82-638: The Pindaris (Bhalse, Pasi, Maratha, Rohilla and Pathans) were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal Army , and later the Maratha Army , and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817–19 Pindari War . They were unpaid and their compensation was entirely the booty they plundered during wars and raids. They were mostly horsemen armed with spears and swords who would create chaos and deliver intelligence about
164-412: A grand scale, there is no one to carry out guerilla missions but regulars." He also emphasizes the importance for the use of regular units permanently attached to guerilla warfare activities, stating that they can play key roles in severing enemy supply routes. While the morale, training and equipment of the individual irregular soldier can vary from very poor to excellent, irregulars are usually lacking
246-427: A peasant guerilla force which in time transformed itself into a large regular force. This transformation was foreseen in the doctrine of " people's war ", in which irregular forces were seen as being able to engage the enemy and to win the support of the populace but as being incapable of taking and holding ground against regular military forces. Modern conflicts in post-invasion Iraq , the renewed Taliban insurgency in
328-403: A unit recruited from the people" were all examples of ways in which regular military units could be involved in irregular warfare. Mao argues that regular army units temporarily detailed for irregular warfare are essential because "First, in mobile-warfare situations, the coordination of guerilla activities with regular operations is necessary. Second, until guerilla hostilities can be developed on
410-671: Is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the regular army organization. Without standard military unit organization , various more general names are often used; such organizations may be called a troop , group , unit , column , band , or force . Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations, or are members of special military units that employ irregular military tactics. This also applies to irregular infantry and irregular cavalry units. Irregular warfare
492-446: Is to be used to refer to a specific group. Using one term over another can strongly imply strong support or opposition for the cause. It is possible for a military to cross the line between regular and irregular. Isolated regular army units that are forced to operate without regular support for long periods of time can degrade into irregulars. As an irregular military becomes more successful, it may transition away from irregular, even to
574-519: Is warfare employing the tactics commonly used by irregular military organizations. This involves avoiding large-scale combat, and focusing on small, stealthy, hit-and-run engagements. The words "regular" and "irregular" have been used to describe combat forces for hundreds of years, usually with little ambiguity. The requirements of a government's chain of command cause the regular army to be very well defined, and anybody fighting outside it, other than official paramilitary forces, are irregular. In case
656-706: The 2001 war in Afghanistan , the Darfur conflict , the rebellion in the North of Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army , and the Second Chechen War are fought almost entirely by irregular forces on one or both sides. The CIA 's Special Activities Center (SAC) is the premiere American paramilitary clandestine unit for creating or combating irregular military forces. SAD paramilitary officers created and led successful units from
738-564: The Bidar district in central India. The Pindaris were horsemen who were mostly armed with a talwar and a large spear. They were organised into groups called durrahs each of which had a leader and were organised into different castes and classes. Allegiances were usually hereditary but membership of each durrah could be interchangeable. The Pindaris were from a variety of traditional backgrounds, all of which appear to have been accepted within their society. In addition to their individual beliefs,
820-551: The British Army . Prior to 1857 Britain's East India Company maintained large numbers of cavalry and infantry regiments officially designated as "irregulars", although they were permanently established units. The end of Muslim rule saw a large number of unemployed Indian Muslim horsemen, who were employed in the army of the EIC . British officers such as Skinner , Gardner and Hearsay had become leaders of irregular cavalry that preserved
902-610: The CIA 's Special Activities Center . However at times, such as out of desperation, conventional militaries will resort to guerilla tactics, usually to buy breathing space and time for themselves by tying up enemy forces to threaten their line of communications and rear areas, such as the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry and the Chindits . Although they are part of a regular army, United States Special Forces are trained in missions such as implementing irregular military tactics . However, outside
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#1732844848423984-800: The Char Minar . Some examples of Qutb Shahi Indo-Islamic architecture are the Golconda Fort , tombs of the Qutb Shahis , Char Minar and the Char Kaman , Makkah Masjid , Khairatabad Mosque , Hayat Bakshi Mosque , Taramati Baradari and the Toli Mosque . The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometre north of Golkonda's outer wall. These structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens. They are open to
1066-649: The Confederate States of America . One could attribute the disastrous defeat of the Romans at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest to the lack of supporting irregular forces; only a few squadrons of irregular light cavalry accompanied the invasion of Germany when normally the number of foederati and auxiliaries would equal the regular legions. During this campaign the majority of locally recruited irregulars defected to
1148-711: The Deccan Plateau . Around the same time, the Italian traveler Niccolao Manucci , in his memoir about the Mughal Empire, wrote about Bederia (Pidari), stating that "these are the first to invade the enemy's territory, where they plunder everything they find." According to Tapan Raychaudhuri et al., the Mughal Army "always had in its train the "Bidari" (as pronounced in Persian ), the privileged and recognized thieves who first plundered
1230-736: The East India Company , also utilized this 120,000 strong force to fight against the remaining Maratha forces and annex their remaining territories in what became known as the Third Anglo-Maratha War . From November 1817 until 1819, the British military force entered the Malwa and Maratha regions which were traditional Pindari strongholds; according to the Encyclopædia Britannica , the "Pindaris themselves offered little resistance; most of
1312-858: The Hmong tribe during the Laotian Civil War in the 1960s and 1970s. They also organized and led the Mujaheddin as an irregular force against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, as well as the Northern Alliance as an irregular insurgency force against the Taliban with US Army Special Forces during the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and organized and led the Kurdish Peshmerga with US Army Special Forces as an irregular counter-insurgency force against
1394-529: The Kamma , Velama , Kapu , and Raju warrior castes. They served as civil revenue officers. After the Mughals dismissed the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1687, these Hindu Nayaks were also dismissed and replaced with Muslim military commanders. The sultanate in 1670 comprised 21 sarkars (provinces) which in turn were divided into 355 parganas (districts). The Qutb Shahi dynasty, like many Deccan Islamic dynasties,
1476-575: The OSS operators of World War II, which were tasked with inspiring, training, arming and leading resistance movements in German-occupied Europe and Japanese occupied Asia. In Finland, well-trained light infantry Sissi troops use irregular tactics such as reconnaissance, sabotage and guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines. The founder of the People's Republic of China , Mao Zedong actively advocated for
1558-587: The Peninsular War led by Spaniards against the French invaders in 1808 provided the first modern example of guerrilla warfare . Indeed, the term of guerrilla itself was coined during this time. As the Industrial Revolution dried up the traditional source of irregulars, nations were forced take over the duties of the irregulars using specially trained regular army units. Examples are the light infantry in
1640-568: The Qara Qoyunlu , an Iranian Turkmen Muslim tribe and therefore a descendant of Qara Yusuf . In the 16th century, he migrated to Delhi with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends. Later he migrated south, to the Deccan and served the Bahmani sultan , Mahmood Shah Bahmani II , who was of Deccani Muslim ethnicity. He declared the independence of Golconda after the disintegration of
1722-879: The Three Kingdoms period, the American Revolution , the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War , the Franco-Prussian War , the Russian Civil War , the Second Boer War , Liberation war of Bangladesh, Vietnam War , the Syrian Civil War and especially the Eastern Front of World War II where hundreds of thousands of partisans fought on both sides. The Chinese People's Liberation Army began as
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#17328448484231804-504: The Bahmani Sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates . He took the title Qutb Shah , and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was assassinated in 1543 by his son, Jamsheed , who assumed control of the sultanate. Jamsheed died in 1550 from cancer. Jamsheed's young son Subhan Quli Qutb Shah reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah as sultan. Golconda, and with
1886-667: The British colonies. Francis Rawdon-Hastings , the Governor-General of British India , led an 120,000 strong force in early 19th-century against the Pindaris during the Third Anglo-Maratha War ; the campaign became known as the Pindari War . The term Pindar may derive from pinda , an intoxicating drink. It is a Marathi word that possibly connotes a "bundle of grass" or "who takes". They are also referred to as Bidaris in some historic texts, indicating that they originally came from
1968-561: The East India Company territories around the Guntur district , raiding 339 villages and taking an estimated £100,000 worth of loot. Some of the inhabitants of village Ainavolu committed suicide by throwing themselves into the flames of their burning houses. The British reacted, not only to the financial cost of these raids, but also to the loss of trust the inhabitants had in them as a protective power. They established military outposts south of
2050-614: The Germanic tribesmen led by the former auxiliary officer Arminius . During the decline of the Roman Empire , irregulars made up an ever-increasing proportion of the Roman military. At the end of the Western Empire, there was little difference between the Roman military and the barbarians across the borders. Following Napoleon 's modernisation of warfare with the invention of conscription ,
2132-628: The Indian Muslim elite, meant the destruction of a way of life more than a destruction of livelihood. The East Inia Company 's disciplined armies based on the well-drilled musketeer provided little employment and had little use for irregular cavalry. Many of these Indian Muslim cavalrymen, seeking employment, would join the Pindaris. These unemployed Muslim soldiers from the land of Awadh and Rohilkhand in Uttar Pradesh began ravaging and desolating central India, armed with twelve-foot long spears. With
2214-563: The Kurdish Sunni Islamist group Ansar al-Islam at the Iraq-Iran border and as an irregular force against Saddam Hussein during the war in Iraq in 2003. Irregular civilian volunteers also played a large role in the Battle of Kyiv during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Golconda Sultanate The Sultanate of Golconda ( Persian : سلطنت گلکنده ; Urdu : سلطنت گولکنڈه )
2296-757: The Marathas block and reverse the Mughal era gains in South India as far as Gingee and Tiruchirappalli . Marathas adopted the Bidaris militia of the earlier era. Their Pindaris were not from any particular religion or caste. Most of the Pindari leaders who plundered for the Marathas were Muslims, such as Gardi Khan and Ghats-u-Din who were employed by the Maratha Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao . Other famed Pindari leaders in
2378-472: The Marathas. According to Randolf Cooper, the Pindaris who served the Marathas were a volunteer militia that included men and their wives, along with enthusiastic followers that sometimes swelled to some 50,000 people at the frontline of a war. They moved swiftly and performed the following duties: destabilize enemy's standing army and state apparatus by creating chaos; isolate enemy armed units by harassing them, provoke and waste enemy resources; break or confuse
2460-474: The Mughals, evolved this concept by encouraging the Pindaris not only to plunder the Muslim territories in the north but gather and deliver food to their regular army. The Maratha army never carried provisions, and gathered their resources and provisions from the enemy territory as they invaded and conquered more regions of the collapsing Mughal state. According to the historian Richard Eaton, plunder of frontier regions
2542-638: The Narmada River which contained the Pindaris and prevented any further raids. Ultimately, the British East India Company under the governorship of Lord Hastings became so frustrated with Pindari raids that they formed the largest military force they had ever assembled in India to launch a campaign against the Pindaris known as the Pindari War . Rawdon-Hastings, with the approval of the Court of Directors of
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2624-438: The Pindari raid on Sringeri Sharada Peetham in 1791. By the early 1800s, armed Pindari militia groups sought wealth for their leaders and themselves. There were an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Pindari militia during the "Gardi-ka-wakt" ("period of unrest") in north-central India around 1800–1815 CE, who plundered villages, captured people as slaves for sale, and challenged the authority of local Muslim sultanates, Hindu kingdoms, and
2706-469: The Pindaris had transformed from being involved in regional wars to looting for the sake of their own and their leaders' wealth. They conducted raids for plunder to enrich themselves, or to whichever state was willing to hire them. Sometimes they worked for both sides in a conflict, causing heavy damages to the civilian populations of both sides. They advanced through central India, Gujarat and Malwa, with protection from rulers from Gwalior and Indore . With
2788-633: The Pindaris in their war strategy. Deploying the Pindaris, they plundered the Mughal and Sultanate territories surrounding the Maratha Empire and used the plundered wealth to sustain the Maratha Army. The devastation and disruption by the Pindaris not only strengthened the Marathas, the Pindaris helped weaken and frustrate the Muslim sultans in preserving a stable kingdom they could rule or rely on for revenues. The Maratha strategy also embarrassed Aurangzeb and his court. The same Pindari-assisted strategy help
2870-481: The Pindaris worshipped Ramasah Veer, an ancient Pindari raider, as an icon. Pindari women would place small icons of horses in a shrine dedicated to Veer before the commencement of their raids, and the men would wear tokens stamped with his image. The Pindaris were of all classes but most of their important leaders were Muslims. They converted many of their children and the men whom they took as prisoners. Many Hindus also became converts to obtain honourable association with
2952-511: The Qutb Shahi dynasty came to power, and they continued to supply this demand through European traders. Diamonds from mines (especially the Kollur Mine presently in Guntur district , Andhra Pradesh ) were transported to the city of Hyderabad to be cut, polished, evaluated and sold. Golconda established itself as a diamond trading centre and until the end of the 19th century, the Golconda market
3034-526: The Qutb Shahi sultanate had a system of jagirs, who would provide troops as well as collect taxes. They were allowed to keep a portion of the taxes and give the sultan the rest. Tax collection was through auction farms, and the highest bidder used to get the Governorship. While the Governors enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, they had to bear the brunt of severe punishments for default, consequently, they were harsh on
3116-608: The United States, the term special forces does not generally imply a force that is trained to fight as guerillas and insurgents. Originally, the United States Special Forces were created to serve as a cadre around which stay-behind resistance forces could be built in the event of a communist victory in Europe or elsewhere. The United States Special Forces and the CIA's Special Activities Center can trace their lineage to
3198-639: The basic training of irregulars. The regulars would only provide the core military in the major battles; irregulars would provide all other combat duties. Notable examples of regulars relying on irregulars include Bashi-bazouk units in the Ottoman Empire , auxiliary cohorts of Germanic peoples in the Roman Empire , Cossacks in the Russian Empire , and Native American forces in the American frontier of
3280-543: The construction of the Char Minar , later Hyderabad , served as capitals of the sultanate, and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until Aurangzeb , in his campaigns in the Deccan , conquered the Sultanate of Golconda in 1687 with the completion of his siege of Golconda . The sultante's last ruler, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah , was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort , and
3362-400: The count of enemy troops, making the odds seem much worse than they were. This may be accidental; counts of friendly troops often came from official regular army rolls that exclude unofficial forces, while enemy strength often came from visual estimates, where the distinction between regular and irregular were lost. If irregular forces overwhelm regulars, records of the defeat are often lost in
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3444-605: The decline of the prestige of Maratha power in India, the Pindaris almost became supreme. After the arrival of the British East India Company among the chaos of a collapsed Mughal Empire and the weakening of the Maratha leadership, the Pindaris became a semi-independent power centred in the area just north of the Narmada River . By late 18th-century, the Maratha Empire had fragmented, the British colonial era had arrived and
3526-525: The earlier system, the Persian-origin Muslims were paid the highest, then the other Indian Muslims. In early 17th century, the Persian origin Muslims became rich by lending money on high interest (usury) of 4-5% per mensem much to the despair of Hindus. The Sultanate had 66 forts, and each fort was administered by a Nayak . In the second half of the 17th century, the Qutb Shahi Sultan hired many Hindu Nayaks. According to Kruijtzer, these were mainly Brahmins. According to another account, these were mainly from
3608-434: The end of the Qut Shahis' rule, it was the primary court language with Persian used occasionally in official documents. According to Indologist Richard Eaton, as Qutb Shahis adopted Telugu, they started seeing their polity as the Telugu-speaking state, with the elites of the sultanate viewing their rulers as "Telugu Sultans". The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani was born in Hamadan , Iran. He belonged to
3690-482: The end of the dynasty, these were primarily in Telugu with a summary in Persian. As they adopted Telugu, they saw their territory as the Telugu-speaking region, states Indologist Richard Eaton, with their elites considering the rulers as "Telugu Sultans". Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612) wrote poems in Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu. Subsequent poets and writers, however, wrote in Urdu, while using vocabulary from Persian, Hindi and Telugu languages. During
3772-518: The enemy positions to benefit the army they accompanied. The majority of their leaders were Muslims , but also had people of all classes and religions. The earliest mention of them is found in the Mughal period during Aurangzeb 's campaign in the Deccan , but their role expanded with the Maratha armed campaigns against the Mughal Empire . They were highly effective against the enemies given their rapid and chaotic thrust into enemy territories, but also caused serious abuses against allies such as during
3854-450: The enemy ranks, the trained and armed contingents of the Marathas attacked the enemy army. The Marathas, in some cases, collected palpatti – a form of tax – from the hordes of their Pindari plunderers to participate with them during their invasions. The Pindaris were a major resource for the Marathas, but they also created problems when they raided and plundered the Maratha allies. Shivaji introduced extensive regulations to check and manage
3936-431: The enemy territory and everything they could find". The Deccan sultanates and Aurangzeb's campaign in central India deployed them against kingdoms such as Golconda , and in Bengal . The unpaid cavalry got compensated for their services by "burning and looting everywhere". The disintegration of the Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan led to the gradual disbandment of the Pindaris. These Muslim Pindaris were at that stage taken in
4018-447: The fellow Pindaris. The raids, called luhbur , would be conducted in the dry-season starting from late October. During the rainy season, the Pindari would stay with their families in their native lands around the Narmada River . The first clear mention of Pindaris in historical texts occurs in the works of the Persian historian, Firishta , who refers to them marching with the Mughal armies of Aurangzeb during his 1689 campaign in
4100-437: The first 90 years of their rule (c. 1518 – 1600), they championed Persian culture. Their official edicts and court language were in Persian only. Quli Qutb Mulk's court became a haven for Persian culture and literature. In early 17th-century, with Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612) a change began. He began to patronize the Telugu language and culture as well. Edicts began to be issued both in Persian and Telugu. Towards
4182-628: The following criteria: By extension, combat forces that do not satisfy these criteria are termed "irregular forces". The term "irregular military" describes the "how" and "what", but it is more common to focus on the "why" as just about all irregular units were created to provide a tactical advantage to an existing military, whether it was privateer forces harassing shipping lanes against assorted New World colonies on behalf of their European contractors, or Auxiliaries, levies, civilian and other standing irregular troops that are used as more expendable supplements to assist costly trained soldiers. Bypassing
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#17328448484234264-586: The higher-level organizational training and equipment that is part of regular army. This usually makes irregulars ineffective in direct, main-line combat, the typical focus of more standard armed forces. Other things being equal, major battles between regulars and irregulars heavily favor the regulars. However, irregulars can excel at many other combat duties besides main-line combat, such as scouting , skirmishing , harassing , pursuing, rear-guard actions, cutting supply, sabotage , raids , ambushes and underground resistance . Experienced irregulars often surpass
4346-436: The historic literature include Namdar Khan, Dost Mohammad, Wasil Mohammad, Chitu, Khajeh Bush, Fazil Khan and Amir Khan. Similarly, Hindu leaders of Pindaris included the Gowaris, Alande, Ghyatalak, Kshirsagar, Ranshing and Thorat. Hindu ascetics and monks were another pool that volunteered as militia to save their temples and villages from the Muslim invaders but also disrupted enemy supply lines and provided reconnaissance to
4428-418: The leaders surrendered, and their followers dispersed". In addition to the military action, the British East India Company also offered regular employment to some of the Pindari militia by converting them into a separate contingent of its own forces . A minority were given jobs as police and offered pensions or nawab positions along with land to their leaders such as Namdar Khan and Amir Khan. Chitu Khan, who
4510-438: The legitimacy of the army or its opponents is questioned, some legal definitions have been created. In international humanitarian law , the term "irregular forces" refers to a category of combatants that consists of individuals forming part of the armed forces of a party to an armed conflict, international or domestic, but not belonging to that party's regular forces and operating inside or outside of their own territory, even if
4592-409: The legitimate military and taking up arms is an extreme measure. The motivation for doing so is often used as the basis of the primary label for any irregular military. Different terms come into and out of fashion, based on political and emotional associations that develop. Here is a list of such terms, which is organized more or less from oldest to latest: Intense debates can build up over which term
4674-414: The logistical and communication lines of the enemy; gather intelligence about the size and armament of the enemy; raid enemy food and fodder to supply resources for the Marathas and deplete the same for the enemy. The Pindaris of the Marathas did not attack the enemy infantry, rather operated by picketing the civilians, outposts, trade routes and the territorial sidelines. Once the confusion had set in among
4756-450: The monsoon harvest season, on rural and urban settlements. Along with cash, produce and family wealth, these Pindari leaders took people as slaves for sale. They attacked regions under British control, the Hindu rajas , and the Muslim nawabs . In 1812 and 1813 the Pindaris conducted successful plundering raids on Mirzapur and Surat which were located in areas controlled by the British. In 1816, they undertook an extensive expedition into
4838-478: The new Indian Army that was organized following the great Indian Rebellion of 1857. Before 1867, military units in Canada consisted of British units of volunteers. During French rule, small local volunteer militia units or colonial militias were used to provide defence needs. During British control of various local militias, the Provincial Marine were used to support British regular forces in Canada. Use of large irregular forces featured heavily in wars such as
4920-407: The people. Tana Shah – the last Sultan, with advice from his Brahmin ministers responsible for tax collection, introduced a reform whereby all taxes were collected by civil professionals for a region. The soldiers, government workers, court officials and all the Muslim elites were paid allowances from the Sultan's treasury. These reforms brought a large increase in revenues. According to Moreland, in
5002-443: The plundered wealth, they had also acquired cannons and more deadly military equipment to challenge local troops and law enforcement personnel. The Amir Khan-linked Pindaris, for example, brought 200 canons to seize and plunder Jaipur . According to Edward Thompson, the Pindaris led by Amir Khan and those led by Muhammad Khan had become nearly independent mobile satellite confederacy that launched annual loot and plunder campaigns, after
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#17328448484235084-403: The point of becoming the new regular army if it wins. Most conventional military officers and militaries are wary of using irregular military forces and see them as unreliable, of doubtful military usefulness, and prone to committing atrocities leading to retaliation in kind. Usually, such forces are raised outside the regular military like the British SOE during World War II and, more recently,
5166-499: The public and receive many visitors. The Qutb Shahi Kingdom was a highly centralized state. The sultan enjoyed absolute executive judicial and military powers. When he was away, a regent carried to carry on the administration on behalf of the king. The Peshwa (Prime Minister) was the highest official of the sultanate. He was assisted by a number of ministers, including Mir Jumla (finance minister), Kotwal (police commissioner), and Khazanadar (treasurer). For most of their reign,
5248-455: The regular army in these functions. By avoiding formal battles, irregulars have sometimes harassed high quality armies to destruction. The total effect of irregulars is often underestimated. Since the military actions of irregulars are often small and unofficial, they are underreported or even overlooked. Even when engaged by regular armies, some military histories exclude all irregulars when counting friendly troops, but include irregulars in
5330-403: The reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in 1634 AD, an ancient Sanskrit text on love and sex Ratirahasya by Kokkoka was translated into Persian and named Lazzat-un-Nisa (Flavors of the Woman). The Qutb Shahi architecture was Indo-Islamic , a culmination of Indian and Persian architectural styles. Their style was very similar to that of the other Deccan Sultanates . The Qutb Shahi rulers built
5412-410: The rest of his life in Daulatabad , incorporating Golconda into the Mughal empire. The Qutb Shahis were patrons of Persianate Shia culture. The official and court language of the Golconda sultanate during the first 90 years of its existence (c. 1518 – 1600) was also Persian. In the early 17th century, however, the Telugu language was elevated to the status of the Persian language, while towards
5494-535: The resulting chaos. By definition, "irregular" is understood in contrast to "regular armies", which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite militia. In Ancient warfare , most civilized nations relied heavily on irregulars to augment their small regular army. Even in advanced civilizations, the irregulars commonly outnumbered the regular army. Sometimes entire tribal armies of irregulars were brought in from internal native or neighboring cultures, especially ones that still had an active hunting tradition to provide
5576-411: The service of the Marathas. The inclusion of the Pindaris eventually became an indispensable part and parcel of the Maratha Army. As a class of freebooters in Maratha armies they acted as a "sort of roving cavalry...rendering them much the same service as the Cossacks for the armies of Russia ." The Pindaris would also later be used by kings such as Tipu Sultan . The Hindu Marathas, in their war against
5658-515: The targeted predatory actions of the Pindari. During the Third Battle of Panipat , Vishwasrao was in command of thousands of Pindari units. From 1784, Shinde began recruiting large amounts of Indian Muslim cavalrymen from Mughal, Farrukhabad and Rohilkhand regions. At a time when the Marathas would mobilize 78,000 cavalry, 27,000 were Pindari Muslim cavalry. Most of the Pindaris in this time were from Uttar Pradesh and northern parts of Malwa . The decline of Muslim rule in northern india, for
5740-588: The territory is under occupation. The Third Geneva Convention of 1949 uses "regular armed forces " as a critical distinction. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a non-governmental organization primarily responsible for and most closely associated with the drafting and successful completion of the Third Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War ("GPW"). The ICRC provided commentary saying that "regular armed forces" satisfy four Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907) (Hague IV) conditions. In other words, "regular forces" must satisfy
5822-442: The territory of the Golconda Sultanate was made into a Mughal imperial province, Hyderabad Subah . The Golconda Sultanate was notoriously wealthy. While its primary source of revenue was a land tax, the sultanate greatly profited from its monopoly on diamond production from mines in the southern districts of the kingdom. The sultanate also had control over the Krishna and Godavari deltas , giving it access to craft production in
5904-529: The traditions of Mughal cavalry, which had a political purpose because it absorbed pockets of cavalrymen who might otherwise become disaffected plunderers. These were less formally drilled and had fewer British officers (sometimes only three or four per regiment) than the "regular" sepoys in British service. This system enabled the Indian officers to achieve greater responsibility than their counterparts in regular regiments. Promotion for both Indian and British officers
5986-404: The use of irregular military tactics by regular military units. In his book On Guerrilla Warfare , Mao described seven types of Guerilla units, and argues that "regular army units temporarily detailed for the purpose (of guerilla warfare)," "regular army units permanently detailed (for the purpose of guerilla warfare)," and bands of guerillas created "through a combination of a regular army unit and
6068-528: The villages of the area, where goods like textiles were produced. The town of Masulipatnam served as the Golconda Sultanate's primary seaport for the export of diamonds and textiles. The kingdom reached the peak of its financial prosperity in the 1620s and 1630s. The Golconda Sultanate was known for its diamonds which were dubbed the Golconda diamonds . These diamonds were sought after diamonds long before
6150-516: Was a Muslim of Jat origin born near Delhi , harbored violent anti-British feelings, saying he would "ravage and destroy the country of the English". Not given any clemency, he hid in a jungle where he was continuously tracked by authorities and eventually was killed by a tiger. Irregular military Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there
6232-526: Was a Shia Muslim dynasty with roots in Persia (modern Iran). Initially, they were very strict and they persecuted the Hindus who constituted the vast majority of the population. Open practice of Hindu festivals was forbidden in the Golconda Sultanate. It was Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah who first reversed this policy, and allowed Hindus to practice their festivals and religion in the open. In the final decades of their rule,
6314-502: Was a part of the strategy that contributed wealth and propelled the Sultanate systems in the Indian subcontinent. Plunder, along with taxes and tribute payments contributed to growing imperial revenues for the Mughal rulers. The Bidaris of the Aurangzeb's army and the Pindaris of the Maratha army extended this tradition of violence and plunder in their pursuit of the political and ideological wars. Shivaji , and later his successors, included
6396-558: Was an early modern kingdom in southern India , ruled by the Persianate , Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate , the Sultanate of Golconda was established in 1518 by Quli Qutb Shah , as one of the five Deccan sultanates . The kingdom extended from parts of the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh , Odisha and Telangana . The Golconda sultanate
6478-493: Was constantly in conflict with the Adil Shahis and Nizam Shahis , which it shared borders with in the seventeenth century to the west and northwest. In 1636, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan forced the Qutb Shahis to recognize Mughal suzerainty and pay periodic tributes. The dynasty came to an end in 1687 during the reign of its seventh sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah , when the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb arrested and jailed Abul Hasan for
6560-408: Was exported to Persia and European countries. The patterned cloth was made of prints which were made indigenously with indigo for blue, chay-root for red coloured prints and vegetable yellow. Patterned cloth exports were mainly to Java, Sumatra and other eastern countries. Golconda had a strong trading relationship with Ayutthaya Siam. The Qutb Shahis were patrons of Persianate Shia culture. Over
6642-457: Was for efficiency and energy, rather than by seniority as elsewhere in the EIC's armies. In irregular cavalry the Indian troopers provided their horses under the silladar system. The result was a loose collection of regiments which in general were more effective in the field than their regular counterparts. These irregular units were also cheaper to raise and maintain and as a result many survived into
6724-479: Was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world. During the early seventeenth century, a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in the Deccan region. Large quantities of cotton cloth were produced for domestic and export consumption. High-quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced. Plain cloth was available in white or brown colour, in bleached or dyed variety. This cloth
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