Sriranga III
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Sriranga III(1642-1652 CE), was the last ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, who came to power in 1642 following the death of his uncle Venkata III. He was also a great grandson of Aliya Rama Raya.
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[edit] Early Rebellions
Before his accession to the throne, Sriranga III was in rebellion against his uncle Venkata III. He sought help from the Bijapur Sultan and attacked Venkata III in Chandragiri – Vellore in 1638. Another invasion of these two in 1642 was defeated by Venkata III’s army, who were also facing Golkonda armies near Madras. Under this troublesome circumstances Venkata III passed away, and Sriranga III who was with the Bijapur army deserted them and returned to Vellore and made himself the King of Vijayanagara.
[edit] Reign
Many of his nobles like the Nayak of Gingee and Darmala Venkatapati,the chieftain of Madras had a dislike for him for his mischief in rebelling against the former King. Squabbles among the Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda helped Sriranga III for a while. In 1644 the Golkonda appeared with a vast army and defeated by Sriranga III.
Sriranga III now feeling strong enough to demand money from the Southern Nayaks, marched South. Another Golkonda campaign nearing his capital was defeated back with help from the Dutch in Pulicat.
[edit] Combined Muslim Forces
In 1645 the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan instructed all his Deccan Sultans to wage a war against the southern Hindu Kingdom and capture territories. The combined forces marched south with a vast army and Sriranga III now in the southern campaign had to revert back to Vellore.
Now his appeal for help from the Nayaks of South fell on deaf ears and Sriranga had to battle alone and he met with some success. Now the advance of the Muslim forces caution the Nayaks of Gingee, Tanjore and Madurai.
[edit] Battle of Virichipuram
In 1946 Sriranga III collected a large army with help from Mysore, Gingee and Tanjore and met the Mughal forces.
The Muslim forces were losing, but later advanced, when consolidated by additional armies from Deccan .The war went on till 1652 during .In 1649 Thirumalai Nayak sent his forces supporting the Bijapur ruler, but all upon converging at the Gingee Fort, the Madurai forces created a chaos and took sides with the Gingee army, when the Bijapur and Golkonda entered into their agreements. This led to the banishment of Gingee Nayak rule in 1649.
By 1652, Sriranga III was left with only Vellore Fort, which was finally seized by the Golkonda forces. By now he had only the support of Mysore Ruler, while Tanjore submitted to the Muslim Forces and the Madurai Nayak ended up paying huge sums to Muslim Forces, but all three retaining their Kingdom.
[edit] Last Years
Sriranga III spent his last years under support of ,one of his vassal chieftains Sivvappa Nayak of Ikkeri,and was still hoping to retrieve Vellore from the Muslim Forces.Thirumalai Nayak's treachery to Sriranga III,made the Mysore Ruler Kanthirava Narasa wage a series of ravaging wars with Madurai, later capturing the territories of Coimbatore,Salem regions which was retained by Mysore till 1800.
[edit] Death
The Mysore ruler Kanthirava Narasa still recognised the King as a namesake emperor. Sriranga Raya III died in late 1670s as an emperor without and Empire putting an end to over 3 centuries of Vijaynagar Rule in India.
[edit] Reference
- Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; ISBN 0-19-564399-2.
- Sathianathaier, R. History of the Nayaks of Madura [microform] by R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the University, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar ([Madras] : Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ([London] : H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819.
- K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002) ISBN 019560686-8.
