Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1347–1527 | |||||||||||||||
Sultanate | |||||||||||||||
Capital |
| ||||||||||||||
Common languages | Kannada | ||||||||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam[3] Shia Islam[3][4] Sufism[5] | ||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||
Sultan | |||||||||||||||
• 1347–1358 | Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah | ||||||||||||||
• 1525–1527 | Kalim-Allah Shah | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | Late Medieval | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 3 August 1347 | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1527 | ||||||||||||||
Currency | Taka | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Today part of | India |
The Bahmani Sultanate (Persian: سلطاننشین بهمنی) was a Muslim empire that ruled the Deccan Plateau in South India. The Bahmani Sultanate came to power in 1347 during the Rebellion of Ismail Mukh after Ismail Mukh abdicated in favour of Zafar Khan, who would establish the Bahmani Sultanate. The Bahmani Sultanate was in perpetual war with its neighbors, including its rival, the Vijayanagara Empire.[6]
The Sultanate would begin its decline under the reign of
Origin
History
Barani states that Hasan Gangu was "born in very humble circumstances. For the first thirty years of his life he was nothing more than a field laborer."
Rise
Before the establishment of his kingdom, he was Governor of Deccan and a commander on behalf of Tughlaq.
With the support of the influential Indian
Turkish or Indo-Turkish troops, explorers, saints, and scholars moved from Delhi and North India to the Deccan with the establishment of the Bahmanid sultanate.[3] How many of these were Shi'ites is unclear.[3] Nonetheless, there is enough evidence to demonstrate that a number of nobility at the Bahmani court identified as Shi'ites or had significant Shi'ite inclinations.[a][3]
Alauddin was succeeded by his son Mohammed Shah I.[40] His conflicts with the Vijayanagar empire were singularly savage wars, as according to the historian Ferishta, "the population of the Carnatic was so reduced that it did not recover for several ages."[41] The Bahmanids' aggressive confrontation with the two main Hindu kingdoms of the southern Deccan, Warangal and Vijayanagara in the first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War, made them renowned among Muslims as warriors of the faith.[42]
The Vijayanagara empire and the Bahmanids fought over the control of the Godavari-basin, Tungabadhra Doab, and the Marathwada country, although they seldom required a pretext for declaring war,[43] as military conflicts were almost a regular feature and lasted as long as these kingdoms continued.[44] Military slavery involved captured slaves from Vijayanagara whom were then converted to islam and integrated into the host society, so they could begin military careers within the Bahmanid empire.[45][46]
Ghiyasuddin succeeded his father Muhammad II at the age of seventeen, but was blinded and imprisoned by a Turkic slave called Taghalchin,[47][48] who had held a grudge on the Sultan for the latter's refusal to appoint him as a governor. He had lured the Sultan into putting himself in the former's power, using the beauty of his daughter, who was accomplished in music and arts, and had introduced her to the Sultan at a feast.[49][50] He was succeeded by Shamsuddin, who was a puppet king under Taghalchin. Firuz and Ahmed, the sons of the fourth sultan Daud, marched to Gulbarga to avenge Ghiyasuddin. Firuz declared himself the sultan, and defeated Taghalchin's forces. Taghalchin was killed and Shamsuddin was blinded.[51]
Firuz Shah expanded the nobility by enabling Hindus and granting them high office.[53] In his reign, Sufis such as Gesudaraz, a Chishti saint who had immigrated from Dehli to Daulatabad, were prominent in court and daily life.[54] He was the first author to write in the Dakhni dialect of Urdu.[55] The Dakhni language became widespread, practised by various milieus from the court to the Sufis. It was established as a lingua franca of the Muslims of the Deccan, as not only the aspect of a dominant urban elite, but an expression of the regional religious identity.[56]
Firuz Shah was succeeded by his younger brother Ahmad Shah I Wali. Following the establishment of Bidar as capital of the sultanate in 1429,[57] Ahmad Shah I converted to Shi'ism.[3] Ahmad Shah's reign was marked by relentless military campaigns and expansionism. He imposed destruction and slaughter on Vijayanagara and finally captured the remnants of Warangal.[58]
Alauddin Ahmad II succeeded his father to the throne in 1436.[59] He ordered the construction of the Chand Minar. For the first half-century after the establishment of the Bahmanids, the original North Indian colonists and their sons had administered the empire quite independent of either the non-Muslim Hindus, or the Muslim foreign immigrants.
However, the later Bahmani Sultans, mainly starting from his father Ahmad Shah Wali I, began to recruit foreigners from overseas, whether because of depletion among the ranks of the original settlers, or the feelings of dependency upon the Persian courtly model, or both.[60] This resulted in factional strife that first became acute in the reign of his son Alauddin Ahmad Shah II.[61] In 1446, the powerful Dakhani nobles persuaded the Sultan that the Persians were responsible for the failure of the Konkan invasion.[62]
The Sultan, drunk, condoned a terrible massacre of Persian Shi'a
The eldest sons of Humayun Shah, Nizam-Ud-Din Ahmad III and Muhammad Shah III Lashkari ascended the throne successively, while they were young boys. The vizier Mahmud Gawan ruled as regent during this period, until Muhammad Shah reached age. Mahmud Gawan is known for setting up the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa, a center of religious as well as secular education.[67] Gawan was considered a great statesman, and a poet of repute.
Mahmud Gawan was caught in a struggle between a rivalry between two groups of nobles, the Dakhanis and the Afaqis. The Dakhanis made the indigenous Muslim elite of the Bahmanid dynasty, being descendants of Sunni immigrants from Northern India, while the Afaqis were foreign newcomers from the West such as Gawan, who were mostly Shi'is.[68][69] The Dakhanis believed that the privileges, patronage and positions of power in the Sultanate should have been reserved solely for them.[70]
The divisions included sectarian religious divisions where the Afaqis were looked upon heretics by the Sunnis as the former were Shi'as,[71] while Eaton cites a linguistic divide where the Dakhanis spoke Dakhni while the Afaqis favored the Persian language.[72] Although Mahmud Gawan was a foreigner, he attempted to reconcile the factions and strengthen the Sultanate by allotting offices to the Dakhanis.
Nonetheless, Mahmud Gawan found it difficult to win their confidence; the party strife could not be stopped and his opponents eventually managed to poison the ears of the Sultan.[73] Mahmud Gawan was executed by Muhammad Shah III, an act that the latter regretted until he died in 1482.[74] Upon his death, Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri, the father of the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty became the regent of the king.[75] Nizam-ul-Mulk, as leader of the Dakhani party, led a cold-blooded massacre of Iranian Georgians and Turkmens in the capital of Bidar.[76][77]
The sultanate included parts of the modern states of
Later rulers and decline
Muhammad Shah II was succeeded by his son Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, the last Bahmani ruler to have real power.[79] In 1501, Mahmud Shah Bahmani united his amirs and wazirs in an agreement to wage annual Jihad against Vijayanagara. The expeditions were financially ruinous.[80]
The last Bahmani Sultans were puppet monarchs under their
Historiography
Modern scholars like Sherwani, and Eaton have based their accounts of the Bahmani dynasty mainly upon the medieval chronicles of Firishta, and Syed Ali Tabatabai. Other contemporary works were Sivatatva Chintamani and Guru Charitra. Afanasy Nikitin traveled this kingdom. He contrasts the huge "wealth of the nobility with the wretchedness of the peasantry and the frugality of the Hindus".[81]
Culture
The dynasty patronized Indo-Muslim and Persian culture from Northern India and the Middle East.[82] However, the society of the Bahmnanis were dominated prominently by Iranians, Afghans, and Turks.[83] They also had considerable and social influence such as with the celebration of Nowruz by Bahmani rulers.[83] This also comes as Mohammed Shah I ascended the throne on Nowruz.[84] According to Khafi Khan and Ferishta, musicians flocked to the court from Lahore, Delhi, Persia and Khorasan.[85]
The Bahmani Sultans were patrons of the Persian language, culture and literature, and some members of the dynasty became well-versed in that language and composed its literature in that language.[86]
The first sultan,
The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work on copper and silver that it came to be known as Bidri.[89] Firuz Shah, having a passion for languages, married a large number of Indians of various ethnicities, Georgians, Iranians and Arabs, to practise speaking their languages with them. In addition he was known for speaking several Indian languages.[90][91]
Bidriware is a metal
Turquoise Throne
The Turquoise Throne (
GunPowder Artillery & Firearms
The Bahmani Sultanate was the first empire to invent and utilize
A Bahmani's era Cannon Located at Bidar Fort
Architecture
The Bahmani Sultanate is renowned for its architecture, although much of it has been destroyed. Below are some ruins showcasing the masterpieces of their architectural legacy.[96] The
in Bidar, are the major architectural contributions.The later rulers are buried in an elaborate tomb complex, known as the Bahmani Tombs.[97] The exterior of one of the tombs is decorated with coloured tiles. Arabic, Persian and Urdu inscriptions are inscribed inside the tombs.[97][98]
The Bahmani rulers made some beautiful tombs and mosques in Bidar and Gulbarga. They also built many forts at Daulatabad, Golconda and Raichur. The architecture was highly influenced by Persian architecture. They invited architects from Persia, Turkey and Arabia. Some of the magnificent structures built by the Bahmanis were the Jami Masjid at Gulbarga, Chandand Minar and the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa at Bidar.[citation needed]
The Persianate Indo-Islamic style of architecture developed during this period was later adopted by the Deccan Sultanates as well.
Gallery
-
Calligraphy in coloured tiles
-
Ashtur Tombs
-
Tombs of Bidar Shahi kings at Barid Shahi Park in Bidar
Family tree and List of rulers
See also
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ "Schwartzberg Atlas — Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Ansari 1988, pp. 494–499.
- ^ a b c d e f Khalidi, Umar (1990). "The Shiʿites of the Deccan: An Introduction". Rivista degli studi orientali. 64, Fasc. 1/2, SGUARDI SULLA CULTURA A SCIITA NEL DECCAN GLANCES ON SHI'ITE DECCAN CULTURE: 5.
- ISBN 9780199936762.
- ^ Eaton, Richard Maxwell (1978). The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India. Princeton University Press. p. 49.
- ISBN 9781438129167.
- ^ a b Haig, 1925, pp. 425–426.
- ^ history of the decan. Mittal Publications. 1990. p. 15.
- ISBN 9781476608884.
Zafar Khan alias Alauddin Hasan Gangu ('Ala al-Din Hasan Bahman Shah), an Afghan or a Turk soldier, revolted against Delhi and established the Muslim Kingdom of Bahmani on August 3 in the South (Madura) and ruled as Sultan Alauddin Bahman Shah.
- ISBN 9780415329200.
The Bahmani sultanate of the Deccan Soon after Muhammad Tughluq left Daulatabad, the city was conquered by Zafar Khan, a Turkish or Afghan officer of unknown descent, had earlier participated in a mutiny of troops in Gujarat.
- ISBN 9781108417747.
Finally, and more importantly, the independent Bahmani dynasty of the Deccan was founded in 1348 by Zafar Khan, probably an Afghan who broke away from Delhi with the support of Afghan and Mongol "New Muslims"
- ISBN 9781843449232.
In the early fourteenth century, the Muslim Bahmani kingdom of the Deccan emerged following Alauddin's conquest of the south. Zafar Khan, an Afghan general and governor appointed by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, was victorious against the troops of the Delhi Sultanate, establishing the Bahmani kingdom with its capital at Ahsanabad (modern-day Gulbarga).
- ^ "ḤASAN GĀNGU". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- ISBN 9781843449232.
- ^ Bhattacharya, Sachchidananada. A Dictionary of Indian History (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1972) p. 100
- ^ Cathal J. Nolan (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global ..., Volym 1. pp. 437.
- ^ Chopdar (1951). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi sultanate. p. 248.
- ^ Chandra 2004, p. 177.
- ^ Majumdar 1967, p. 248.
- ^ Chopdar (27 February 1967). History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 06,The Delhi Sultanate. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 248.
- ^ a b Jayanta Gaḍakarī (2000). Hindu Muslim Communalism. p. 140.
- ISBN 978-0-226-55571-3.
- ISBN 978-0-19-579148-8.
- ^ Husaini (Saiyid.), Abdul Qadir (1960). Bahman Shāh, the Founder of the Bahmani Kingdom. Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay. pp. 60–63.
- ^ Gribble (1896). A History of the Deccan: Volume 1. Luzac and Company. p. 16.
- ^ J.D.E 1990, p. 16.
- ISBN 9788171545797.
- ^ a b Gribble (1896). A History of the Deccan: Volume 1. Luzac and Company. p. 17.
- ISBN 9780521254847.
- ISBN 0226742210.
- ^ ISBN 81-219-0364-5, pp.279–80
- ^ Bhattacharya. Indian History. p. 928
- ^ Thomas Wolseley Haig (1919). Historic landmarks of the Deccan. Pioneer Press.
- ISBN 9789332500983.
- ^ Ibrahim Khan (1960). Anecdotes from Islam. M. Ashraf.
- ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
- ISBN 9780415580618.
- ISBN 9780141966557.
- ^ Dale, Stephen F. (2009). The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. Cambridge University Press. p. 31.
...may have contributed to the decision by a group of Shi'i Muslims from the Deccan, the Bahmani, to proclaim the new Muslim Sultanate there.
- ^ Prasad 1933, p. 417.
- ^ Abraham Elahy (2015). the Age of Wrath:A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin Books Limited.
- ISBN 0300064659.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9789004097940.
- ^ MEDIEVAL INDIA UPSC PREPARATION BOOKS HISTORY SERIES. Mocktime Publication. 2011.
- ISBN 9780521254847.
- ISBN 9781474436090.
- ^ The Cambridge Shorter History of India. CUP Archive. p. 285.
- ^ Sherwani 1946, p. 129.
- ^ Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (1951). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi sultanate. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
- ^ Haroon Khan Sherwani (1985). The Bahmanis of the Deccan. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 93.
- ^ Sherwani 1946, p. 132.
- ^ Prasad 1933, p. 423.
- ISBN 9780231110044.
- ISBN 9789004422711.
- ^ Annemarie Schimmel (1975). Classical Urdu Literature from the Beginning to Iqbāl. Harrassowitz. p. 132.
- ISBN 9781474436090.
- ^ Yazdani, 1947, pp. 23.
- ISBN 9780231110044.
- ISBN 9781317675945.
- ISBN 9781400868155.
- ^ Sir Wolseley Haig (1907). Historic Landmarks of the Deccan. Pioneer Press. p. 4.
- ISBN 9780231500043.
- ISBN 9789004492998.
- ISBN 9788125004851.
- ^ Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan: Volumes 2-3, Issues 1-2. Research Society of Pakistan. 1965. p. 10.
- JSTOR 41880628.
Firishta and Tabatabai, presents a very grim picture of the locals and refer to them as permanent enemies of the Sadat. There is some exaggeration in their account but one must not forget that these accounts of unfortunate affairs are all from the pen of the aliens, who are the products of Safavid Persia.
- ^ a b c Yazdani, 1947, pp. 91–98.
- ISBN 9789004422711.
- ISBN 9780415580618.
- ISBN 9788184245684.
- ISBN 9788177647150.
- ISBN 9780860785071.
- ISBN 9788124110645.
- ^ Yazdani, 1947, pp. 10.
- ISBN 9788120826519.
- ISBN 9781387847860.
- ^ Pran Nath Chopra, T. K. Ravindran, N. Subrahmanian (1979). History of South India: Medieval period. S. Chand. p. 75.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ A Textbook of History Grade 7. Macmillan.
- ^ Yazdani, 1947, pp. 10–11.
- ^ John Bowman (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. Columbia University Press. p. 276.
- ^ P. M. Kemp (1958). Bharat-Rus: An Introduction to Indo-Russian Contracts and Travels from Mediaeval Times to the October Revolution. ISCUS. p. 20.
- ISBN 9780521823524.
- ^ a b N.H 1988.
- ^ N.H, Ansari (1988). "BAHMANID DYNASTY". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ Annual Report. Archaeological Survey of India. 1916. p. 138.
- ^ Ansari, N.H. "Bahmanid Dynasty" Archived 19 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopaedia Iranica
- ^ Haig, 1925, pp. 391, 397–398.
- ^ Sewell, Robert. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar) pp.57-58.
- ^ a b "Proving their mettle in metal craft". The Times of India. 2 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ^ (N. H. Ansari) (24 August 2011). Encyclopaedia Iranica: BAHMANID DYNASTY.
- ISBN 9781108481939.
- ^ a b "Karnataka tableau to feature Bidriware". The Hindu. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Innovative designs help revive Bidriware". The Hindu. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ a b Haroon Khan Sherwani (1946). "The Bahmanis Of The Deccan-An Objective Study". Krishnavas International Printers, Hyderabad Deccan.
- ^ "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b Datta, Rangan (6 June 2023). "Bidar Fort in Karnataka: A treasure trove of south Indian heritage". The Telegraph. My Kolkata. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ a b Yazdani, 1947, pp. 114–142.
- .
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-415-58061-8
- Ansari, N. H. (1988). "Bahmanid dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5. pp. 494–499.
- Chandra, Satish (2004), Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One, Har-Anand Publications, ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5
- Haig, Sir Thomas Wolseley (1925). The Cambridge History of India (Volume III). Cambridge University Press.
- J.D.E, Gribble (1990). History of the Decan. Mittal Publications.
- Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004), A History of India (Fourth ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9780415329194
- Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1967), The Delhi Sultanate, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
- Meri, Josef W. (2005). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 1–1088. ISBN 9781135455965.
- Prasad, Ishwari (1933). History Of Mediaeval India. Allahabad: The Indian Press Ltd.
- Sherwani, Haroon Khan (1946). The Bahmanis of the Deccan.
- Yazdani, Ghulam (1947). Bidar, Its History and Monuments.
External links
- Overton, Keelan (2016). "Bahmanī dynasty". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
- Library of Congress – A Country Study: India