Manikya dynasty

File:Tripura, Rajadhara Manikya 1586-1599 CE.jpg

Coinage of Rajadhara Manikya (1586–1599 CE), king of Tripura.

The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north-east of the Indian subcontinent. After coming under British influence, in 1809 they transitioned from feudal monarchs into rulers of a princely state, though the Manikyas maintain control of the region until 1949, when it ascended in union with India.

History

Tracing a descent from the mythological Lunar dynasty,Template:Sfnp the Rajmala royal chronicle records an unbroken line of 144 (likely legendary) monarchs of Tripura up to the ascension of one Ratna Fa, who is stated to have become the first Manikya after being granted the cognomen by the Sultan of Bengal.Template:Sfnp However, it is now believed that the Rajmala had been mistaken in the genealogy and chronology of the initial Manikya rulers.Template:Sfnp Numismatic evidence suggests that the first historical Manikya was in fact Maha Manikya,Template:Sfnp a Tripuri chief who founded the kingdom after establishing dominance over neighbouring tribes in the early 1400s.Template:Sfnp This monarch then took the title "Manikya" in honour of a historic victory over Bengal, with the name being inherited by his descendants.Template:Sfnp

Maha Manikya's early successors achieved considerable military success, conquering territory in Bengal, Assam and Burma. Tripura reached its zenith in the 16th century under such prominent kings as Dhanya Manikya and Vijaya Manikya II,Template:Sfnp with its lands stretching from the Garo Hills in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. As monarchs of a Hindu kingdom, the Manikyas developed a rivalry with the successive Muslim rulers of Bengal, coming into conflict with Sultans, governors and Nawabs before being brought under Mughal suzerainty in the early 17th century. As Mughal power waned, the antagonism with Bengal re-erupted, which drove the Manikyas to first approach the British for aid. In 1761, Tripura succumbed to British influence, becoming a princely protectorate, though control of the region remained under the Manikya dynasty.Template:Sfnp

In 1870, Bir Chandra Manikya ascended the throne and began a series of political reforms to his kingdom, modelling his government on the British system. A lover of the culture of Bengal, Bengali was adopted by the court under his rule and he developed a friendship with the poet, Rabindranath Tagore. After Tripura was briefly incorporated into the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam at the beginning of the 20th century, the last Manikya monarch, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore, chose to come under the jurisdiction of the predominantly Hindu Dominion of India in 1947. The final ascension of Tripura into the modern Indian nation was signed by his widow, Kanchan Prava Devi, in place of the minor Kirit Bikram Kishore, bringing to an end five centuries of Manikya rule.Template:Sfnp

List of rulers

File:Princely States. Tripura. Vijaya Manikya (1532-1564), dated 1560.jpg

Princely States. Tripura. Vijaya Manikya II (1532-1564), dated 1560

File:Bengal gazetteer 1907-9.jpg

Tripura princely state in 1909

Rulers of the Manikya dynasty (c.1400 – 1949)Template:Sfnp
Name	Reign start	Reign end	Claim	Notes
Maha Manikya	c.1400	1431
Dharma Manikya I	1431	1462	Son of Maha Manikya
Ratna Manikya I	1462	c.1487	Son of Dharma Manikya I
Pratap Manikya	c.1487	c.1487	Son of Ratna Manikya I
Vijaya Manikya I	1488	1488	Possibly son of Pratap Manikya
Mukut Manikya	1489	1489	Son of Ratna Manikya I
Dhanya Manikya	1490	1515	Son of Ratna Manikya I
Dhwaja Manikya	1515	1520	Son of Dhanya Manikya
Deva Manikya	1520	1530	Son of Dhanya Manikya
Indra Manikya I	1530	1532	Son of Deva Manikya
Vijaya Manikya II	1532	1563	Son of Deva Manikya
Ananta Manikya	1563	1567	Son of Vijaya Manikya II
Udai Manikya I	1567	1573	Father-in-law of Ananta Manikya	Claimed the throne following the death of his predecessor, briefly supplanting the ruling dynasty with his own line.Template:Sfnp
Joy Manikya I	1573	1577	Son of Udai Manikya
Amar Manikya	1577	1586	Son of Deva Manikya	Restored the Manikya dynasty after killing his predecessor.Template:Sfnp
Rajdhar Manikya I	1586	1600	Son of Amar Manikya
Ishwar Manikya	1600	1600	Possibly son of Amar Manikya or Rajdhar Manikya I
Yashodhar Manikya	1600	1618	Son of Rajdhar Manikya I	Monarchy temporarily overthrown by the Mughal Empire.Template:Sfnp
Kalyan Manikya	1626	1660	Descendant of Maha Manikya	From a cadet branch of the dynasty.Template:Sfnp Elected as monarch after Mughal interregnum.Template:Sfnp
Govinda Manikya	1660	1661	Son of Kalyan Manikya	First reign
Chhatra Manikya	1661	1667	Son of Kalyan Manikya
Govinda Manikya	1667	1676	Son of Kalyan Manikya	Second reign
Rama Manikya	1676	1685	Son of Govinda Manikya
Ratna Manikya II	1685Template:Sfnp	1693Template:Sfnp	Son of Rama Manikya	First reign
Narendra Manikya	1693Template:Sfnp	1695Template:Sfnp	Grandson of Govinda Manikya
Ratna Manikya II	1695Template:Sfnp	1712Template:Sfnp	Son of Rama Manikya	Second reign
Mahendra Manikya	1712Template:Sfnp	1714Template:Sfnp	Son of Rama Manikya
Dharma Manikya II	1714Template:Sfnp	1725Template:Sfnp	Son of Rama Manikya	First reign
Jagat Manikya	1725Template:Sfnp	1729Template:Sfnp	Great-grandson of Chhatra Manikya
Dharma Manikya II	1729Template:Sfnp	1729Template:Sfnp	Son of Rama Manikya	Second reign
Mukunda Manikya	1729	1739	Son of Rama Manikya
Joy Manikya II	1739	1744	Great-great-grandson of Kalyan Manikya	First reign
Indra Manikya II	1744	1746	Son of Mukunda Manikya
Udai Manikya II	c. Template:Trim	c. Template:Trim	Son of Dharma Manikya II	Briefly laid claim to the throne during a power struggle between his relatives.Template:Sfnp
Joy Manikya II	1746	1746	Great-great-grandson of Kalyan Manikya	Second reign
Vijaya Manikya III	1746	1748	Brother of Joy Manikya II, great-great-grandson of Kalyan Manikya
Lakshman Manikya	?	?	Grandson of Dharma Manikya II	Ruled as a puppet-monarch under Shamsher Gazi for three years before the latter took the throne for himself.Template:Sfnp
Krishna Manikya	1760	1783	Son of Mukunda Manikya
Rajdhar Manikya II	1785	1806	Grandson of Mukunda Manikya
Rama Ganga Manikya	1806	1809	Son of Rajdhar Manikya II	First reign
Durga Manikya	1809	1813	Son of Lakshman Manikya
Rama Ganga Manikya	1813	1826	Son of Rajdhar Manikya II	Second reign
Kashi Chandra Manikya	1826	1829	Son of Rajdhar Manikya II
Krishna Kishore Manikya	1829	1849	Son of Rama Ganga Manikya
Ishan Chandra Manikya	1849	1862	Son of Krishna Kishore Manikya
Bir Chandra Manikya	1862	1896	Son of Krishna Kishore Manikya
Radha Kishore Manikya	1896	1909	Son of Bir Chandra Manikya
Birendra Kishore Manikya	1909	1923	Son of Radha Kishore Manikya
Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya	1923	1947	Son of Birendra Kishore Manikya
Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya	1947	1949	Son of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya
Titular (1949 – 1971)
Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya	1949	1971 (title abolished)	Son of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya

Family tree

Family tree
Bibliography: