The second event of the third season of From Konkan to Coromandel webinar series being co-organized by the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the Centre for Islamic Studies of the University of Cambridge and the His Highness Sri Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Foundation.
About the Lecture
This talk discusses court politics in several successor states of the Vijayanagara empire, focusing on the Nayaka court of Ikkeri (aka Keladi). The main question is whether these courts should be seen as static, harmonious, and hierarchic pyramids (as the historiography usually portrays them) or rather as dynamic, competitive, and fluid arenas. To address this issue, we zoom in on mechanisms behind successions to the throne, the positions and powers of courtiers, and the use of court protocol and insult. These topics are analysed by combining Indian texts with records of the Dutch East India Company, which two sets of sources either contradict, complement, or confirm one another.
About the Speaker
Lennart Bes is an Indologist and historian studying political culture in south India. He teaches Asian history, Dutch overseas history, and archival studies at Leiden University. He has published about early modern south Indian kingdoms and Dutch sources on Asia. He is presently working on the courts of Malabar.
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