Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India. The conflicts involved numerous nominally independent rulers and their vassals, struggles for succession and territory, included a diplomatic and military struggle between the French East India Company and the British East India Company, they were fought on the territories in India which were dominated by the Nizam of Hyderabad up to the Godavari delta. As a result of these military contests, the British East India Company established its dominance among the European trading companies within India; the French company was pushed to a corner and was confined to Pondichéry. The East India Company's dominance led to control by the British Company over most of India and to the establishment of the British Raj. In the 18th century, the coastal Carnatic region was a dependency of Hyderabad. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1746 and 1763; the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707. He was succeeded by Bahadur Shah I, but there was a general decline in central control over the empire during the tenure of Jahandar Shah and emperors.
Nizam-ul-Mulk established Hyderabad as an independent kingdom. A power struggle ensued after his death between his son, Nasir Jung, his grandson, Muzaffar Jung, the opportunity France and England needed to interfere in Indian politics. France aided Muzaffar Jung. Several erstwhile Mughal territories were autonomous such as the Carnatic, ruled by Nawab Dost Ali Khan, despite being under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad. French and English interference included those of the affairs of the Nawab. Dost Ali's death sparked a power struggle between his son-in-law Chanda Sahib, supported by the French, Muhammad Ali, supported by the English. One major instigator of the Carnatic Wars was the Frenchman Joseph François Dupleix, who arrived in India in 1715, rising to become the French East India Company's governor in 1742. Dupleix sought to expand French influence in India, limited to a few trading outposts, the chief one being Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast. Upon his arrival in India, he organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time, engaged in intrigues with local rulers to expand French influence.
However, he was met by the challenging and determined young officer from the British Army, Robert Clive. "The Austrian War of Succession in 1740 and the war in 1756 automatically led to a conflict in India...and British reverses during the American War of Independence in the 1770s had an impact on events in India." In 1740 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe. Great Britain was drawn into the war in 1744, opposed to its allies; the trading companies of both countries maintained cordial relations in India while their parent countries were bitter enemies on the European continent. Dodwell writes, "Such were the friendly relations between the English and the French that the French sent their goods and merchandise from Pondicherry to Madras for safe custody." Although French company officials were ordered to avoid conflict, British officials were not, were furthermore notified that a Royal Navy fleet was en route. After the British captured a few French merchant ships, the French called for backup from as far afield as Isle de France, beginning an escalation in naval forces in the area.
In July 1746 French commander La Bourdonnais and British Admiral Edward Peyton fought an indecisive action off Negapatam, after which the British fleet withdrew to Bengal. On 21 September 1746, the French captured the British outpost at Madras. La Bourdonnais had promised to return Madras to the English, but Dupleix withdrew that promise, one to give Madras to Anwar-ud-din after the capture; the Nawab sent a 10,000-man army to take Madras from the French but was decisively repulsed by a small French force in the Battle of Adyar. The French made several attempts to capture the British Fort St. David at Cuddalore, but the timely arrivals of reinforcements halted these and turned the tables on the French. British Admiral Edward Boscawen besieged Pondicherry in the months of 1748, but lifted the siege with the advent of the monsoon rains in October. With the termination of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe, the First Carnatic War came to an end. In the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Madras was given back to the British in exchange for the French fortress of Louisbourg in North America, which the British had captured.
The war was principally notable in India as the first military experience of Robert Clive, taken prisoner at Madras but managed to escape, who participated in the defence of Cuddalore and the siege of Pondicherry. Though a state of war did not exist in Europe, the proxy war continued in India. On one side was Nasir Jung, the Nizam and his protege Muhammad Ali, supported by the English, on the other was Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung, supported by the French, vying to become the Nawab of Arcot. Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib were able to capture Arcot while Nasir Jung's subsequent death allowed Muzaffar Jung to take control of Hyderabad. Muzaffar's reign was short as he was soon killed, Salabat Jung became Nizam. In 1751, Robert Clive led British troops to capture Arcot, defend it; the war ended with the Treaty of Pondicherry, signed in 1754, which recognised Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah as the Nawab of the Carnatic. Charles Godeheu replaced Dupleix; the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in Europe in 1756 resulted in renewed conflict between French and British forces in India.
The Third Carnatic War
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, a four-star general. Two officers have been conferred with the rank of field marshal, a five-star rank, a ceremonial position of great honour; the Indian Army originated from the armies of the East India Company, which became the British Indian Army, the armies of the princely states, which became the national army after independence. The units and regiments of the Indian Army have diverse histories and have participated in a number of battles and campaigns across the world, earning a large number of battle and theatre honours before and after Independence; the primary mission of the Indian Army is to ensure national security and national unity, defending the nation from external aggression and internal threats, maintaining peace and security within its borders. It conducts humanitarian rescue operations during natural calamities and other disturbances, like Operation Surya Hope, can be requisitioned by the government to cope with internal threats.
It is a major component of national power alongside the Indian Air Force. The army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring one with China. Other major operations undertaken by the army include: Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus. Apart from conflicts, the army has conducted large peace time exercises like Operation Brasstacks and Exercise Shoorveer, it has been an active participant in numerous United Nations peacekeeping missions including those in: Cyprus, Congo, Cambodia, Namibia, El Salvador, Mozambique, South Sudan and Somalia; the Indian Army has a regimental system, but is operationally and geographically divided into seven commands, with the basic field formation being a division. It comprises more than 80 % of the country's active defence personnel, it is the 2nd largest standing army in the world, with 1,237,117 active troops and 960,000 reserve troops. The army has embarked on an infantry modernisation program known as Futuristic Infantry Soldier As a System, is upgrading and acquiring new assets for its armoured and aviation branches.
A Military Department was created within the Government of the East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776. Its main function was to sift and record orders relating to the Army that were issued by various Departments of the East India Company for the territories under its control. With the Charter Act of 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four Departments, including a Military Department; the army in the Presidencies of Bengal and Madras functioned as respective Presidency Armies until 1 April 1895 when they were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands at that point, namely Punjab, Bengal and Bombay; the British Indian Army was a critical force for the primacy of the British Empire both in India and across the world. Besides maintaining the internal security of the British Raj, the Army fought in many other theatres: the Anglo-Burmese Wars and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars, First and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars and Second Opium Wars in China and the Boxer Rebellion in China.
In the 20th century, the Indian Army was a crucial adjunct to the British forces in both world wars. 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War I with the Allies, in which 74,187 Indian troops were killed or missing in action. In 1915 there was a mutiny by Indian soldiers in Singapore; the United Kingdom made promises of self-governance to the Indian National Congress in return for its support but reneged on them after the war, following which the Indian Independence movement gained strength. The "Indianisation" of the British Indian Army began with the formation of the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College at Dehradun in March 1912 with the purpose of providing education to the scions of aristocratic and well-to-do Indian families, to prepare selected Indian boys for admission into the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Indian officers were given a King's commission after passing out and were posted to one of the eight units selected for Indianisation; because of the slow pace of Indianisation, with just 69 officers being commissioned between 1918 and 1932, political pressure was applied leading to the formation of the Indian Military Academy in 1932 and greater numbers of officers of Indian origin being commissioned.
In World War II Indian soldiers fought alongside the Allies. In 1939, British officials had no plan for expansion and training of Indian forces, which comprised about 130,000 men, their mission was internal security and defence against a possible Soviet threat through Afghanistan. As the war progressed, the size and role of the Indian Army expanded and troops were sent to battlefronts as soon as possible; the most serious problem was lack of equipment. Indian units served in Burma, where in 1944–45, five Indian divisions were engaged along with one British and three African divisions. Larger numbers operated in the Middle East; some 87,000 Indian soldiers died in the war. By the end of the war it had become the largest volunteer army in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in August 1945. In the African and Middle-Eastern Campaigns, captured Indian troops were given a choice to join the German Army to "liberate" India from Great
Mughal emperors
The Mughal Emperors, from the early 16th century to the mid 19th century and ruled the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Mughals were a branch of the Timurid dynasty of Turco-Mongol origin from Central Asia, their power dwindled during the 18th century and the last emperor was deposed in 1857, with the establishment of the British Raj. Mughal emperors were of direct descent from Timur, affiliated with Genghis Khan, because of Tamerlane’s marriage with a Genghisid princess; the Mughals had significant Indian Rajput and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances, as emperors were born to Rajput and Persian princesses. Only the first two Mughal emperors and Humayun, were Central Asian, whereas Akbar was half-Persian, Jahangir was half-Rajput and quarter-Persian, Shah Jahan was three-quarters Rajput. During Aurangzeb's Islamic sharia based government, the empire, as the world's largest economy, worth over 25% of world GDP, controlled all of the Indian subcontinent, extending from Chittagong in the east to Kabul and Baluchistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri River basin in the south.
Its population at the time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 4 million square kilometres. It was the largest empire, centralized around India; the Mughal Empire was founded by Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur, a Timurid prince and ruler from Central Asia. Babur was a direct descendant to the Timurid Emperor Tamerlane on his father's side and had links to Chagatai, the second son of the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan, on his mother’s side. Ousted from his ancestral domains in Turkistan by Sheybani Khan, the 14-year old Prince Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions, he established himself in Kabul and pushed southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass. Babur's forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526; the preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India. The instability of the empire became evident under his son, driven out of India and into Persia by rebels.
Humayun's exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, led to increasing West Asian cultural influence in the Mughal court. The restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayun’s triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from an accident shortly afterwards. Humayun's son, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped consolidate the Mughal Empire in India. Through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions, controlled the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river, he created a new class of nobility loyal to him from the military aristocracy of India's social groups, implemented a modern government and supported cultural developments. At the same time Akbar intensified trade with European trading companies; the Indian historian Abraham Eraly wrote that foreigners were impressed by the fabulous wealth of the Mughal court, but the glittering court hid darker realities, namely that about a quarter of the empire's gross national product was owned by 655 families while the bulk of India's 120 million people lived in appalling poverty.
After suffering what appears to have been an epileptic seizure in 1578 while hunting tigers, which he regarded as a religious experience, Akbar grew disenchanted with Islam, came to embrace a syncretistic mixture of Hinduism and Islam. Akbar allowed free expression of religion and attempted to resolve socio-political and cultural differences in his empire by establishing a new religion, Din-i-Ilahi, with strong characteristics of a ruler cult, he left his successors an internally stable state, in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge. Akbar's son, ruled the empire at its peak, but he was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, came under the influence of rival court cliques. During the reign of Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan, the culture and splendour of the luxurious Mughal court reached its zenith as exemplified by the Taj Mahal; the maintenance of the court, at this time, began to cost more than the revenue. Shah Jahan's eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658, as a result of his father's illness.
However, a younger son, allied with the Islamic orthodoxy against his brother, who championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim religion and culture, ascended to the throne. Aurangzeb had him executed. Although Shah Jahan recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and had him imprisoned. During Aurangzeb's reign, the empire gained political strength once more, it became the world's largest economy, over a quarter of the world GDP, but his establishment of Sharia caused huge controversies. Aurangzeb expanded the empire to include the whole of South Asia, but at his death in 1707, many parts of the empire were in open revolt. Aurangzeb's attempts to reconquer his family's ancestral lands in Central Asia were not successful while his successful conquest of the Deccan region proved to be a Pyrrhic victory that cost the empire in both blood and treasure. A further problem for Aurangzeb was the army had always been based upon the land-owning aristocracy of northern India who provided the cavalry for the c
Rajput
Rajput is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not all claims are universally accepted; the term "Rajput" acquired its present meaning only in the 16th century, although it is anachronistically used to describe the earlier lineages that emerged in northern India from 6th century onwards. In the 11th century, the term "rajaputra" appeared as a non-hereditary designation for royal officials; the Rajputs emerged as a social class comprising people from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the membership of this class became hereditary, although new claims to Rajput status continued to be made in the centuries. Several Rajput-ruled kingdoms played a significant role in many regions of central and northern India until the 20th century.
The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found in north, west and east India. These areas include Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. In Pakistan they are found on the eastern parts of the country, Punjab and Dera Ismail Khan in K. P.. The origin of the Rajputs has been a much-debated topic among the historians. Colonial-era writers characterised them as descendants of the foreign invaders such as the Scythians or the Hunas, believed that the Agnikula myth was invented to conceal their foreign origin. According to this theory, the Rajputs originated when these invaders were assimilated into the Kshatriya category during the 6th or 7th century, following the collapse of the Gupta Empire. While many of these colonial writers propagated this foreign-origin theory in order to legitimise the colonial rule, the theory was supported by some Indian scholars, such as D. R. Bhandarkar; the Indian nationalist historians, such as C. V. Vaidya, believed the Rajputs to be descendants of the ancient Vedic Aryan Kshatriyas.
A third group of historians, which includes Jai Narayan Asopa, theorized that the Rajputs were Brahmins who became rulers. However, recent research suggests that the Rajputs came from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds; the root word "rajaputra" first appears as a designation for royal officials in the 11th century Sanskrit inscriptions. According to some scholars, it was reserved for the immediate relatives of a king. Over time, the derivative term "Rajput" came to denote a hereditary political status, not very high: the term could denote a wide range of rank-holders, from an actual son of a king to the lowest-ranked landholder. Before the 15th century, the term "Rajput" was associated with people of mixed-caste origin, was therefore considered inferior in rank to "Kshatriya"; the term Rajput came to denote a social class, formed when the various tribal and nomadic groups became landed aristocrats, transformed into the ruling class. These groups ranks; the early medieval literature suggests that this newly formed Rajput class comprised people from multiple castes.
Thus, the Rajput identity is not the result of a shared ancestry. Rather, it emerged when different social groups of medieval India sought to legitimize their newly acquired political power by claiming Kshatriya status; these groups started identifying as Rajput in different ways. Scholarly opinions differ on when the term Rajput acquired hereditary connotations and came to denote a clan-based community. Historian Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, based on his analysis of inscriptions, believed that by the 12th century, the term "rajaputra" was associated with fortified settlements, kin-based landholding, other features that became indicative of the Rajput status. According to Chattopadhyaya, the title acquired "an element of heredity" from c. 1300. A study by of 11th-14th century inscriptions from western and central India, by Michael B. Bednar, concludes that the designations such as "rajaputra", "thakkura" and "rauta" were not hereditary during this period. During its formative stages, the Rajput class was quite assimilative and absorbed people from a wide range of lineages.
However, by the late 16th century, it had become genealogically rigid, based on the ideas of blood purity. The membership of the Rajput class was now inherited rather than acquired through military achievements. A major factor behind this development was the consolidation of the Mughal Empire, whose rulers had great interest in genealogy; as the various Rajput chiefs became Mughal feduatories, they no longer engaged in major conflicts with each other. This decreased the possibility of achieving prestige through military action, made hereditary prestige more important; the word "Rajput" thus acquired its present-day meaning in the 16th century. During 16th and 17th centuries, the Rajput rulers and their bards sought to legitimize the Rajput socio-political status on the basis of descent and kinship, they fabricated genealogies linking the Rajput families to the ancient dynasties, associated them with myths of origins that established their Kshatriya status. This led to the emergence of what Indologist Dirk Kolff calls the "Rajput Great Tradition", which accepted only hereditary claims to the Rajput identity, fostered a notion of eliteness and exclusivity.
The legendary epic poem Prithvira
British Raj
The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. The rule is called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India; the region under British control was called British India or India in contemporaneous usage, included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, those ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British tutelage or paramountcy, called the princely states. The whole was informally called the Indian Empire; as India, it was a founding member of the League of Nations, a participating nation in the Summer Olympics in 1900, 1920, 1928, 1932, 1936, a founding member of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. This system of governance was instituted on 28 June 1858, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the rule of the British East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria, it lasted until 1947, when it was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.
At the inception of the Raj in 1858, Lower Burma was a part of British India. The British Raj extended over all present-day India and Bangladesh, except for small holdings by other European nations such as Goa and Pondicherry; this area is diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, the Thar Desert. In addition, at various times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland, Singapore. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948; the Trucial States of the Persian Gulf and the states under the Persian Gulf Residency were theoretically princely states as well as presidencies and provinces of British India until 1947 and used the rupee as their unit of currency. Among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798.
The kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861; the Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, but not part of British India. India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory: British India and the Native States. In its Interpretation Act 1889, the British Parliament adopted the following definitions in Section 18: The expression "British India" shall mean all territories and places within Her Majesty's dominions which are for the time being governed by Her Majesty through the Governor-General of India or through any governor or other officer subordinates to the Governor-General of India; the expression "India" shall mean British India together with any territories of any native prince or chief under the suzerainty of Her Majesty exercised through the Governor-General of India, or through any governor or other officer subordinates to the Governor-General of India.
In general, the term "British India" had been used to refer to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has been used to refer to the "British in India"; the terms "Indian Empire" and "Empire of India" were not used in legislation. The monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was used in Queen Victoria's Queen's Speeches and Prorogation Speeches; the passports issued by the British Indian government had the words "Indian Empire" on the cover and "Empire of India" on the inside. In addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. Suzerainty over 175 princely states, some of the largest and most important, was exercised by the central government of British India under the Viceroy. A clear distinction between "dominion" and "suzerainty" was supplied by the jurisdiction of the courts of law: the law of British India rested upon the laws passed by the British Parliament and the legislative powers those laws vested in the various governments of British India, both central and local.
At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor. During the partition of Bengal, the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, the new provinces in the east becam
Sipahi
Sipahi were two types of Ottoman cavalry corps, including the fief-holding provincial timarli sipahi, which constituted most of the army, the regular kapikulu sipahi, palace troops. Other types of cavalry which were not regarded sipahi were the irregular akıncı; the sipahi formed their own distinctive social classes, were notably in rivalry with the Janissaries, the elite corps of the Sultan. It was the title given to several cavalry units serving in the French and Italian colonial armies during the 19th and 20th centuries; the word is derived from Persian: translit. Sepāhī, meaning "soldier"; the term is transliterated as spahi and spahee. The Portuguese version is sipaio, but in Spanish it was adapted as cipayo; the word sepoy is derived from the same Persian word sepāhī. In Dhivehi Language the army's soldiers are referred to as "sifain"; the term refers to all freeborn Ottoman Turkish mounted troops other than akıncı and tribal horsemen in the Ottoman army. The word was used synonymously with cavalry.
The sipahis formed two distinct types of cavalry: feudal-like, provincial timarlı sipahi which consisted most of the Ottoman army, salaried, regular kapıkulu sipahi, which constituted the cavalry part of the Ottoman household troops. The provincial governors, or beys, were rotated every few years; the provinces, or sanjaks, were not all equal since Anatolia and the Balkans were ruled by Turks, while other areas of the empire were more flexible, somewhat, to local traditions. The entwinement of land, politics and religion was a way of life; the timar system, where the sultan owned all land but individual plots of land, came with residential rights. The Ottoman people had rights to the land but the sipahi, a unique kind of military aristocracy and cavalry portion of the military lived on the land with the farmers and collected tax revenues in-kind, to subsidize the costs of training and equipping the small army, dedicated to serving the sultan; the sipahi did not inherit anything, preventing power centres from growing and threatening the supreme power structure.
The locals on the timar used the land and all it produced. The "Timarli Sipahi" or "timariot" was the holder of a fief of land granted directly by the Ottoman sultan or with his official permission by beylerbeys, he was entitled to all of the income in return for military service. The peasants on the land were subsequently attached thereto. Timarli Sipahis' status resembled that of the knights of medieval Europe. Unlike medieval knights, they were not owners of their fiefs; the right to govern and collect taxes in a timar fief was given to a Timarli Sipahi by the Ottoman State. And in return, tımarli sipahis were responsible for security of the people in their timar and training cebelu soldiers for the army. A timar was the smallest unit of land held by a Sipahi, providing a yearly revenue of no more than 20,000 akçe, between two and four times what a teacher earned. A ziamet was a larger unit of land, yielding up to 100,000 akçe, was owned by Sipahis of officer rank. A has was the largest unit of land, giving revenues of more than 100,000 akçe, was only held by the highest-ranking members of the military.
A tîmâr Sipahi was obliged to provide the army with up to five armed retainers, a ziamet Sipahi with up to twenty, a has Sipahi with far more than twenty. The cebelu were expected to be mounted and equipped as the sipahi themselves; the sipahi were traditionally recruited among Turkic landowners, thus, the non-Turkic provinces such as Arabia and Maghreb did not have sipahi. Recruitment of non-Turkic sipahi was banned with a 1635 ferman. In contrast to the Janissaries, Timarli Sipahis from that time onwards were Turks. A rivalry between Jannisaries, who controlled the central bureaucracy of the empire and had a lot of political influence, sipahis, who controlled the provincial bureaucracy and had the power of the army, prevented them from cooperating against the House of Osman. Although timars were not granted to their holders until perpetuity, but by the end of the 17th century the estates were passed on from father to son. In wartime, Timarli sipahis and their retainers were gathered under their alay beys.
Alay-beys were gathered with their troops under sanjak beys, sanjak-beys gathered under beylerbeys. If a battle was to be fought in Europe, Rumeli Sipahis took the honorary right flank under the Rumeli beylerbey, while the Anatolian beylerbey and his Sipahis took the left flank; this way, the Ottoman classical army's flanks wholly consisted of Timariot cavalry, while the center consisted of Janissary infantry and artillery divisions. The equipment and tactics differed between the Balkan Timarli Sipahi; the Anatolian Sipahi were equipped and fought as classic horse archers, shooting while galloping, yet they weren't nomadic cavalry and their status was similar to medium cavalry class. Balkan Timarli Sipahis wore chainmail, rode bar
Puducherry
Puducherry known as Pondicherry, is a union territory in India. It was formed out of four exclaves of former French India, namely Pondichéry, Mahé and Yanam, it is named after Puducherry. Known as Pondicherry, the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 20 September 2006. Puducherry lies in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula; the areas of Puducherry district and Karaikal district are bound by the state of Tamil Nadu, while Yanam district and Mahé district are enclosed by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala respectively. Puducherry is the 29th most populous and the third most densely populated of the states and union territories of India, it ranks 25th in India. The earliest recorded history of the municipality of Puducherry can be traced to the 2nd century AD; the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions a marketplace named Poduke. G. W. B. Huntingford suggested this might be a site about 2 miles from the modern Puducherry, the location of Arikamedu. Huntingford noted that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937.
In addition, archaeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century CE" Subsequent investigation by Vimala Begley from 1989 to 1992 modified this assessment, now place the period of occupation from the 3rd or 2nd century BCE to the 8th century CE. to. In 1674, the municipality of Pondicherry became a French colony of the French colonial empire. Together with Chandernagor, Mahé, Yanam and Masulipatam, it formed the French colony of French India, under a single French governor in Pondicherry, although French rule over one or more of these enclaves was interrupted by British occupations; the territories of French India were transferred to the Republic of India de facto on 1 November 1954, de jure on 16 August 1962, when French India ceased to exist, becoming the present Indian constituent union territory of Pondicherry, still combining four coastal enclaves. The union territory of Puducherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Puducherry district, Karaikal district and Yanam district on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé district on the Arabian Sea, covering a total area of 483 km2.
Puducherry and Karaikal have the largest areas and population, are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Kerala, respectively, its population, as per the 2011 Census, is 1,244,464. Some of Puducherry's regions are themselves amalgamations of non-contiguous enclaves called pockets in India; the Puducherry region is made of 11 such pockets, some of which are small and surrounded by the territory of Tamil Nadu. Mahé region is made up of three pockets; this unusual geography is a legacy of the colonial period with Puducherry retaining the borders of former French India. All four regions of Puducherry are located in the coastal region. Five rivers in Puducherry district, seven in Karaikal district, two in Mahé district and one in Yanam district drain into the sea, but none originates within the territory. Puducherry district is an enclave of Tamil Nadu. Mahé district is an enclave of Kerala. Yanam district is an enclave of Andhra Pradesh. Karaikal district is an enclave of Tamil Nadu.
Hinduism is the major religion with 87.3% of the population adhering to it. Other religions include Islam. Puducherry is a Union Territory of India rather than a state, which implies that governance and administration falls directly under federal authority. However, Puducherry is one of only two union territories in India, entitled by a special constitutional amendment to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby conveying partial statehood; the Centre is represented by the Lieutenant Governor, who resides at the Raj Nivas at the Park, the former palace of the French governor. The central government is more directly involved in the territory's financial well-being unlike states, which have a central grant that they administer. Puducherry has at various times, enjoyed lower taxes in the indirect category. According to the Treaty of Cession of 1956, the four territories of former French India territorial administration are permitted to make laws with respect to specific matters.
In many cases, such legislation may require ratification from the federal government or the assent of the President of India. Article II of the Treaty states: “The Establishments will keep the benefit of the special administrative status, in force prior to 1 November 1954. Any constitutional changes in this status which may be made subsequently shall be made after ascertaining the wishes of the people.” French was the official language according to Article XXVIII of the "Traité de Cession" of 1956. According to the treaty, "the French language shall remain the official language of the Establishments so long as the elected representatives of the people shall not decide otherwise". Through the 1963 Union Territories Act, Tamil and Malayalam became official languages used region-wise. French did not lose its official status after the adoption of The Pondicherry Official Language Act 1965; this act
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