Deccan

Historical Region of South Asia

This article is about the historical and socio-political region known as Deccan. For the geographical region called the Deccan Plateau, see Deccan Plateau. For other uses, see Deccan (disambiguation).

Region

Deccan

Region

Deccan
Nickname:

The Southern Country

Location of Deccan in South Asia

Kingdoms|  Hyderabad State
Maratha Empire
Largest City| Hyderabad
Demonym| Deccani
Demographics

• Ethnic groups| Telugus, Marathis, Kannadigas, Deccanis, Hyderabadis, Lambadis, Gonds
• Languages| Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Deccani Urdu
Part of a series on the

Deccanis

Ethnicity & sub-ethnicities

* Deccanis
* Hyderabadis

Historical Polities

* Bahmani Sultanate
* Deccan Sultanates
* Ahmadnagar Sultanate
* Berar Sultanate
* Bidar Sultanate
* Golconda Sultanate
* Bijapur Sultanate
* Kingdom of Mysore
* Hyderabad Deccan

Languages & Dialects

* Urdu
* Deccani Urdu
* Hyderabadi Urdu

Art and Culture

* Architecture of the Deccan sultanates
* Bidriware
* Himroo
* Deccani painting
* Hyderabadi cuisine

Famous Personalities

* Mir Osman Ali Khan
* Tipu Sultan
* Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah
* Chand Bibi
* Mah Laqa Bai
* Abul A'la Maududi

* v
* t
* e

Deccan, or the Deccan, is a historical and socio-political[1] region of the Indian Subcontinent.[2] Roughly corresponding to the geographic boundaries of the Deccan Plateau, it is often used to refer to lands and cultures north of Tamilakam, and south of the Vindhyas. Various polities including the Bahmanis, Deccan Sultanates, and Hyderabad Deccan have used this term to refer to their country.

Historians have defined the term Deccan differently. These definitions range from a narrow one by R. G. Bhandarkar (1920), who defines Deccan as the Marathi speaking area lying between the Godavari and Krishna rivers, to a broad one by K. M. Panikkar (1969), who defines it as the entire Indian peninsula to the south of the Vindhyas.[3] Firishta (16th century) defined Deccan as the territory inhabited by the native speakers of Kannada, Marathi, and Telugu languages. Richard M. Eaton (2005) settles on this linguistic definition for a discussion of the region's geopolitical history.[4]

Stewart N. Gordon (1998) notes that historically, the term "Deccan" and the northern border of Deccan has varied from Tapti River in the north to Godavari River in the south, depending on the southern boundary of the northern empires. Therefore, while discussing the history of the Marathas, Gordon uses Deccan as a "relational term", defining it as "the area beyond the southern border of a northern-based kingdom" of India.[5]

## Etymology[edit]

Deccan plateau, Hyderabad, India

The word Deccan is an anglicized version of the word dakkhaṇa, found in many languages of the Deccan [6][7] It has etymological roots in the Sanskrit dakṣiṇa and the later Prakrit dakkhin (दक्षिण), which mean the "south".[8]

## Native Polities[edit]

* Satavahana Dynasty
* Bahmanis
* Qutb Shahis
* Hyderabad State (1724-1948)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "What the Hyderabad-Deccan region teaches us about belonging". The News Minute. 17 September 2021.
2. ^ Overton, Keelan (2020-06-02). Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-04894-3.
3. ^ S. M. Alam 2011, p. 312.
4. ^ Richard M. Eaton 2005, p. 2.
5. ^ Stewart Gordon (1993). The Marathas 1600-1818. The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press. p. 10\. ISBN 978-0-521-26883-7.
6. ^ Henry Yule, A. C. Burnell (13 June 2013). Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India. Oxford. ISBN 9780191645839.
7. ^ Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 498 (scanned image at SriPedia Initiative): Sanskrit dakṣiṇa meaning 'southern'.
8. ^ Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2014), Deccan plateau India, Encyclopaedia Britannica

## Bibliography[edit]

* Richard M. Eaton (2005). A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521254847.
* Shah Manzoor Alam (2011). "The Historic Deccan - A Geographical Appraisal". In Kalpana Markandey; Geeta Reddy Anant (eds.). Urban Growth Theories and Settlement Systems of India. Concept. ISBN 978-81-8069-739-5.

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