significant posts with the existent Bahmani and Ahmadnagar kingdoms on the west coast of India (Banaji, 1932, pp. xix-xx).  
The island fortress of Janjira (which originates from the Arabic word jazira, meaning 'island') lay off the coast of the village of Danda-Rajpuri, approximately 40 miles south of Mumbai. Initially under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Gujarat, it fell into the hands of the Bahmani kingdom and was later conquered by the Ahmadnagar ruler Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah in the early sixteenth century. Because of its strategic location, this island had already been earmarked by Sidi traders as far back as the fifteenth century. Once it was taken over by the Ahmadnagar ruler, the Sidi administrative officers in his service were appointed thanedars or governors of the island. The Sidi thanedar Bairam Khan (1527-1538) successfully removed Ram Patil, the local leader of the Koli or fishing community who occupied the fortress of Janjira and proved to be a thorn in the side of the Ahmadnagar kingdom. Thereafter, the wooden structure of the fort was replaced by a stone construction under subsequent Sidi thanedars (Chitnis, 2005, p. 1; Khanzada, 1950s, p. 2; Maharashtra State Gazetteers. Kolaba District. 1964, pp. 71-149; Peshimam, n.d., pp. 1-2; Thapar, 1992).  
The Sidi general Malik Ambar referred to above effectively wielded power over the Ahmadnagar kingdom as the regent of the minor ruler Murtaza Shah in the early sixteenth century. He appointed another Sidi, named Sidi Ambar Sainak, to conduct an administrative assessment of Janjira. Sidi Ambar Sainak's report was so thorough and impressive that he was granted full control over the island as its effective ruler upon the death of the then thanedar Yakut Khan Shazli in 1621 (see Table 1). This marked the beginning of the princely state of Janjira. Over the next few decades, the Sidi rulers of Janjira conquered a 42-mile stretch of land along the Konkan coast (region along the west coast of India) encompassing approximately 325 square miles (Chitnis, 2005, p. 1; Damad, c.1920, pp. 16-21).