maintenance and Change|last=Yimene|first=Ababu Minda|date=2004|publisher=Cuvillier Verlag|isbn=9783865372062|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4bMIAAAAQAAJ&q=Ram+Patil+Janjira&pg=PA435|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Kola'ba and Janjira|date=1883|publisher=Government Central Press|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xduAAAAMAAJ&q=Ram+Patil|title=African Elites in India: Habshi Amarat|last1=Robbins|first1=Kenneth X.|last2=McLeod|first2=John|date=2006|publisher=Mapin|isbn=9788188204731|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3CPc22nMqIC&q=Ram+Patil+Janjira&pg=PA158|title=The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times|last=Ali|first=Shanti Sadiq|date=1996|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9788125004851|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdpcgy_aopwC&q=Ram+Patil+Janjira&pg=PA197|title=The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean|last1=Jayasuriya|first1=Shihan de S.|last2=Pankhurst|first2=Richard|date=2003|publisher=Africa World Press|isbn=9780865439801|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhtzBAAAQBAJ&q=Ram+Patil+Janjira&pg=PT102|title=Sea Forts of India|last=Chilka|first=Amit|date=2014-09-08|publisher=Osmora Incorporated|isbn=9782765903611|language=en}}</ref>

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]].

=== Cooperation with the Ottomans ===
According to [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] records, a combined force from the Ottomans and Janjira mariners routed a Portuguese fleet in 1587 at [[Yemen]].<ref name="The Wonder that is Urdu A Multidisciplinary Analysis">{{cite book |last1=S. Dir |first1=Krishna |title=The Wonder that is Urdu A Multidisciplinary Analysis |date=2022 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120843011 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVx6EAAAQBAJ |access-date=5 June 2023 |language=english |format=ebook}}</ref> From this moment onwards Janjira played an important role in resisting Portuguese influence in the region.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ottoman court chroniclers |title=Muhimme Defterleri, Vol. 62 f 205 firman 457, Avail Rabiulavval 996|year=1588}}</ref>

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 [[Malabars|Malabar]] sailors from Janjira State to aid the region [[Batak (Indonesia)|Batak]] and the [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] in 1539.<ref>''Cambridge illustrated atlas, warfare: Renaissance to revolution, 1492–1792'' by Jeremy Black p.17 [https://books.google.com/books?id=neUKEvaYPZYC&pg=PA17]</ref>

=== Cooperation with the Mughals ===
According to one record, the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Aurangzeb]] supplied the Siddis of Janjira state with 2,000 men, provisions and ammunition along with two [[frigates]] and two large [[men-of-war]]. The ship arrived at Bombay harbor under the commands of Siddi Kasim and Siddi Sambal in 1677.<ref>{{cite book |author=Shanti Sadiq Ali |title=The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times |publisher=Orient Blackswan |location=Paris |year=1996 |pages=260 Pages |isbn=8125004858}}</ref> The largest Mughal ship named [[Ganj-I-Sawai]] (Trading Ship) which was equipped with 800 guns and 400 musketeer type soldiers also stationed in the port of Surat.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roy|first1=Kaushik|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|date=30 Mar 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781136790874|page=13|edition=Volume 3 Asian States and Empires|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&q=ottoman+janjira&pg=PA13|access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>

Another record from an [[East India Company]] factory{{which|date=February 2024}} written 1673 reported the Siddi fleet which wintered from Bombay had five frigates, two men-of-war, and fifteen [[Grab (ship)grabs]]. It was because the formidable naval warfare skills of the Siddis in Janjira that Aurangzeb was granting an annual payment of 400.000 [[Rupees]] for the maintenance of their fleet.{{citation_needed|date=February 2024}}

=== Relations with the Marathas ===
{{Main|Shivaji's invasions of Janjira|Siege of Janjira}}

==== Rivalry with the Marathas ====
The main competitor of the Sidis was the [[Kanhoji Angre|Angrias]], a Maratha family with sea forts and ships, based in southern Konkan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Marathas, 1600-1818|author=Gordon, Stewart|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521268837|pages=123|oclc=25914184}}</ref>

==== Treaty with Marathas ====
In 1733, [[Baji Rao I|Peshwa Bajirao]] of the [[Maratha Empire]] launched a campaign against the Siddis of Janjira. Bajirao's forces, however, did not take [[Murud-Janjira|Janjira fort]], though they captured much of the surrounding area; a favorable treaty gave the Marathas some indirect control over virtually all of the Siddi's lands.<ref name=":0" /> According to the treaty, the Peshwa acknowledged Abdul Rehman as the 'legitimate ruler' of Janjira, bringing an end to all opposition to his succession by his rivals. The territorial holdings of the Siddi were restricted to Anjanwel and Gowalkot, along with the island of Janjira. All other territories on the mainland, previously liberated by the Marathas from Siddi control, including Raigarh, Rewas, Thal, Chaul, etc., were recognized by Abdul Rehman as integral parts of the Maratha state and off-limits to the Siddis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mehta |first=Jaswant Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC |title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813 |date=2005-01-01 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd |isbn=978-1-932705-54-6 |pages=112 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Post Maratha-rule ===
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.<ref>Great Britain India Office. ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908</ref>

Following the [[independence of India]] in 1947, the state was merged with India.

==Rulers==
The royal family of Janjira were [[Siddi]]s, also known as 'Habshi', assumed to be from [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]]. Initially the rulers of the state held the title of '[[Vizier|''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 after the [[1903 Durbar Honours|1903 Coronation Durbar]].<ref name=ai>{{Cite web |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/j/janjira.html |title=Janjira Princely State (11 gun salute) |access-date=11 July 2014 |archive-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721010248/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/j/janjira.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Durbar Honours |date=1 January 1903 |page=8 |issue=36966}}</ref>

== List of rulers ==

===Wazirs of Janjira===
* Siddi Fattekhan
*1676 - 1703 Kasim [[Yakut Khan]] II (d. 1703)
*1703 - 1707 Amabat Yaqut Khan II
*1707 - 1732 Surur Yakut Khan II (d. 1732)
*1732 - 1734 Hasan Khan (1st time) (d. 1746)
*1734 - 1737 Sumbul Khan
*1737 - 1740 `Abd al-Rahman Khan
*1740 - 1745 Hasan Khan (2nd time) (s.a.)
*1745 - 1757 Ibrahim Khan I (1st time) (d. 1761)
*1757 Mohammad Khan I (d. 1757)
*1757 - 1759 Ibrahim Khan I (2nd time) (s.a.)

===Thanadars of Jafarabad and Wazirs of Janjira===

*1759 - 1761 Ibrahim Khan I (s.a.)
*1761 - 1772 Yaqut Khan (usurper to 6 Jun 1772) (d. 1772)
*1772 - 1784 `Abd al-Rahim Khan (d. 1784)
*1784 - 1789 Jauhar Khan (d. 1789)
** - in dispute with -
***1784 - 1789 `Abd al-Karim Yaqut Khan
*1789 - 1794 Ibrahim Khan II (d. 1826)
*1794 - 1803 Jumrud Khan (d. 1803)

===Nawabs===

*1803 - 1826 Ibrahim Khan II (s.a.)
*1826 - 31 Aug 1848 Mohammad Khan I (d. 1848)
*31 Aug 1848 – 28 Jan 1879 Ibrahim Khan III (b. 1825 - d. 1879)
*28 Jan 1879 - 2 May 1922 Ahmad Khan (b. 1862 - d. 1922) (from 1 Jan 1895, Sir Ahmad Khan)
*28 Jun 1879 – 11 Oct 1883 .... -Regent
* 2 May 1922 – 15 Aug 1947 Mohammad Khan II (b. 1914 - d. 1972)
* 2 May 1922 - 9 Nov 1933 Kulsum Begum (f) -Regent (b. 1897 - d. 1959)<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html Princely States of India]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Jafarabad State]]
*[[Murud-Janjira]]
*[[Sachin State]]
*[[Gowalkot]] and [[Anjanvel (Gopalgad)|Anjanvel]]
*[[Political integration of India]]
*[[Deccan States Agency]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.hubert-herald.nl/BhaMaharashtra2.htm Janjira State coat of arms]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwqV10eIo7M A Trip to Murud Janjira Fort]
{{Princely states of India}}
{{Princely states of the Deccan States Agency}}
{{coord|18|18|N|73|00|E|region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Bombay Presidency]]
[[Category:Siddhi people]]
[[Category:Konkan]]
[[Category:Raigad district]]
[[Category:African diaspora]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:1489 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1948 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:City-states]]

Janjira State - Revision history

Smasher at 17:11, 6 April 2026