New History of the Marathas v1.c16.70

v1.c16.70

7. The navy and the Siddi of Janjira.—Shivaji early in his career saw the necessity of having a strong and independent navy of his own, as much for the protection as for the expansion of his resources by means of foreign trade. More than a hundred years before Shivaji, the Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar had established his own navy at Janjira and placed in command of it Siddi Yaqut Khan a daring Abyssinian immigrant well-versed in naval art (1490). He was charged with the two-fold function of the supervision of the coastal trade and the safe conveyance of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Thus was created the small State of Janjirā which has survived centuries of political change.¹⁴