page_title: Umayamma Rani
section_title: Incursion by the Muslim adventurer
hierarchical_section_title: Umayamma Rani / As the regent of Trippappoor / Incursion by the Muslim adventurer
caption_attribution_description: English: This plate shows Johan Nieuhof visiting the Queen of Kollam, India
context_page_description: "Aswathi Thirunal" Umayamma, known as Queen Umayamma or Queen Ashure, was the regent queen of Venad in southern India from 1677 to 1684 on behalf of her young nephew Ravi Varma. She also served as the Junior Queen of Attingal under Senior Queen Makayiram Thirunal and subsequently as the Senior Queen of Attingal.
  While Ravi Varma ruled as the king of Trippapoor, Umayamma continued retention of the sovereign power over his swaroopam. She was able to negotiate independently with the English and Dutch factors in Kerala. The English East India Company secured factory sites at Vilinjam, and Ruttera from Umayamma in 1688. Permission to construct a fort at Anjengo was secured from the queen in 1694. Umayamma also concluded an agreement with the Danes at Edava, near Attingal
  As per historian K. V. K. Ayyar, Queen Umayamma built the administrative foundation on which her grandson Marthanda Varma built modern Travancore. Dutch commander Henrik van Rheede writing in 1694, concludes that Attingal could summon an army of 30,000 men at the time. Umayamma died in 1698 in Valiyathura.
context_section_description: In 1680 Nanjanad (southern Travancore) was overrun by a Muslim adventurer. This general marched into Travancore via the Aromboli Pass, and became the ruler of the country between Thovala and Edava on the coast line of Travancore. He reached suburbs of Trivandrum and camped at Manacaud. The Barons of the Eight Houses and the Association of Eight and Half (the Ettara Yogakkar) fled to safety. Umayamma herself fled Trivandrum and sought refuge at Nedumangad. The Muslim forces were eventually beaten back by the forces led by Kottayam Kerala Varma. Pursuing the Muslim, Kerala Varma compelled him to fight a battle at Thiruvattar. The Muslim was defeated, and killed in the battle. Umayamma and Ravi Varma safely returned to Trivandrum. Soon Umayamma publicly declared that the Nedumangad had no claim to the Trippappoor throne.
  Kerala Varma took the reins of Trippappoor into his hands. The Barons and the Ettara Yogam were cowed under the new system. Two palaces were constructed in Trivandrum called Tevarathu Koikkal and Valia Koikkal for the residence of Umayamma and Kerala Varma. It is said that the Barons and the temple trustees (Ettara Yogam) assassinated Kerala Varma in front of Valiya Koikkal. He was returning from the palace of Umayamma at night after an interview. It also seems that some misunderstandings also arose between Kerala Varma and Queen Umayamma towards the end of the former's life. As per historian K. V. K. Ayyar, Umayamma and Kerala Varma must have been responsible for the removal of "Pulappedi" and "Mannappedi" in 1696. When in 1693 one branch of the family became extinct, Umayamma did not allow the king of Trippappoor annex that swaroopam but subjugated it herself. In 1696 she even carried another offensive military campaign into Trippappoor Swaroopam.
  
  As early as 1680s, rumours circulated that the Madurai rulers intended to invade Travancore in order to forcibly collect arrears in tribute. Travancore was a nominal tributary of the Madurai at the time. In an attempt to deal with the Barons of the Eight Houses, Umayyamma invoked the assistance of the Madurai pradhani. In late 1685, the Madurai pradhani Tiruvenkatanatha Ayya invaded Travancore with a large body of troops. In fact, this incursion was to be the precursor of an almost annual invasion of southern Travancore by Madurai forces after 1689 (via Kottar or the Aramboli Pass).
  Meanwhile, 16-year-old Ravi Varma (son of Makayiram Thirunal) was given sovereignty as the king of Trippappoor in 1684. In 1688 Ravi Varma adopted two princes -  Unni Kerala Varma and Rama Varma -  and two princesses from Kolathunad. Ravi Varma ruled from 1684 to 1718. Umayamma died in 1698 in Valiyathura. Soon after her death, the king of Trippappoor granted the Company of the privilege of minting currency (which she had withheld for decades).
caption: Nieuhof's audience with the "Queen of Koylang" (1682).
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