Deccan Summary

[Kaiser Kirk]

Deccan Sultanates
Current Ruler :  Chhatrapati Shahu I of House Kolhapur
Government : Feudal Confederation with Elective Monarch
Government Model : Holy Roman Empire
Historical Departure Point(s) : 1700, 1761
Historical Countries : India
Friendly Power(s) : Parthia, Byzantine, Rome, China
Hostile Powers(s) : Rajasthan, Laksmanavati, Aceh, Thailand.

Current Outlook : For thousands of years, traders from the Swahili coast, the Red Sea, the Parthian Gulf, the Children of the Dragon, the Rising Sun, the Spice islands, all their ships have skipped down the Deccan coastlines spreading wealth. Suddenly, many of those locations have been occupied, the old trade routes disrupted. This great uncertainty promises to disrupt the Deccan economy.

The Byzantines and Parthians are at least long term trade partners they know they can deal with, but the Iberians and others claiming spice islands is for the Deccans unfortunate. The Deccans have recently secured a base for their navy and merchants in the Spice Islands.

Military Outlook :
The Confederation is best at defending itself against a common foe, and the border is heavily fortified. But every decade or two some event leads to an offensive or defensive fight and the Confederation rumbles off to war with Rajasthan or Laksmanavati. Each state maintains a considerable force, and the Confederation has jointly invested in Engineering and Artillery resources, so the combination is redoubtable.

Naval Outlook : The Deccan Sultanates maintains a joint naval force, primarily manned by the states with coastlines. Competitive bidding between states ensures a steady stream of vessels, with a large number of cruiser hulls. The presence of large foreign navies is a concern.

Deccan Confederation is a descendant of the Maratha Empire. Expanding after the victory at the Battle of Satara, the Empire became unwieldy, and so an administrative measure, the Empire was arranged as a confederacy of large semi-autonomous noble holdings. With the death in battle of the Chhatrapati (Emperor) in 1761, the empire slowly fell apart, lasting until 1771. The child Chhatrapati was forced to grant a Constitution, establishing the state as a formal confederation with limited central power.

The Deccan Confederation, or Deccan Sultanates, now has a technocratic bureaucracy to run federal functions, and the Sultans send delegates to a Confederation Council. An elective Chhatrapati serves as a central figurehead, sequestered in a palace and afforded a lavish lifestyle while things are done in his name.  The Sultanates are relatively rich and well populated, and have extensive trade connections on both sides of the Indian Ocean, as well as being host to Mediterranean-China transshipment ports. The Deccan Sultanates devote much of their wealth to maintaining their Palaces and temples, and fielding strong armies and lavish fortifications.

Ethnicity and religion : The peoples are Dravidian, with Hinduism as the primary religion, followed by  Buddhism, Muslims, and others. The caste system is strong and active