The
Deccan Plateau is a large
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
in
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of the
Indian subcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
's coastline.
It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and
southern IndiaSouth India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
.
It is located between three mountain ranges: the
Western GhatsThe Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
form its western boundary, and the
Eastern GhatsThe Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the...
its eastern boundary. Each rises from their respective nearby coastal plains and nearly meet at the southern tip of India. It is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the
SatpuraThe Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat state near the Arabian Sea coast, running east through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east-west ranges divide the...
and
Vindhya RangeThe Vindhya Range is a range of older rounded mountains and hills in the west-central Indian subcontinent, which geographically separates the Indian subcontinent into northern India and Southern India.- Introduction :...
s, which form its northern boundary.
The name
Deccan is an anglicised form of the
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
word
, itself derived from the
SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word
, meaning "south".
Geography
The Deccan Plateau lies south of the
Indo-Gangetic plainThe northern Plains also known as the Indo - Gangetic Plain and The North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, parts of southern Nepal and virtually all of Bangladesh...
. The Western Ghats Mountain Range is tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest
monsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are also relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins and then into the
Bay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
.
Most Deccan plateau rivers flow from west to east. The
Godavari RiverThe Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
and its tributaries, including the
Indravati RiverIndravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, located in central India. The river rises in the Eastern Ghats in Kalahandi Orissa, and flows west to join the Godavari, forming the boundary between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states at places....
, drain most of the northern portion of the plateau, rising in the Western Ghats and flowing east towards the Bay of Bengal. The
Tungabhadra RiverThe Tungabhadra River is a sacred river in southern India that flows through the state of Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, where it serves as the chief tributary of the Krishna River...
,
Krishna RiverThe Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...
and its tributaries, including the
Bhima RiverThe Bhima River originates in Bhimashankar hills near Karjat on the western side of Western Ghats, known as Sahyadri, in Maharashtra state in India. Bhima flows southeast for 861 km through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh states...
, which also run from west to east, drain the central portion of the plateau. The southernmost portion of the plateau is drained by the
Kaveri RiverThe Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
, which rises in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and bends south to break through the Nilgiri Hills at
Hogenakal Falls
into Tamil Nadu, then forming the Sivasamudram Falls at the island town of
ShivanasamudraShivanasamudra is a small town in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri and is the location of the first Hydro-electric Power station in Asia, which was set up in the year 1902.-Waterfalls:The Shivanasamudra Falls is on the Kaveri...
, the second-biggest waterfall in
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the sixteenth-largest in the world, before flowing into the
Stanley ReservoirStanley Reservoir is one of largest fishing reservoirs in South India . Its source of water is the River Kaveri , and the water is retained by the Mettur Dam, Tamil Nadu. Its total capacity is more than 90,000,000,000 cubic feet ....
and the
Mettur DamThe Mettur Dam is a large dam in India built in 1934.It was constructed in a gorge, where the Kaveri River enters the plains. The dam is one of the oldest in India . It provides irrigation facilities to a part of Salem, the length of Erode, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchirappali and Thanjavur district for...
that created the reservoir and finally emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
The two main rivers which do not flow into the Bay Of Bengal are the
NarmadaThe Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
and
TaptiThe Tapi River ancient original name Tapi River , is a river in central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 724 km...
. They start in the Eastern Ghats and flow into the Arabian sea. All Deccan plateau rivers depend on the rains and dry up in the summers.
The climate of the region varies from semi-arid climate in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rain falls during the
monsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season from about June to October. March to June can be very dry and hot with temperatures exceeding 40°C regularly.
Geology
The volcanic
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
beds of the Deccan were laid down in the massive
Deccan TrapsThe Deccan Traps are a large igneous province located on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India and one of the largest volcanic features on Earth. They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than thick and cover an area of and a volume of...
eruption, which occurred towards the end of the
CretaceousThe Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period between 67 and 65 million years ago. Some paleontologists speculate that this eruption may have accelerated the extinction of the
dinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. Layer after layer was formed by the volcanic activity that lasted many thousands of years, and when the volcanoes became extinct, they left a region of highlands with typically vast stretches of flat areas on top like a table.The volcanic hotspot that produced the Deccan traps is hypothesized to lie under the present day island of
RéunionRéunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
in the Indian Ocean.
Typically the Deccan Plateau is made up of
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
extending up to
Bhor GhatBhor Ghat or Bor Ghat, Bhore Ghaut, is a mountain passage located between Karjat and Khandala in Maharashtra, India along the railway line and between Khopoli and Khandala....
near
KarjatKarjat is a city, a Municipal Council, a Tahsil and a sub-district in Raigad district, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:...
. This is an extrusive
igneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
. Also in certain sections of the region, we can find
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, which is an intrusive
igneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
. The difference between these two rock types is: basalt rock forms on eruption of lava, that is, on the surface (either out of a volcano, or through massive fissures—as in the Deccan basalts—in the ground), while granite forms deep within the Earth. Granite is a
felsicThe word "felsic" is a term used in geology to refer to silicate minerals, magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium....
rock, meaning it is rich in potassium feldspar and
quartzQuartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
. This composition is continental in origin (meaning it is the primary composition of the
continental crustThe continental crust is the layer of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks which form the continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves. This layer is sometimes called sial due to more felsic, or granitic, bulk composition, which lies in...
). Since it cooled relatively slowly, it has large visible crystals. Basalt, on the other hand, is
maficMafic is an adjective describing a silicate mineral or rock that is rich in magnesium and iron; the term is a portmanteau of the words "magnesium" and "ferric". Most mafic minerals are dark in color and the relative density is greater than 3. Common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine,...
in composition—meaning it is rich in
pyroxeneThe pyroxenes are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. They share a common structure consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra and they crystallize in the monoclinic and orthorhombic systems...
and, in some cases,
olivineThe mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
, both of which are
MgMagnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
-
FeIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
rich minerals. Basalt is similar in composition to
mantleThe mantle is a part of a terrestrial planet or other rocky body large enough to have differentiation by density. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers. The mantle is a highly viscous layer between the crust and the outer core....
rocks, indicating that it came from the mantle and did not mix with continental rocks. Basalt forms in areas that are spreading, whereas granite forms mostly in areas that are colliding. Since both rocks are found in the Deccan Plateau, it indicates two different environments of formation.
The Deccan is rich in minerals. Primary mineral ores found in this region are
micaThe mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
and
ironIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
ore in the
Chhota NagpurThe Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the basin of the Mahanadi River lies to the south...
region, and
diamondIn mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s,
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and other
metalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s in the
GolcondaGolconda may be:Places:* Golkonda, ruined city and fortress in India* Golconda, Illinois, town in the United States* Golconda, Nevada, former town in the United StatesOther:* Golconda...
region.
People
The Deccan is home to many
languageLanguage may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s and people.
BhilBhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....
and
GondThe Gondi, Goindi or Gond people are people in central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and Western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India.The Gondi language is related to...
people live in the hills along the northern and northeastern edges of the plateau, and speak various languages that belong to both the
Indo-EuropeanThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
and
DravidianThe Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
families of languages.
MarathiMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, an
Indo-Aryan languageThe Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
, is the main language of the north-western portion of the Deccan plateau in the state of
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. Speakers of
TeluguTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and
KannadaKannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, the predominant languages of
Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and
KarnatakaKarnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
respectively, occupy those states' portions of the plateau.
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
is the main language of
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
to the south of the plateau, and Malayalam that of the hills and coast to the south-west, in the state of
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. The city of Hyderabad is an important centre of
UrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
language in the Deccan; its surrounding areas also host a notable population of Urdu speakers. The Urdu dialect spoken in this region is also known as Dakshini or
Deccani.
The chief crop is
cottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, however,
sugarcaneSugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
,
riceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, and other crops are also common.
Apart from the states already mentioned, the state of
ChhattisgarhChhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
is found in the northeast corner of the plateau. The two large cities in the Deccan are Hyderabad the capital of Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore the capital of Karnataka. Other major cities include
ChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
,
PunePune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
,
NagpurNāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
and
Aurangabad (in Maharashtra).
History
Of the early history the main facts established are the growth of the Mauryan empire (250 B.C.) and the invasion (A.D. 100) of the
ScythicIn antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
tribes known as the
SakaThe Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
s, Pahlavas and Yavanas, which led to the establishment of the power of the Kshaharata satraps in western India. Prominent dynasties of this time include the
CholaThe Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
s (3rd c. BC to 12th c. AD), Chalukyas (6th to 12th c.),
RashtrakutaThe Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...
s (753–982),
HoysalaThe Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu....
s (10th to 14th c.), Kakatiya (1083 CE to 1323 CE) and
Vijayanagara EmpireThe Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
(1336–1646). Ahir Kings once ruled over the deccan. In a cave inscription at Nasik, references is made to the reign of an Abhira prince named
IshwarsenaIshwarsena was the founder of the Abhira dynasty and he started an era which later became known as the Kalachuri-Chedi era. He and his descendants whose names do not occur in the Puranas seem to have ruled over a large territory in deccan. He took the title of Rajan and an era was named after him....
,son od Shivadatta.
In 1294, Ala-ud-Din Khilji, emperor of Delhi, invaded the Deccan, stormed Devagiri, and reduced the
YadavYādav refers to an umbrella group of traditionally non-elite pastoral communities, or castes, in India and Nepal which since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has claimed descent from the mythological King Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence.The term 'Yadav' now...
a rajas of Maharashtra to the position of tributary princes (see Daulatabad), then proceeding southward to conquer the
TelanganaTelangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east...
and
CarnaticThe Carnatic coast is the region of South India lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast, in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, south eastern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh....
. In 1307, a fresh series of
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
incursions led by
Malik KafurMalik Kafur, General , or Chand Ram as his name was originally, was a slave who became a head general in the army of Alauddin Khilji, ruler of the Delhi sultanate from 1296 to 1316 AD. He was originally seized by Alauddin's army after the army conquered the city of Khambhat...
began in response to unpaid tributes, resulting in the final ruin of the
YadavYādav refers to an umbrella group of traditionally non-elite pastoral communities, or castes, in India and Nepal which since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has claimed descent from the mythological King Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence.The term 'Yadav' now...
a power; and in 1338 the conquest of the Deccan was completed by Sultan
Muhammad bin TughluqMuhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...
. The imperial hegemony was brief, as soon Telingana and
KarnatakaKarnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
reverted to their former masters. These defections by the
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
states was soon followed by a general revolt of the
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
governors, resulting in the establishment in 1347 of the independent Muslim dynasty of Bahmani. The power of the
Delhi sultanateThe Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
evaporated south of the
Narmada RiverThe Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
.
In the power struggles which ensued, the
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
kingdom of Telingana fell bit by bit to the Bahamani dynasty, who advanced their frontier to
GolkondaGolkonda or Golla konda a ruined city of south-central India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda , is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The most important builder of Golkonda was a Hindu Kakatiya King...
in 1373, to
WarangalWarangal is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal,...
in 1421, and to the Bay of Bengal in 1472. On the dissolution of the Bahmani empire in 1482, its dominions were distributed into the five Muslim states of
GolkondaGolkonda or Golla konda a ruined city of south-central India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda , is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The most important builder of Golkonda was a Hindu Kakatiya King...
,
BijapurThe Adil Shahi or Adilshahi dynasty ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur in the Western area of the Deccan region of Southern India from 1490 to 1686. Bijapur had been a province of the Bahmani Sultanate , before its political decline in the last quarter of the 15th century and eventual break-up in 1518...
,
Ahmednagar,
BidarBidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
and
Berar-Berar in Ancient History:Subah Berar and Gondwana the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in medieval period since Khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar...
, giving rise to the
Deccan sultanatesThe Deccan sultanates were five Muslim-ruled late medieval kingdoms—Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar—of south-central India. The Deccan sultanates were located on the Deccan Plateau, between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. These kingdoms became independent during the breakup...
. To the south of these the
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
state of Carnatic or
VijayanagarThe Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
still survived; but this, too, was destroyed, at the
Battle of TalikotaThe Battle of Talikota , a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, resulted in a rout of Vijayanagara, and ended the last great Hindu kingdom in South India...
(1565) by a league of the Muslim powers. Berar had already been annexed by
Ahmednagar in 1572, and Bidar was absorbed by Bijapur in 1609.
MughalThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
interest in the Deccan also rose at this time; Ahmadnagar was partially incorporated in the Empire in 1598 and again in 1616, Bijapur in 1686, and Golkonda in 1688.
In 1674,
Shivaji laid the foundation of the
Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
which within 75 years of his death covered territory of over 250 million acres (1 million km²) or one-third of the Indian sub-continent.
MarathaThe Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s under Shivaji directly challenged the foreign rule of the Bijapur Sultanate and ultimately the mighty
Mughal empireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. Once the Bijapur Sultanate stopped being a threat to the
Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
, Marathas became much more aggressive and began to frequently raid Mughal territory. The
MarathaThe Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s had conquered some part of central and western India by Shivaji Maharaj's death in 1680. After Shivaji,
SambhajiSambhaji Raje Bhosle was the eldest son and successor to Emporer Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire.- Early life :...
defended the Maratha empire from the Mughal onslaught led by Aurangzeb. Sambhaji didn't let Aurangzeb gain a single major victory before he was deceitfully captured and executed. Thereafter,
PeshwaA Peshwa is the titular equivalent of a modern Prime Minister. Emporer Shivaji created the Peshwa designation in order to more effectively delegate administrative duties during the growth of the Maratha Empire. Prior to 1749, Peshwas held office for 8-9 years and controlled the Maratha army...
s began commanding Maratha armies. After 1707, the Marathas acquired the right to levy tribute in southern India. After the death of Chhatrapati Shahu, the Peshwas became the
de facto leaders of the Empire from 1749 to 1761, while Shivaji's successors continued as nominal rulers from their base in
SataraSatara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna and its tributary river Venna. The city was the capital of the Maratha empire in the 17th century, hence one of the the historical cities of...
. The Marathas kept the British at bay during the 18th century. By 1760, with the defeat of the Nizam in the Deccan, Maratha power had reached its zenith. However, dissension between the Peshwa and their
sardarSardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
s (army commanders) saw a gradual downfall of the Empire leading to its eventual annexation by the British East India Company in 1818 after the three
Anglo-Maratha warsThe Anglo-Maratha Wars were three wars fought in India between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company:* First Anglo-Maratha War * Second Anglo-Maratha War...
.
A few years later the
AurangzebAbul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
's viceroy in Ahmednagar, Nizam-ul-Mulk, established the seat of an independent government at
Hyderabad-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
in 1724.
Mysore was ruled by
Hyder AliHyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
. During the contests for power which ensued from about the middle of the 18th century between the powers on the plateau, the
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and
BritishGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
took opposite sides. After a brief course of triumph, the interests of
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
declined, and a new empire in India was established by the British.
Mysore formed one of their earliest conquests in the Deccan. Tanjore and the Carnatic were shortly after annexed to their dominions, followed by the Peshwa territories in 1818.
In British India, the plateau was largely divided between the presidencies of
BombayThe Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...
and
MadrasThe Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. The two largest native states at that time were
Hyderabad State-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
and
Mysore StateThe Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
; many smaller states existed at the time, including
Kolhapur, Sawantwari,
TravancoreKingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, and Cochin.
After independence in 1947, almost all native states were incorporated into the Republic of India. Hyderabad refused to join, and was annexed by the Indian Army in
Operation PoloOperation Polo code name for The Hyderabad Police Action was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces engaged those of the State of Hyderabad and ended the rule of Nizam, annexing the state into the Indian Union....
in 1948. In 1956, the
States Reorganisation ActThe States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...
reorganized states along linguistic lines, leading to the states currently found on the plateau.
See also
- Geography of India
The geography of India describes the physical features of India, a country in South Asia, that lies entirely on the Indian Plate in the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. The country lies to the north of the equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east...
- South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
- Mysore Plateau
Karnataka Plateau, plateau in Karnataka state, southern India. The name of the plateau is derived from Karnad . The plateau has an area of about 73,000 square miles and an average elevation of about 2,600 feet . It consists of the Dharwar system of volcanic rocks, crystalline schists, and granites...
- Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
- Kakatiya
The Kakatiya dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled most parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 CE to 1323 CE, with Orugallu , now Warangal , as its capital. Orugallu is also called 'Eka Sila Nagaram'...
empire
- ayaluseemae]
External links