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Bhatkal

Town in Karnataka, India

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History

Toponymy

Bhatkal was named after Jain grammarian, Bhattakalanka, who hailed from Hadwalli village, a town on the state highway toward Jog Falls, Shimoga. It was also known as Susagadi, and Manipura in Sanskrit. Francis Hamilton referred to it as Batuculla, which means 'round town'.

Some have claimed that Marathi influence is responsible for the word's derivation. According to M. Shanker Linge Gowda, when the military leaders of the Patwardhan family under the Peshwas used to periodically invade and pillage the Manipura kingdom, they called it Vatkul, which means 'hills around the town', because the Manipura fort was located in a valley surrounded by hills. In slang, Vatkul has now evolved into Bhatkal.

The Bhatkal term originated and can be found in one of the oldest manuscripts of Nawayathi from 1688 A.D. by Akhun Seedy Mohammed. The author mentions the old name for Bhatkal as Abadaqilla. But the word itself is susceptible of alteration, and it is quite likely that initially it was Abadaqilla, meaning 'inhabited fort,' and subsequently changed into badaqilla, and finally Bhatkal. Such a name can be applied only by Arabs, who have been associated with the place for a very long time.

Name variations include Batigala (by Friar Jordanus, 1328), Batticala (by Barbosa, 1510), Baticala (De Barros), Batticola (Logan, 1887).

Medieval

Bhatkal witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties and rulers. Chola empire under Aditya I, his son, Parantaka I, and Sundara Chola, also known as Parantaka Chola II, initially invaded and conquered territories in Kannada country, between Gangavadi on the Mysuru plateau and Bhatkal on the Sahyadri Coast, between 880 CE and 975 CE. They later built the Solesvara Temple to commemorate their victory over the region.

In 1291, it was a part of the Hoysala Empire before passing into Nawayath Sultanate control from the beginning of the 14th century until 1350s. According to Ibn-e-Battuta, it was a vassal state under the rular named "Haryab," which the historian Goarge Moraes identified as Harihara-nripala of the Kingdom of Gersoppa. Later, when it was under the control of the Vijayanagar Empire, spices, sugar, and other masalas were traded with them. According to Ibrahim Khori, powdered sugar, brown sugar, as well as sugar itself, were produced in Bhatkal.

In 1479, Bhatkal and Honnavar got once again attacked by the Vijayanagar Empire over an alleged conspiracy over the trade between the Bahmani Sultanate. Vijayakirthi II constructed a town named 'Bhattakala' for his disciple, the king Devaraya. The rulers of Haduvalli were from the Suluva (Jain) Dynasty, and the Bhattakalanka was the last and well-known grammarian of Haduvalli as per the Biligi Ratnatraya Basadi inscription. At the time of Narasimha Deva Raya, he ended the tyranny of Virupaksha and re-established the friendship between the Nawayath.

Modern

On 28 August 1502, Vasco de Gama-led Portuguese forces attacked and burned the port in the town that was under the control of the Kingdom of Gersoppa, a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire, and forced it to comply with Portuguese demands. In 1606, it came under the control of the Nayakas of Ikkeri (also known as the Nayakas of Keladi) after the war between Venkatappa Nayaka and Bairadevi. In 1637, it became the territory of the Dutch East India Company. The British were unsuccessful in their attempts to establish an agency through locals in 1638 and a corporation in 1668.

The Keladi Nayakas invited Kazi Mahmoud, who was a grandson of the Chief Kazi of the Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur, to settle in Bhatkal in the year 1670. The revenue of Tenginagundi village was given to Kazi Mahmoud. The Kazi family of Bhatkal is popularly known as the Temunday Family due to the ownership of lands in Tenginagundi. Many Nawayath Muslims were appointed to the administrative positions. The families of these nobles from Nawayath still use their surnames as Ikkeri and are mainly settled in and around Bhatkal. The Golden Kalasa on the dome of Bhatkal Jamia Masjid, popularly known as 'Chinnada Palli' meaning 'Golden Mosque' is believed to be a generous gift from Keladi rulers.

From the Keladi rulers, Bhatkal passed on to the Mysore Sultanate. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan made Bhatkal the main base on the Canara Coast for their newly built naval force, with the help of the Dutchman Joze Azelar. Later, Tipu Sultan built a mosque in 1793, and a street was named after him. One of Tipu's wives was from Bhatkal. Bhatkal later came into the hands of the British Empire in 1799 after they defeated Tipu. In 1862, Bhatkal was annexed to the Bombay Presidency. With the reorganization of the state in 1956, the town became a part of Karnataka State in 1960, and the sub-taluks of Bhatkal and Supa were upgraded into full-fledged taluks.

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