aurangzeb conquered the sultanate of golaconda in 1687, and golaconda, including east godavari, became one of the twenty-two provinces of the mughal empire. the nizam-ul-mulk (viceroy of golaconda) looked after the administration through military officers called fauzdars. pusapati ananda gajapati raju, the new raja of vizianagaram, invited the french to occupy the northern circars. the tussle that ensued between the french and the english ended with the french losing all possessions in northern circars except yanam.