The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Indian kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range that were created from the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate and ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490, which was followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Bidar became independent in c. 1492, and Golconda in 1512.
Daulatabad Fort, originally Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas, for a brief time the capital of the Delhi Sultanate (1327–1334), and later a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate (1499–1636).
Makkah Masjid or Mecca Masjid, is a congregational mosque in Hyderabad, India. It is the largest mosque in the city, and one of the largest in the country, with a capacity of 10,000 people. The mosque was built during the 17th century, and is a state-protected monument. It serves as the primary mosque for the Old City of Hyderabad, and is located close to the historic landmarks of Charminar, Chowmahalla Palace and Laad Bazaar.
Malik Ambar was a military leader and statesman who served as the Peshwa of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and its de facto ruler from 1600 until his death in 1626.
The Sultanate of Ahmednagar was a late medieval Indian Marathi kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur, ruled by the Nizam Shahi dynasty. It was established when Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor of Junnar, after defeating the Bahmani army led by general Jhangir Khan on 28 May 1490, declared independence and established the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
Moth ki Mosque is a 16th-century mosque located in the South Delhi district of India. The mosque was built in 1505 by Wazir Miya Bhoiya, Prime Minister during the reign of Sikander Lodi of the Lodi dynasty. It was a new type of mosque developed by the Lodis in the fourth city of the medieval Delhi Sultanate. This mosque was considered a beautiful domed (gumbad) structure of the period.
Toli Masjid, also known as Damri Masjid, is a mosque in Hyderabad, in the Indian state of Telangana. It was constructed during the Qutb Shahi period and completed in 1671.
The Mahmud Gawan Madrasa is a former madrasa, now mosque, in partial ruins, located in Bidar, in the state of Karnataka, India. It was completed in AH 876 (1471/1472 CE) and is an example of the regional style of Indo-Islamic architecture under the Bahmani Sultanate. Founded by the prime-minister of the sultanate in the late 15th century, it bears testimony to the scholarly genius of Mahmud Gawan, who first came to Delhi, in exile, as a Persian trader from Gilan in Iran and moved to Bidar in 1453.
The Deccan sultanates were five early modern kingdoms, namely Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar, which ruled the Deccan Plateau for part of the 15th, and the majority of the 16th–17th centuries. Their architecture was a regional variant of Indo-Islamic architecture, and influenced by the styles of the Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal architecture, but sometimes also influenced from Persia and Central Asia. Hindu temple architecture in the same areas had very different styles.
Pushkar Sohoni is an architect, and an architectural and cultural historian. He is an associate professor in the department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. He was Chair of the department from 2019 to 2024.
Qutb Shahi architecture is the distinct style of Indo-Islamic architecture developed during the reign of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, also known as the Golconda Sultanate.
Qila-e-Ark is a 17th-century palace/citadel complex in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb when he was a prince, it served as his royal residence during his subsequent reign as emperor. The site is currently ruined, and has no legal protected status; several modern-day buildings also encroach the complex. Notable surviving structures include a royal mosque, and a palatial building.
The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate: Courtly Practice and Royal Authority in Late Medieval India is a book by the architectural and art historian Pushkar Sohoni, published in 2018 by I.B. Tauris. It is one of the most comprehensive works on the architecture and urban settlements of the Nizam Shahs of Ahmadnagar, who ruled in the sixteenth century.
The Alamgir Mosque, now more commonly known as the Shahi Mosque, is a mosque located in Aurangabad, in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was built in 1693 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for his private use. It is one of the few surviving structures of the Qila-e-Ark, a fortified palace complex built as Aurangzeb's residence in Aurangabad, and is situated in its eastern flank.
Bibi Ki Masjid, also known as Bibi Saheba Masjid, is a mosque in Burhanpur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The building is a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Mecca Masjid, also known as Makka Masjid, is a mosque located in the Vijayapura district of Bijapur, in the state of Karnataka, India. Believed to be completed in c. 1669, the mosque was built for women of the royal household.
The Tomb of Malik Ambar is a mausoleum located in Khuldabad, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the burial place of Malik Ambar, a military leader who served as the prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Ambar built the tomb for himself, and was interred here upon his death in 1626. It is listed as a monument of national importance.
Rumi Khan's Tomb, also known as Pila Gumbad is a mausoleum located in Ahmednagar, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
The Dilawar Khan's Tomb and Mosque are a dargah and former mosque, in partial ruins, located in a walled complex in Rajgurunagar, in the Pune district of the state of Maharashtra, India. The mosque was built by Dilawar Khan, a Mughal Empire commander, in 1613 CE, and the tomb holds his grave. Both the tomb and former mosque are Monuments of National Importance, administered by Archeological Survey of India.
