Bahmani Sultanate

Bahmani Sultanate
1347–1527
Bahmani Sultanate, 1470 CE
Capital	Gulbarga (1347–1425) Bidar (1425–1527)
Common languages	Persian Deccani Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu
Religion	Shia Islam[1][2]
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
Preceded by Succeeded by Vijaynagar Empire Delhi Sultanate Deccan sultanates Bijapur Sultanate Golconda Sultanate Ahmadnagar Sultanate Bidar Sultanate Berar Sultanate
Today part of	India

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Political history of medieval Karnataka Origin of Karnataka's name Kadambas and Gangas Chalukya Empire Rashtrakuta Empire Western Chalukya Empire Southern Kalachuri Hoysala Empire Vijayanagara Empire Bahmani Sultanate Bijapur Sultanate Kingdom of Mysore Nayakas of Keladi Nayakas of Chitradurga Haleri Kingdom Unification of Karnataka
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The Bahmani Sultanate (also called the Bahmanid Empire or Bahmani Kingdom) was a Muslim state of the Deccan in South India and one of the major medieval Indian kingdoms.^[3] Bahmanid Sultanate was the first independent Muslim kingdom in South India.^[4] The Kingdom later split into five offshoots that were collectively known as the Deccan sultanates.The last remnant of the Bahmani sultanate was defeated and destroyed in 1509 by Vijayanagar Empire.

History

The empire was established by a Ismaili military general from Badakhshan (Afghanistan), Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, after revolting against the turkic Delhi Sultanate of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.^[5] Nazir Uddin Ismail Shah who had revolted against the Delhi Sultanate stepped down on that day in favour of Bahman Shah. His revolt was successful, and he established an independent state on the Deccan within the Delhi Sultanate's southern provinces. The Bahmani capital was Hasanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and in 1425 it was moved to Muhammadabad (Bidar). The Bahmani contested the control of the Deccan with the Vijayanagara Empire to the south. The sultanate reached the peak of its power during the vizierate (1466–1481) of Mahmud Gawan. The south Indian Emperor Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire defeated the last remnant of Bahmani Sultanate power after which the Bahmani Sultanate collapsed.^[6] After 1518 the sultanate broke up into five states: Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar, Qutb Shahi of Golconda (Hyderabad), Baridshahi of Bidar, Imadshahi of Berar, Adilshahi of Bijapur. They are collectively known as the "Deccan Sultanates".

Society and Culture

Rulers of the dynasty believed that they descended from Bahman, the mythological figure of Greater Iranian legend and lore. The Bahamani 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.^[4]

Bahamani Tombs in Bidar district

The first sultan, Alauddin Bahman Shah is noted to have captured 1,000 singing and dancing girls from Hindu temples after he battled the northern Carnatic chieftains. The later Bahmanis also enslaved civilian women and children in wars; many of them were converted to Islam in captivity.^[7][8] The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work on copper and silver that it came to be known as Bidri.

Although the sultanate practice Shi'a Islam, the majority of the population adhered to Hinduism. The common people, who were mostly Hindus, had to adjust their religious practices to become more acceptable to their Muslim political masters.^[9]

List of Bahmani Shahs

Great Mosque in Gulbarga Fort

• 
  Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate's Firman.
• 
  Ahmad Shah I Wali.
• 
  Tomb of Ahmad Shah I Wali.

Mahmud Gawan Madrasa was built by Mahmud Gawan, the Vizier of the Bahmani Sultanate as the centre of learning in the Deccan.

See also

• Military of Vijayanagara

Historiography

Modern scholars have based their accounts on Bahmani dynasty mainly upon the medieval chronicles of Firishta, Syed All Tabatabai, etc. Other contemporary works were Sivatatva Chintamani and Guru Charitra. Athanasius Nikitin traveled this kingdom. He contrasts the huge wealth of the nobility with the wretchedness of the peasantry and the frugality of Hindus.

Vincent Smith and Nilakanta Sastri stated that the Bahmani Sultans were fanatics and did not show any interest in general welfare of their subjects.^[9]

References

Further reading

• Avari, Burjor (2013), Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A history of Muslim power and presence in the Indian subcontinent, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-58061-8
• Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004), A History of India (Fourth ed.), Routledge

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Bahmani Sultanate

• Library of Congress – A Country Study: India