Bahmani Empire :
The Bahmani Sultans ruled India from 1347 to 1527. They ruled the Bahmani Empire from Gulbarga as their capital. Alauddin Hasan Gangu founded the Bahmani Empire. They fought many wars with the kings of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Kings of the Bahmani Empire:
Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah
Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah – II
Firoz Shah Bahmani
Ahmed Shah – I
Ahmed Shah – II
Humayun
Muhammad Shah – III
Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah:
He ruled from Gulbarga in Karnataka as his capital. He is known as Alexander II. He divided the empire into Tarafs (states) for the convenience of administration and appointed Tarafdars (governors) for them. He is described in the book ‘Burhan`e`Masir’. A person named Ferista has mentioned him in his works. He defeated Harihara Raya I, the king of the Vijayanagara Empire, and took control of the Antarvedi.
Muhammad Shah :
He fought a war with Bukka Raya I, the king of the Vijayanagara Empire, for ‘Mudgalkot’. He had a cabinet of 8 ministers in his court. He destroyed many Hindu temples.
Muhammad Shah – II:
He is known as the second Aristotle. The Antarvedi region, which was lost during the reign of Alauddin Hasan Bahaman Shah, was regained by the Vijayanagara king Harihara Raya II.
Firoz Shah Bahamani :
He ruled the Bahamani Empire and was known as the greatest king among all the kings. He built the city of Firozabad. He was a great scholar in many languages. He established an astronomical observatory during his time. He defeated the first Devaraya in the Mudgal battle and married the daughter of the first Devaraya and received the Bankapur region as a dowry. The Sufi saint ‘Gesudaraj’ visited his court. He wrote commentaries on the Quran and Sharia.
Ahmad Shah I :
His court poet, he wrote a book called ‘Azhar Bahaman Nama’ in Persian. During his reign, the capital was shifted from Gulbarga to Bidar.
Ahmad Shah II:
He was a contemporary of Deva Raya II. He fought against Deva Raya II twice and was defeated.
Humayun :
During his reign, there were differences of opinion among the Muslims.
Ahmad Shah III :
During his reign, the Bahmani Empire reached its peak. During his reign, ‘Mahammad Gawan’ assumed power as the Prime Minister. When Gawan was the Prime Minister, he built madrasas as well as libraries. Gawan constantly protected the Bahmani Empire from enemies. The fall of the Bahmani Empire began with the execution of Gawan in 1481. The Vijayanagara kings occupied the inner court. During the reign of Ahmad Shah III, the Russian merchant ”Nikitin” visited his court. Foreign trade flourished during his reign.
As the subsequent kings were not effective, the Bahmani Empire disintegrated and was divided into 5 independent kingdoms.
Architecture and Sculpture
During the Bahmani Empire, constructions were undertaken in cities like Gulbarga and Bidar. They built in Indo-Persian style. Tiles imported from Iran were used in the constructions. Hindu sculpture is especially seen on the tombs of the kings. The three-storeyed Gawan Madarsa in Bidar provided shelter to 1000 students.
Fall – Establishment of independent kingdoms
During the reign of Muhammad Gawan, the Bahmani Empire reached its peak. After his death, the empire began to decline. Governors from various states in the empire rebelled and formed independent kingdoms. As a result, 5 independent kingdoms emerged.
5 independent kingdoms
Birar – Fatehullah Imad Shah
Bijapur – Yusuf Adil Shah
Ahmednagar – Malik Ahmed
Golconda – Quli Qutub Shah
Bidar – Amir Ali Barid
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