For other uses of "Nayak", see Nayak (disambiguation)

A Nayak (also Nayaka, Nayaker or Naicker) is the title of a government official, equivalent to a provincial governor or viceroy, in the Telugu kingdoms of southern India, including the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal (11th-14th centuries) and the Vijayanagara kingdom (14th-16th centuries). The Nayak system was dominant from the fifteenth to the early seventeenth century. The Nayakas were key state administrators, functionaries, and revenue collectors and as such were liable to be transferred. Although they played a very important administrative role, there are no detailed studies on them except those on some big families. After the collapse of the Vijayanagara Kingdom, the Nayaks of the kingdom's former provinces became de facto independent rulers, including the Nayaks of Madurai, Thanjavur, Chittradurga, and Keladi, who ruled until the 18th century. A viceroy is somebody who governs a country or province as a substitute for the monarch. ... Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... The Kakatiya Dynasty was a south Indian dynasty that ruled parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083-1323 AD. They were one of the few Telugu kingdoms that lasted for centuries. ... Warangal is a city in Andhra Pradesh state of southeastern India. ... Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagar empire in the Southern part of India. ... Madurai (மதுரை in Tamil) is situated on the banks of river Vaigai in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state. ... Thanjavur, also known as Tanjore, is a city in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ...