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Jeypore Kingdom
Jeypore Kingdom or Jeypore Rajya later also known as Jeypore Samasthanam under the British Rule was a kingdom in the Kalinga region from 1443 CE to 1775 CE and a princely estate under British rule from 1776 to 1947. It had three capitals under different rulers, Nandapur, Rayagada and the most prominent being Jeypore. The kingdom was one of the largest in Madras Presidency covering an area of 31, 079 km² in the year 1880 and 36, 259 km² in 1925. Despite being larger than many other princely states it was never conferred upon the status of a princely state because of it losing its feudatories of Bobbili, Vijaynagar, Kalahandi, Salur, Srungavarapukota, Nowagarh, Khariar and Gajapatinagaram, as they also became princely estates under the British Rule. The last ruler of the kingdom was HH Maharajah Vikram Dev IV as the estate was dissolved on 1951.

Histroy

The last king of Sailavansa, Pratap Ganga Raj was succeeded by Vinayak Dev a prince of the Suryavansh dynasty of Kashmir which later went on to be the most powerful kingdom in the region of Kalinga and lasted until its dissolution in 1950. According to the facts mentioned in the family genealogy, he was asked to marry the only daughter of Silavansi king Pratap Ganga Raj who was then serving as a feudatory under the influential Eastern Ganga dynasty. Therefore Vinayak's reign saw a constant conflict with the weakening Ganga dynasty until the last Ganga king Bhanu Deo IV was assassinated by his minister Kapliendra who usurped the throne and married his daughter to Vijaychandrakhya the only son of Vinayak and first sovereign ruler of the kingdom. Although he managed expanded his kingdom to Reddipalli and Guntur.

Vijaychandrakhya being a sovereign ruler concentrated on amassing a formidable army in order to expand his kingdom to the coastal and rich agricultural land of Vijaynagara and Visakhapatnam. However, his ambitions were humbled by the ruling Sulava dynasty of Vijayanagara who stopped his advance to the kingdom and forced him to return after a month long venture of seizing the fort. Nevertheless, Vijayachandrakhya later went on to expand his kingdom in Odisha. He was succeeded by his son Bhairava Dev in 1510 who ascended the throne at the same time as the great emperor Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagara Empire. Significantly, the empire of Vijayanagara defeated Bhairava but pardoned his effrontery and made him their tributary to avoid protests and possible public fracas.

Vishwanath, son of Bhairava succeeded his father in 1527. He served as a commander in his father's army and successfully garnered a skilled army. He restored the lost dominions of Cuttack Gajapatis from the confines of Bengal to those of Telangana in south, which contained in his fold innumerable feudatories that paid homage to his royal seat. He founded the city of Rayagada which served as the capital of the vast kingdom in his reign. Furthermore, he conquered the southern parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand and parts of Andhra. He successfully formed an empire and claimed the title of 'Gajapati' which was symbolically used by another powerful dynasty of the Gajapati Kingdom before its decline in 1541.

The kingdom went into a turmoil after the death of Vishwanath Gajapati as his successors failed endeavors of usurping the throne invited the Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda who defeated and forced the next three kings in line to become their tributaries. The era of Balarama, Yesovanta and Krishna Raj lasted for a combined period of 77 years consequently internal feuds and family rivalries weakened the kingdom to such extent that the next king in line Veer Vikrama Dev had to shift his kingdom from Nandapur to Jeypore. His rule lasted for 32 years and was majorly concerned in formulating the new capital and transforming it into an acropolis which can successfully withstand the possible onslaughts in the hostile region of Kalinga. One of his finest ventures were the moral education combined with the study of arts and rigorous military training that were given to his grandsons Vishwambhar, Krishna, Hari and Balarama and which gracefully served its purpose of making Jeypore a formidable kingdom. In the point of cultural significance, It was during Maharajah Veer Vikrama's era that the Gupteswar Cave was discovered in the forests of Ramgiri and now one of the holiest shrines in the region. The next king in line was Krishna Dev who ascended the throne in 1669, he is known for granting Kumili and Gundredu in the modern taluq of Vizinagaram to the family of Pushapati Sitarama Chandra Raj after they deserted their ancestral home in Bezwada and moved to Vizianagaram.

Maharajah Viswambhar Dev was crowned king in the year 1673 and although his reign lasted for merely three years, his achievements and grandeur portray him as a magnanimous ruler who was the first to formulate a distinguished feudal system and was courted by the Raja of Vizianagaram and Bobbilli.

Post British Raj
In 1775, Maharajah Vikram Dev I assembled a force in Rayagada valley against the rising British forces of the East India Company who were accompanied by the army of Vijaynagar, the former feudatory of Jeypore. Captain Richard Matthews was commanding the Northern Circars and he quoted, ''I took possession of the fort in 11th March, it is a square of about one thousand yards. The wall 20 feet high, the bastions very good, the rampart tolerable and a ditch 20 feet wide and as much deep. I have ordered it to be destroyed''. However, he was pardoned by the British and the kingdom was granted back to him.

This Vikram Dev also provided assistance to one Raja Dariar of Bastar who fled from his kingdom and took shelter in the fort of Jeypore after his brother occupied the throne. A strong army marched to Bastar accompanied by both kings Dariar and Vikram. Ajgar Singh, the brother of the king was defeated and Dariar was reinstalled in the throne granting two parganas to Vikram Dev for the military aid.