Bahmani Sultanate

Bahmani Sultanate
1347–1527
Bahmani Sultanate, 1470 CE
Capital		Gulbarga (1347–1425) Bidar (1425–1527)
Languages		Persian Language, Urdu, Dakhini, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada
Religion		Sunni 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
Today part of		India

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 great medieval Indian kingdoms.^[3] Bahmanid Sultanate was the first independent Islamic Kingdom in South India.^[4]

The empire was established by Turkic general Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah after revolting against the 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 Ahsanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and 1425 when 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".

History

Culture

Later 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]

The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work on copper and silver that it came to be known as Bidri.

List of Bahmani Shahs

Titular Name	Personal Name	Reign
Independence from Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Shah شاہ Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah علاء الدین حسن بہمن شاہ	Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah حسن گنگو	1347–1358 CE
Shah شاہ	Muhammad Shah Bahmani I محمد شاہ بہمنی	1358–1375 CE
Shah شاہ Ala-ud-Din Mujahid Shah علاء الدین مجاہد شاہ	Mujahid Shah Bahmani مجاہد شاہ بہمنی	1375–1378 CE
Shah شاہ	Dawood Shah Bahmani داود شاہ بہمنی	1378 CE
Shah شاہ	Mahmood Shah Bahmani I محمود شاہ بہمنی	1378–1397 CE
Shah شاہ	Ghiyath-ud-din Shah Bahmani عیاث الدین شاہ بہمنی	1397 CE
Shah شاہ	Shams-ud-din Shah Bahmani شمس الدین شاہ بہمنی Puppet King Under Lachin Khan Turk	1397 CE
Shah شاہ Taj-ud-Din Feroze Shah تاج الدین فیروز شاہ	Feroze Khan فیروز خان	1397–1422 CE
Shah شاہ	Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani احمد شاہ ولی بہمنی	1422–1436 CE
Shah شاہ Ala-ud-Din Ahmed Shah علاء الدین احمد شاہ	Ala-ud-Din Ahmed Shah Bahmani علاء الدین احمد شاہ بہمنی	1436–1458 CE
Shah شاہ Ala-ud-Din Humayun Shah علاء الدین ھمایوں شاہ	Humayun Shah Zalim Bahmani ھمایوں شاہ ظالم بہمنی	1458–1461 CE
Shah شاہ	Nizam Shah Bahmani نظام شاہ بہمنی	1461–1463 CE
Shah شاہ Muhammad Shah Lashkari محمد شاہ لشکری	Muhammad Shah Bahmani II محمد شاہ بہمنی دوئم	1463–1482 CE
Vira Shah ویرا شاہ	Mahmood Shah Bahmani II محمود شاہ بہمنی دوئم	1482–1518 CE
Shah شاہ	Ahmed Shah Bahmani II احمد شاہ بہمنی دوئم Puppet King Under Amir Barid I	1518–1521 CE
Shah شاہ Ala-ud-Din Shah علاء الدین شاہ	Ala-ud-Din Shah Bahmani II علاء الدین شاہ بہمنی دوئم Puppet King Under Amir Barid I	1521–1522 CE
Shah شاہ	Waliullah Shah Bahmani ولی اللہ شاہ بہمنی Puppet King Under Amir Barid I	1522–1525 CE
Shah شاہ	Kaleemullah Shah Bahmani کلیم اللہ شاہ بہمنی Puppet King Under Amir Barid I	1525–1527 CE
Dissolution of the Sultanate into 5 Kingdoms namely; Bidar Sultanate; Ahmednagar Sultanate; Bijapur Sultanate; Golconda Sultanate and Berar Sultanate.

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

References

1. Burjor Avari, Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian subcontinent, (Routledge, 2013), 91.
2. Farooqui Salma Ahmed, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century, (Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd., 2011), 170.
3. "The Five Kingdoms of the Bahmani Sultanate". orbat.com. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
4. Ansari, N.H. "Bahmanid Dynasty" Archived 19 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopaedia Iranica
5. Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 106–108,117. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
6. Eaton, Richard M. A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives. p. 88.

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

• Chronology of Deccan rulers
• Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui, "History of Bahmanis of Deccan, a Gulbarga Saltanate of India"
• Library of Congress – A Country Study: India