Bahmani Sultanate & the Five Deccan Sultanates

PT6.3.2 · Vijayanagara & Deccan · Bahmani Sultanate

Founding of the Bahmani Sultanate (1347 CE)

The Bahmani Sultanate was founded in 1347 CE when Hasan Gangu — an Afghan officer in the service of Muhammad bin Tughlaq who led a revolt of the Deccan amirs — declared independence and took the title Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah. The revolt exploited the chaos created by Muhammad bin Tughlaq's failed experiments (capital transfer, token currency) and his inability to control the distant Deccan.

The name "Bahman Shah" is explained by two traditions: (1) he claimed descent from the legendary Persian king Bahman; (2) "Bahman" was the name of a Brahmin in whose service Hasan had worked before his rise. The first capital was Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) in present-day Karnataka.

Bahmani Sultanate Overview

Capital Shift: Gulbarga to Bidar (1428 CE)

The Bahmani capital was at Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) from 1347 until 1428 CE, when Sultan Ahmad Shah I moved it to Bidar (in present-day Karnataka near the Telangana border). Bidar remained the capital until the sultanate's dissolution. Mahmud Gawan built his famous madrasa at Bidar.

The Deccan vs. Afaqi Faction Conflict

The most destabilising internal conflict of the Bahmani Sultanate was between two noble factions:

• Deccanis (also called Dakhnis) — Muslims of Indian/mixed origin, born in the Deccan; spoke Telugu, Kannada, or Marathi; considered themselves "local"
• Afaqis (also called Gharib-ul-Mulkis or "foreigners") — recently arrived Muslims from Iran, Turkestan, Arabia; spoke Persian or Turkish; the "immigrant" class

The Afaqis were generally more educated, sophisticated, and held higher court positions — which the Deccanis deeply resented. This factional conflict paralysed governance and ultimately led to the sultanate's fragmentation. Mahmud Gawan, as an Iranian Afaqi, was the prime target of Deccani resentment.

Mahmud Gawan — The Greatest Bahmani Minister

Mahmud Gawan (c. 1411–1481 CE) was a Persian merchant-turned-statesman who arrived in the Deccan and rose to become the Wazir (Prime Minister) of the Bahmani Sultanate under Sultan Muhammad Shah III. He is regarded as the most capable administrator the Deccan produced in the medieval period.

Administrative Reforms

• Redrew provincial boundaries — divided each taraf (province) into two or more to reduce governors' power and prevent rebellion
• Insisted on direct central assessment of revenue instead of leaving it entirely to provincial governors
• Regularised the system of army maintenance
• Built the Mahmud Gawan Madrasa at Bidar (c. 1472 CE) — a magnificent three-storey college with minarets; still partially standing; one of the finest examples of Persian-influenced architecture in India
• Was himself a scholar and poet in Persian

Execution (1481 CE)

The Deccani faction forged a letter under Mahmud Gawan's seal — allegedly showing he was in traitorous correspondence with Vijayanagara. Sultan Muhammad Shah III, already an alcoholic (reportedly drunk at the time), had Mahmud Gawan summarily executed in 1481 CE. When sober, the sultan reportedly wept with remorse, realising he had been deceived. But it was too late.

Decline and Fragmentation

After Mahmud Gawan's execution, the provincial governors — freed from central oversight — rapidly asserted independence. The fragmentation happened in stages through the 1490s–1527 CE:

• c. 1490 CE: Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Berar declared independence under their governors
• c. 1518 CE: Golconda became independent
• c. 1527 CE: Bidar (the last to go) formally separated

The last Bahmani sultan was deposed c. 1527; the Barid Shahi dynasty of Bidar maintained nominal Bahmani sultanate claims for a while before fully asserting independence.

The Five Deccan Sultanates

Adil Shahi Bijapur — Key UPSC Facts

The Bijapur Sultanate (Adil Shahi dynasty) is the most tested of the five Deccan Sultanates in UPSC Prelims:

• Gol Gumbaz — the mausoleum of Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah II (died 1656 CE) at Bijapur; one of the largest domes in the world; its whispering gallery (the gallery around the base of the dome amplifies whispers to audible sound across the chamber) is famous
• Ibrahim Rauza — tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II; considered a prototype of the Taj Mahal style
• Bijapur was eventually conquered by Aurangzeb in 1686 CE

Qutb Shahi Golconda — Key UPSC Facts

• Golconda Fort near Hyderabad was the capital; famous diamond market (Koh-i-Noor, Hope Diamond, Regent Diamond — all from Golconda area mines)
• The city of Hyderabad was founded in 1591 CE by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (5th Qutb Shah sultan) when the water supply at Golconda fort became insufficient
• Golconda was conquered by Aurangzeb in 1687 CE
• The Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad are a protected monument

Mughal Absorption of the Deccan Sultanates

The five Deccan Sultanates were progressively absorbed by the Mughal Empire:

• Berar — absorbed by Ahmadnagar c. 1574
• Ahmadnagar — partly conquered by Akbar/Jahangir; finally by Shah Jahan (1636 CE)
• Bidar — absorbed by Bijapur 1619 CE; then by Mughals
• Bijapur — conquered by Aurangzeb in 1686 CE
• Golconda — conquered by Aurangzeb in 1687 CE

Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns (1681–1707 CE) consumed the last 26 years of his reign — and are considered one of the factors in the Mughal Empire's eventual weakening. The costs of the Deccan wars drained the Mughal treasury and the empire.