Rani Mangammal (Mangamma)(died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704. She was a popular administrator and is still widely remembered as a maker of roads and avenues, and a builder of temples, tanks and choultries with many of her public works still in use. She is also known for her diplomatic and political skills and successful military campaigns. The capital of

Kingdom during her times was

Tiruchy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

Life

Mangammal was the daughter of Tupakula Lingama Nayaka,and was the wife of a general of Madurai ruler

Chokkanatha Nayak Chokkanatha Nayak (1662—1682) succeeded his father Muttu Alkadri Nayak, as the ruler of the Madurai Nayak dynasty, when he was sixteen years old. References {{reflist Madurai Nayak dynasty Telugu people Telugu monarchs ...

(1659–1682). She married Chokkanatha Nayak and became the mother of Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak (1682—1689). When her husband died in 1682, he was succeeded by her son. Upon the death of her son in 1689, her son's widow was pregnant. Her son was succeeded by her grandson in 1689. Her daughter-in-law committed

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

, and Mangammal became regent during the minority of her grandson.

Regency

During Mangammal's regency, many irrigation channels were repaired, new roads were constructed, avenue trees were planted, and several municipal buildings were completed, including temples and her "Spring Palace" at TumKum. (no preview) The "Spring Palace" now houses the Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai. The highway from Cape Comorin was originally built during the time of Mangammal and it was known as Rani Mangammal Salai. She played a key role in assisting the

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

during the

Siege of Jinji The siege of Jinji, (September 1690–8 January 1698), began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured b ...

(Gingee). Queen Mangammal had realized that the renegade Rajaram had entrenched himself within Jinji and had been bent upon attacking

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

and

if the Mughal Army were to withdraw. Mangammal soon recognized

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

and the

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as her allies and she began to assist Zulfiqar Khan in attacking the Jinji fort. When the fort was captured by both Zulfiqar Khan and Mangammal after 8 years, she and her family had control over the fort under the leadership of the Mughals. When her grandson, Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayaka, came of age in 1704, she and her prime minister, Achayya, refused to relinquish power. They were seized by the army commander and executed. (no preview)

Gallery

File:Queen Mangammal Palace Madurai.jpg, Queen's Summer Palace File:Queen Mangammal Palace Inside View.jpg, Queen's Summer Palace

References

External links

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Madurai

Meenakshi Temple

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{{authority control 17th-century women rulers Indian queens 1706 deaths Telugu people Regents of India Madurai Nayak dynasty 17th-century births 18th-century women rulers 17th-century Indian women 17th-century Indian people 18th-century Indian women 18th-century Indian people