The Bahmani Kingdom and Deccan Sultanates

1.1 Who founded it, and when?

In 1347 a rebel noble named Zafar Khan broke away from the Delhi Sultanate. At that time Muhammad bin Tughlaq ruled Delhi. Zafar Khan took the title Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah. The start date is given as 3 August 1347. His first capital was Gulbarga, which he called Hasanabad or Ahsanabad.

1.2 When did the capital move to Bidar?

The capital moved from Gulbarga to Bidar under Ahmad Shah I Wali. He ruled from 1422 to 1436. Sources differ on the year. Wolseley Haig’s Historic Landmarks of the Deccan gives 1429. Another page gives 1432. So the safe date is around 1429. Exams rarely depend on one exact year.

2.1 What did he do?

Mahmud Gawan became chief minister (vizier) in 1458. He was the real ruler of the state from 1466 until 1481. He was born in 1411 in Gilan, in northern Persia. He increased the number of provinces (tarafs) from four to eight. This made the large kingdom easier to run. The kingdom reached its greatest extent under him, around 1473. He built a large madrasa at Bidar in 1472.

2.2 Why was he executed in 1481?

Two noble groups fought for power. The Afaqis were foreign newcomers from the west, and Gawan was one of them. The Dakhanis (Deccanis) were the older Muslim elite, descended from earlier immigrants from northern India. A Deccani noble, Nizam-ul-Mulk Hasan Bahri, forged a letter. It made it look as if Gawan was ready to join the Raya of Orissa, King Purushottama. The sultan ordered the execution on 5 April 1481. The sultan later regretted it. Hasan Bahri’s son Ahmad later founded the Ahmadnagar sultanate. This account comes from Firishta, and the historian R. D. Banerji says it may or may not be true.

3.1 Which states split away, and when?

After Gawan’s death the nobles pulled apart. Governors revolted in 1490 and became independent. Yusuf Adil Shah founded Bijapur. Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah founded Ahmadnagar. Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk founded Berar. From 1492 Qasim Barid held real control of the Bahmani state at Bidar. Golconda (Qutb Shahi) became independent in 1518. The last Bahmani rulers were puppets under the Barids. The kingdom formally ended in 1527. These five states are the Deccan Sultanates.

3.2 When did each Deccan sultanate end?

• Berar: 1490 to 1574, taken by Ahmadnagar.
• Ahmadnagar: 1490 to 1636, absorbed by the Mughals.
• Bidar (Barid Shahi): about 1492 to 1619.
• Bijapur (Adil Shahi): 1490 to 1686.
• Golconda (Qutb Shahi): 1518 to 1687. The exact date is 22 September 1687. Its last ruler was Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, and Aurangzeb took the fort in 1687.

4.1 What happened in 1565?

The Bahmani sultans fought Vijayanagara again and again. In 1565 the Deccan sultans united against Vijayanagara. The four sultans were these:

• Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmadnagar.
• Ali Adil Shah I of Bijapur.
• Ali Barid Shah I of Bidar.
• Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda.

Berar is not named in the main account, although one source lists it. They won the Battle of Talikota, fought on 23 January 1565 in present-day Karnataka. Aliya Rama Raya was killed.

5.1 What did the Deccan sultans build?

• Gol Gumbaz, the tomb at Bijapur. It is the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah. Building stopped in 1656, the year he died. Some historians name Malik Yaqut of Dabul as the architect. Its dome is 37.9 m across inside. The ASI calls it one of the largest domes in the world. It says the floor area it covers is the largest under any single dome.
• Charminar, Hyderabad, built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda.
• Bidar Fort, built by Ahmad Shah I.
• Kitab-i-Nauras (Book of the Nine Rasas), a Dakani-language work on music and poetry that Ibrahim Adil Shah II composed himself, around the 1580s.

6.1 Which mix-ups come up?

The classic trap pairs the Nizam Shahis with Bijapur. They ruled Ahmadnagar. Bijapur was Adil Shahi. Berar was Imad Shahi. Bidar was Barid Shahi. Golconda was Qutb Shahi. Another trap swaps Gulbarga and Bidar as capitals. A third trap mixes up the end dates of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687).

6.2 Where have these topics appeared before?

CAPF (ACs) 2021 asked which pairing of a Deccan Sultanate and its region was NOT correctly matched. The options were Nizam Shahis with Bijapur, Barid Shahis with Bidar, Qutb Shahis with Golconda, and Imad Shahis with Berar. The wrong pairing is Nizam Shahis with Bijapur, because the Nizam Shahis ruled Ahmadnagar. Source: CAPF (ACs) 2021 paper