Deccan sultanates

Former states in India

The Deccan Sultanates were five

Golconda.^[1] The sultanates had become independent during the break-up of the Bahmani Sultanate.^[2][3] The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490,^[4] followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Golconda became independent in 1518, and Bidar in 1528.^[5]

Although the five sultanates were all ruled by Muslims, their founders were of diverse, and often originally non-Muslim origins: the Ahmadnagar Sultanate was founded by a

Iranian Turkmen origin.^{[11][verification needed}

]

All the Deccan Sultanates based their legitimacy as the successor states of the Bahmanid dynasty, and continued to use Bahmanid coins rather than issue their own coins.[12] Although generally rivals, the sultanates did ally with each other against the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, permanently weakening Vijayanagara in the Battle of Talikota. Notably, the alliance destroyed the entire city of Vijayanagara, with important temples, such as the Vitthala Temple, being razed to the ground.

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 Golconda and Bijapur were conquered by Aurangzeb's 1686–87 campaign.^[13]

Ahmadnagar Sultanate

Main article: Ahmadnagar Sultanate

The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was founded by

Shia foreigners, especially the Turks and Georgian population in Bidar, by the orders of the Bahmani Sultan.^[19][20] After the politically charged murder of Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri, and frustrated with the weakened Bahmani Sultan and the factionalised administration at Bidar, the outrated son, Ahmad Nizam Shah, the governor of Junnar,^[1] defeated the Bahmani army led by general Jahangir Khan on 28 May 1490, declared independence and established dynastic rule over Ahmadnagar.^[21] 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 of Ahmadnagar. Malik Ahmed Shah, after several attempts, secured the fortress of Daulatabad in 1499.

After Malik Ahmed Shah's 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 son Murtaza (a minor) ascended the throne. While Murtaza was a child, 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 lasted only a little more than ten months, as he was poisoned. 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 Deccani lead the massacre of foreign nobles at Ahmadnagar, causing all the Persian nobles to flee and take service at Bijapur, including the historian

Ferishta himself.^[22][23]

"There were massacres(qatl-i 'aam) twice in the city [Ahmadnagar], in the course of which not a single person from abroad was left alive. The killing spree lasted for three days. Good people like learned men and traders, who had assembled here in this period, were all slain, and their houses were destroyed."

Jamal Khan also enforced the

Murad was repulsed by Chand Bibi

.

After the death of Chand Bibi in July 1600, Ahmadnagar was conquered by the Mughals, and Bahadur Shah was imprisoned. But

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 but acted as regent. In 1636, Aurangzeb, the Mughal viceroy of Deccan, finally annexed the sultanate to the Mughal empire, after defeating Shahaji.

Rulers

1. Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I (1490–1510)
2. Burhan Nizam Shah I
   (1510–1553)
3. Hussain Nizam Shah I (1553–1565)
4. Murtaza Nizam Shah I (1565–1588)
5. Miran Nizam Hussain (1588–1589)
6. Isma'il Nizam Shah (1589–1591)
7. Burhan Nizam Shah II (1591–1595)
8. Ibrahim Nizam Shah (1595–1596)
9. Ahmad Nizam Shah II (1596)
10. Bahadur Nizam Shah (1596–1600)
11. Murtaza Nizam Shah II (1600–1610)
12. Burhan Nizam Shah III (1610–1631)
13. Hussain Nizam Shah II (1631–1633)
14. Murtaza Nizam Shah III (1633–1636).^[25]

Berar Sultanate

Main article: Berar Sultanate

GOLKONDA
SULTANATE

◁

class=notpageimage|

The Deccan Sultanates and main South Asian polities c. 1525 CE, on the eve of the establishment of the Mughal Empire.^[26]

Upon his death in 1504, Imad-ul-Mulk was succeeded by his eldest son, Ala-ud-din. In 1528, Ala-ud-din resisted the aggression of Ahmadnagar with help from Bahadur Shah, Sultan of Gujarat. The next ruler of Berar, Darya, first tried to ally with Bijapur, to prevent the aggression of Ahmadnagar, but was unsuccessful. Later, he helped Ahmednagar on three occasions against Bijapur. After his death in 1562, his infant son Burhan succeeded him; but in 1574 Tufal Khan, one of Burhan's ministers, usurped the throne. In the same year, Murtaza I, Sultan of Ahmadnagar, annexed Berar to his sultanate. Burhan, Tufal Khan, and Khan's son Shamshir-ul-Mulk, were taken to Ahmadnagar and confined to a fortress where all of them subsequently died.[27]

Rulers

Bidar Sultanate

Bidar was the smallest of the five Deccan sultanates. The Sultanate was founded by Qasim Barid I,^[28] who was Georgian enslaved by Turks.^[29] He joined the service of Bahmani ruler Mahmud Shah Bahmani (r. 1482–1518) as a sar-naubat (commander), and later became a mir-jumla (governor) of the Bahmani Sultanate. In 1492, he became de facto ruler of Bahmani, although Sultan Mahmud Shah Bahmani remained as the nominal ruler.

After Mahmud Shah Bahmani's 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 an independent ruler. Amir Barid was succeeded by his son Ali Barid, who was the first to assume the title of shah. Ali Barid participated in the Battle of Talikota and was fond of poetry and calligraphy.

The last ruler of the Bidar Sultanate, Amir Barid Shah III, was defeated in 1619, and the sultanate was annexed to the Bijapur Sultanate.^[30]

Rulers

Bijapur Sultanate

Located in southwestern India, straddling the Western Ghats range of southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka, the Bijapur Sultanate was ruled by the Adil Shahi dynasty from 1490 to 1686. The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah, may have been a Georgian slave^[31][32] who was purchased by Mahmud Gawan from Iran. The Adil Shahis were originally provincial governors of the Bahmani Sultanate; but with the break-up of the Bahmani state after 1518, Ismail Adil Shah established an independent sultanate. Ismail Adil Shah and his successors embellished the capital at Bijapur with numerous monuments.

The Adil Shahis fought the Vijayanagara Empire, which lay to the south, across the Tungabhadra River, but fought the other Deccan sultanates as well. However, four of the five sultanates combined forces to decisively defeat Vijayanagar at the Battle of Talikota in 1565, after which the empire broke up, Bijapur seizing control of the Raichur Doab. In 1619, the Adil Shahis conquered the neighbouring sultanate of Bidar, which was incorporated into their realm.

Later in the 17th century, the

Golconda Sultanate

The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, migrated to Delhi from Persia with some of his relatives and friends in the beginning of the 16th century. Later he migrated south to the Deccan and served the Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I. Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk conquered Golconda and became the governor of the Telangana region in 1518, after the disintegration of the Bahmani sultanate. Soon after, he declared his independence and took the title of Qutb Shah.

The dynasty ruled for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's army besieged and conquered Golconda in 1687.

Rulers

Conflicts with Vijayanagar Empire

The protracted series of conflicts between the

Decline

The dynasty ruled for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's army besieged and conquered Golconda in the siege of Golconda in 1687.

Cultural contributions

Deccani miniature painting—which flourished in the courts of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and Golconda—is another major cultural contribution of the Deccan sultanates.[41]

Architectural splendors of the Deccan such as Charminar and Gol Gumbaz belong to this period. A number of monuments built by the Deccan Sultanates are on a tentative list for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[42] The religious tolerance displayed by the Nizam Shahi, Adil Shahi, and Qutb Shahi rulers is also worthy of mention.

Ahmadnagar

The Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmadnagar enthusiastically patronised miniature painting, the earliest surviving of which are found as the illustrations of the manuscript Tarif-i-Hussain Shahi (c. 1565), which is now in the

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.[47]

Berar

The ruined palace of Hauz Katora, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Achalpur, is the only notable surviving Imad Shahi monument.^[48]

Bidar

The main architectural activities for the Barid Shahi rulers were building garden tombs. The tomb of Ali Barid Shah (1577) is the most notable monument in Bidar.^[49] 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 from this period are the tomb of Qasim II and the Kali Masjid.^[50]

An important class of metalwork known as Bidriware originated in Bidar. This metalwork consists of a black metal, usually a zinc alloy, inlaid with intricate designs in silver, brass, and sometimes copper.^[51]

Bijapur

The Adil Shahi rulers contributed greatly to architecture, art, literature, and music, as

Amongst the major architectural works in the Bijapur Sultanate, one of the earliest is the unfinished Jami Masjid, which was begun by Ali Adil Shah I in 1576. It has an arcaded prayer hall, with fine aisles, and has an impressive dome supported by massive piers. One of the most impressive monuments built during the reign of Ibrahim II was the Ibrahim Rouza which was originally planned as a tomb for queen Taj Sultana, but was later converted into the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah II and his family. This complex, completed in 1626, consists of a paired tomb and mosque. Ibrahim II also planned to construct a new twin city to Bijapur, Nauraspur, whose construction began in 1599 but was never completed. The greatest monument in Bijapur is the Gol Gumbaz, the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah, which was completed in 1656, and whose hemispherical dome measures 44 metres (144 ft) across. The other important architectural works from this period are the Chini Mahal, the Jal Mandir, the Sat Manzil, the Gagan Mahal, the Anand Mahal, and the Asar Mahal (1646), all in Bijapur, as well as the Kummatgi (16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Bijapur), the Panhala Fort (20 kilometres (12 mi) from Kolhapur), and Naldurg Fort (45 kilometres (28 mi) from Solapur).^[52]

Persian artists of the Adil Shahi court have left a rare treasure of miniature paintings, some of which are well preserved in Europe's museums. The earliest miniature paintings are ascribed to the period of Ali Adil Shah I. The most significant of them are the paintings in the manuscript of

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 the Hindu goddess Sarasvati along with Muhammad and Sufi saint Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz. A unique tambur (lute) known as Moti Khan was in his possession. The famous Persian poet laureate Muhammad Zuhuri was his court poet. The Mushaira (poetic symposium) was born in the Bijapur court and later travelled north.

Golconda

Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah is a centerpiece of Hyderabad and one of the most important examples of Indo-Islamic architecture

.

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).

One of the earliest architectural achievements of the Qutb Shahi dynasty is the

Khairtabad Mosque, Taramati Baradari, Hayat Bakshi Mosque, and the Jama Masjid at Gandikota.^[54]

The Qutb Shahi rulers invited many Persian artists, such as Shaykh Abbasi and Muhammad Zaman, to their court, whose art made a profound impact on the miniature paintings of this period. The earliest miniature paintings were the 126 illustrations in the manuscript of Anwar-i-Suhayli (c. 1550–1560) in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The illustrations

Sindbad Namah in the India Office Library and Shirin and Khusrau in the Khudabaksh Library in Patna most probably belong to the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. The 5 illustrations in a manuscript of the Diwan-i-Hafiz (c. 1630) in the British Museum, London, belong to the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The most outstanding surviving Golconda painting probably is the Procession of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah Riding an Elephant (c. 1650) in the Saltykov-Shtshedrine State Public Library in St. Petersberg.^[55]

Their painting style lasted even after the dynasty was extinct and evolved into the Hyderabad style.

The Qutb Shahi rulers were great patrons of literature and invited many scholars, poets, historians and

Dakhani, known as Kulliyat-i-Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. Apart from the praise of God and the Prophet, he also wrote on nature, love and contemporary social life. Kshetrayya and Bhadrachala Ramadasu are some notable Telugu poets of this period.^[56]

The Qutb Shahi rulers were much more liberal than their other Muslim counterparts. During the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah, in 1634, the ancient Indian sex manual Koka Shastra was translated into Persian and named Lazzat-un-Nisa (Flavors of the Woman).^[57]

See also

• Malwa Sultanate
• Khandesh Sultanate
• Bengal Sultanate
• Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
• Adil Shahi–Portuguese conflicts

Citations

References

1. ^
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2. ^ Majumdar, R. C. (ed.) (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p. 269
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6. ^ Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar (1951). Ancient India and South Indian History & Culture. Oriental Book Agency. p. 81.
7. ^ Thomas Wolseley Haig · (101). Historic Landmarks of the Deccan. Pioneer Press. p. 6.
8. ^ ^{a b c} Ferishta, Mahomed Kasim (1829). History of the Rise of the Mahometan Power in India, till the year A.D. 1612. Vol. III. Translated by Briggs, John. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green.
9. ^ Bosworth (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties. Columbia University Press.
10. ^ I. M. Muthanna (1977). Karnataka, History, Administration & Culture. Lotus Printers. p. 120. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
11. ISBN 9788131711200. Archived
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13. ^ "500 years of Deccan history fading away due to neglect". The Times of India. 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
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17. ^ Yazdani 1947, pp. 10.
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19. ^ History: Mediaeval period. 1967.
20. ^ Pran Nath Chopra; T. K. Ravindran; N. Subrahmanian (1979). History of South India: Medieval period. p. 77.
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29. ^ Bosworth 1996, p. 324.
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31. ^ Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. p. 101.
32. ^ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2012). Courtly Encounters: Translating Courtliness and Violence in Early Modern Eurasia. p. 101.
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41. ^ "Deccani painting". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
42. ^ "Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate". UNESCO World Heritage Center. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
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Further reading

1. Chopra, R.M., The Rise, Growth And Decline of Indo-Persian Literature, 2012, Iran Culture House, New Delhi. Revised edition published in 2013.
2. Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
3. Majumdar, R.C. (2007). The Mughul Empire. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
   ISBN 81-7276-407-1
   .
4. Mitchell, George; Mark Zebrowski (1999). Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
   ISBN 0-521-56321-6
   .
5. Rehaman Patel, Islamic Art of North Karnataka, Art & Architecture, May, 2015
6. Sohoni, Pushkar (2018). The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate: Courtly Practice and Royal Authority in Late Medieval India. London: I.B.Tauris.
7. Yazdani, Ghulam (1947). Bidar, Its History and Monuments. Oxford University Press.

External links

• A website on Bijapur Sultanate
• Monuments of Deccan Sultanates and other Islamic Monuments of India