Note 6 — INTRODUCTION.

The name Deckan, or Deckhan, which means South, a very ancient name, continued to be given, when the power of the Moghul sovereigns of Delhi was in its zenith, to that part of the empire which lay to the southward of the Nerbuddah. This division which was called a Soubah, was governed by a Soubahdar, or Viceroy, whose authority was for a long period acknowledged by all the petty states within his circle, though many of these yielded neither tribute nor obedience unless compelled. When the house of Delhi declined, Nizam-ul-Mûlk succeeded in rendering the possession he held as a delegate of the emperor hereditary in his family; but the example of usurpation spread rapidly, and the other states, as they attained strength, threw off their dependence upon him and his descendants, till their sovereignty became limited to their present territories of Hyderabad. They still retain the title of Soubhadar of the Deckan; but, their power having been contracted by political events, their influence in that capacity is now confined to those territories over which their rule is established, which may be described as bounded by the river Taptee to the north, the Kishna to the south, the province of Bider to the west, and the northern Circars of Masulipatam and Guntoor to the east.