Siddhi Military Architecture of the African Diaspora in India-

Comparative and technical aspects

Dr Uday Dokras.PhD Stockholm,SWEDEN

Srishti Dokras Architect
Prof. Dr. Ms Laurence Buzenot, Docteure en Géographie, Géographer
With more than 100 unique illustrations ( Maps at article end)

INTRODUCTION Forts and Its Features

Famous for its architecture, painting, language, and literature numerous
structures were constructed in different architectural styles in India. First were
the forts, palaces, and gateways which were constructed for safety
and protection.  The second were temples, mosques, gardens, etc. for purpose of
divine proximity The structures were of two kinds.
Introduction to Forts
India is considered as a land of the forts. There had been many leaders in India
who were brave and skilful military commanders. They had constructed many
castles or forts showing high level of engineering and architecture.
Feature of Forts
Forts of India are famous for their style, design, and material used like granite or
red sandstone. This style of architecture is known as the Corbelled style. The
important feature of architecture was the use of the arch, the dome, and the
minaret. To decorate the buildings, geometrical designs, flowers and Arabic
calligraphy.

Janjira to LEFT—RSTV. Showing location in Maharashtra State, India

1. Building Materials
The materials used for constructing forts differ from fort to fort and region to
region. Stone was extensively used and gypsum was used for plastering
buildings. Lime plaster was reserved for places that need to be secured against
water leakage in roofs, canals, and drains.
2. Walls
The walls of the forts were very thick and were made to look higher from the
outside than the inside. A wall could be an earthen rampart faced with stone on
both sides.  They were used Lime mortar as a binding material for construction.
The walls were decorated and their height was 36m -40m and width - 21m- 25m.

3. Gate
Fort gates forts were much decorated, often tall and wide. The length of the gate
was app 25 ft and width 13 ft. The gate of the fort had steel spikes to protect it
from elephants. Basically these gates had a smaller small gate inbuilt in them for
passage of the normal activity. The large gate was opened for the King

4. Burj (Bastion) & Hidden Door of the Janjira RIGHT ABOVE

A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of

a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners
of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks,
with fire from the flanks being able to protect the curtain wall and the adjacent
bastions. The shape of the bastion is semi-circular. It consists of three stories
which having solid blocks of granite firmly cemented together or may be bound
with iron clamps.  The Weight of blocks was in the tons. There were some guns
on the bastion which were used for defense purpose.
5. Gardens
Gardens in forts were beautiful creations. Large Gardens with water fountains
and canals in north India were laid by many rulers. These gardens were placed
within rectangular wall enclosure and divided into four quarters by artificial
channels.
6. Palace
Spread over a vast land of more than 45 acres, Siddi Palace, also known as
Nawab Palace. With a distinct architectural style representing a mix of Gothic
as well as Mughal approaches, the Siddi Palace is one of a kind. It is still
owned by the descendants of the Nawab of Janjira. Inside the forts, there were
palacel which were beautifully decorated with relief carving, floral inlay work with
precious and semi-precious stones, and calligraphy. The royal palace was built
for the emperor and their families.

Sheesh Mahal, Moti Mahal are some examples of palaces. In Janjira there is also
a palace for the residence of the higher Ups.
7. Water Supply
Numbers of Baolis were built during the medieval times. Baolis are step-wells to
obtain underground water. It was an intelligent and durable technique for
obtaining water. Baolis had a unique and beautiful architectural style with
impressive appearances. Earthen pipes were used for water supply. These pipes
would have been used to carry water to different places in the palace. Internal
Ponds, wells, small lakes are also present.

8. Worship places
In forts, there were places of worship. In Mughal forts there were mosques and in
Hindu forts there were temples. Temples have marble halls, pillars, carved
ceiling, and roof. The architectural wonder of the medieval period was built to
showcase power and wealth.
Who Designs Forts?
The rulers design Forts and play a major part in seeing that their ideas are put
into reality.Therefore if one takes the modern day example of DUBAI. See our
paper-The Client as the Final Arbiter of Architectural Creations. Here in Dubai
all structures are personally approved by the Sheikh and his team. Same as in
Forts. Therefore, when the nazir of Ahmednagar wanted a Fort built that was
impregnable he had in mind a Sea Fort and he gave this task to Malik Ambar,
The Siddhi (or of African descent ) to carry out his VISION.
The western Indian state of Maharashtra is home to over 350
majestic forts, and some of them have been strategically built in the midst of
the Arabian Sea, referred to as 'Sea Forts. The fort lies on a rocky island just
off the coast of Malvan which is accessible by a boat from mainland. The
district is named after the fort of Sindhudurg which means 'Fort in the Sea'.
A sea fort is (in its classic form) a fort completely surrounded by water by
virtue of being off a coast. It may be a fortified island, built on a large part of an
island or a tidal island, a construction built on the sea bed, or consist of steel
towers erected on the seabed. The builders have sought to command a sea lane
or block a potential landing place. Being surrounded by water impedes a land
attack.
Murud is a Konkani word, which probably refers to the Shahi of Ahmednagar,
who wanted this fort to be one of his strongholds. Janjira is a colloquial and a
more localized form of the Arabic word Jazeera that means island.Example is
the Omani TV chanel Al Jazeera.

Murud Janjira fort was attacked by the Marathas, some say 30 times, the
British, and the Portuguese, yet remained unconquered. The Siddis were so
powerful here that they established their own sultanate of Janjira here.

       
  Maratha Ruler Sambhaji attempted to unsuccessfully storn Janjira     

Janjira State was a princely state in India during the British Raj. Its rulers

were a Sidi dynasty of Habesha descent  and the state was under the
suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency.
Janjira State was located on the Konkan coast in the present-day Raigad
district of Maharashtra. The state included the towns
of Murud and Shrivardhan, as well as the fortified island of Murud-Janjira,
just off the coastal village of Murud, which was the capital and the residence of
the rulers. The state had an area of 839 km2, not counting Jafrabad, and a
population of 110,389 inhabitants in 1931.
Jafrabad, or Jafarabad state was a dependency of the Nawab of Janjira State
located 320 km to the NNW.
 Map of the Kingdom of Janjira from 1896

The Legends of Janjira Fort: Standing tall and proud, forts and palaces of
India are the living legends that stand testimony to a bygone era of indulgence,
elegance and romance.

Built sometimes as a mark of victory and at other times as a defense

mechanism and yet some times for sheer extravagance and pomp; forts and
palaces in India have been the prime jewels of the country’s history. In the race
of heritage forts and palaces, Maharashtra State (of Today) on West Coar of
India unarguably dominates over any other state such was the penchant of
Maratha warrior princes with spectacular, grandiose and elegant structures.
Steeped in history dictated by lore of countless battles that tell us the story of
valor, romance, chivalry and also tragedies that befell this region, the forts are
truly the living legends of North India.

There is another legend to all forts- the story of the fort itself. In view of the
lack of written records, people living in or around these forts tell stories of
grandiose of bravery – not necessarily true.
The Murud Janjira is One of the strongest marine forts in India, the Murud
Janjira is an oval shaped structure near the port town of Murud. Now in ruins,
the magnificent fort still has 19 bastions left around. Being built in the 15th
century by a Maratha fisherman to protect his people from pirates.

During its construction days, the Murud-Janjira fort was equipped with all
the necessary facilities like mosques, quarters for officers and natural fresh
water lakes. The design of  the fort was also kept unique as the gates are
embedded with Ashok Chakras.
Legend 1. Ram Rao Patil or Itbarrao was an Admiral of the Ahmadnagar
Navy and king of Kolis and Janjira. He built and fortified the Janjira Island. He
is credited with building the Janjira with permission of Sultan. But later he
refused to obey the orders of the Sultan. In 1489, The Ahmadnagar was
attacked and sacked and the new ruler appointed his new admiral called Piram
Khan and ordered to capture Janjira from Ram Rao Patil as Ram Rao Patil was
acting like a King on his own in the Janjira Fort.
Legend 2. Piram Khan marched from Surat but would not dare to attack
at Patil as Janjira was difficult to capture. So made plans to enter in to janjira.
Piram Khan and his Afro descent team members of Muslim Siddi mercenaries
disguised as merchants and requested to the Patil for keep their three hundred
large boxes containing silk and wine at island safe, and the request was
granted. After that, Piram Khan thanked him and gave a him alcohol (wine).
When all of the soldiers and Ram Rao Patil were drunk, he attacked at Janjira
and captured it. In the century that followed, the rulers put themselves under
the overlordship of the Sultanate of Bijapur. During the seventeenth and
eighteenth century Janjira successfully resisted the repeated attacks of
the Maratha Empire.
Legend 3. The Architect of Janjira – The Malik of Deccan
Solid Rock Fortress built by Malik Ambar the Malik (owner) of Deccan.:
According to the third legend, The origin of this majestic fort can be traced
down to the fifteenth century when some local fishermen of Rajapuri
constructed a small wooden fort on a huge rock to protect themselves and their
families from the pirates. However, the Nizam Shahi Sultan of Ahmednagar
wanted to capture the fort purely for strategic reasons, and when his general
Piram Khan captured it. Malik Ambar- his spokesperson who was also an
Abyssinian regent of Siddi origin- decided to construct a solid rock fortress in
place of the original wooden garrison. This fort was originally called Jazeera
Mahroob Jazeera.

In Hinduism, Siddhis (Sanskrit: सिद्धि siddhi; fulfillment, accomplishment) are

material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and
attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās
such as meditation and yoga. The first Siddis are thought to have arrived
in India in 628 AD at the Bharuch port. Several others followed with the
first Arab Islamic conquest of the subcontinent in 712 AD.[18] The latter group
are believed to have been soldiers with Muhammad bin Qasim's Arab army,
and were called Zanjis.
Some Siddis escaped slavery to establish communities in forested areas, and
some also established the small Siddi principalities of Janjira State on Janjira
Island and Jafarabad State in Kathiawar as early as the twelfth century. A
former alternative name of Janjira was Habshan (i.e., land of the Habshis). In
the Delhi Sultanate period prior to the rise of the Mughals in India, Jamal-ud-
Din Yaqut was a prominent former Siddi slave who was appointed by Razia
Sultana (1235–1240 CE) as master of the royal stables. It is speculated that he
may also have been her lover, but the contemporary sources provide no
evidence of this.
Siddis were also brought as slaves by the Deccan Sultanates. Several former
slaves rose to high ranks in the military and administration, the most
prominent of which was Malik Ambar.
Later, the Siddi population was increased by Bantu peoples from Southeast
Africa who were brought to the Indian subcontinent as slaves by
the Portuguese. Most of these migrants were or else became Muslims, while a
small minority became Hindu. The Nizam of Hyderabad also employed African-
origin guards and soldiers.
Harris (1971) provides a historical survey of the eastward dispersal of slaves
from Southeast Africa to places like India. Hamilton (1990) argues that Siddis
in South India are a significant social group whose histories, experiences,
cultures, and expressions are integral to the African Diaspora and thus, help
better understand the dynamics of dispersed peoples. More recent focused
scholarship argues that although Siddis are numerically a minority, their
historic presence in India for over five hundred years, as well as their self-
perception, and how the broader Indian society relates to them, make them a
distinct Bantu/Indian. Historically, Siddis have not existed only within binary
relations to the nation state and imperial forces. They did not simply succumb
to the ideologies and structures of imperial forces, nor did they simply rebel
against imperial rule. The Siddi are recognized as a scheduled tribe in 3 states
and 1 union territory: Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Daman and Diu.
Flag of the Siddis from Murud-Janjira, an important vassal of the Mughal Empire.

Malik Ambar (1548 – 13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and prime

minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan region of India.
Born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, Malik was sold as a child
by his parents and brought to India as a slave. While in India he created a
mercenary force numbering up to 1500 men. It was based in the Deccan region
and was hired by local kings. Malik became a popular Prime Minister of
the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, showing administrative acumen. He is also
regarded as a pioneer in guerilla warfare in the region. He is credited with
carrying out a revenue settlement of much of the Deccan, which formed the
basis for subsequent settlements. He is a figure of veneration to
the Siddis of Gujarat. He humbled the might of the Mughals and Adil Shah of
Bijapur and raised the low status of the Nizam Shah.
Malik Ambar was born in 1548 as Chapu, a birth-name[ in Kabmbata,
Southern region of modern Ethiopia or Harar, Adal Sultanate. Mir Qasim Al
Baghdadi, one of his slave owners eventually converted Chapu to Islam and
gave him the name Ambar, after recognizing his superior intellectual qualities.
Ambar is believed to be Oromo descent while other sources claim he was from
the Maya tribe.
Between the 14th and 17th centuries, the Christian Ethiopian Empire (led by
the Solomonic dynasty) and adjacent Muslim states gathered much of their
slaves from non-Abrahamic communities inhabiting regions
like Kambata, Damot and Hadya, which were located on the southern flanks of
their territory. Malik Ambar was among the people who were converted to
Islam, and later dispatched abroad to serve as a warrior. [3] Both the Solomonic
dynasty and the Adal Sultanate were devastated after two decades of war with
each other. According to the Futuhat-i `Adil Shahi, Malik Ambar was sold into
slavery by his parents. He ended up in al-Mukha in Yemen, where he was sold
again for 20 ducats and was taken to the slave market in Baghdad, where he
was sold a third time to the Qadi al-Qudat of Mecca and again in Baghdad to
Mir Qasim al-Baghdadi, who eventually took him to Deccan Plateau. He was
described by the Dutch merchant Pieter van den Broecke as, "a black kafir
from Abyssinia with a stern Roman face.
Malik Ambar was then purchased by Chengiz Khan, a former Habshi slave who
served as the peshwa or chief minister of the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar. Once
his master died, Malik Ambar was freed by his master’s wife. He got married,
and after getting freed, Ambar briefly served the Sultan of Bijapur and gained
the title “Malik” during this time. But Ambar quit this service after citing
insufficient support before entering service in the Nizam Shahi Army.
Malik Ambar was the regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar from
1607 to 1627. During this period he increased the strength and power
of Murtaza Nizam Shah II and raised a large army. He raised a cavalry which
grew from 150 to 7000 in a short period of time and revitalized the
Ahmadnagar sultanate by appointing puppet sultans to repel Mughal attacks
from the North. By 1610, his army grew to include 10,000 Habshis and 40,000
Deccanis to counter the Mughal emperor Jahangir's attempts to take over the
kingdom.

Flag of Janjira to LEFT/ Portrait of the Nizam Shahs/ Malik Ambar

Malik Ambar changed the capital from Paranda to Junnar and founded a new
city, Khadki which was later on changed to Aurangabad by the
Emperor Aurangzeb when he invaded Deccan around 1658 to 1707.
Malik Ambar is said to be one of the proponents of guerrilla warfare in the
Deccan region. Malik Ambar assisted Shah Jahan wrestle power in Delhi from
his stepmother, Nur Jahan, who had ambitions of seating her son-in-law on
the throne. Malik Ambar had also restored some credibility to the Sultans of
Ahmadnagar, who had been subdued by the earlier Mughals (Akbar had
annexed Ahmadnagar).[ However, he was defeated later when Shah Jahan led a
massive army against the dwindling Ahmednagar. Later Malik Ambar offered
full control of Berar and Ahmadnagar to the Mughal as a sign of surrender.

Malik Ambar's Tomb 1860s Khuldabad

He died in 1626 at the age of 77. Malik Ambar had by his Siddi wife, Bibi
Karima two sons; Fateh Khan and Changiz Khan and two daughters. His tomb
lies in Khuldabad, near the shrine of the famous sufi saint Zar Zari Baksh.
Legacy: There are conflicting perspectives on Ambar's long-term impact in
Deccan, and its surrounding Indian states. Some credit the former slave with
creating a long-lasting legacy of Africans rising to power in the eastern regions
of the world, namely India.
Others agree more with historians like Richard Eaton. He cites Ambar's
military prowess as the reason he rose to such influence during his life, but
claims that a string of decisive defeats at the end of his career instigated
distrust and resentment amongst those in his close administration. All claim
Ambar's journey is an impressive story of success, and gave African's
representation in India for a short while, but also believe his lack of positive
leadership in the final years of his tenure prevented him from solidifying his
influence.
 Regardless of his posthumous impact on the Deccan, and Indian states
generally, it cannot be disputed Ambar was an avid supporter of education and
a patron of the arts. Historians Joseph E. Harris and Chand cite Ambar's
patron ship of the arts and learning as a shining achievement of his tenure as
Malik of Deccan.
Patron of Architecture: Malik Ambar cherished strong love and ability for
architecture. Aurangabad was Ambar's architectural achievement and creation.
Malik Ambar the founder of the city was always referred to by harsh names by
Sultan Jahangir. In his memoirs, he never mentions his name without
prefixing epithets like wretch, cursed fellow, Habshi, Ambar Siyari, black
Ambar, and Ambar Badakhtur. Some historians believe that those words came
out of frustration as Malik Ambar had resisted the powerful Mughals and kept
them away from Deccan."
Foundation of Aurangabad
He founded/inhabited the city of Khirki in 1610. After his death in 1626, the
name was changed to Fatehpur by his son and heir Fateh Khan. When
Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor invaded Deccan in the year 1653, he made
Fatehpur his capital and renamed it as Aurangabad. Since then it is known as
Aurangabad. Two imperial capitals Viz. ‘Pratisthana’ (Paithan) i.e. the capital
of Satavahanas (2nd BC to 3rd AD) and Devagiri – Daulatabad the capital of
Yadavas and Muhammad bin Tughluq are located within the limits
of Aurangabad District.
Aurangabad canal system
"Malik Ambar is especially famous for the Nahr or "Neher", the canal water
supply system of the city called Khadki now known as Aurangabad. Malik
Ambar completed the Neher within fifteen months, spending a nominal sum of
two and a half lakh Rupiyahs. This city is situated on the banks of Kham, a
small perennial stream which takes its rise in the neighbouring hills. The
Canal was an impressive engineering feat as it consisted of a 7 feet deep tunnel
large enough for a man to walk through. The Canal had 140 manholes and it
worked efficiently without the need for any maintenance or cleaning for 321
years until it finally needed cleaning in 1931.
Architecture and Art of the Siddhis: Under the reigns of successive rulers of
the dynasty, architecture and art flourished in the kingdom. The earliest extant
school of painting in the Deccan sultanates is from Ahmadnagar. Several
palaces, such as the Farah Bakhsh Bagh, the Hasht Bihisht Bagh, Lakkad
Mahal were built, as were tombs, mosques and other buildings. Many forts of
the Deccan, such as the fort of Junnar (later
renamed Shivneri), Paranda, Ausa, Dharur, Lohagad, etc. were greatly
improved under their reign. Daulatabad, which was their secondary capital,
was also heavily fortified and constructed in their reign. Literature was heavily
patronised in the kingdom, as seen through manuscripts such as the Tarif-i
Husain Shah Badshah-i Dakan. Sanskrit scholarship was also given a boost
under their rule, as demonstrated by the works of Sabaji Pratap and
Bhanudatta. The city of Ahmadnagar, founded by the Nizam Shahs, was
described as being comparable to Cairo and Baghdad, within a few years of its
construction. It was modelled along the great cities of the Persianate world,
given the Shi'i leanings of the dynasty.