Sambalpur State, also known as Hirakhand Kingdom was a sovereign state founded in the 1570 CE. It ruled over a vast kingdom spread across Western Odisha and Eastern Chhattisgarh in central-eastern India prior to the Maratha occupation in 1800 AD. From 1849 AD it was integrated with British Raj as a British District. Its capital was present-day Sambalpur city in Western Odisha.

History

Sambalpur State was founded in mid 16th century by Balarama Deva, a Rajput from

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

dynasty and younger brother of kingdom of Patna ruler Raja Narsingh Deva. In 1570 CE, the kingdom of Patna, ruled by the Chauhan dynasty was bifurcated. The southern portion of the Ang River was ruled by Narasingh Deva and his brother Balaram Deva received the northern side of the river of Sambalpur region. Balaram Deb established his new capital at Sambalpur. Sambalpur was ruled by the Chauhan dynasty till 1800. The kingdom of Sambalpur was also known as Hirakhand and Sambalpur was its capital. The Garhjat states were eighteen vassal states under Sambalpur State. The Sambalpur kings favoured

Sarangarh State Sarangarh was a princely state in India during the British Raj ruled by a Raj Gond dynasty. The emblem of the state was a turtle. Its capital was in Sarangarh town, now in Chhattisgarh state. The state had no significant towns except for it ...

owing to the readiness of its rulers to help their kingdom during military campaigns. Sambalpur was ruled by the Chauhan dynasty till 1800 when Sambalpur came under the

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest a ...

dynasty of

Nagpur State The Kingdom of Nagpur was an Indian kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the sta ...

. Sambalpur was invaded and occupied by the

Marathas 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 ...

between 1808 and 1817. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817 the British Government returned Sambalpur to the Chauhan king, Jayant Singh, but his authority over its eighteen vassal states was withdrawn. The state was placed under British administration from 1818 to 1820, when local rule was restored and the principality became a British protectorate. When the ruler or the state died without a direct male heir in 1849, the British seized the state under the doctrine of lapse. In 1857 during the

Sepoy Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

there was a rebellion led by

Surendra Sai Veer Surendra Sai (23 January 1809 – 28 February 1884) was a native Indian as well as a regional freedom fighter from the Bengal Presidency, now Odisha. He fought against British rule in India after they dethroned the king and queen of Sambal ...

of the Sambalpur ruling family, later renowned as 'Veer' (hero) Surendra Sai. The mutineers broke open the prison at Hazaribagh, where Surendra Sai was imprisoned and released all the prisoners. Surendra Sai fought against the British after reaching Sambalpur, eventually surrendering when the British suppressed the rebellion. In 1858 when Sambalpur was put under British administration it initially became part of the

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

division of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

, but was transferred to the

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. ...

in 1862.

Rulers

The rulers of Sambalpur state of the Chauhan Dynasty:Princely States of India
/ref> * Balarama Deva (1570 - 1595 CE) *Hrdayanarayana Deva (1595 - 1605) *Balabhadra Deva (1605 - 1630) *Madhukar Deva (1630-1660) *Baliara Deva (1650-1688) *Ratan Singh (1688 - 1690) *Chhatra Sai (1690 - 1725) *Ajit Singh (1725 - 1766) *Abhaya Singh (1766-1778) *Balabhadra Singh (1778 - 1781) *Jayanta Singh (1781 - 1818) *Maharaj Sai (1820 - 1827) *Rani Mohan Kumari (f) (1827 - 1833) *Narayan Singh (1833 - 1849) *

(in rebellion) (1809 - 1884)

References

External links

The Mirror Reflection of Sambalpur State through the Courtly Chronicle called Kosalananda Kavyam
{{Princely states of the Eastern States Agency Princely states of India History of Odisha Sambalpur district Rajputs

History

Rulers

See also

References

External links