The Deccan sultanates were five late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. The sultanates had become independent during the break-up of the Bahmani Sultanate. The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490, followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Golconda became independent in 1518, and Bidar in 1528.
DaulatabadFort originally DeogiriFort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas, for a brief time the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, and later a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
The Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Persianate Shia Islamic dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the Sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Qutb Shahi dynasty was established in 1512 AD by Sultan-Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, better known though less correctly referred to in English as "Quli Qutb Shah".
Ibrahim Qutb Shah Wali, also known by his Telugu names Malki BhaRama and Ibharama Chakravarti, was the fourth monarch of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India. He was the first of the Qutb Shahi dynasty to use the title "Sultan". He ruled from 1550 to 1580. He lived for seven years in exile at the court of Vijayanagara as an honoured guest of Rama Raya. Ibrahim is known for patronizing Telugu extensively because he was moved by a genuine love for the language.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able administrator and his reign is considered one of the high points of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ascended to the throne in 1580 at the age of 15 and ruled for 31 years.
Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, more often though less correctly referred to in English as Quli Qutb Shah (1485–1543), was the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled the Sultanate of Golconda in southern India from 1518 to 1687. Of Turkmen origin and born in Persia, he originally served the Bahmani sultan, and was awarded the title Qutb-ul-Mulk as military chief; he eventually took control of Golconda.
Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah was the sixth ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Abdullah Qutb Shah was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672.
Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located in the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings by Deo Rai, Rajah of Warangal during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified city and made it the capital of the Golconda Sultanate. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. Golconda fort is currently abandoned and in ruins. The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with others in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate.
Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu, was a 17th-century devotee of the Hindu god Rama, a saint-poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He is a famous Vaggeyakara from the Telugu classical era. He was born in the village of Nelakondapalli in Khammam district, and orphaned as a teenager. He spent his later years in Bhadrachalam and 12 years in solitary confinement at the Golconda prison during the Qutb Shahi-rule. Different mythical stories about his life circulate in the Telugu tradition. He is renowned for constructing the famous Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple and pilgrimage center on the banks of river Godavari at Bhadrachalam. His devotional kirtana lyrics to Rama illustrate the classical Pallavi, Anupallavi and Caranam genre composed mostly in Telugu, some in Sanskrit and with occasional use of Tamil language. These are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu.
The Qutub Shahi Tombs are located in the Ibrahim Bagh, close to the famous Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single storey while the larger ones are two storied. In the centre of each tomb is a sarcophagus which overlies the actual burial vault in a crypt below. The domes were originally overlaid with blue and green tiles, of which only a few pieces now remain.
The Ahmadnagar Sultanate or the Nizam Shahi Sultanate was a late medieval Indian Muslim kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur, ruled by the Nizam Shahi or Bahri dynasty. Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor of Junnar after defeating the Bahmani army led by general Jahangir Khan on 28 May 1490 declared independence and established the Nizam Shahi dynasty rule over the sultanate of Ahmednagar. Initially his capital was in the town of Junnar with its fort, later renamed Shivneri. In 1494, the foundation was laid for the new capital Ahmadnagar. In 1636 Aurangzeb, then Mugal viceroy of Deccan, finally annexed the sultanate to the Mughal Empire.
Madanna and Akkanna were two Brahmin brothers who rose to prominence in the 17th-century in the final two decades of the Golkonda sultanate. They helped Abul Hasan Qutb Shah come to power, who appointed them as ministers in his court. He made them responsible for collecting jizya taxes from the Hindus – predominant part of the Sultanate's population. By the 1680s, according to the colonial era Dutch India archives, they controlled all the tax collection and the exchequer of the Golkonda Sultanate. According to Gijs Kruijtzer – a historian specializing in Deccan Sultanates, the Madanna and Akkanna brothers can be viewed as early "nationalists" seeking the welfare of their people and the general public. They can also be viewed as "communalists" who criticized the Muslim elites as exploitative who do not care about non-Muslims, who serve the interest of their holy land in Arabia, and seek personal gain. The two brothers spent the taxes they collected in Golconda on the "welfare of the public", states Kruijtzer, which included furthering trade with the colonial Dutch, building public sarai, as well as restoring and building temples.
The siege of Golconda was a siege of Golconda Fort between the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, occurring in January 1687, lasting 8 months. The fort was home of the Kollur Mine. The Golconda Fort was considered to be an impregnable fort on the Indian subcontinent. At the end of the siege, Aurangzeb and the Mughals entered Golconda victorious.
The siege of Bijapur began in March 1685 and ended in September 1686 with a Mughal victory. The siege began when Aurangzeb dispatched his son, Muhammad Azam Shah, with a force of nearly 50,000 men to capture Bijapur Fort and defeat Sikandar Adil Shah, the then ruler of Bijapur, who refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire. The siege of Bijapur was among the longest military engagements of the Mughals, lasting more than 15 months until Aurangzeb personally arrived to organize a victory.
Muqarrab Khan of Golconda, also known as Khan Zaman Fath Jang Dakhini, was an Indian Deccani Muslim, who was the most experienced commander of Qutb Shahi Dynasty, during the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. He is known for betraying Abul Hasan Qutb Shah during Siege of Golconda. He arrested Maratha Emperor Sambhaji at Sangameshwar.
Hyderabad was the capital of the Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is a historic city noted for its many monuments, temples, mosques and bazaars. A multitude of influences has shaped the character of the city in the last 400 years.
The history of Telangana, located on the high Deccan Plateau, includes its being ruled by the Satavahana Dynasty, the Kakatiya Dynasty (1083–1323), the Musunuri Nayaks (1326–1356), the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1512), Golconda Sultanate (1512–1687) and Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724-1950).
Akkanna Madanna caves are a group of rock-cut Hindu cave temples in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Dated to mid 7th-century and dedicated to Shiva, they were excavated by the Eastern Chalukya dynasty. They consist of the upper (larger) and lower caves. The upper cave is better preserved, and has an important 7th-century inscription.
Hayat Bakshi Begum was the royal consort of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, the sixth ruler of the Qutb Shai Dynasty in south India and daughter of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, fifth Sultan of the dynasty. When her son Abdullah Qutb Shah was made sultan at the age of fourteen in 1626, she acted as regent for the first few years of his reign, and continued to wield considerable influence in the state until her death.
