 Jeypore was the largest of the "little kingdoms" in southern Orissa, covering an area of around and assessed to pay a tribute of 16,000 rupees in the 1803 permanent settlement.In regional political terms it was rivalled only by Parlakimedi and the comparatively low assessment reflected the importance that the British attached to the kingdom at this time.Vikram Dev II (r 1758-1781) had joined other little kings of the region in military opposition to the British colonial influence, leading to an attack by the British in 1775 which destroyed the fort at Jeypore.