Get complete information on the formation of Five Kingdoms of Bahamini rulers

After the break-up of the Bahmani kingdom, five separate states of the Muslims came into existence. The most important of the five was an Adilshahi kingdom of Bijapur. It was founded by Yusuf Adil Shah. Yusuf Adil Shah possessed great ability and strength of character and rose to prominence in the service of Mahmud Gawan. He made himself an independent King of Bijapur in 1489-90.

Although he had preference for the Shia sect, he granted toleration to all. He did not hesitate to employ even Hindus in his government. He was just and humane. Scholars from Persia, Turkistan and other Central Asian countries went to his court.

His four immediate successors were not able and there were intrigues during their reigns. Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a sixth ruler and he ruled from 1579 to 1625. According to Meadows Taylor, “He was the greatest of all the Kings of the Adilshahi dynasty and in most respects, except its founder, the most able and popular.” In 1618-19, he annexed the kingdom of Bidar to Bijapur. Bijapur was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Aurangzeb in 1686.

The Nizamshahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar was founded by Malik Ahmad. His father, Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri, was a converted Hindu and Prime Minister of the Bahmani kingdom. Malik Ahmed declared him independent in 1490.

He founded the city of Ahmadnagar and made it his capital. In 1499, he captured Daulatabad. He was succeeded by his son Burhan-i-Nizam Shah in 1508. Husain Shah was the third ruler of the dynasty. In 1565, he joined the Muslim confederacy against Vijayanagar. The other rulers of this kingdom were weak. In 1600, Ahmadnagar was defeated by Akbar. However, it was annexed to the Mughal Empire in 1636.

The Imadshahi kingdom of Berar was founded by Fateh Ullah Imad Shah. He became independent in 1490. It was conquered and annexed by Ahmadnagar in 1574. The Qutubshahi kingdom of Golcunda was founded by Qutub Shah who was a Turkish office of the Bahmani kingdom. Previously, he was the governor of Telingana under the Bahmani kingdom.

He declared himself independent in 1512 or 1518. He ruled up to 1543. Qutub Shah was succeeded by his son Jamshid. The name of the third ruler was Ibrahim. It was during his reign that Golcunda came into conflict with Vijayanagar. It was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Aurangzeb in 1687.

The Baridshahi kingdom of Bidar was founded by Amir Ali Barid in 1526 or 1527. In 1618-19, Bidar was annexed by Bijapur.

Party Strife in Bahmani Empire

A very important feature of the Deccan politics during the days of the latter Bahmani kings was the perpetual strife between the Deccani and Pardesi nobles. The mutual hatred nursed by both the parties flashed into a flame.

The political strife assumed serious dimensions in the reign of Ala-ud-Din II (1436-1458) and remained a source of danger even after that in the history of the Deccan Sultans. As a matter of fact, this insane rivalry was primarily responsible for the disintegration of the Bahmani kingdom.

In order to understand the origin of this rivalry, one is to analyze the composition of Muhammadan aristocracy which ruled the Deccan. By about the middle of the 15th century, this class had split itself into rival groups known as the Deccanis and the Pardesis or New-comers.

The Deccanis were domiciled Muhammadans. It is true that they had originally come from outside the Deccan but their long stay in the Deccan changed their manners; ways of living and outlook on life. Even their complexion was changed. The Deccanis had become the natives of the country and had no extra-territorial interests. Many of them had native blood in their veins as a number of the Muslim invaders married Indian women.

The Deccanis had also many Hindu converts to Islam. Fathullah Imad Shah, the founder of the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar and Ahmad Nizam Shah, who established the kingdom of Ahmednagar, were both originally Brahmans. The Deccanis looked upon their native land as their particular preserve and viewed with suspicion every foreigner in the Deccan as a future rival and a possible competitor for a position at the Court.

The Pardesis or the New-comers were not the natives of the Deccan. Year by year, they came into the country from abroad in increasing numbers. The Bahmani Kings made it a matter of policy to employ foreign adventures freely in their army.

A continuous supply of these adventures, mostly soldiers, poured into the country. A number of them came for trade and found it to their advantage to remain connected with the politics of the country. In those days, the Deccan was the land of adventure and promise to the soldiers of fortune from Persia, Turkey, Central Asia, Arabia and Afghanistan. The Deccan was the land where valour was recognised and statesmanship was rewarded.

From the very beginning of the Bahmani kingdom, the Pardesis wielded considerable influence in the politics of the country. Bahman Shah himself had persuaded many. Afghan and Mughal Amirs to join his standard.

That policy was continued by his successors who attracted and ensured a continuous supply of foreigners. Mujahid Shah, in particular, showed great preference for Persians and Turks. It was this policy of preference and exclusion that created in the Deccanis a feeling of grievance.

To begin with, the Pardesis were few in number and the Deccanis did not feel their competition. However, with the lapse of time, the Pardesis gained in strength and formed a distinct party. That also checked the process of assimilation. When they were few in number, they inter-married with the native Deccanis and were soon merged into the bigger community. However, with the growth of the Pardesi party, the foreigners became conscious of their separate entity.

The result was that there came into existence two distinct parties known as the Deccanis and Pardesis. Generally speaking, the Pardesis were more energetic and enterprising than the Deccanis. They were employed in preference to the Deccanis. Many Pardesis rose to the highest office in the State and the Deccanis found them surpassed both in the battlefield and in the Council Chamber. That led to recriminations and quarrels.

There were religious differences between the Deccanis and Pardesis. A majority of the Pardesis was Shias and most of the Deccanis were Sunnis. The religious factor brought to the side of The Deccanis the Abyssinians who were mostly Sunnis.

In competition with the fair, handsome, cultured Pardesis from Persia, Turkey, etc., the dark-skinned and illiterate Abyssinians were at a great disadvantage and were treated with contempt by the Pardesis. The result was that the Abyssinians joined the Deccanis. In the party strife that followed between the Deccanis and Pardesis, the former party consisted of the Deccanis and Abyssinians and the latter consisted of the Turks, Mughals, Persians and Arabs.

Towards the close of the 14th century, the Deccanis realised that they were being gradually displaced from power by the Pardesis. They did not retaliate immediately and patiently waited for an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

In the reign of Ahmad Shah (1422-1436), the Deccanis manoeuvred themselves into the favour of the Sultan by well-calculated flattery, judicious self-praise and subtle insinuation against their rivals. During 1430-31 A.D., the Bahmani Army was defeated on three successive occasions by the Gujaratis. Khalaf Hasan Basari, the Pardesi Minister, attributed these reverses to the cowardice of the Deccanis.

However, the Deccanis were able to convince the King of the incompetence of the Pardesi adviser. The result was that the Deccanis were raised to power and the administration of the country was entrusted to a member of their party. On coming to power, the Deccanis openly manifested their desire to suppress the Pardesis.

In 1477, they massacred a large number of Pardesis by treachery. When the ruler came to know of the truth, he severely punished the Deccanis for misguiding him and degraded the Deccanis in the court. Thus, the Pardesis once again came to power.

The relations between the two factions became very bitter and there was absolutely no scope for compromise. Each party wanted to destroy and uproot the other. In 1481, the Deccani party brought about the murder of Mahmud Gawan, the Pardesi Minister of Muhammad Shah.

The false accusation and violent death of Gawan constituted on of the tragedies of Medieval India. Gawan has greed to maintain balance between the Deccanis and the Pardesis by an equal division of offices between the rival parties. He curtailed the powers of the provincial governors.

Hassan Nizam-ul-Mulk was jealous of the position of Gawan and he instigated his followers to put an end to his life. A number of the Deccanis entered into a conspiracy to bring about the fall of Gawan. A forged letter with the seal of Gawan, purporting to invite the Raja of Orissa to invade the Bahmani kingdom, was suddenly found the Mahmud Gawan was put to death by the order of Mohammad Shah.

The murder of Mahmud Gawan was the immediate cause of the dissolution of the Bahmani kingdom. The Pardesi Amirs refused to stay in the capital and returned to their provinces without the formality of obtaining the permission of the King. Even the respectable members of the Deccani party openly expressed their disapproval of the acts of the conspirators and joined the camp of Yusuf Adil Khan.

Deserted by the foreigners and some of the Deccanis, the King was forced to throw himself into the arms of the conspirators. Hassan Nizam-ul-Mulk was appointed Malik Naib and all the affairs of the kingdom were placed in his hands. Muhammad Shah died very soon after the death of Mahmud Gawan. As his son and successor was a minor, authority remained in the hands of Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk.

The Deccanis formed a conspiracy to kill Yusuf Adil Kharf and turn out his followers. The Pardesis came to know of the plot and there was fighting for 20 days at Bidar. Ultimately, Yusuf Adil Khan agreed to retire to Bijapur and Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk remained at the helm of affairs in the Bahmani capital. Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk did not live long as he was put to death by the Abyssinian Governor of Bidar.

That brought the Pardesis to power. The Deccanis once again formed a conspiracy to murder the King and place another prince of the royal blood on the throne. They suddenly attacked the royal palace in October, 1447, but were repulsed by the velour of the Turki guard.

The King assembled his foreign troops and ordered the conspirators to be put to death. The slaughter continued for three days and the Pardesis inflicted a terrible retribution on the Deccanis for the wrongs they had suffered. After that, Muhammad Shah took no interest in the affairs of the State. The prestige of the Bahmani kingdom was gone. The provincial governors became practically independent and did not bother about the central authority.

Expeditions were sent against Ahmad Nizam-ul-Mulk, the son of Hasan Nizam-ul-Mulk who had revolted against the central authority. But those expeditions failed as Ahmad had the fiill sympathy of Yusuf Adil Khan who even suggested seceding from the Bahmani kingdom. In June, 1490, Ahmad Nizam-ul-Mulk declared himself as an independent ruler.

Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk of Berar and Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur also declared themselves independent and thus the Bahmani kingdom was broken up.