206:
110:
196:
and
Rajputs of Awadh and Bihar, in part because they had an average height of 5'8", an important consideration in an army that valued impressive appearance amongst its soldiers. Despite its name the Bengal army, created first, mostly recruited Brahmins, Rajputs, and Bhumihars from Awadh and
152:
in their native areas. Most
Purbiyas were mercenaries and were paid for their services but some were actual kings of smaller principalities. This recruitment drive from Malwa saw the large influx of Purbiya soldiers into the region. Many of the local chieftains in Malwa depended heavily on Purbiya
89:
clan of
Rajputs were the main territorial lords of this region and they played the role of specialised recruiting agents and commanders of these Purbiya soldiers who were usually young peasant men native to Bhojpur. The soldiers gained a great reputation among the lords and kings of Northern and
221:
caste were common and they would use service in the Bengal Army as an opportunity to raise their wealth and status and for this reason, the
Bhumihar zamindaris of Bihar became "prime recruiting grounds" for the Army. In the 1780s, the Company maintained a major recruiting station in
280:. Following the suppression of the uprising, British authorities decided not to recruit troops from the eastern plains, and the new Bengal Army was to be recruited primarily from the North Western ethnic groups which had
989:
213:
Prior to 1857, company military service was most popular in the zamindaris of North and South Bihar with the East India
Company signing contracts to raise levies of troops from them. Recruits from the
226:
with six companies under a
Captain Eaton. These recruiting stations in Bihar were kept as "nurseries" which supplied battalions when drafts were made. Other recruiting centres were located in
966:
a comprehensive and authentic history of
Rajasthan, prepared under the orders of the Government of Rajasthan. First published 1966 by Rajasthan Archives.
188:
preferred to recruit
Purbiya soldiers, who they designated as "The fighting tribes of the Hindoos and the Musselmen", or simply "Easterners". The
934:
909:
728:
676:
642:
572:
545:
444:
390:
360:
148:
were also keen recruiters due to
Purbiyas' expertise with firearms. This expertise may have been gained due to the easy availability of
994:
253:, stated of recruitment that the ‘Bengal native Infantry came chiefly from the province of Awadh, Buxar, Bhojpur and Arrah.’ In 1810,
884:
857:
821:
792:
755:
703:
503:
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301:
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were among the first groups to enter into the military labour market and start recruiting
Purbiyas. Mughal sources detail a
531:
847:
297:
205:
634:
46:. The Purbiyas played a significant role in the militaries of various principalities in Western India including the
537:
984:
254:
269:
597:
Iqtidar Alam Khan (1999). "Re-examining the origin and group identity of the so-called "Purbias", 1500-1800".
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277:
265:
zamindar of Bhojpur also informed him that 12000 recruits from his district had joined the Bengal Army.
772:
101:. During this process, the young peasant would see themselves as being reborn as a "fearless warrior".
317:
209:
Bengal troops in the 19th century (1840s), the majority of troops in the Bengal Army were Purbiyas
606:
533:
Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850
509:
415:
185:
172:
Purbiyas had a long tradition of being recruited as mercenaries for various rulers such as the
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Western India and the Ujjainiyas used this to raise their status among other Rajput clans.
624:
235:
74:
55:
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who eventually became known as a Purbiya himself. The presence of Purbiya mercenaries in
630:
Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits
308:
region continued but on a much smaller scale (two out of sixty-four regiments by 1893).
463:
Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750 Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships
289:
239:
35:
494:
Dirk H.A. Kolff (2013). "Peasants fighting for a living in early modern North India".
973:
784:
322:
276:, a notable figure during the start of the mutiny, was a Purbiya serving in the 34th
273:
165:
chronicles including many Purbiya gunners serving in the army of Bahadur Shah of the
126:
82:
65:, meaning that many mercenaries from this region were experts in the use of muskets.
43:
257:
noted in his account of the districts of Bihar, that the number of men absent from
587:
Journal of Indian history, Volume 66, Dept. of History, University of Kerala, 1988
849:
The Sepoys and the Company: Tradition and Transition in Northern India, 1770-1830
809:
461:
664:
Recruiting, Drafting, and Enlisting: Two Sides of the Raising of Military Forces
189:
181:
173:
747:
Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present
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Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present
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668:
352:
262:
227:
149:
86:
62:
109:
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177:
610:
419:
243:
218:
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158:
154:
31:
293:
214:
47:
27:
406:
Deepak Solanki (2016). "Dr Gynaeshwari Devi Memorial Prize Paper".
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of the East India Company preferred to recruit its sepoys from the
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145:
138:
134:
130:
118:
114:
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94:
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39:
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The Purbiya units of the Bengal Army played a major role in the
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Many future Purbiya mercenaries would carry out a pilgrimage to
814:
The Skull of Alum Bheg: The Life and Death of a Rebel of 1857
97:
in modern-day Bihar where they would immerse themselves in a
61:
The area around Bihar was famous for a high concentration of
695:
Chinese and Indian Warfare – From the Classical Age to 1870
382:
The Rajputs of Rajputana: A Glimpse of Medieval Rajasthan
777:
The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest
564:
India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism
348:
India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism
990:
Mercenary units and formations of the Early Modern era
300:. Purbiya recruitment from the western regions of the
876:
Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia
773:"India, Great Rebellion of 1857 (The Sepoy Revolt)"
957:, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi (2004)
345:Waltraud Ernst; Biswamoy Pati (18 October 2007).
249:Brigadier Troup, who served as the commander of
73:The core region for Purbiya recruitment was the
692:Roy, Kaushik; Lorge, Peter (17 December 2014).
340:
338:
26:) was a common term used in medieval India for
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654:
374:
372:
38:- areas corresponding to present-day western
8:
841:
839:
837:
835:
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852:. Oxford University Press. pp. 51–55.
750:. Cambridge University Press. p. 214.
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523:
489:
487:
485:
483:
599:Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
408:Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
34:mercenaries and soldiers from the eastern
561:Ernst, Waltraud; Pati, Biswamoy (2007).
204:
161:are referenced in 16th and 17th century
816:. Oxford University Press. p. 22.
498:. Amsterdam University Press: 243–266.
334:
180:. Purbiyas made up the majority of the
723:. Macmillan. pp. 229 & 573.
466:. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 72.
7:
955:Marginal Muslim Communities in India
261:to serve in the Army was 4680. The
661:Karsten, Peter (31 October 2013).
530:Dirk H. A. Kolff (8 August 2002).
137:attempting to collect soldiers in
14:
925:David, Saul (4 September 2003).
785:10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0743
433:Roy, Kaushik (15 October 2012).
873:Roy, Kaushik (6 October 2015).
810:"The Hot Wind of an Indian May"
929:. Penguin Adult. p. 404.
439:. Cambridge University Press.
385:. APH Publishing. p. 23.
1:
771:Chattopadhyay, Kunal (2009).
184:. Prior to 1857, the British
77:region of modern-day Western
298:North-west frontier province
635:University of Chicago Press
201:Bengal Army and 1857 mutiny
1011:
964:Rajasthan through the Ages
904:. Macmillan. p. 305.
698:. Routledge. p. 335.
538:Cambridge University Press
995:Military history of India
567:. Routledge. p. 57.
255:Francis Buchanan-Hamilton
113:A Purbiya camel rider in
879:. Routledge. p. 6.
270:Indian Rebellion of 1857
16:Clan of Rajputs in India
808:Wagner, Kim A. (2017).
379:M. S. Naravane (1999).
953:M K A Siddiqui (ed.),
900:Mason, Philip (1986).
719:Mason, Philip (1986).
278:Bengal Native Infantry
210:
141:to serve the emperor.
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846:Alavi, Seema (1995).
744:Roy, Kaushik (2012).
496:Fighting for a Living
460:Roy, Kaushik (2014).
272:against the British.
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112:
627:(15 February 2009).
318:Mercenaries in India
50:army as well at the
292:communities of the
902:A Matter of Honour
721:A Matter of Honour
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186:East India Company
123:
961:Dasharatha Sharma
936:978-0-141-00554-6
927:The Indian Mutiny
911:978-0-333-41837-6
730:978-0-333-41837-6
678:978-1-135-66150-2
644:978-0-226-34055-5
574:978-1-134-11988-2
547:978-0-521-52305-9
446:978-1-107-01736-8
392:978-81-7648-118-2
362:978-1-134-11988-2
167:Gujarat Sultanate
153:soldiers such as
52:Gujarat Sultanate
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81:and Eastern
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605:: 363–371.
414:: 298–305.
190:Bengal Army
182:Bengal Army
69:Recruitment
974:Categories
329:References
99:tiger tank
669:Routledge
353:Routledge
263:Ujjainiya
228:Bhagalpur
169:in 1535.
150:saltpetre
133:of Bihar
87:Ujjainiya
63:saltpetre
611:44144102
420:26552655
312:See also
304:and the
259:Shahabad
251:Bareilly
232:Shahabad
194:Brahmins
178:Marathas
176:and the
121:in 1825.
244:Hajipur
236:Monghyr
219:Brahmin
197:Bihar.
174:British
163:Persian
159:Gujarat
155:Silhadi
127:Mughals
105:History
75:Bhojpur
32:Brahmin
24:Purabia
20:Purbiya
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294:Punjab
290:Muslim
215:Rajput
85:. The
48:Marwar
28:Rajput
607:JSTOR
510:JSTOR
416:JSTOR
306:Delhi
282:Hindu
240:Saran
224:Buxar
146:Malwa
139:Buxar
135:subah
131:diwan
119:India
115:Bihar
95:Buxar
79:Bihar
40:Bihar
30:and
931:ISBN
906:ISBN
881:ISBN
854:ISBN
818:ISBN
789:ISBN
752:ISBN
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387:ISBN
357:ISBN
296:and
288:and
286:Sikh
242:and
217:and
125:The
54:and
22:(or
781:doi
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