The siege of Jinji, (September 1690–8 January 1698), began when the

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

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 ...

appointed

Zulfiqar Ali Khan Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی خان; 10 December 1930 – 8 March 2005) , was a four-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force and later a diplomat. He is noted as a first four-star air officer who c ...

as the

Nawab of the Carnatic 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. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured by

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

troops led by Rajaram, they had also ambushed and killed about 300 Mughal

Sowar Sowar ( ur, سوار, also ''siwar'' meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian ) was originally a rank during the Mughal Empire and Maratha Empire. Later during the British Raj it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-soldi ...

s in the Carnatic. The

then ordered

Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I Mir Shahâb ud-Din Siddiqi titled Farzand-i-Arjumand, Nawab Ghazi ud-din Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi Bahadur, Feroze Jung I, Sipah Salar (c. 1649–1710) was the son of Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi the ''Sadr us Sudur'' of Mughal ...

to protect the supply routes leading to Jinji Fort and to support and provide reinforcements to

when needed.

Rani Mangammal Rani Mangammal (Mangamma)(died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day Madurai, India) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704. She was a popular administrator and is still wide ...

of the Madurai Nayak dynasty played a key role of assisting

. The siege of Jinji, was also the longest siege by any single

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, ...

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...

, it lasted for a lingering 8 years.

Background

Jinji Fort itself was under the control of the

Adil Shahi The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's ...

s of

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...

since the year 1649. Until in the year 1677,

Sivaji Sivaji is an Indian actor who appears in Telugu films. He won Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for the movie '' Dil'' (voice for Nitin). Career Sivaji is from Narsarsopet in Guntur district. Sivaji started his stint as an editor in ...

, routed the Bijapur forces and captured Jinji Fort. The fort itself was chosen as a hideout for the Maratha leader Rajaram and his allies

Santaji Ghorpade Santaji Mahaloji Ghorpade,(1645–1696) popularly known as ‘Santajirao’ or ‘Santaji Ghorpade’, was the most celebrated Maratha warrior and the sixth Sarsenapati of the Maratha Empire during Rajaram's regime. His name became inseparable f ...

and

Dhanaji Jadhav Dhanaji Jadhav (1650–1708) was a warrior of the Maratha Empire. Along with Santaji Ghorpade he made terrifying campaigns against Mughal Army from 1689 to 1696. After Santaji, Dhanaji became the chief of the Maratha army in 1696 and remained on t ...

. Outraged by the deaths of the Mughal

s in the region the

dispatched

to besiege and capture the massive Jinji Fort. But besieging the fort was no easy task. It enclosed an area of 7 km² (2.7 sq mi), and its walls were 30 ft high and 66 ft thick. It is elevated 800 ft (240 m) high, and protected by an 80 feet (24 m) wide moat. There were three very important hills within the fort and a large pond containing fresh water.

Encirclement of Jinji Fort

Immediately after encircling the fort in the year 1690, with his Mughal

s and

Zamburak Zamburak ( fa, زمبورک), literally meaning wasp, was a specialized form of self-propelled artillery from the early modern period, featuring small swivel guns mounted on and fired from camels. Its operators was known as a zamburakchi. It w ...

placed Swarup Singh and young Mehboob Khan (a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

nicknamed ''Maavuthukaran'') in command of the

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s. Daud Khan was appointed ''Mir Atish'' or lead gunner of 60

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s placed at various locations. Fatah Muhammad was the lead commander of the

Rocket artillery Rocket artillery is artillery that uses rocket explosives as the projectile. The use of rocket artillery dates back to medieval China where devices such as fire arrows were used (albeit mostly as a psychological weapon). Fire arrows were also ...

consisting of 50 men.

Mappila Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...

and

s were recruited and good relations were established with Ali Raja Ali II. Zulfiqar Ali Khan then ordered the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

to surrender but Rajaram refused and the bombardments began but with little success. Desperately searching for a quick victory Zulfiqar Ali Khan made all efforts to gather men, ammunition and money for a successful war with them. He even allied himself with

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

's English Governor

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, he only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales and India ...

. In the coming years Zulfiqar Ali Khan would attempt to breach the walls with limited resources he managed to protect the trade routes and make contact with

on many occasions. He defended nearby land owners, and led four massive assaults upon the Marathas inside the fort. However, most of his focus was towards the vicinity of the fort and he continuously expected and correctly predicted Maratha ambushes instead of besieging the fort itself. Zulfikhar Ali Khan was briefly joined by

's son Prince Muhammad Kam Baksh. On one occasion when the Mughal encampments around Jinji fort were surrounded by the Maratha rebels, actually decided to defect his plans were foiled and was put to chains and imprisoned in a ditch which was covered by a tent by Zulfikhar Ali Khan, who managed to expel the roving Marathas with

Matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...

s. Zulfikhar Ali Khan then wrote a letter informing the

of his son's betrayal, Aurangzeb then sent his trusted

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

Asad Khan to retrieve Prince Muhammad Kam Baksh. Asad Khan arrived with the finest weapons, carriages and thousands of reinforcements. When Prince Muhammad Kam Baksh, was brought in chains before Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor almost had him beheaded, but Aurangzeb was deterred by the pleas of his own daughter Zinat-un-nissa. Queen

Mangammal Rani Mangammal (Mangamma)(died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day Madurai, India) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704. She was a popular administrator and is still wide ...

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

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 ...

if the Mughal Army was to withdraw. Mangammal soon recognized Aurangzeb as her suzerain and began to assist Zulfikhar Ali Khan in attacking the fort. Zulfikhar Ali Khan then set up a base in

Wandiwash Vandavasi, earlier called Wandiwash is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larges ...

. In 1697 Zulfikhar Ali Khan led 18,000 men from his camp (8000

s and 10,000

s) in order to fight an assembling Maratha force in

sent by

Shivaji II Shivaji II of Maratha Empire, later Shivaji I of Kolhapur (9 June 1696 – 14 March 1726) was the son of the Maratha Chhatrapati, Rajaram I, and his wife Tarabai. Biography He was born in Bhonsle family. Upon the death of his father, t ...

and

Ramchandra Pant Amatya Ramchandra Neelkanth Bawadekar (1650–1716), also known as Ramchandra Pant Amatya, served on the Council of 8 (''Ashta Pradhan'') as the Finance Minister (''Amatya'') to Emperor (''Chhatrapati'') Shivaji, dating from 1674 to 1680.

and possibly aided by the Madurai Nayaks, consisting of over 40,000 men, with the objective to relieve the siege of Jinji Fort and continue their hostilities against the Mughal Empire. Zulfikhar Ali Khan and his considerably smaller battalion then defeated the ill-equipped Maratha force and routed them from

. Because Zulfikhar Ali Khan did not often receive assistance and supplies from the Mughals he began to forage the countryside in order to recover his losses. In 1697 Rajaram offered to negotiate, but Aurangzeb ordered Zulfikhar Ali Khan to initiate an all-out assault. Zulfikhar Ali Khan returned he made efforts to hire European gunners and then led his final fourth assault into Jinji Fort in the year 1698. Forced into action, the

battered the walls with cannon fire, which eventually allowed them to scale the walls and capture the lower citadels, which were armed with cannons that bombarded the higher citadel. After heavy bombardments the Mughals captured the higher citadel. Zulfikhar Ali Khan captured four of Rajaram's wives, three sons and two daughters, while Rajaram himself fled.

Aftermath

According to Mughal accounts Zulfikhar Ali Khan named Jinji Fort, "Nusratgarh" after its capture, but the condemned Maratha leader Rajaram had somehow escaped earlier on during the siege, causing much dismay for Zulfikhar Ali Khan. However, the Mughal rule at Jinji eventually paved the way to the establishment of the

and the Sultanate of Mysore. But according to

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

accounts, it was due to the efforts of Swarup Singh of Bundela, that the Mughals were successful. The

Aurangazeb, himself granted Swarup Singh a position of

Mansabdar The Mansabdar was a military unit within the administrative system of the Mughal Empire introduced by Akbar. The word ''mansab'' is of Arabic origin meaning rank or position. The system determined the rank and status of a government official an ...

of 2,500 and gave him total command and administration of Jinji Fort in 1700 AD. But after Sawrup Singh died of old age in 1714, his newly arriving son De Singh was given command according to an official

Firman A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...

by the Mughal Emperor

Jahandar Shah Mirza Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan (10 May 1661 – 11 February 1713), more commonly known as Jahandar Shah (), was the ninth Mughal Emperor who ruled for a brief period in 1712–1713. He was the son of Bahadur Shah (Shah Alam), and the ...

. This action was considered outrageous to

Muhammed Saadatullah Khan I Sa'adatullah Khan I or Sa'adatullah Khan was Nawab of Carnatic (r.1710–1732) and founder of Nawayath dynasty. He was an adventurer from Konkan in Maharashtra. Life Mohammed Sayyid was the last mughal governor who was appointed as Nawab of ...

who personally marched to Jinji Fort with 18,000 men and killed De Singh and declared himself the administrator of Jinji Fort.

References

{{coord missing, Tamil Nadu Jinji Jinji History of Tamil Nadu 1690s in India 1690 in India 1698 in India Jinji