page_title: Gingee
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gingee / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Throne in Gingee Fort Hill
context_page_description: Senji is a panchayat town in Villupuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The nearest towns with railway stations are Tindivanam, 28 km away, and Thiruvannamalai, 29 km away. Senji is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km.
  Senji is famous for its Senji Fort, a popular tourist attraction. The Kon dynasty laid the foundations for the Senji Fort in 1190 AD. The fort was later built by the Chola dynasty in the 13th century. In 1638, Senji came under the control of Bijapur Sultanate from Vijayanagar. In 1677, it was under the control of Maratha king Shivaji. In 1690, it came under the Mughals, when it became the headquarters of Arcot. It changed hands to the French in 1750, and then to the British in 1762. During this time, many sculptural aspects of Senji were shifted to Pondicherry by the French.
  To visit Senji fort, guides are available from archaeological office which is on the way to the fort. The office is open for visitors from 9:00 to 17:00. The fee for visitors and tourists for visiting the fort is Rs.10.
context_section_description: The founding of the Kon dynasty provides the launching of Senji as a fortified royal center. The Senji country then came under the rule of the Hoysalas in the later part of the 13th and in the first half of the 14th century. From the Hoysalas it passed on, by relatively easy efforts, into the hands of the first rulers of Vijayanagara empire. The Vijayanagar dominion gradually expanded over South India and divided the  administration into three important provinces, which were under the control of Nayaks. These were the Nayaks of Madurai, Nayaks of Tanjore and Nayaks of Senji. Information about the Gingee Senji and their rule is very scanty. It is said that Tupakula Krishnappa Nayaka (1490 to 1521) of a Chandragiri family was the founder of the Nayaka line of Senji kings. He seems to have ruled gloriously all over the coast from Nellore down to the Coleroon up to 1521 AD. Under the Nayaks the forts were strengthened and the town was greatly enlarged.
  The last Nayak of Senji was forced to surrender to the Bijapur army towards the end of December 1649 AD. The booty acquired by the Mohammedan rulers of Bijapur was 20 crores of rupees in cash and jewels. Senji assumed a new and enhanced strategic importance under the Bijapur governors. Bijapur was in possession of the fortress of Senji till 1677 AD, when Chatrapati Shivaji, the son of Shahaji fell upon it in his Carnatic expedition. The Marathas greatly strengthened and fortified its defences.
  The Mughals were then able to capture the fort of Senji in the Carnatic from Rajaram the King of the Marathas, early in 1698, after a  siege of seven years. Zulfikar Khan, the son of Asad Khan, the Grand Vizir in the court of Aurangazeb, was in command of the siege operation of Senji and of its governor till he left the Carnatic after about a year from its fall.
  After that Aurangazeb, granted a mansab of 2,500 rank and jagir of 12 lakhs to Raja Swarup Singh, a Bundela Rajput chieftain, along with the killedari (Fort Commandership) of Senji in 1700 AD. Raja Swarup Singh died of old age in 1714 AD. His arrears of payments due to the faujdari amounted to 70 lakhs, being a defaulter for ten years. The Nawab of Arcot reported this matter to the Badshah (Mughal Emperor) at Delhi. Hearing about the death of his father, Desingh, the son of Raja Swarup Singh, started for Senji from Bundelkhand, his ancestral home.
  On arriving at Senji, Desingh assumed the government of Senji after performing the last rites of his father. Aurangazeb had granted a firman to his father and Desingh took formal possession of his father's jaghir on ground of his hereditary right. Desingh did not receive a warm welcome from the Mughal officers. The Nawab of Arcot, Sadatullah Khan, who attempted to dispossess Desingh, pleaded that the firman was not valid. When Payya Ramakrishna, who was his secretary, informed him of the legal necessity of getting the firman renewed by the new Emperor before assuming the jaghir, Desingh replied that he had got the firman of Aurangazeb and that he need not apply to anybody else.
  
  In fact after regaining the fort from Marathas, Aurangzeb had first appointed Nawab Daud Khan as the deputy subahdar of the Deccan. Nawab Daud Khan removed his headquarters from Senji to the town of Arcot, as he believed that the place was not healthy. This diminished the importance of Senji. While shifting his headquarters, Daud Khan appointed Sadatullah Khan as his Diwan and Faujdar in 1708. Sadatullah Khan later became the Nawab of the two Carnatics in 1713, under Nizam-Ul-Mulk. He was the regular and acknowledged Nawab of the Carnatic between the years 1710 and 1732 AD. After the death of Raja Swarup Singh he renewed the demand for the arrears of revenue with his son Raja Desingh. This led to a battle between the two, which unfortunately ended in the death of the young and valiant Rajput, Desingh on 3 October 1714. He struggled at the young age of 22, against the powerful Nawab Sadatulla Khan of Arcot in a struggle that was hopeless from the outset (Desingh's army consisted of only 350 horses and 500 trooper
caption: Throne in Gingee Fort Hill
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