Delhi Gate (Vellore)

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The Delhi Gate Delhi gate - river side view.jpg
The Delhi Gate

Arcot Gate is part of the fortification of Arcot, a town which is located on the banks of Palar river in Ranipet district, Tamil Nadu, India. The gate was part of a fort built by Mughal governor, Daud Khan Panni, in the first half of the 18th century. It was the site of a memorable defense made by Robert Clive during the Siege of Arcot.

Contents

History

Historically, the region had been the site of number of battles. This prompted the construction of the fortress around Arcot. The area was captured by a Mughal Nawab of Karnataka from the Marathas caste.[ when? ][ who? ] Daud Khan Panni was made governor by Zulfikhar Ali Khan (Aurangzeb's general) in 1698.

In the year 1710, Mohammed Sayyid was the last mughal governor who was appointed as Nawab of Karnatic with the title Saadatullah Khan I [1] and moved his capital from Gingee to Arcot. [2] [ why? ]

The prolonged disputes between the different dynasties fighting for the control of Arcot led to the arrival of the British and the French.[ why? ] However the battle between British and French forces was only for control of south India. The capture and the defence of Arcot by handful of British troops and Sepoy under the command of Robert Clive against enormous forces was one of the most remarkable battles fought by the British. The siege lasted fifty days, ending 15 November 1751.

The Arcot Fort was part of the famous Battle of Arcot, which led to a British victory. One of the gates of the fort was renamed "Delhi Gate" to signify the beginning of the capture of Delhi. The entrance of the gate was constructed in the style of a Mughal arch. Over the gate is Robert Clives room. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

The old red brick town walls which were part of the original fortification of Arcot were destroyed by Tippu Sultan in 1783, but the foundations can be still seen. Today, the remains of the tombs of Saadatullah Khan I and Jama Masjid are the silent witnesses to that period.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Plassey</span> 1757 battle of the 7 Years War

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Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Singh I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Shah Bahadur</span> Mughal emperor from 1748 to 1754

Ahmad Shah Bahadur, also known as Mirza Ahmad Shah or Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi, was the fourteenth Mughal emperor, born to Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne in 1748, at the age of 22. When Ahmed Shah Bahadur came to power, the Mughal Empire started to decline. Furthermore, his administrative weakness eventually led to the rise of the usurping Imad-ul-Mulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gingee Fort</span> Fort in Tamil Nadu, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir Jafar</span> 18th-century Nawab of Bengal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnatic wars</span> 18th century wars between the French and the British

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gingee</span> Special Grade Town Panchayat in Tamil Nadu, India

Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the Sankaraparani River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maruthanayagam Pillai</span> Indian military leader

Muhammad Yusuf Khan was a commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army. He was born in a Tamil Vellalar clan family in a village called Panaiyur in British India, what is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, India. He converted to Islam and was named Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He was popularly known as Khan Sahib when he became a ruler of Madurai. He became a warrior in the Arcot troops, and later a commandant for the British East India Company troops. The British and the Arcot Nawab employed him to suppress the Polygar uprising in South India. Later he was entrusted to administer the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayak rule ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnatic Sultanate</span> State in southern India from 1692 to 1855

The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Their rule is an important period in the history of the Carnatic and Coromandel Coast regions, in which the Mughal Empire gave way to the rising influence of the Maratha Empire, and later the emergence of the British Raj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah</span> Nawab of Carnatic and Arcort

Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah, was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanda Sahib</span>

Chanda Sahib was a subject of the Mughal Empire and the Nawab of the Carnatic between 1749 and 1752. Initially he was supported by the French during the Carnatic Wars. After his defeat at Arcot in 1751, he was captured by the Marathas of Thanjavur and executed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung</span> Military general and noble of the Mughal Empire

Muhammad Ismail, known by his title Zulfiqar Khan, was a leading noble and military general of the Mughal empire. His father was Asad Khan, wazir to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During Aurangzeb's reign, Zulfiqar Khan led several military campaigns in pursuit of the emperor's ambitions in the Deccan and South India, notable of which is the Siege of Jinji. He held the post of mir bakhshi, appointed towards the later part of Aurangzeb's reign, and was made governor of the Deccan by emperor Bahadur Shah I. These positions helped make Zulfiqar Khan the most powerful noble in the empire by the early 1700s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daud Khan Panni</span>

Daud Khan Panni or simply Daud Khan, was an Afghan nobleman and military commander of the Mughal Empire. Historians Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam characterise him as an important figure of Mughal history spanning the later years of emperor Aurangzeb, to the early rule of Farrukhsiyar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saadatullah Khan I</span> Nawab of Carnatic from 1710 to 1732

Sa'adatullah Khan I or Sa'adatullah Khan was Nawab of Carnatic (r.1710–1732) and founder of Nawayath dynasty. He was an adventurer from Konkan in Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore Fort</span> 16th-century fort in India

Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by the Emperors of Vijayanagara. The fort was at one time the imperial capital of the Aravidu Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Arcot</span>

The siege of Arcot took place at Arcot, India between forces of the British East India Company led by Robert Clive allied with Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah and forces of Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, allied with the French East India Company. It was part of the Second Carnatic War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Trichinopoly (1743)</span> 1743 siege and capture of Trichinopoly by Nizam of Hyderabad

The siege of Trichinopoly was part of an extended series of conflicts between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Empire for control of the Carnatic region. On 29 August 1743, after a six-month siege, Murari Rao surrendered, giving Nizam ul Mulk (Nizam) the suzerainty of Trichinopoly. By the end of 1743, the Nizam had regained full control of Deccan. This stopped the Maratha interference in the region and ended their hegemony over the Carnatic. The Nizam resolved the internal conflicts among the regional hereditary nobles (Nawabs) for the seat of governor (Subedar) of Arcot State, and monitored the activities of the British East India company and French East India Company by limiting their access to ports and trading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Jinji</span>

The siege of Jinji,, began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured by Maratha Empire troops led by Rajaram, they had also ambushed and killed about 300 Mughal Sowars in the Carnatic. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb then ordered Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I to protect the supply routes leading to Jinji Fort and to support and provide reinforcements to Zulfiqar Ali Khan when needed.

Events in the year 1707 in India.

References

  1. Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813 By Jaswant Lal Mehta. Sterling Publishers. January 2005. ISBN   9781932705546.
  2. Madras, Chennai: A 400-year Record of the First City of Modern India, Volume 1. Palaniappa Brothers. 2008. ISBN   9788183794688.
  3. "Expo at fort brings alive relics of past". Indian Express . 20 August 2013.
  4. "'Arcot' – The Reason We Speak English". Whostory.wordpress.com.
  5. "Delhi Gate Arcot Vellore". Focloc.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  6. "Robert Clive, 'Clive of India', wins the battle that is said to have begun British rule in India". Britishbattles.com.
  7. "The Delhi Gate: Arcot Vellore". Team BHP.com.