bahamani

BAHAMANI

When Muhammad Tughlaq was still reigning at Delhi, the nobles of Deccan rose in rebellion against him. The nobles captured the fort of Daulatabad. They made Ismail Mukh the Afghan, one of the nobles, the king of the Deccan under the title of Nasir-ud-din Shah. Ismail was old and was not able to rule so he handed over the authority to another noble Hasan Gangu Bahman shah. He got the title of "Ala-ud-Din Bahma Shah" in 1347. The kingdom of Bahman Shah came to be called the Bahmani kingdom.

1347-1358 :Reign of Hasan Bahman Shah
Hasan made the city of Gulbarga as his capital and renamed it as Ahsanabad. Being a great conqueror, he enlarged his kingdom by conquering Bidar, Malkhed, Dabhol, Goa, Kolhapur and parts of Telanganga. His kingdom extended from the Wainganga river in the north to the Krishna river of the south and from Daulatabad in the west to the river Wardha in the east. He ruled his kingdom with justice and his subjects were very contented. Hasan died in 1358.

Reign of Muhammad Shah I
Hasan was succeeded by his eldest son Muhammad Shah I. Muhammad Shah came in conflict with the rulers of Vijaynagar and Warangal. After a long struggle, he was able to overpower them. The Vijaynagar kingdom had to surrender Raichur Doab to the Sultan. The Sultan took over Golkanda from the Raja of the Warangal. Muhammad Shah was an efficient administrator and gave patronage to many scholars. During his reign Gulbarga became famous as the centre of learning. Muhammad Shah I died in 1377, and was succeeded by Mujahid Shah and Daub Khan.

Both these rulers were murdered in very short time. Then Muhammad Shah I's nephew ascended the throne and got the title of Muhammad Shah II. He was always in favour of peace so developed a cordial relationship with his neighbours. He built mosques and schools. Muhammad Shah ruled from 1377-1397.

1397-1422: Reign of Taj-ud-din Firoz Shah
Taj-ud-din was the famous ruler of the Bahmani kingdom and ruled for 52 years. He defeated the ruler of Vijaynagar and forced Devaraya I to give his daughter in marriage and pay a huge war indemnity. But later he lost the northern and southern provinces of his kingdom to Vijaynagar. Firoz Shah also waged a war against the ruler of Warangal. He was a great admirer of art and literature. He built a tomb for saint Ghisu Daraz at Gulbarga and the palace fortress of Firozabad. Towards the end, he lost the north and south provinces of his kingdom to Vijaynagar. In 1422 he stepped down from the throne and was succeeded by his brother Ahmad Shah.

Decline of Bahmani Kingdom
Ahmad Shah, a capable ruler waged successful wars against Vijaynagar, Warangal and Malwa. He shifted his capital from Gulburga to Bidar. He was a great patron of art and literature. Ahmad Shah died in 1435 and was succeeded by Alauddin II, his eldest son. Alauddin II (1436-1458) was succeeded by his son Humayun. Humayun was killed by his own slave as he was cruel. He used to feed his enemies to tigers or cut them into pieces.

Humayun was succeeded by his son Nizam Shah who was only eight. Two years later, he died. Nizam was succeeded by his 9-year-old brother Muhammad Shah III. Muhammad Shah III (1463-1482) was lucky to have Khwaja Mahmud Gawan as his chief minister . Being a very capable man he won victories over the Orissa and Vijaynagar rulers and extended the Bahmani kingdom upto Goa and Orissa. Mahmud Gawan also introduced many reforms in the administration. He also built a great college in Bidar which was named after him and called "Mahmud Gawan's Madsara". He was well versed in mathematics, medicine and literature.

Mahmud Gawan fell prey to his rival nobles who were jealous of his popularity. The nobles got Mahmud's seal stamp on the blank paper and wrote on it is his name that he has asked the king of Orissa to invade Bahmani kingdom. The Sultan ordered the execution of Gawan in 1481. The minister before his death made a prophetic declaration, "This death of an old man like me is of little moment to myself, but it will prove the ruin of Bahmani kingdom and its glory.

Muhamad's prophecy proved true. Muhammad Shah III died in 1482. His successors were weak. Soon the Bahmani kingdom broke into five separate sultanates, namely Imad Shahi of Berar, the Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar, the Adil Shahi of Bijapur, the Qutab Shahi of Golkanda and the Barid Shahi of Bidar.