Three Centuries of African Sovereignty in India

How did former Ethiopian slaves rise to become the kings, regents, and naval admirals of India, ruling for 300 years and frustrating the mighty Mughal Empire?

Contrary to the sanitized colonial narrative of “mercenaries,” historical evidence reveals a continuous 300-year lineage of African (Habshi/Siddi) political and military sovereignty in South Asia. From the silver tanka coins minted by the Habshi Sultans of Bengal in the late 15th century to the regency of Malik Ambar in the Deccan, African elites exercised supreme fiscal, military, and administrative power. Malik Ambar, born in Ethiopia, rose through the Mamluk system to beco...