Get complete information on the life of Nizam Shah & Muhammad Shah III

Get complete information on the life of Nizam Shah & Muhammad Shah III

Humayun was succeeded by his son Nizam Shah. As he was a minor, the work of the administration was carried on by his mother Makhdumah Jahan with the help of Khwaja Jahan and Mahmud Gawan.

The rulers of Orissa and Telingana attacked the Bahmani Empire but they were defeated. Mahmud Shah Khalji of Malwa attacked the Bahmani kingdom and besieged Bidar. The armies of the Bahmani kingdom were defeated.

However, a request was made of the ruler of Gujarat for help and when that came the ruler of Malwa had to retire. Another attempt was made by the ruler of Malwa in 1462 but that also failed. Nizam Shah ruled from September, 1461 to July, 1463. He was succeeded by his brother who took up the title of Muhammad Shah III.

Muhammad Shah III (1463-82)

At the time of his accession, Muhammad was only 9. As Khwaja Jahan, the Wazir, embezzled the public funds, he was condemned in open Darbar and murdered by one of the nobles of the court. The place of Khwaja Jahan was taken by Mahmud Gawan who was also given the title of Khwaja Jahan. Gawan extended the territory of the Bahmani kingdom to an extent never reached before.

In 1469, Gawan tried to subdue the Hindu Rajas of the Konkan. When he had captured many forts, Raja of Sanghameshwar surrendered the fortress of Khalna to the agents of Gawan.

According to the author of Burhan-i-Massir, “The unrivalled minister seized many forts and towns and captured immense booty and valuable goods such as horses, elephants, maidens and female slaves as well as precious jewels and pearls fell into the Minister’s hands.” Gawan also captured Goa.

The forts of Rajamundry and Kondavir were also captured. There was a famine in 1474 and a large number of persons died. In 1478, Muhammad Shah III invaded and devastated Orissa. The ruler of Orissa gave to the Sultan many elephants and other valuable gifts. In 1481, Kanchi or Conjeevaram was attacked.

The old temples of that place “were the wonder of the age, filled with countless concealed treasures and jewels and valuable pearls, besides innumerable slave girls.” The fort was captured by a determined assault and immense booty fell into the hands of the victors who “levelled the city and its temples with the ground and overthrew all the symbols of infidelity.”

In 1470 Nikitin, a Russian merchant, visited Bidar and he has made the following observations with regard to the Bahmani kingdom: “The Sultan is a little man, twenty years old, in the power of the nobles.

Khorassanians rule the country and serve in war. There is a Khorassanian Boyar, Malik-Tuchar, who keeps an army of 2, 00,000 men; Malik Khan Keeps 1, 00,000; Kharat Khan 20,000 and many are the Khans that keep 10,000 armed men.

“The Sultan goes out with 3, 00,000 men of his own troops. The land is overstocked with people; but those in the country are very miserable, whilst the nobles are extremely opulent and delight in luxury.

They are wont to be carried on their silver beds, preceded by some 20 chargers caparisoned in gold, and followed by 300 men on horse-back and 500 on foot and by horn men, ten torch-bearers and ten musicians.”

“The Sultan goes out hunting with his mother and his lady and a train of 10,000 men on horse-back, 50,000 on foot, 200 elephants adorned in gilded amour, and in front 100 horn men, 100 dancers and 300 common horses in golden clothing, 100 monkeys and 100 concubines, all foreign (haurikies).”

“The Sultan’s palace has seven gates and in each gate are seated 100 guards and 100 Muhammadan scribes, who enter the names of all persons going in and out. Foreigners are not admitted into the town.

This palace is very wonderful: everything in it is carved or gilded and even to the smallest stone, is cut and ornamented with gold most wonderfully. Several courts of justice are within the building. Throughout the night the town of Bidar is guarded by 1,000 Kutovalovies (Kotwals), mounted on horses in full armour, carrying each a light.”

While the military record of Muhammad Shah III is one of triumph, the Sultan himself became mentally unbalanced on account of his habit of drinking hard. In 1481, he committed a blunder by getting Mahmud Gawan murdered.

According to Prof. Sherwani, “Muhammad’s reign is one of the tragedies in the history of the Deccan. It saw the greatest triumph of Khwaja-i-Jahan Mahmud Gawan and so long as this minister had control over the affairs of the kingdom the Bahmani state attained heights of prosperity whicfyit had never reached before.

But with the death of the Dowager Queen, the King’s weak temperament was seen in all its gloomy aspects and the martyrdom of erstwhile preceptor was the result. It has already been noted that the reign saw the continuation of a policy of equilibrium between the two great political groups of the state and this, coupled with the minister’s murder, led to remarkable consequences.

Mahmud Gawan was succeeded by Nizam-ul-Mulk, and although his party had now the monopoly of power, still the danger of life and honour loomed large and he felt it incumbent to ally himself with some of his erstwhile opponents. We also see Imad-ul-Mulk, a dakhni and Khudawand Khan, a habashi, making common cause with Yusuf, Adil and Afaqi and a joint army consisting both of’ New-comers and Old-comers being sent against the Raya of Vijayanagar.

We also see Fakhr-ul-Mulk, a dakhni, preferring to go to Bijapur along with Yusuf Adil. This alliance of the two great political groups was probably the dream of the late minister which he was not permitted to see realised in his life-time.

“Unfortunately, however, there was no one left in the kingdom that could control these new forces and lead them towards a constructive end for the strength and betterment of the state and all who had any foresight saw that the kingdom was on the brink of an abyss. It was known that the King was fast ending his own life in debauchery and drink and his heir was more or less of the same age as he himself had been when he had ascended the throne.

In his own infancy the state had been ruled by three of the most stalwart personages of the Deccan, while now, with Muhammad’s approaching end, matters were sure to deteriorate in spite of the care which he had taken to get his heir accepted by all in his own life-time.

There was no one to keep the centrifugal forces in check which were fast at work to get the better of the tottering empire. Patriotism and loyalty there were none and the weakness of the centre and strong unscrupulous counter-forces led only one way, towards dissolution of the Empire into petty states.”