Deccan sultanates
Encyclopedia
The Deccan sultanates were five Muslim
-ruled late medieval kingdoms—Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar
, and Berar
—of south-central India
. The Deccan sultanates were located on the Deccan Plateau
, between the Krishna River
and the Vindhya Range
. These kingdoms became independent during the breakup of the Bahmani Sultanate
. In 1490, Ahmadnagar declared indepenence, followed by Bijapur and Berar
in the same year. Golkonda became independent in 1518 and Bidar
in 1528. In 1510, Bijapur repulsed an invasion by the Portuguese against the city of Goa, but lost it later that year.
Although generally rivals, they did ally against the Vijayanagar empire in 1565, permanently weakening Vijayanagar in the Battle of Talikota
. In 1574, after a coup in Berar, Ahmadnagar invaded and conquered it. In 1619, Bidar was annexed by Bijapur. The sultanates were later conquered by the Mughal Empire
; Berar was stripped from Ahmadnagar in 1596, Ahmadnagar was completely taken between 1616 and 1636, and Golkonda and Bijapur conquered by Aurangzeb
's 1686-7 campaign.
Malik Ahmed Shah Bahri, the governor of Junnar after defeating the Bahmani army led by general Jahangir Khan on May 28, 1490 declared independence and established the Nizam Shahi dynasty rule over the sultanate of Ahmadnagar. The territory of the sultanate was located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur. Initially his capital was in Junnar
. In 1494, the foundation was laid for the new capital Ahmadnagar. Malik Ahmed Shah after several attempts, secured the great fortress of Daulatabad in 1499. After his death in 1510, his son Burhan, a boy of seven was installed in his place. Burhan Shah I died in Ahmadnagar in 1553. He left six sons, of whom Hussain succeeded him. After the death of Hussain Shah I in 1565, his minor son Murtaza ascended the throne. During his minority, his mother Khanzada Humayun Sultana ruled as a regent for several years. Murtaza Shah annexed Berar in 1574. On his death in 1588, his son Miran Hussain ascended the throne. But his reign could last only a little more than ten months as he was poisoned to death. Ismail, a cousin of Miran Hussain was raised to the throne, but the actual power was in the hands of Jamal Khan, the leader of the Deccani group in the court. Jamal Khan was killed in the battle of Rohankhed in 1591 and soon Ismail Shah was also captured and confined by his father Burhan, who ascended the throne as Burhan Shah. After the death of Burhan Shah his eldest son Ibrahim ascended the throne. Ibrahim Shah died only after a few months in the battle with Bijapur sultanate. Soon, Chand Bibi
, the aunt of Ibrahim Shah, proclaimed Bahadur, the infant son Ibrahim Shah as the rightful Sultan and she became the regent of him. In 1596, Mughal attack led by Murad
was repulsed bravely by Chand Bibi
. After the death of Chand Bibi in July,1600 Ahmadnagar was conquered by the Mughals and Bahadur Shah was imprisoned. But Malik Ambar
and other Ahmadnagar officials defied the Mughals and declared Murtaza Shah II as sultan in 1600 at a new capital Paranda. Malik Ambar became prime minister and Vakil-us-Saltanat of Ahmadnagar. Later, the capital was shifted first to Junnar and then to a new city Khadki (later Aurangabad). After the death of Malik Ambar, his son Fath Khan surrendered to the Mughals in 1633 and handed over the young Nizam Shahi ruler Hussain Shah, who was sent as a prisoner to the fort of Gwalior. But soon, Shahaji
with the assistance of Bijapur, placed an infant scion of the Nizam Shahi dynasty, Murtaza on the throne and he became the regent. In 1636 Aurangzeb, then Mughal viceroy of Deccan finally annexed the sultanate to the Mughal empire after defeating Shahaji.
declared independence in 1490 and founded the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar sultanate. He established the capital at Achalpur
(Ellichpur). Gavilgad and Narnala
were also fortified by him. He was succeeded by his eldest son Ala-ud-din after his death in 1504. In 1528, Ala-ud-din resisted the aggression of Ahmadnagar with the help from Bahadur Shah, sultan of Gujarat. The next ruler, Darya first tried to align with Bijapur to prevent aggression of Ahamdnagar, but was unsuccessful. Later, he helped Ahamadnagar on three occasions against Bijapur. After his death in 1562, his infant son Burhan succeeded him to the throne. But in 1574, Tufal Khan, a minister of Burhan usurped Burhan Imad Shah, the last ruler of Imad Shahi dynasty and in the same year Murtaza I, sultan of Ahmadnagar annexed it to his sultanate. Burhan, along with Tufal Khan and his son Shamshir-ul-Mulk were taken to Ahmadnager and confined to a fortress where all of them subsequently died.
The Bijapur sultanate was ruled by the Adil Shahi dynasty from 1490 to 1686. The Adil Shahis were originally provincial rulers of the Bahmani Sultanate
, but with the breakup of the Bahmani state after 1518, Ismail Adil Shah established an independent sultanate, one of the five Deccan sultanates.
The Bijapur sultanate was located in southwestern India, straddling the Western Ghats
range of southern Maharashtra
and northern Karnataka
. Ismail Adil Shah and his successors embellished the capital at Bijapur with numerous monuments.
The Adil Shahis fought the empire of Vijayanagar
, which lay to the south across the Tungabhadra River
, and fought the other sultanates as well. The sultanates combined forces to deliver a decisive defeat to Vijayanagar in 1565, after which the empire broke up. Bijapur seized control of the Raichur Doab
from Vijayanagar. In 1619, the Adil Shahis conquered the neighboring sultanate of Bidar
, which was incorporated into their realm. In the 17th century, the Maratha
s revolted successfully under Shivaji's leadership and captured major parts of the Sultanate except Bijapur. The weakened Sultanate was conquered by Aurangzeb
in 1686 with the fall of Bijapur, bringing the dynasty to an end.
Mohammad Shah. He conquered Golkonda and became the Governor of Telangana region in 1518, after the disintegration of the Bahmani sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates. Soon after, he declared independence from the Bahmani sultanate, took title Qutb Shah, and established Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. The dynasty ruled for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's army conquered Golkonda in 1687.
An important cultural contribution of the Deccan sultanates is the development of Dakhani language. Dakhani, which started growing under the Bahamani rulers, developed into an independent spoken and literary language during this period by continuously drawing resources from Arabic-Persian, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu. This language later became known as Dakhani Urdu to distinguish it from the North Indian Urdu
. The Deccani miniature painting, which flourished in the courts of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda is another major cultural contribution of the Deccan Sultantaes. The architectural splendors of Deccan like Char Minar and Gol Gumbaz belong to this period. The religious tolerance displayed by the Nizam Shahi, Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi rulers is also worthy of mention.
Amongst the monuments of Nizam Shahi rulers in Ahmednagar, the earliest one is the tomb of Ahmad Shah I Bahri (1509) at the centre of Bagh Rouza, a garden complex. The Jami Masjid also belong to the same period. Mecca Masjid, built in 1525 by Rumi Khan, a Turkish artillery officer of Burhan Nizam Shah I has originality in its design. The Kotla complex constructed in 1537 as a religious educational institution. The impressive Farah Bagh was the centrepiece of a huge palacial complex completed in 1583. The other monuments in Ahmednagar of the Nizam Shahi period are Do Boti Chira (tomb of Sharja Khan, 1562), Damri Masjid (1568) and the tomb of Rumi Khan (1568). The Jami Masjid (1615) In Khirki (Aurangabad) and the Chini Mahal inside the Daulatabad fort were constructed during the late Nizam Shahi period (1600–1636). The tomb of Malik Ambar in Khuldabad (1626) is another impressive monument of this period. The Kali Masjid of Jalna
(1578) and the tomb of Dilawar Khan (1613) in Rajgurunagar
also belong to the Nizam Shahi period.
During the reign of Ahmad Shah I Bahri, his keeper of imperial records, Dalapati wrote an encyclopedic work, the Nrisimha Prasada, where he mentioned his overlord as Nizamsaha. It is a notable instance of the religious tolerance of the Nizam Shahi rulers.
is the only notable surviving Imad Shahi monument.
. The tomb consists of a lofty domed chamber, open on four sides located in the middle of a Persian four-square garden. The Rangin Mahal in Bidar, built during the reign of Ali Barid Shah is a complete and exquisitely decorated courtly structure. Other important monuments in Bidar during this period are tomb of Qasim II and Kali Masjid.
An important class of metalwork known as Bidri originated from Bidar. These metalworks were carried out on black metal mainly zinc, which were inlaid with designs of silver and brass and sometimes copper.
The Adil Shahi rulers contributed greatly in the fields of art, architecture, literature and music. Bijapur
developed into a cosmopolitan city, and it attracted many scholars, artists, musicians, and Sufi saints from Rome, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Turkestan.
Amongst the major architectural works in Bijapur sultanate, one of the earliest is the unfinished Jami Masjid (started by Ali Adil Shah I in 1576). It has an arcaded prayer hall with fine aisles supported on massive piers has an impressive dome. Most splendid monument built during the reign of Ibrahim II was the Ibrahim Rouza which was originally planned as a tomb for queen Taj Sultana but later converted into the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah II and his family. This complex, completed in 1626, consists of a paired tomb and a mosque. The tomb is an exquisite structure with delicate carvings. Ibrahim II also planned to construct a new twin city to Bijapur, Nauraspur. The construction began in 1599 but never completed. The greatest monument in Bijapur is Gol Gumbaz
, the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah. The diameter of the hemispherical dome is 44 m. externally. This monument was completed in 1656. The other important architectural works of this period are the Chini Mahal, the Jal Mandir, the Sat Manzil, the Gagan Mahal, the Anand Mahal and the Asar Mahal (1646) in Bijapur, Kummatgi (16 km from Bijapur), the Panhala fort and Naldurg (45 km. from Solapur
).
Persian artists of Adil Shahi court have left a rare treasure of miniature paintings, some of which are well-preserved in Europe's great museums. The earliest miniature paintings are ascribed to the period of reign of Ali Adil Shah I. The most significant of them are the paintings in the manuscript of Nujum-ul-Ulum (Stars of Science) (1570), kept in Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. The manuscript consists about 400 miniature paintings. Two other illustrated manuscripts which can be attributed to the period of Ali Adil Shah I are Jawahir-al Musiqat-i-Muhammadi in British Library which contains 48 paintings and a Marathi commentary of Sarangadeva’s Sangita-Ratnakara kept in City Palace Museum, Jaipur which contains 4 paintings. The maximum number of miniature paintings came down to us belong to the period of reign of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II. The most celebrated painter of his court probably was Maulana Farrukh Hussain. The miniature paintings of this period are preserved in Bikaner Palace, Bodleian Library, Oxford, British Museum, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Muśee Guimet, Paris, Academy of Sciences, St. Petersberg and Napstrek Museum, Prague.
Under the Adil Shahi rulers many literary works were published in Dakhani. Ibrahim Adil Shah II himself wrote a book of songs, Kitab-i-Nauras in Dakhani. This book contains a number of songs whose tunes are set to different ragas and raginis. In his songs, he praised Hindu goddess Sarasvati along with the Prophet and Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz. A unique tambur (lute) known as Moti Khan was in his possession. The famous Persian poet laureate Zuhuri was his court poet. The Mushaira (poetic symposium) was born in the Bijapur court and later traveled north.
The Adil Shahi kings were known for tolerance towards Hindus and non-interference in their religious matters. They employed Hindus to high posts, especially as the officers who deal with the accounts and the administration, since the documents pertaining to the both were maintained in Marathi.
One of the earliest architectural achievements of the Qutb Shahi dynasty is the fortified city of Golkonda. The Jami Masjid (1518) erected by Quli-Qutb-ul-Mulk, the tomb of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1611), the tomb of Muhammad Qutb Shah (1626) and the mosque of Hayat Bakshi Begam (1666) are the notable monuments in Golkonda. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah decided to shift the capital to Hyderabad, 8 km east of Golkonda. Here, he constructed the most original monument in the Deccan, the Char Minar in the heart of the new city. This monument (completed in 1591) has four minarets of 56 m. height. The construction of the Mecca Masjid, located at the immediate south of Char Minar was started in 1617 during the reign of Muhammad Qutb Shah but completed only in 1693. The other important monuments of this period are the Toli Masjid (1671) and the Jami Masjid at Gandikota.
The Qutb Shahi rulers were great patrons of literature and invited many scholars, poets, historians and Sufi saints from Iran to settle in their sultanate. The most important contribution of the Golkonda sultanate in the field of literature is the development of Dakhani language. Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah patronised Telugu literature also. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was not only a great patron of art and literature but also a poet of high order. He wrote in Dakhani, Persian and Telugu and left an extensive Diwan (volume) in Dakhani, known as Kulliyat-i-Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah. Apart from the praise of God and the Prophet, he also wrote on nature, love and contemporary social life.
The Qutb Shahi rulers invited many Persian artists like Shaykh Abbasi and Muhammad Zaman in their court, which left a profound impact of different phases of Iranian art on the miniature paintings of this period. The earliest miniature paintings like the 126 illustrations in the manuscript of Anwar-i-Suhayli (c. 1550–1560) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the illustrations in Sindbad Namah in the India Office Library, London and Shirin and Khusrau in the Khudabaksh Library, Patna most probably belong to the period of reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. First 6 of the total 8 illustrations in the manuscript of Kulliyat-i-Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah (c. 1590–1600) in Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad are masterpieces. The 5 illustrations in a manuscript of the Diwan-i-Hafiz (c.1630) in the British Museum, London belonged to the period of reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The most outstanding surviving Golkonda painting probably is the Procession of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah riding an elephant (c. 1650) in Saltykov-Shtshedrine State Public Library, St. Petersberg.
Qutb Shahi rulers appointed Hindus in important administrative posts. Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah appointed Murari Rao as Peshwa, second to only Mir Jumla (prime minister).
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-ruled late medieval kingdoms—Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar
Bidar Sultanate
Bidar sultanate was one of the Deccan sultanates of late medieval India. Its founder, Qasim Barid was a Turk, domiciled in Georgia. He joined the service of the Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah III. He started his career as a sar-naubat but later became the mir-jumla of the Bahmani sultanate...
, and Berar
Berar Sultanate
-Berar in Ancient History:Subah Berar and Gondwana the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in medieval period since Khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar...
—of south-central India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Deccan sultanates were located on the Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...
, between the Krishna River
Krishna River
The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...
and the Vindhya Range
Vindhya Range
The Vindhya Range is a range of older rounded mountains and hills in the west-central Indian subcontinent, which geographically separates the Indian subcontinent into northern India and Southern India.- Introduction :...
. These kingdoms became independent during the breakup of the Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
. In 1490, Ahmadnagar declared indepenence, followed by Bijapur and Berar
Berar Sultanate
-Berar in Ancient History:Subah Berar and Gondwana the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in medieval period since Khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar...
in the same year. Golkonda became independent in 1518 and Bidar
Bidar Sultanate
Bidar sultanate was one of the Deccan sultanates of late medieval India. Its founder, Qasim Barid was a Turk, domiciled in Georgia. He joined the service of the Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah III. He started his career as a sar-naubat but later became the mir-jumla of the Bahmani sultanate...
in 1528. In 1510, Bijapur repulsed an invasion by the Portuguese against the city of Goa, but lost it later that year.
Although generally rivals, they did ally against the Vijayanagar empire in 1565, permanently weakening Vijayanagar in the Battle of Talikota
Battle of Talikota
The Battle of Talikota , a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, resulted in a rout of Vijayanagara, and ended the last great Hindu kingdom in South India...
. In 1574, after a coup in Berar, Ahmadnagar invaded and conquered it. In 1619, Bidar was annexed by Bijapur. The sultanates were later conquered by the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
; Berar was stripped from Ahmadnagar in 1596, Ahmadnagar was completely taken between 1616 and 1636, and Golkonda and Bijapur conquered by Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
's 1686-7 campaign.
Ahmadnagar sultanate
Junnar
Junnar is a city with thousands of years of history in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a taluka headquarter. Situated at the base of the Sahyadri mountains, it is around 100 km east of Mumbai and 94 km north of Pune...
. In 1494, the foundation was laid for the new capital Ahmadnagar. Malik Ahmed Shah after several attempts, secured the great fortress of Daulatabad in 1499. After his death in 1510, his son Burhan, a boy of seven was installed in his place. Burhan Shah I died in Ahmadnagar in 1553. He left six sons, of whom Hussain succeeded him. After the death of Hussain Shah I in 1565, his minor son Murtaza ascended the throne. During his minority, his mother Khanzada Humayun Sultana ruled as a regent for several years. Murtaza Shah annexed Berar in 1574. On his death in 1588, his son Miran Hussain ascended the throne. But his reign could last only a little more than ten months as he was poisoned to death. Ismail, a cousin of Miran Hussain was raised to the throne, but the actual power was in the hands of Jamal Khan, the leader of the Deccani group in the court. Jamal Khan was killed in the battle of Rohankhed in 1591 and soon Ismail Shah was also captured and confined by his father Burhan, who ascended the throne as Burhan Shah. After the death of Burhan Shah his eldest son Ibrahim ascended the throne. Ibrahim Shah died only after a few months in the battle with Bijapur sultanate. Soon, Chand Bibi
Chand Bibi
Chand Bibi , also known as Chand Khatun or Chand Sultana, was an Indian Muslim woman warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur and Regent of Ahmednagar...
, the aunt of Ibrahim Shah, proclaimed Bahadur, the infant son Ibrahim Shah as the rightful Sultan and she became the regent of him. In 1596, Mughal attack led by Murad
Murad Baksh
Murad Baksh was the youngest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz Mahal, he was the Subedar of Balkh until he was replaced by his brother Aurangzeb in the year 1647....
was repulsed bravely by Chand Bibi
Chand Bibi
Chand Bibi , also known as Chand Khatun or Chand Sultana, was an Indian Muslim woman warrior. She acted as the Regent of Bijapur and Regent of Ahmednagar...
. After the death of Chand Bibi in July,1600 Ahmadnagar was conquered by the Mughals and Bahadur Shah was imprisoned. But Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar was an Ethiopian born in Harar, sold as a child by his parents due to poverty and rose to the level of Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in India. He eventually arrived in India, where he was educated and given opportunities, but he remained a slave. Nevertheless in time he...
and other Ahmadnagar officials defied the Mughals and declared Murtaza Shah II as sultan in 1600 at a new capital Paranda. Malik Ambar became prime minister and Vakil-us-Saltanat of Ahmadnagar. Later, the capital was shifted first to Junnar and then to a new city Khadki (later Aurangabad). After the death of Malik Ambar, his son Fath Khan surrendered to the Mughals in 1633 and handed over the young Nizam Shahi ruler Hussain Shah, who was sent as a prisoner to the fort of Gwalior. But soon, Shahaji
Shahaji
Shahaji Raje Bhosle was an early exponent of guerilla warfare. He was the eldest son of Maloji Bhosale of Verul . He brought the house of Bhosle into prominence. The princely states of Tanjore, Kolhapur and Satara are Bhosle legacies...
with the assistance of Bijapur, placed an infant scion of the Nizam Shahi dynasty, Murtaza on the throne and he became the regent. In 1636 Aurangzeb, then Mughal viceroy of Deccan finally annexed the sultanate to the Mughal empire after defeating Shahaji.
Rulers
- Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I 1490–1510
- Burhan Nizam Shah I 1510–1553
- Hussain Nizam Shah I 1553–1565
- Murtaza Nizam Shah 1565–1588
- Miran Nizam Hussain 1588–1589
- Isma'il Nizam Shah 1589–1591
- Burhan Nizam Shah II 1591–1595
- Ibrahim Nizam Shah 1595–1596
- Ahmad Nizam Shah II 1596
- Bahadur Nizam Shah 1596–1600
- Murtaza Nizam Shah II 1600–1610
- Burhan Nizam Shah III 1610–1631
- Hussain Nizam Shah II 1631–1633
- Murtaza Nizam Shah III 1633–1636.
- Mughal historians and Emperors never referred to them as Nizam Shahs but rather as Nizam ul Mulk, since they were not recognized as equals, the word Shah was thus avoided.
Berar sultanate
During the disintegration of Bahmani sultanate, Fath-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, governor of BerarBerar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...
declared independence in 1490 and founded the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar sultanate. He established the capital at Achalpur
Achalpur
Achalpur , formerly known as Ellichpur and Illychpur, is a city and a municipal council in Amravati District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has a twin city known as Paratwada.-Geography:...
(Ellichpur). Gavilgad and Narnala
Narnala
Narnala also known as "Shahanur Fort" is an Indian hill fortress in Maharashtra, India. Narnala was one of the thirteen sarkar of Berar Subah...
were also fortified by him. He was succeeded by his eldest son Ala-ud-din after his death in 1504. In 1528, Ala-ud-din resisted the aggression of Ahmadnagar with the help from Bahadur Shah, sultan of Gujarat. The next ruler, Darya first tried to align with Bijapur to prevent aggression of Ahamdnagar, but was unsuccessful. Later, he helped Ahamadnagar on three occasions against Bijapur. After his death in 1562, his infant son Burhan succeeded him to the throne. But in 1574, Tufal Khan, a minister of Burhan usurped Burhan Imad Shah, the last ruler of Imad Shahi dynasty and in the same year Murtaza I, sultan of Ahmadnagar annexed it to his sultanate. Burhan, along with Tufal Khan and his son Shamshir-ul-Mulk were taken to Ahmadnager and confined to a fortress where all of them subsequently died.
Rulers
- Fath-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk 1490–1504
- Ala-ud-din Imad Shah 1504–1530
- Darya Imad Shah 1530–1562
- Burhan Imad Shah 1562–1574
- Tufal Khan (usurper) 1574.
Bidar sultanate
Bidar was the smallest of the five Deccan sultanates. Qasim Barid, founder of the Barid Shahi dynasty joined the service of Bahmani ruler Mahmud Shah Bahmani (r.1482–1518) as a sar-naubat but later became mir-jumla of the Bahmani sultanate. In 1492, he became de-facto ruler of Bahmani sultanate, though Sultan Mahmud Shah Bahmani remained as the formal ruler. After his death in 1504, his son Amir Barid controlled the administration of the Bahmani sultanate. In 1528, with the flight of the last Bahmani ruler Kalimullah from Bidar, Amir Barid became practically independent. Amir Barid was succeeded by his son Ali Barid, who was the first to assume the title of Shah. He participated in the Battle of Talikota. He was fond of poetry and calligraphy. The last ruler of the Bidar sulatante Amir Barid Shah III was defeated in 1619, and the sultanate was annexed to Bijapur Sultanate.Rulers
- Qasim Barid IQasim Barid IQasim Barid I was a prime-minister of the Bahmani sultanate and the founder of the Bidar Sultanate, one of the five late medieval Indian kingdoms together known as the Deccan sultanates. Qasim Barid was a Turk, domiciled in Georgia. He entered the service of the Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah III....
1492–1504 - Amir Barid I 1504–1542
- Ali Barid Shah 1542–1580
- Ibrahim Barid Shah 1580–1587
- Qasim Barid Shah II 1587–1591
- Ali Barid Shah II 1591
- Amir Barid Shah II 1591–1600
- Mirza Ali Barid Shah III 1600–1609
- Amir Barid Shah III 1609–1619.
Bijapur sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
, but with the breakup of the Bahmani state after 1518, Ismail Adil Shah established an independent sultanate, one of the five Deccan sultanates.
The Bijapur sultanate was located in southwestern India, straddling the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
range of southern Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and northern Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. Ismail Adil Shah and his successors embellished the capital at Bijapur with numerous monuments.
The Adil Shahis fought the empire of Vijayanagar
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...
, which lay to the south across the Tungabhadra River
Tungabhadra River
The Tungabhadra River is a sacred river in southern India that flows through the state of Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, where it serves as the chief tributary of the Krishna River...
, and fought the other sultanates as well. The sultanates combined forces to deliver a decisive defeat to Vijayanagar in 1565, after which the empire broke up. Bijapur seized control of the Raichur Doab
Raichur Doab
The Raichur Doab is a Doab, in this case the triangular region of land in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka lying between the Krishna River and its tributary, the Tungabhadra River. The doab is named for the town of Raichur in the Raichur District....
from Vijayanagar. In 1619, the Adil Shahis conquered the neighboring sultanate of Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
, which was incorporated into their realm. In the 17th century, the Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s revolted successfully under Shivaji's leadership and captured major parts of the Sultanate except Bijapur. The weakened Sultanate was conquered by Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
in 1686 with the fall of Bijapur, bringing the dynasty to an end.
Rulers
- Yusuf Adil ShahYusuf Adil ShahYusuf Adil Shah , referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries...
1490–1510 - Ismail Adil ShahIsmail Adil ShahIsamail Adil Shah was the king of Bijapur who spent most of his time extending his territory. His short lived reign helped the dynasty establish a strong hold in the deccan.-Early years:...
1510–1534 - Mallu Adil ShahMallu Adil ShahMallu Adil Shah, of the Adil Shahi dynasty, was the king of the Bijapur Sultanate, India, for a short period in 1534.Mallu Adil Shah succeeded his father Ismail Adil Shah's death. He was supposed to be in the company of evil habits...
1534–1535 - Ibrahim Adil Shah IIbrahim Adil Shah IIbrahim Adil Shah I was a sultan and later shah of the Indian kingdom of Bijapur. He succeeded his elder brother, Mallu Adil Shah, through the machinations of the afaqi faction at the court...
1535–1558 - Ali Adil Shah IAli Adil Shah IAli Adil Shah I was the fifth Sultan of Bijapur Sultanate.On the day of his coronation Ali abandoned the Sunni practices and reintroduced the Shi’ah Khutbah and other practices...
1558–1580 - Ibrahim Adil Shah IIIbrahim Adil Shah IIIbrahim Adil Shah II , of the Adil Shahi dynasty, was the king of Bijapur Sultanate.-Early life:Ali Adil Shah's father, Ibrahim Adil Shah I's had divided power between the Sunni nobles, the Habshis and the Deccanis...
1580–1627 - Mohammed Adil ShahMohammed Adil ShahMuhammad Adil Shah was the ruler of Bijapur, ascending the throne in 1627 at the comparatively young age of sixteen years. This was accomplished with the help of two Bijapuri nobles – Daulat Khan and Mirza Muhammad Amin Lari .Muhammad’s glorious reign of thirty years witnessed some momentous...
1627–1656 - Ali Adil Shah IIAli Adil Shah IIOn the death of Mohammed Adil Shah on November 4, 1657, Ali Adil Shah II, a youth of eighteen, succeeded to the throne through the efforts of the Prime Minister Khan Muhammad and the Queen, Badi Sahiba, sister of Qutb Shah of Golkonda....
1656–1672 - Sikandar Adil ShahSikandar Adil ShahSikandar Adil Shah was placed on the throne of Bijapur in 1672 at four years of age. Therefore, his reign is one of regents and ministers and was marked by chronic civil war among factious nobles, independence of provincial governors, paralysis of the central administration, Mughal invasions,...
1672–1686.
Golkonda Sultanate
The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Qutub-ul-Mulk, migrated to Delhi with some of his relatives and friends in the beginning of the 16th century. Later he migrated south to Deccan and served Bahmani sultanBahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
Mohammad Shah. He conquered Golkonda and became the Governor of Telangana region in 1518, after the disintegration of the Bahmani sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates. Soon after, he declared independence from the Bahmani sultanate, took title Qutb Shah, and established Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. The dynasty ruled for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's army conquered Golkonda in 1687.
Rulers
- Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk 1518–1543
- Jamsheed Quli Qutb ShahJamsheed Quli Qutb ShahJamsheed Quli Qutb Shah was the second ruler of the Sultanate of Golkonda under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1543 to 1550....
1543–1550 - Subhan Quli Qutb ShahSubhan Quli Qutb ShahSubhan Quli Qutb Shah was 7 years old, when he became Sultan of Golconda, after the death of his father Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah, in 1550. Saif Khan, also known as Ainul Mulk, was sent from Ahmednagar for the performance of duties of regent during the boy's development...
1550 - Ibrahim Quli Qutub ShahIbrahim Quli Qutb Shah WaliIbrahim Qutb Shah Wali was the third ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1550 to 1580....
1550–1580 - Muhammad Quli Qutb ShahMuhammad Quli Qutb ShahMuhammad Quli Qutb Shah was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda in south India. He founded the city of Bhagyanagar i.e. Hyderabad - Hyderabad, India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar...
1580–1611 - Sultan Muhammad Qutb ShahSultan Muhammad Qutb ShahSultan Muhammad Qutb Shah was the sixth ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1611 to 1625. He was the nephew and son-in-law of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah having married Muhammad's daughter Hayat Bakshi Begum in 1607...
1611–1626 - Abdullah Qutb ShahAbdullah Qutb ShahAbdullah Qutb Shah was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1625 to 1672....
1626–1672 - Abul Hasan Qutb ShahAbul Hasan Qutb ShahAbul Hasan Qutb Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda in south India...
1672–1687.
Cultural contributions
The rulers of five Deccan sultanates had a number of cultural contributions to their credit in the fields of art, music, literature and architecture.An important cultural contribution of the Deccan sultanates is the development of Dakhani language. Dakhani, which started growing under the Bahamani rulers, developed into an independent spoken and literary language during this period by continuously drawing resources from Arabic-Persian, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu. This language later became known as Dakhani Urdu to distinguish it from the North Indian Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. The Deccani miniature painting, which flourished in the courts of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda is another major cultural contribution of the Deccan Sultantaes. The architectural splendors of Deccan like Char Minar and Gol Gumbaz belong to this period. The religious tolerance displayed by the Nizam Shahi, Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi rulers is also worthy of mention.
Ahmadnagar sultanate
The Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmadnagar enthusiastically patronised miniature painting. The earliest surviving paintings are found as the illustrations of a manuscript Tarif-i-Hussain Shahi (c.1565), which is now in Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala, Pune. A miniature painting of Murtaza Nizam Shah (c.1575) is in Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris while another one is in State Library, Rampur. Three other paintings, The Running elephant in an American private collection, The Royal picnic in the India Office Library, London and the Young prince embraced by a small girl in the Edwin Binney 3rd collection in the San Diego Museum most probably belong to the period of Burhan Nizam Shah II.Amongst the monuments of Nizam Shahi rulers in Ahmednagar, the earliest one is the tomb of Ahmad Shah I Bahri (1509) at the centre of Bagh Rouza, a garden complex. The Jami Masjid also belong to the same period. Mecca Masjid, built in 1525 by Rumi Khan, a Turkish artillery officer of Burhan Nizam Shah I has originality in its design. The Kotla complex constructed in 1537 as a religious educational institution. The impressive Farah Bagh was the centrepiece of a huge palacial complex completed in 1583. The other monuments in Ahmednagar of the Nizam Shahi period are Do Boti Chira (tomb of Sharja Khan, 1562), Damri Masjid (1568) and the tomb of Rumi Khan (1568). The Jami Masjid (1615) In Khirki (Aurangabad) and the Chini Mahal inside the Daulatabad fort were constructed during the late Nizam Shahi period (1600–1636). The tomb of Malik Ambar in Khuldabad (1626) is another impressive monument of this period. The Kali Masjid of Jalna
Jalna (city)
Jalna is a city and a municipal council in Jalna district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Jalna was formerly a part of Nizam State as a tahsil of Aurangabad district....
(1578) and the tomb of Dilawar Khan (1613) in Rajgurunagar
Rajgurunagar
Rajgurunagar a town in Maharashtra, India.It is famous as the birth place of the Indian revolutionary Rajguru. Rajgurunagar has witnessed memorable incidents during its history. The battle between Tarabai and Dilawarkhan took place near Rajgurunagar. Peshwas had maintained close relations with...
also belong to the Nizam Shahi period.
During the reign of Ahmad Shah I Bahri, his keeper of imperial records, Dalapati wrote an encyclopedic work, the Nrisimha Prasada, where he mentioned his overlord as Nizamsaha. It is a notable instance of the religious tolerance of the Nizam Shahi rulers.
Berar sultanate
The ruined palace of Hauz Katora, 3 km. west of AchalpurAchalpur
Achalpur , formerly known as Ellichpur and Illychpur, is a city and a municipal council in Amravati District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has a twin city known as Paratwada.-Geography:...
is the only notable surviving Imad Shahi monument.
Bidar sultanate
The main architectural activities of the Barid Shahi rulers are the garden tombs. The tomb of Ali Barid Shah (1577) is the most notable monument in BidarBidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
. The tomb consists of a lofty domed chamber, open on four sides located in the middle of a Persian four-square garden. The Rangin Mahal in Bidar, built during the reign of Ali Barid Shah is a complete and exquisitely decorated courtly structure. Other important monuments in Bidar during this period are tomb of Qasim II and Kali Masjid.
An important class of metalwork known as Bidri originated from Bidar. These metalworks were carried out on black metal mainly zinc, which were inlaid with designs of silver and brass and sometimes copper.
Bijapur sultanate
Bijapur, Karnataka
Bijapur Urdu:بیجاپور city is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of Adil Shahi dynasty...
developed into a cosmopolitan city, and it attracted many scholars, artists, musicians, and Sufi saints from Rome, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Turkestan.
Amongst the major architectural works in Bijapur sultanate, one of the earliest is the unfinished Jami Masjid (started by Ali Adil Shah I in 1576). It has an arcaded prayer hall with fine aisles supported on massive piers has an impressive dome. Most splendid monument built during the reign of Ibrahim II was the Ibrahim Rouza which was originally planned as a tomb for queen Taj Sultana but later converted into the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah II and his family. This complex, completed in 1626, consists of a paired tomb and a mosque. The tomb is an exquisite structure with delicate carvings. Ibrahim II also planned to construct a new twin city to Bijapur, Nauraspur. The construction began in 1599 but never completed. The greatest monument in Bijapur is Gol Gumbaz
Gol Gumbaz
Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. The tomb, located in Bijapur, Karnataka in southern India, was completed in 1656 by the architect Yaqut of Dabul...
, the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah. The diameter of the hemispherical dome is 44 m. externally. This monument was completed in 1656. The other important architectural works of this period are the Chini Mahal, the Jal Mandir, the Sat Manzil, the Gagan Mahal, the Anand Mahal and the Asar Mahal (1646) in Bijapur, Kummatgi (16 km from Bijapur), the Panhala fort and Naldurg (45 km. from Solapur
Solapur
Solapur is a city in South Western Maharashtra, India governed by municipal corporation.Solapur is one of the four districts that form the region of Western Maharashtra . It is the fourth largest district in Maharashtra in terms of land area and seventh largest in terms of population...
).
Persian artists of Adil Shahi court have left a rare treasure of miniature paintings, some of which are well-preserved in Europe's great museums. The earliest miniature paintings are ascribed to the period of reign of Ali Adil Shah I. The most significant of them are the paintings in the manuscript of Nujum-ul-Ulum (Stars of Science) (1570), kept in Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. The manuscript consists about 400 miniature paintings. Two other illustrated manuscripts which can be attributed to the period of Ali Adil Shah I are Jawahir-al Musiqat-i-Muhammadi in British Library which contains 48 paintings and a Marathi commentary of Sarangadeva’s Sangita-Ratnakara kept in City Palace Museum, Jaipur which contains 4 paintings. The maximum number of miniature paintings came down to us belong to the period of reign of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II. The most celebrated painter of his court probably was Maulana Farrukh Hussain. The miniature paintings of this period are preserved in Bikaner Palace, Bodleian Library, Oxford, British Museum, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Muśee Guimet, Paris, Academy of Sciences, St. Petersberg and Napstrek Museum, Prague.
Under the Adil Shahi rulers many literary works were published in Dakhani. Ibrahim Adil Shah II himself wrote a book of songs, Kitab-i-Nauras in Dakhani. This book contains a number of songs whose tunes are set to different ragas and raginis. In his songs, he praised Hindu goddess Sarasvati along with the Prophet and Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz. A unique tambur (lute) known as Moti Khan was in his possession. The famous Persian poet laureate Zuhuri was his court poet. The Mushaira (poetic symposium) was born in the Bijapur court and later traveled north.
The Adil Shahi kings were known for tolerance towards Hindus and non-interference in their religious matters. They employed Hindus to high posts, especially as the officers who deal with the accounts and the administration, since the documents pertaining to the both were maintained in Marathi.
Golkonda sultanate
The Qutb Shahi rulers were great patrons of literature and invited many scholars, poets, historians and Sufi saints from Iran to settle in their sultanate. The most important contribution of the Golkonda sultanate in the field of literature is the development of Dakhani language. Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah patronised Telugu literature also. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was not only a great patron of art and literature but also a poet of high order. He wrote in Dakhani, Persian and Telugu and left an extensive Diwan (volume) in Dakhani, known as Kulliyat-i-Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah. Apart from the praise of God and the Prophet, he also wrote on nature, love and contemporary social life.
The Qutb Shahi rulers invited many Persian artists like Shaykh Abbasi and Muhammad Zaman in their court, which left a profound impact of different phases of Iranian art on the miniature paintings of this period. The earliest miniature paintings like the 126 illustrations in the manuscript of Anwar-i-Suhayli (c. 1550–1560) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the illustrations in Sindbad Namah in the India Office Library, London and Shirin and Khusrau in the Khudabaksh Library, Patna most probably belong to the period of reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. First 6 of the total 8 illustrations in the manuscript of Kulliyat-i-Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah (c. 1590–1600) in Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad are masterpieces. The 5 illustrations in a manuscript of the Diwan-i-Hafiz (c.1630) in the British Museum, London belonged to the period of reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The most outstanding surviving Golkonda painting probably is the Procession of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah riding an elephant (c. 1650) in Saltykov-Shtshedrine State Public Library, St. Petersberg.
Qutb Shahi rulers appointed Hindus in important administrative posts. Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah appointed Murari Rao as Peshwa, second to only Mir Jumla (prime minister).
External links
- A website on Bijapur Sultanate
- http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-380811.html