Bahamani Kingdom

and
Deccan Sultanates

By – Chauhan Sir
ABOUT ME
Vishal Chauhan

6 Years Teaching Experience

History faculty for UPSC-CSE

Telegram – Chauhan_Sir_History
Get Subscription Now

Chauhan_Sir_History Chauhan_Sir_History

PLUS ICONIC
 Personal Guidance Study Planner
Get one on one guidance from Customized study plan with bi-
top exam experts weekly reviews

Live Classes Weekly Tests

ICONIC PLUS
Structured Unlimited
Courses Access
Test Analysis Study Material
Get one on one guidance from Specialised Notes & Practice Sets
top exam experts

Experts' Guidelines
Study booster workshops by exam
experts
Chauhan_Sir_History
ENTER CODE
HERE
Free Test Series
Rise 4.0 - March
Test Series for Complete GS

Started on 1st April

World Affairs UPSC CSE

Test Series for Current Affairs

Started on 3rd April

Unacademy Pathfinder
Test Series for GS USE CODE: <Chauhan_Sir_History> to Unlock the Test
Started on 13th March
VIJAYANAGAR AND BAHMANI KINGDOMS
• The Bahmani Kingdom
• The Bahmani kingdom arose out of one of the
several revolts that broke up the Tughlaq
Empire towards the close of the reign of
Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.
• The numerous foreign officials known as the
amir-i-sadah (Amirs of the hundred or
centurions) rebelled against Muhammad Bin
Tughlaq and set up their kingdom at
Daulatabad.
• They proclaimed one among themselves,
Ismail Mukh, the Afghan, king of the Deccan
under the title Nasiruddin Shah (1346-1347
CE).
• As he was well advanced in age and lacking in
vigour resigned soon after in favour of Zafar
Khan, who assumed the title of Abul Muzaffar
Alauddin Bahman Shah (1347-1358 CE).
• Alauddin Bahman Shah shifted his capital to
Gulbarga.
• According to Firishta's version Zafar Khan
chose the title of Bahman in memory of his
master, a Brahman named Gangoo for whom
he had worked as a servant in his early days.
• However, the more accepted version is
recorded in Nizamuddin's Tabaqat-i-Akbari.
• According to Nizamuddin, Zafar Khan derived
the title by tracing his descent from a half
mythical hero of Persia, Bahman, son of
Isfandiyar.
• Important Rulers of Bahmani Kingdom
• Alauddin Bahman Shah (1347-1358 CE)
• Sultan Alauddin Bahman Shah spent most of
his time waging war or conducting
negotiations calculated to extend the territory
under his sway.
• He crushed the refractory chiefs, and during
his reign extended the kingdom from the
Wainganga to Krishna and from Goa and
Dabhol to Bhongir.
• He adopted the feudalistic pattern of
administration.
• He divided the kingdom into four tarafs or
provinces - Gulbarga, Daulatabad, Bidar and
Berar.
• These were assigned to his loyal Amirs, who
were appointed as governors.
• In turn, they were required to render military
service to the king.
• Alauddin Bahman Shah secured recognition of
his position as Sultan from the Egyptian Caliph
in 1356
• Firuz Shah Bahmani (1397-1422 CE)
• The most remarkable figure in the Bahmani
kingdom during the period was Firuz Shah
Bahmani (1397-1422 CE).
• He was well-acquainted with the religious
science, that is commentaries on the Quran,
jurisprudence, etc., and was particularly fond
of logic, and of the natural sciences such as
botany, geometry etc.
• He was a good calligraphist and a poet and
often composed extempore verses.
• According to Ferishta, he was well versed not
only in Persian, Arabic and Turkish, but also in
Telugu, Kannada and Marathi.
• Firuz Shah Bahmani was determined to make
the Deccan the cultural centre of India.
• The decline of the Delhi Sultanate helped him,
for many learned people migrated from Delhi
to the Deccan.
• The king also encouraged learned men from
Iran and Iraq.
• The most remarkable step taken by Firuz Shah
Bahmani was the induction of Hindus in the
administration on a large scale.
• It is said that from his time the Deccani
brahmans became dominant in the
administration.
• The Decanni Hindus also provided a balance
against the influx of foreigners called a faqis or
gharibs.
• Many of the foreigners from West Asia were
Persians, under whose influence Persian
culture and also Shia doctrines grew in the
kingdom.
• The Bahmani rulers were tolerant in religious
matters, and though most of them were
Sunnis, they did not persecute Shiism.
• Nor was jizyah levied on the Hindus during the
early phase of Bahmanid rule.
• We have no reference to jizyah in the
subsequent period also.
• If collected later on, it collected as a part of
land-revenue (kharaj).
• Firuz Shah Bahmani encouraged the pursuit of
astronomy and built an observatory near
Daulatabad.
• He paid much attention to the principal ports
of his kingdom, Chaul and Dabhol, which
attracted trading ships from the Persian Gulf
and the Red Sea, and poured in luxury goods
from all parts of the world.
• Firuz Bahmani started the Bahmani expansion
towards Berar by defeating the Gond Raja
Narsingh Rai of Kherla.
• Kherla was restored to Narsingh who was
made an amir of the kingdom and given robes
of state, including an embroidered cap.
• The struggle for the domination of the Krishna-
Godavari basin, however, continued.
• In 1419, the Bahmani kingdom received a
setback, Firuz Shah Bahmani being defeated by
Deva Raya l.
• This defeat weakened the position of Firuz.
• He was compelled to abdicate in favour of his
brother Ahmad Shah I.
• Rise of Mahmud Gawan
• Mahmud Gawan served with great distinction
as Prime Minister of three Bahmani Sultans for
about twenty three years from 1458 to 1481
CE.
• Gawan led a successful expedition against the
combined armies of Odisha and Khandesh.
• He occupied the fertile areas of Bidar,
Daultabad and Berar.
• The expansion of the Bahmani kingdom
towards the east and the west led to a
resurgence of the conflict with Vijayanagar.
• But by this time Vijayanagar was no match for
the Bahmani kingdom.
• Mahmud Gawan not only annexed the
Tungabhadra doab, but made a deep raid into
the Vijayanagar territories, reaching as far
south as Kanchi.
• Important contributions of Mahmud Gawan
• Mahmud Gawan carried out a number of
internal reforms.
• Some of these were aimed at limiting the
power of the nobles.
• The old provinces (tarafs) were further
subdivided from four into eight, and the
governor of each fort was to be appointed
directly by the sultan.
• The salaries and obligations of each noble
were fixed.
• The salary could be paid in cash or by assigning
a jagir.
• Those who were paid by means of jagir were
allowed expenses for the collection of land
revenue.
• In every province, a tract of land (khalisa) was
set apart for the expenses of the Sultan.
• Efforts were made to measure the land and to
fix the amount to be paid by each cultivator to
the state.
• Mahmud Gawan organized the army on
systematic lines.
• Their salaries were raised and every other
facility was provided to them but at the same
time strict discipline was enforced on them.
• The military power that had been assigned to
the Jagirdars by the former rulers was taken
away from them and centralised in the hands
of the Sultan.
• These measures led to efficiency and infused a
new life in the army.
• With a view to improving agriculture, various
irrigation projects were undertaken and
several vexations taxes, which hung heavy on
the peasants were abolished.
• He organized the finances on sound lines
because he fully knew their importance for the
better running of the state.
• He saved a good deal of money by affecting
the economy and stopping useless
expenditure.
• In this way he set right the whole state
machinery and established complete peace
and order in the country.
• Mahmud Gawan was a great patron of the
arts.
• He built a magnificent madrasa or college in
the capital, Bidar.
• This fine building, which was decorated with
coloured tiles, was three storeys high, and had
accommodation for one thousand teachers
and students who were given clothes and food
free.
• Some of the most famous scholars of the time
belonging to Iran and Iraq came to the
madrasa at the instance of Mahmud Gawan.
• Downfall & Death of Mahmud Gawan
• One of the most difficult problems which faced
the Bahmani kingdom was strife among the
nobles.
• The nobles were divided into old-comers and
newcomers or Deccanis and Afaqis.
• As a newcomer, Mahmud Gawan was hard put
to win the confidence of the Deccanis.
• Though he adopted a broad policy of
conciliation, the party strife could not be
stopped.
• His opponents managed to poison the ears of
the young Sultan, who had him executed in
1482 CE.
• Mahmud Gawan was over 70 years old at the
time.
• The party strife now became even more
intense.
• The various governors became independent.
• Soon, the Bahmani kingdom was divided into
five principalities; Golconda, Bijapur,
Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.
• Of these, the kingdoms of Ahmadnagar,
Bijapur and Golconda played a leading role in
the Deccan politics till their absorption in the
Mughal Empire during the seventeenth
century.
• The Bahmani kingdom acted as a cultural
bridge between the north and the south.
• It also established close relations with some of
the leading countries of West Asia, including
Iran and Turkey.
• The culture which developed as a result had its
own specific features which were distinct from
north India.
• These cultural traditions were continued by
this successor states and also influenced the
development of Mughal culture during the
period.
• The Deccan Sultanates
• The Deccan sultanates were the five kingdoms
which were founded in Deccan part of India
following the disintegration of the Bahmani
Empire.
• These were Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golkonda,
Bidar and Berar.
• These sultanates were located between the
Vindhya Range and Krishna River.
• Ahmadnagar Sultanate
• Ahmadnagar sultanate was ruled by the Nizam
Shahi dynasty.
• It was located in the northwestern Deccan,
between the sultanates of Bijapur and Gujarat.
• The founder ruler of the sultanate was Malik
Ahmed Shah Bahri who declared
independence from Bahmani Empire in 1490.
• He founded the new capital Ahmednagar in
1494 although Junnar was the capital of the
kingdom initially.
• After the death of Malik Ahmad in 1510, his
son Burhan Nizam Shah I, a boy of seven took
his place.
• In the initial days of his reign, the control of
the kingdom was in the hands of Mukammal
Khan, an Ahmednagar official.
• Burhan died in Ahmadnagar in 1553.
• He left six sons, of whom Hussain Nizam Shah I
succeeded him.
• Hussain was a leading figurehead of the
Deccan Sultanates during the Battle of
Talikota.
• After the death of Hussain Shah I in 1565, his
son Murtaza (a minor) ascended the throne.
• He annexed the Berar in 1574.
• Chand Bibi was the daughter of Hussain Nizam
Shah I and was married to Ali Adil Shah of
Bijapur Sultanate.
• She also acted as a regent of his brother's
minor son Bahadur Nizam Shah (1595-1600)
and successfully defended the Ahmednagar
fort during the Mughal invasion under Akbar in
1595.
• Malik Ambar, an Ethopian slave, was the
regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of
Ahmednagar from 1607 to 1626.
• During this period he increased the strength
and power of Murtaza Nizam Shah II and
raised a large army.
• He changed the capital from Paranda to Junnar
and founded a new city, Khadki which was
later on changed to Aurangabad by the
Emperor Aurangzeb when he invaded Deccan
around 1658 to 1707.
• Malik Ambar is said to be one of the
proponents of guerrilla warfare in the Deccan
region.
• In 1636 Aurangzeb, then Mughal viceroy of
Deccan finally annexed the sultanate to the
Mughal empire.
• Bijapur Sultanate
• Bijapur sultanate was ruled by the Adil Shahi
dynasty from 1490 to 1686 CE.
• Its founder ruler was Yousuf Adil Shah, who
declared independence from Bahmani Empire
in 1490 and built his capital at Bijapur in
Karnataka.
• He was succeeded by his son Ismail Adil Shah
in 1510.
• Ismail Shah was defeated by Krishnadeva Raya
in Battle of Raichur in 1520 CE.
• Ali Adil Shah I (1558-1579) was the fifth Sultan
of Bijapur Sultanate.
• During his reign the Deccani Sultanates allied
against Vijayanagara in Battle of Talikota.
• He was succeeded by his nephew Ibrahim Adil
Shah II (1580-1627).
• He is said to be the greatest ruler of Bijapur
Sultanate.
• He was a skilful administrator, artist, poet and
a generous patron of the arts.
• He composed a book called Kitab-i-Navras in
which songs are set up to various musical
modes or ragas.
• He extended patronage to all religion was very
solicitous to poor, thus he is also known as
Jagadguru Badshah.
• He was succeeded by his son Mohammed Adil
Shah (1627-1656).
• Mohammed Adil Shah maintained friendly
relations with Shahjahan and made a peace
treaty with the Mughals after annexation of
Ahmadnagar in 1636.
• After his death he was buried in Gol Gumbaz.
• The dome of the Gol Gumbaz is the second
largest in the world.
• Gol Gumbaz
• Gol Gumbaz
• The Gol Gumbaz complex includes a mosque, a
Naqqar Khana (a hall for the trumpeters) and
the ruins of guest houses.
• Bijapur Sultanate was ultimately annexed by
Aurangzeb in 1686 and last ruler Sikandar Adil
Shah was taken captive thus marking the end
of the Adil Shahi dynasty.
• Golconda Sultanate
• Golconda Sultanate was ruled by the Qutb
Shahi dynasty from 1518 to 1687 CE with its
initial capital at Golconda and then in
Hyderabad (from 1591).
• The sultanate was founded by Quli Qutb Mulk
(1518-1543), an Iranian who served the
Bahmani Sultan.
• After disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate
he declared his independence.
• Quli Qutb Shah was a contemporary of Krishna
Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara empire.
• Quli extended his rule by capturing forts at
Warangal, Kondapalli, Eluru, and Rajahmundry.
• Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, the second son of Quli
Mulk ascended the throne in 1550.
Map of Bijapur, Golconda, Berar and Bidar
• He led Golconda Sultanate in the Battle of
Talikota.
• He patronised Telugu in his court in fact Telugu
was used by Qutb Shahi rulers so much that
they came to be known as Telugu Sultans.
• Malki Bharama was the telugu name of
Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah.
• He was succeeded by his son Muhammad Quli
Qutb Shah (1580-1611).
• Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah founded the city
of Hyderabad and bulit the famous Char Minar
and Makkah Masjid.
• He was a scholar of Arabic, Persian and Telugu
languages and wrote poetry which are
compiled into a volume entitled 'Kulliyat-e-Quli
Qutub Shah'.
• Golconda was annexed by Aurangzeb in 1687
and the last ruler Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also
called 'Tana Shah' (child saint) was taken
captive.
• Mahabat Khan, who was initially the
commander of the Qutb Shahi army and had
switched loyalty to the Mughals, was
appointed the governor of Golconda by
Aurangzeb, laying the foundations for the
Hyderabad State under the Nizams.
• Berar Sultanate
• The Sultans of Berar belonged to the Imad
Shahi Dynasty.
• It was founded by Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk in
1490 after the disintegration of Bahmani
Sultanate.
• He made his capital at Ellichpur which is in
present Maharashtra.
• 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.
• Berar was annexed by Ahmadnagar Sultanate
in 1574.
• Bidar Sultanate
• Bidar was the smallest of the five Deccan
sultanates.
• It was founded by Qasim Barid, a Turkish slave,
who served as prime minister of Bahmani
sultan.
• In 1492, he became de-facto ruler of Bahmani,
although Sultan Mahmud Shah Bahmani
remained as the nominal ruler.
• The dynasty was known as Barid Shahi.
• After Qasim's death in 1504, his son Amir Barid
controlled the administration of the Bahmani
Sultanate.
• In 1528, with the death of the last Bahmani
ruler, Kaleemullah, Amir Barid became an
independent ruler.
• Amir Barid was succeeded by his son Ali Barid
(1542-1580), 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.
• In 1619, Amir Barid III was defeated by the
Bijapur sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II and Bidar
was annexed into the Bijapur Sultanate.
 Chauhan_Sir_History

Get 10% Discount

Chauhan_Sir_History

Like, Share, and

Subscribe!