Timayya
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Timoji (also referred to as Timoja or Timmayya) was a privateer who served the Vijayanagara Empire and the Portuguese Empire during the first decade of the 16th century. He claimed to have been born in Goa and to have escaped the city after its conquest by the Adil Shahi 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 ...
in 1496. After his support in the
1510 Portuguese conquest of Goa The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred when the governor Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city in 1510 from the Adil Shahis. Goa became the capital of the Portuguese State of India which included possessions such as Fort Manuel, the territor ...
, he was for a short time appointed '' aguazil'' of the city.


Background

Since the 14th century the Deccan had been divided in two entities: on the one side stood the Muslim
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,
, and on the other stood the native rajas rallied around the Vijayanagara Empire. Continuous wars demanded frequent resupplies of fresh horses, which were imported through sea routes from Persia and Arabia. This trade was subjected to frequent raids by thriving bands of pirates based in the coastal cities of Western India. Timoji acted both as a privateer (by seizing horse traders, that he rendered to the raja of
Honavar Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...
) and as a pirate who attacked the Kerala merchant fleets that traded pepper with Gujarat. Timoji operated off Anjediva (modern Anjadip) Island, with two thousand mercenaries under his command and at least fourteen ships.


Relations with the Portuguese

He met
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
's fleet off Anjediva in 1498, but the Portuguese admiral suspected him of being a spy and refused his advances. In 1505, he attracted the Portuguese Viceroy Dom Francisco de Almeida to an estuary and, after keeping him waiting for three days, appeared before him richly attired and offered him his services and a token tribute. In 1507 Timoji warned the Viceroy of the upcoming siege of Cannanore by Calicut forces and supplied the Portuguese
St. Angelo Fort St. Angelo Fort (also known as Kannur Fort or Kannur Kotta) is a fort facing the Arabian Sea, situated 3 km from Canannore (Kannur), a city in Kerala state, south India. History In 1498, during Vasco da Gama's visit to India, the loc ...
during the siege. In the end of 1507, when a Mamluk fleet under
Amir Husain Al-Kurdi Amir Husain Al-Kurdi, ( ar, أمیر حسین الکردي), named Mihir Hussain or Mir-Hocem or Mirocem by the Portuguese, was a Kurdish governor of the city of Jeddah in the Red Sea, then part of the Mamluk Sultanate, in early 16th century. He ...
(named "Mirocem" by the Portuguese) supplements the Calicut forces, he becomes the main informant of Dom Francisco de Almeida. Soon after the
Battle of Diu The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin ...
, Timoji met the Vijayanagara emperor
Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
and offered him a rich tribute. He then prompted the Portuguese to conquer Goa, the main port for the horse trade. The city had been conquered from Vijayanagar by the Bahmani Sultans in 1469, and passed to Bijapur. In late 1509, the remains of the Mamluk fleet defeated in the battle of Diu had taken refuge there. In 1510 the new governor
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
wanted to fight the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate fleet in the Red Sea or return to Hormuz. However, Timoji convinced him that it would be easier to fight them in Goa, where they had sheltered after the Battle of Diu,Bhagamandala Seetharama Shastry, Charles J. Borges, "Goa-Kanara Portuguese relations, 1498-1763" p. 34-36 and also of the illness of the Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah and war between the
Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates were five Islamic late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. Th ...
. So he invested in the capture of Goa to the
Sultanate of Bijapur The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia Islam, 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 ...
with the support of Timoji. On November, in a second strike, Albuquerque conquered Goa with a fleet fully renovatedFoundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415-1580, p. 253, Diffie, Winius 253, Diffie, Winius and about 300
Malabarese Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
reinforcements from Cannanore. They regained the support of the native population, although frustrating the initial expectations of Timoji, who aspired to gain the city. Afonso de Albuquerque rewarded him by appointing him chief " Aguazil" of the city, an administrator and representative of the native people, as a knowing interpreter of the local customs. He then made an agreement to lower yearly dues and started the first Portuguese mint in the East, after complaints from merchants and Timoji about the scarcity of currency. Timoji was put in command of the native troops loyal to the Portuguese. However, he soon was relieved of his command due to his refusal to follow orders. The command of the native troops was given to a pretender to the throne of Honavar, and Timoji returned to piracy. Timoji was made prisoner after a raid, and died by opium poisoning soon after being taken to the Vijayanagar capital. His wife and children, however, returned to Goa where Albuquerque arranged for their upkeep.


References


Bibliography

* Castanheda, Fernão Lopes debr>História do descobrimento e conquista da Índia pelos portugueses
(full text in Portuguese). * Geneviéve Bouchon, "Inde découverte, Inde retrouvée (1498-1630) Études d'histoire indo-portugaise" * Bailey, Diffie
"Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580"
p. 250-251, University of Minnesota Press, 1977, * Bhagamandala Seetharama Shastry, Charles J. Borges
"Goa-Kanara Portuguese relations, 1498-1763"
p. 34-36, Concept Publishing Company, 2000, , * Charles Ralph, "The Portuguese Seaborne Empire 1415–1825", p. 47, Hutchinson 1969,

* Duarte Barbosa, Mansel Longworth Dames, (1518
"The book of Duarte Barbosa: an account of the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and their inhabitants"
Asian Educational Services, 1989, {{Authority control Year of birth missing Year of death missing Portuguese India Privateers Deaths by poisoning History of Goa