The Berar Sultanate (Imad Shahi)

The founder was Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk. He was born a Hindu, in a Kannada-speaking family from the Vijayanagara country. He was captured as a boy in a Bahmani war against Vijayanagara.

A Bahmani governor of Berar took the boy into his bodyguard. The boy grew up as a Muslim and showed courage and skill. When the governor died, he rose to the governor’s place.

Later he went to the Bahmani court at Bidar. There the powerful minister Mahmud Gawan helped him win the title Imad-ul-Mulk. The title means “Pillar of the State”.

First, the Bahmani Sultan cut the power of his governors. In 1478 or 1479, Berar was split into two governments. Each took the name of its fort capital.

2.1 When did Berar become independent?

The Bahmani Sultan Mahmud Shah II was weak. His provincial governors broke away one by one. Fathullah declared himself independent in 1490 and soon added Mahur to his kingdom.

One old history gives the Hijri year 890. That year falls in 1485–86. So sources differ on the exact year. The usual date is 1490.

2.2 Where was his capital?

The capital was Ellichpur (modern Achalpur). It was already an old town. Around 1300 it was called one of the famous cities of the Deccan.

Ellichpur is named as the capital from 1490. Later kings also lived at the hill fort of Gawilgarh.

Berar had only a few rulers. The throne passed from father to son until a minister seized it.

The whole dynasty lasted about 82 to 85 years, depending on the source. Sources differ on the exact start and end dates of the last reigns.

3.1 Why is Berar called the shortest-lived Deccan Sultanate?

The five Deccan Sultanates all grew from the Bahmani breakup. Berar was the first to be swallowed. It fell in the early 1570s.

Ahmadnagar, which swallowed it, lasted until about 1600.

Berar was small. Its neighbours were Ahmadnagar, Bidar and Khandesh. So its kings relied on forts, marriages and alliances.

Alauddin Imad Shah took the royal title and made Gawilgarh his seat. He also grabbed the forts of Mahur and Ramgir by trickery from the sons of Khudawand Khan. That angered Ahmadnagar.

Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar then attacked. He took both forts back. Alauddin ran to his capital.

4.1 What did Berar do to find allies?

Alauddin had married the daughter of Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur. But Bijapur was busy fighting Vijayanagara. It sent no help.

In 1527, Alauddin joined the ruler of Khandesh against Ahmadnagar. They lost badly. The Khandesh ruler then asked Bahadur Shah of Gujarat for help.

Alauddin even had the Friday prayer read in the Gujarat king’s name at Gawil. He accepted Bahadur Shah as overlord to save himself.

4.2 What about Darya Imad Shah?

His reign was calm. He gave his daughter Bibi Daulat in marriage to Husain Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar. The marriage kept the peace.

Berar’s kings spent their years in wars with neighbours. Their best-known works are hill forts, not great tombs or mosques.

The two main forts are Gawilgarh and Narnala. They stand in the hills of Berar. Both were first built or repaired between 1425 and 1428 under the Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali.

5.1 What survives at Gawilgarh?

The fort holds a large mosque dated 1425. The south-western gate is called Pir Fath and dates to 1488. A bastion named after Bahram carries the date 1577.

The 1488 gate falls just before Berar’s independence. So the fort already had a mosque and gates when the Imad Shahis took power.

The cause was a minister, not an outside army. Tufal Khan served the child king Burhan Imad Shah. He first ruled as regent. Then he locked the boy in irons in Narnala fort and took the royal title.

Ahmadnagar and Bijapur both saw their chance. Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar marched in. His stated aim was to free the young king.

6.1 How did the fort of Narnala fall?

Tufal Khan asked Golconda for help but was beaten. He was then besieged in Narnala. Men inside the fort slipped out and joined the attackers, one by one.

One night a small party of 28 men and a trumpeter climbed over a broken wall. The trumpeter blew his horn. Tufal Khan feared a large army and fled into the hills. He was caught three days later.

The fort of Gawil gave up soon after. Berar had lost its last strongholds.

6.2 What happened to Tufal Khan and the young king?

Murtaza did not put Burhan back on the throne. He sent Burhan, Tufal Khan and Tufal Khan’s son to an Ahmadnagar fort. Sources differ on what came next. One account says they were strangled by order of the king. Another says they died in a cramped dungeon.

The Imad Shahi line and Tufal Khan’s line both ended there. The year is 1572 by one reckoning and 1574 by another. Sources differ here too.

Ahmadnagar did not keep Berar for long. The Nizam Shahi state was torn by quarrels at home. Then the Mughals came.

In 1595 Prince Murad, Akbar’s son, besieged Ahmadnagar. Chand Bibi defended the fort. In early 1596 the siege ended with a treaty. Ahmadnagar gave up Berar to the Mughals.

Berar later became a Mughal province, called a subah. Ellichpur became its capital again after a short spell when Balapur was the seat.

7.1 Did Berar fight at Talikota in 1565?

Look at who joined the great alliance against Vijayanagara. An old history names four kings. They are Husain Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar and Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur. The others are Ibrahim Qutb Shah of Golconda and Ali Barid Shah of Bidar.

Berar is not on that list. Some notes add Berar to the alliance. This old list does not. So sources differ, and the safe exam line is that the Deccan Sultans beat Vijayanagara.

CAPF (ACs) 2021 asked a matching question. Which of these Sultanate–place pairs is not correct? The wrong pair was Nizam Shahis : Bijapur. The Nizam Shahis ruled from Ahmadnagar.

Here are the five Sultanates and their seats: