Editing Bahmani Sultanate

{{Short description|Kingdom in Deccan India (1347–1527)}}
{{Redirect|Bahmani|places in Iran|Bahmani, Iran (disambiguation){{!}}Bahmani, Iran}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = <!--Please do not complete this field [[ WP:INDICSCRIPTS]]-->
| conventional_long_name = Bahmani Sultanate
| common_name            = Deccan
| era                    = Late Medieval
| status                 = [[Sultanate]]
| year_start             = 1347
| date_start             = 3 August
| year_end               = 1527
| p1                     = Delhi Sultanate
| flag_p1                = Delhi_Sultanate_Flag.svg
| s1                     = Bijapur Sultanate
| s2                     = Golconda Sultanate
| s3                     = Ahmadnagar Sultanate
| s4                     = Berar Sultanate
| s5                     = Bidar Sultanate
| image_map              = Map of the Bahmani Sultanate.png
| image_map_caption      = The Bahmani Sultanate at its greatest extent in 1473 under regent [[Mahmud Gawan]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schwartzberg Atlas — Digital South Asia Library |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=185 |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref><ref name="8-17">{{cite book|pages=146–148|title=History of Medieval India 800–1700 A.D|first=Umair|last=Mirza|date=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/history-of-medieval-india-800-1700_202303/page/147}}</ref>
| capital                = {{plainlist|
*[[Gulbarga]] <small>(1347–1425)</small>
*[[Bidar]] <small>(1425–1527)</small>}}
| common_languages       = [[Persian Language|Persian]] (official){{sfn|Ansari|1988|pp=494–499}} <br/> [[Marathi language|Marathi]] <br/> [[Deccani language|Deccani Urdu]] <br/> [[Telugu language|Telugu]] <br/> [[Kannada language|Kannada]]
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]]<ref name="Khalidi 1990 5">{{cite journal |title=The Shiʿites of the Deccan: An Introduction |first=Umar |last=Khalidi |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=64, Fasc. 1/2, SGUARDI SULLA CULTURA A SCIITA NEL DECCAN GLANCES ON SHI'ITE DECCAN CULTURE |year=1990 |page=5}}</ref><br>[[Shia Islam]]<ref name="Khalidi 1990 5">{{cite journal |title=The Shiʿites of the Deccan: An Introduction |first=Umar |last=Khalidi |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=64, Fasc. 1/2, SGUARDI SULLA CULTURA A SCIITA NEL DECCAN GLANCES ON SHI'ITE DECCAN CULTURE |year=1990 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&dq=were%20bahmanis%20shia&pg=PA435 |title= The History of the World |author= John Morris Roberts, Odd Arne Westad |year= 2013 |publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 9780199936762 }}</ref><br>[[Sufism]]{{sfn|Eaton 1978|page=49}}
| currency               = [[Ancient taka|Taka]]
| government_type        = Monarchy
| leader1                = [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah]]
| year_leader1           = 1347–1358
| leader2                = Kalim-Allah Shah
| year_leader2           = 1525–1527
| title_leader           = [[Sultan]]
| today                  = [[India]]
}}

The '''Bahmani Sultanate''' ({{lang-persian|{{nq|سلطان‌نشین بهمنی}}}}) was a [[late medieval]] empire that ruled the [[Deccan Plateau]] in [[India]]. The first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,<ref name="Ansari">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bahmanid-dynasty-a-dynasty-founded-in-748-1347-in-the-deccan-sanskrit-daksia-lit|last=Ansari|first=N.H.|title=Bahmanid Dynasty|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref> the Bahmani Sultanate came to power in 1347 during the [[rebellion of Ismail Mukh]] against [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]], the [[Sultan of Delhi|Sultan]] of the [[Tughlaq dynasty]] of [[Delhi Sultanate|Delhi]]. Ismail Mukh then abdicated in favour of [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah|Zafar Khan]], who would establish the Bahmani Sultanate. 

The Bahmani Sultanate was in perpetual war with its neighbors, including its rival to the south, the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], which would outlast the Sultanate.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OIzreCGlHxIC&q=bahmani+vijayanagar+war&pg=PT597 |title= Dictionary of Wars |author= George C. Kohn |year= 2006 |publisher= Infobase Publishing |isbn= 9781438129167 }}</ref> The Bahmani Sultans also patronized architectural works. The [[Mahmud Gawan Madrasa]] was created by [[Mahmud Gawan]], the vizier regent who was Prime minister of the Sultanate from 1466 until his execution in 1481 during a conflict between the foreign (Afaqis) and local (Deccanis) nobility. The [[Bidar Fort]] was constructed by [[Ahmad Shah I Wali|Ahmad Shah I]] ({{ruled|1422|36}}), who relocated the capital to the city of [[Bidar]]. Ahmad Shah would lead campaigns against Vijayanagar and the Sultanates of [[Malwa Sultanate|Malwa]] and [[Gujarat Sultanate|Gujarat]]. His campaign against Vijayanagar in 1423 would lead to their capital's [[Siege of Vijayanagar|siege]], which would result in the expansion of the Sultanate. Mahmud Gawan would later lead campaigns during his rule against Malwa, Vijayanagar, and the [[Gajapati Empire|Gajapatis]], and would extend the Sultanate to its maximum extent.

The Sultanate would begin its decline under the reign of [[Mahmood Shah Bahmani II|Mahmood Shah]]. Through a combination of factional strife and the revolt of five provincial governors ([[taraf (subdivision)|taraf]]dars), the Bahmani Sultanate would split up into five states, known as the [[Deccan Sultanates]]. The initial revolts of [[Yusuf Adil Shah]], [[Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I]], and [[Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk]] in 1490 and [[Qasim Barid I]] in 1492 would see the end of any real Bahmani power, and the last independent Sultanate, that of [[Sultanate of Golkonda|Golkonda]] in 1518, would end the Bahmani's 180 year rule over the [[Deccan]]. The last four Bahmani rulers would be puppet monarchs under [[Amir Barid I]] of the [[Bidar Sultanate]], and the kingdom formally dissolved in 1527.{{sfn|Haig, 1925|pp=425–426}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNtjIJmhoIkC&dq=absurd+hasan+gangu&pg=PA16 |title=History of The Deccan |page=15 |publisher=Mittal Publications |date=1990 }}</ref>

==Origin==
{{see also|Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah}}
The Bahmani Sultanate was founded by [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah|Zafar Khan]], who was of either [[Afghan (ethnonym)|Afghan]] or [[Turkic peoples|Turk]] origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jenkins|first=Everett|title=The Muslim Diaspora (Volume 1, 570–1500): A Comprehensive Chronology of the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, Volume 1 |publisher=McFarland |year=2015 |isbn=9781476608884 |pages=257 |language=English|quote=Zafar Khan alias Alauddin Hasan Gangu ('Ala al-Din Hasan Bahman Shah), an Afghan or a Turk soldier, revolted against Delhi and established the Muslim Kingdom of Bahmani on August 3 in the South (Madura) and ruled as Sultan Alauddin Bahman Shah.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|title=A History of India |last2=Rothermund|first2=Dietmar|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2004|isbn=9780415329200 |pages=181 |language=English|quote=The Bahmani sultanate of the Deccan Soon after Muhammad Tughluq left Daulatabad, the city was conquered by Zafar Khan, a Turkish or Afghan officer of unknown descent, had earlier participated in a mutiny of troops in Gujarat.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wink |first=André |title=The Making of the Indo-Islamic World C.700–1800 CE |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9781108417747 |pages=87 |language=English|quote=Finally, and more importantly, the independent Bahmani dynasty of the Deccan was founded in 1348 by Zafar Khan, probably an Afghan who broke away from Delhi with the support of Afghan and Mongol "New Muslims"}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kerr|first=Gordon|title=A Short History of India: From the Earliest Civilisations to Today's Economic Powerhouse |publisher=Oldcastle Books Ltd|year=2017|isbn=9781843449232|pages=160|language=English|quote=In the early fourteenth century, the Muslim Bahmani kingdom of the Deccan emerged following Alauddin's conquest of the south. Zafar Khan, an Afghan general and governor appointed by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, was victorious against the troops of the Delhi Sultanate, establishing the Bahmani kingdom with its capital at Ahsanabad (modern-day Gulbarga).}}</ref> [[Encyclopedia Iranica]] states him to be a [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasani]] adventurer, who claimed descent from [[Bahram Gur|Bahrām Gōr]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ḤASAN GĀNGU |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hasan-gangu|website=Encyclopædia Iranica}}</ref> According to the medieval historian [[Ferishta]], his obscurity makes it difficult to track his origin, but he is nonetheless stated as of Afghan birth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wink|first=Andre|title=Indo-Islamic society: 14th – 15th centuries |publisher=BRILL|year=1991|isbn=9781843449232|pages=144|language=English}}</ref> Ferishta further writes, Zafar Khan had earlier been a servant of a [[Brahmin]] astrologer at Delhi named [[Gangu (ruler)|Gangu]], giving him the name Hasan Gangu,<ref>Bhattacharya, Sachchidananada. ''A Dictionary of Indian History'' (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1972) p. 100</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cathal J. Nolan|title=The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: An Encyclopedia of Global ..., Volym 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdQWAQAAIAAJ|date=2006|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vdQWAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA437 437]|publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33733-8 }}</ref> and says that he was from North India.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03lDAAAAYAAJ&q=hasan+gangu+inhabitant+of+delhi+native+of+delhi |title= The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi sultanate |author= Chopdar |page=248 |date= 1951 }}</ref> Historians have not found any corroboration for the legend,{{sfn|Chandra|2004|p=177}}{{sfn|Majumdar|1967|p=248}} but [[Ziauddin Barani|Barani]], who was the court chronicler of Sultan [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq|Firuz Shah]], as well as some other scholars have also called him Hasan Gangu.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate00bhar/page/248/mode/2up?q=gangu |title= History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 06,The Delhi Sultanate |author= Chopdar |date= 27 February 1967 |publisher= Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=248 }}</ref> Another theory of origin for Zafar Khan is that he was of Brahmin origin,<ref name="Jayanta Gadakari-2000"/> and that Bahman (his given name following the establishment of the Sultanate) is a corrupted personalized form of Brahman,<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCann |first=Michael W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WtoAayu603kC&dq=his+name+derives+from+corruption+of+word+Brahman&pg=RA1-PA253 |title=Rights at Work: Pay Equity Reform and the Politics of Legal Mobilization |date=1994-07-15 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-55571-3 |language=en}}</ref> with Hasan Gangu being a Hindu Brahman who became Muslim.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rRxkAAAAMAAJ&q=hasan+gangu+hindu+convert |page=3 |author=Suvorova |title= Masnavi: A Study of Urdu|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |date=2000|isbn=978-0-19-579148-8 }}</ref><ref name="Jayanta Gadakari-2000">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NRluAAAAMAAJ&q=hasan+gangu+brahmin+convert |title= Hindu Muslim Communalism |page=140 |author= Jayanta Gaḍakarī  |date=2000 }}</ref> However this view has been discredited by S.A.Q. Husaini, who considers the idea of a Brahmin origin or Zafar Khan originally being a Hindu convert to Islam from Punjab untenable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Husaini (Saiyid.) |first=Abdul Qadir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJgrnbdaefEC |title=Bahman Shāh, the Founder of the Bahmani Kingdom |date=1960 |publisher=Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay |language=en|pages=60–63}}</ref>

== History ==
[[Ziauddin Barani]], the court chronicler of Sultan [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq|Firuz Shah]], states that [[Hasan Gangu]], the Bahmani Sultanate's founder, was "born in very humble circumstances" and that "For the first thirty years of his life he was nothing more than a field laborer."<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9PYRAAAAYAAJ&dq=for+the+first+thirty+years+of+his+life+labourer&pg=PA15 |title= A History of the Deccan: Volume 1 |page= 16 |author= Gribble |year= 1896 |publisher= Luzac and Company }}</ref> He was made a commander of a hundred horsemen by the [[Sultanate of Delhi|Delhi Sultan]], [[Muhammad bin Tughluq]],  who was pleased with his honesty. This sudden rise in the military and socio-economic ladder was common in this era of Muslim India.{{sfn|J.D.E|1990|p=16}} Zafar Khan or Hasan Gangu was among the inhabitants of Delhi who were forced to migrate to the Deccan, to build a large Muslim settlement in the region of [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O_WNqSH4ByQC |page= 34 |title=Mediaeval Deccan History: Commemoration Volume in Honour of Purshottam Mahadeo Joshi |date= 1996 |publisher= Popular Prakashan |author1=A. Rā Kulakarṇī |author2=M. A. Nayeem |author3=Teotonio R. De Souza |isbn= 9788171545797 }}</ref> Zafar Khan was a man of ambition and looked forward to the adventure. He had long hoped to employ his body of horsemen in the Deccan as the region was seen as the place of bounty in Muslim imagination at the time. He was rewarded with an [[Iqta'|Iqta]] for taking part in the conquest of [[Kampili kingdom|Kampili]].{{sfn|Eaton 2005|page=41}}

===Rise===
{{main|Rebellion of Ismail Mukh}}
{{South Asia in 1400||The Bahmani Sultanate and main South Asian polities in 1400 CE<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |pages=39, 147|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=076}}</ref>|{{Annotation|100|134|[[File:Rectangle (plain).svg|60px]]}}}}
Before the establishment of his kingdom, Hasan Gangu (Zafar Khan) was Governor of Deccan and a commander on behalf of the [[Tughlaq dynasty|Tughlaqs]]. On 3 August 1347, during [[Rebellion of Ismail Mukh|the rebellion by the Amirs of the Deccan]], Ismail Mukh, the leader of the rebellion (whom the rebel ''[[amir]]s'' of the Deccan placed on the throne of Daulatabad in 1345), abdicated in favor of Zafar Khan, resulting in the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom. The Sultan of Delhi had besieged the rebels at the citadel of Daulatabad. As another rebellion had begun in [[Gujarat]], the Sultan left and installed Shaikh Burhan-ud-din [[Bilgram]]i and Malik [[Jauhar]] and other nobles in charge of the siege. Meanwhile, as these nobles were unable to stop the Deccani amirs from pursuing the imperial army, Hasan Gangu, a native of Delhi, then being pursued by Governor of [[Vidarbha|Berar]] Imad-ul-Mulk, the leader to whom the Deccani Amirs had re-assembled against, attacked and slew the latter and marched on towards Daulatabad. Here Hasan Gangu and the Deccani amirs put to flight the imperial forces which had been left to besiege. The rebels at Daulatabad had the sense to see Hasan Gangu as the man of the hour, and the proposal to crown Hasan Gangu, entitled Zafar Khan, was accepted without a dissentient voice on 3 August 1347.<ref name="Mahajan, V.D. 1991">Mahajan, V.D. (1991). ''History of Medieval India'', Part I, New Delhi:S. Chand, {{ISBN|81-219-0364-5}}, pp.279–80</ref><ref>Bhattacharya. ''Indian History''. p. 928</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/historiclandmark00haigrich/page/30/mode/2up?q=bilgrami |title= Historic landmarks of the Deccan |author=Thomas Wolseley Haig |date=1919 |publisher=Pioneer Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmed Farooqui |first=Salma |title=Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century |publisher=Pearson |year=2011 |isbn=9789332500983 |pages=150}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Anecdotes from Islam |author= Ibrahim Khan |publisher= M. Ashraf |year= 1960 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jaQGAQAAIAAJ&q=native+of+delhi }}</ref> His revolt was successful, and he established an independent state on the Deccan within the Delhi Sultanate's southern provinces with its headquarters at Hasanabad ([[Gulbarga]]), where all his coins were minted.<ref name="Mahajan, V.D. 1991"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=106–108, 117}}</ref>

With the support of the influential Indian [[Chishti]] [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Shaikhs in South Asia|Shaikhs]], he was crowned "Alauddin Bahman Shah Sultan – Founder of the Bahmani Dynasty".<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC&q=chishti%20sufi%20sheikhs&pg=PA88 |title= Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent |author= Burjor Avari |year= 2013 |page= 88 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 9780415580618 }}</ref> They bestowed upon him a robe allegedly worn by the prophet [[Muhammad]]. The extension of the Sufi's notion of spiritual sovereignty lent legitimacy to the planting of the Sultanate's political authority, where the land, people, and produce of the Deccan were merited state protection, no longer available for plunder with impunity. These Sufis legitimized the transplantation of Indo-Muslim rulership from one region in South Asia to another, converting the land of the Bahmanids into being recognized as [[Divisions of the world in Islam#Dar al-Islam|Dar ul-Islam]], while it was previously considered [[Divisions of the world in Islam#Dar al-harb|Dar ul-Harb]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ&dq=muslim+rebel+daulatabad&pg=PP59 |title= India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765 |author= Richard M. Eaton |date= 2019 |publisher= Penguin Books Limited |isbn= 9780141966557 }}</ref>

[[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] or Indo-Turkish troops, explorers, saints, and scholars moved from Delhi and North India to the Deccan with the establishment of the Bahmanid sultanate. How many of these were [[Shi'a|Shi'ites]] is unclear. Nonetheless, there is enough evidence to demonstrate that a number of nobility at the Bahmani court identified as Shi'ites or had significant Shi'ite inclinations.{{efn|[[Stephen Dale|Stephen F. Dale]] refers to the Bahmanis as Shi'i Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals |first=Stephen F. |last=Dale |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009 |page= 31 |quote="...may have contributed to the decision by a group of Shi'i Muslims from the Deccan, the Bahmani, to proclaim the new Muslim Sultanate there." }}</ref>}}<ref name="Khalidi 1990 5">{{cite journal |title=The Shiʿites of the Deccan: An Introduction |first=Umar |last=Khalidi |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=64, Fasc. 1/2, SGUARDI SULLA CULTURA A SCIITA NEL DECCAN GLANCES ON SHI'ITE DECCAN CULTURE |year=1990 |page=5}}</ref>

===Succeeding rulers (1358–1422)===

Alauddin was succeeded by his son [[Mohammed Shah I]].{{Sfn|Prasad|1933|p=417}} His conflicts with the Vijayanagar empire were singularly savage wars, as according to the historian [[Ferishta]], "the population of the Carnatic was so reduced that it did not recover for several ages."<ref>{{cite book |title= the Age of Wrath:A History of the Delhi Sultanate |author= Abraham Elahy |date= 2015 |publisher= Penguin Books Limited }}</ref> The Bahmanids' aggressive confrontation with the two main Hindu kingdoms of the southern Deccan, [[Kakatiya dynasty|Warangal]] and Vijayanagara in the [[First Bahmani–Vijayanagar War]], made them renowned among Muslims as warriors of the faith.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250–1800|first1= Sheila S. |last1 = Blair |first2=Jonathan M. |last2=Bloom |date= 25 September 1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mhIgewDtNkC&dq=warangal+bahmanids&pg=PA156 |page=159| publisher=Yale University Press |isbn= 0300064659 }}</ref>

The Vijayanagara empire and the Bahmanids fought over the control of the Godavari-basin, Tungabadhra Doab, and the [[Marathwada]] country, although they seldom required a pretext for declaring war,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro--tXw_hxMC&dq=warangal+bahmanids&pg=PA1072 |title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam |author= E. J. Brill  |date=1993 |page=1072 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004097940 }}</ref> as military conflicts were almost a regular feature and lasted as long as these kingdoms continued.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vKxiDwAAQBAJ&dq=warangal+bahmanids&pg=PA183|title= MEDIEVAL INDIA UPSC PREPARATION BOOKS HISTORY SERIES |publisher=Mocktime Publication |date=2011 }}</ref> Military slavery involved captured slaves from Vijayanagara whom were then converted to Islam and integrated into the host society, so they could begin military careers within the Bahmanid empire.{{sfn|Eaton 2005|page=126}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHoxEAAAQBAJ&dq=deccanis+bahri&pg=PA67 |title=Local States in an Imperial World |page=72 |author=Roy S. Fischel |date=2020 |isbn=9781474436090}}</ref>

Ghiyasuddin succeeded his father Muhammad II at the age of seventeen in April 1397, but was blinded and imprisoned by a Turkic slave called Taghalchin,<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9_48AAAAIAAJ&dq=tughalchin&pg=PA285 |title= The Cambridge Shorter History of India |page= 285 |publisher= CUP Archive }}</ref>{{sfn|Sherwani|1946|p=129}} who had held a grudge on the Sultan for the latter's refusal to appoint him as a governor. He had lured the Sultan into putting himself in the former's power, using the beauty of his daughter, who was accomplished in music and arts, and had introduced her to the Sultan at a feast.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=03lDAAAAYAAJ&q=infatuated |title= The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Delhi sultanate |author= Ramesh Chandra Majumdar  |date= 1951 |publisher= Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan }}</ref>{{sfn|Sherwani|1946|page=93}} He was succeeded by Shamsuddin, who was a puppet king under Taghalchin. [[Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah|Firuz]] and [[Ahmad Shah I Wali|Ahmed]], the sons of the fourth sultan [[Daud Shah Bahmani|Daud]], marched to Gulbarga to avenge Ghiyasuddin. Firuz declared himself the sultan, and defeated Taghalchin's forces. Taghalchin was killed and Shamsuddin was blinded.{{sfn|Sherwani|1946|p=132}}

Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah became the sultan in November 1397.{{Sfn|Prasad|1933|p=423}} Firuz Shah fought against the Vijayanagara Empire on many occasions and the rivalry between the two dynasties continued unabated throughout his reign, with victories [[Bahmani–Vijayanagar War (1398)|in 1398]] and [[War of the Goldsmith's Daughter|in 1406]], but a defeat in 1417. One of his victories resulted in his marriage to the daughter of [[Deva Raya]], the Vijayanagara Emperor.{{sfn|Majumdar|1967|p=255}}

Firuz Shah expanded the nobility by enabling Hindus and granting them high office.<ref>{{cite book |title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture |date=2000 |page= 275  |author=John Stewart Bowman  |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231110044 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkqsAgAAQBAJ&dq=Ala-ud-Din+Bahman+Shah&pg=PA274 }}</ref> In his reign, Sufis such as [[Bande Nawaz|Gesudaraz]], a Chishti saint who had immigrated from Dehli to Daulatabad, were prominent in court and daily life.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAT1DwAAQBAJ&dq=gesudaraz&pg=PA168 |title= Islam in South Asia: Revised, Enlarged and Updated Second Edition |page= 168 |author= Jamal Malik  |date= 2020 |publisher= Brill |isbn= 9789004422711 }}</ref> He was the first author to write in the [[Deccani language|Dakhni]] dialect of [[Urdu]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Classical Urdu Literature from the Beginning to Iqbāl |author=  Annemarie Schimmel  |date= 1975 |page= 132 |publisher= Harrassowitz}}</ref> The Dakhni language became widespread, practised by various milieus from the court to the Sufis. It was established as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the Muslims of the Deccan, as not only the aspect of a dominant urban elite, but an expression of the regional religious identity.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UHoxEAAAQBAJ&dq=quli+dakhani&pg=PA74 |title= Local States in an Imperial World:Identity, Society and Politics in the Early Modern Deccan |author= Roy S. Fischel  |date=2020 |isbn= 9781474436090 }}</ref>

===Later rulers (1422–1482) ===
Firuz Shah was succeeded by his younger brother [[Ahmad Shah I Wali]]. Following the establishment of [[Bidar]] as capital of the Sultanate in 1429,{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=23}} Ahmad Shah I converted to [[Shi'ism]].<ref name="Khalidi 1990 5">{{cite journal |title=The Shiʿites of the Deccan: An Introduction |first=Umar |last=Khalidi |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=64, Fasc. 1/2, SGUARDI SULLA CULTURA A SCIITA NEL DECCAN GLANCES ON SHI'ITE DECCAN CULTURE |year=1990 |page=5}}</ref> Ahmad Shah's reign was marked by relentless military campaigns and expansionism. He imposed destruction and slaughter on Vijayanagara and finally captured the remnants of Warangal.<ref>{{cite book |title= Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture |page= 275 |isbn= 9780231110044 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YkqsAgAAQBAJ&dq=mahmud+shah+bahmani+vijayanagar&pg=PA276 |last1= Bowman |first1= John |last2= Bowman |first2= John Stewart |year= 2000 |publisher= Columbia University Press }}</ref> 
[[File:Chand Minar.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Chand Minar at [[Daulatabad fort]] complex]]
[[Alau'd-din Ahmad Shah|Alauddin Ahmad II]] succeeded his father to the throne in 1436.{{sfn|Majumdar|1967|p=259}} The [[Chand Minar]], a [[minaret]] in [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]], was constructed under his reign, and was commemorated in his honour<ref name="minar"/> in 1445<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Mitchell|first1 = George|first2 = Mark |last2 = Zebrowski|title = Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7)|publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 1999| location = Cambridge| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ju1XvgAACAAJ| isbn = 0-521-56321-6|pages=64–65}}</ref> for his [[Bahmani–Vijayanagar War (1443)|victory]] against [[Deva Raya II]] of Vijayanagara in 1443,<ref name="minar">{{cite journal |last1=Manohar |first1=Mohit |title=A Victory Tower Built by a Slave: The Chand Minar at Daulatabad in Deccan India |journal=Muqarnas Online |date=2021 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=57–65 |doi=10.1163/22118993-00381P03}}</ref> the last major conflcit between the two powers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allan |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pMSFAAAAIAAJ |title=The Cambridge Shorter History of India |date=1964 |publisher=S. Chand |page=283}}</ref> For the first half-century after the establishment of the Bahmanids, the original North Indian colonists and their sons had administered the empire quite independent of either the non-Muslim Hindus, or the Muslim foreign immigrants. However, the later Bahmani Sultans, mainly starting from his father Ahmad Shah Wali I, began to recruit foreigners from overseas, whether because of depletion among the ranks of the original settlers, or the feelings of dependency upon the Persian courtly model, or both.{{sfn|Eaton 1978|p=42}} This resulted in factional strife that first became acute in the reign of his son Alauddin Ahmad Shah II.<ref>{{cite book |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSdWELuOikMC&dq=Ahmad+Shah+I+Wali+foreigners&pg=PA4 |title= Historic Landmarks of the Deccan |date=1907 |author= Sir Wolseley Haig |publisher= Pioneer Press }}</ref> In 1446, the powerful Dakhani nobles persuaded the Sultan that the Persians were responsible for the failure of the earlier invasion of the [[Konkan]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cYoHOqC7Yx4C&dq=bahmanis+massacre+persian+shias&pg=PA275 |title= Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture |publisher= Columbia University Press |author= John Bowman |date= 2000 |isbn= 9780231500043 }}</ref>

The Sultan, drunk, condoned a large-scale massacre of Persian Shi'a [[Sayyid]]s by the Sunni Dakhani nobles and their Sunni [[Ethiopian|Abyssinian]] slaves.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wfVgEAAAQBAJ&dq=massacre+of+shia+sayyids+bahmanid&pg=PA54 |title=Islam in the Indian Subcontinent |date= 2022 |author= Annemarie Schimmel |publisher= Brill |isbn=9789004492998 }}</ref> A few survivors escaped the massacre dressed in women's clothing and convinced the Sultan of their innocence.<ref>{{cite book |title= The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-3CPc22nMqIC&dq=chakan+massacre&pg=PA46 |page= 46 |author= Shanti Sadiq Ali  |date= 1996 |publisher= Orient Longman | isbn=9788125004851 }}</ref> Ashamed of his own folly, the Sultan punished the Dakhani leaders who were responsible for the massacre, putting  them to death or throwing them in prison, and reduced their families to beggary.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Wkg8AAAAMAAJ&q=chakan+survivor |title= Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan: Volumes 2–3, Issues 1–2 |publisher= Research Society of Pakistan  |date= 1965 |page= 10 }}</ref> The accounts of the violent events likely included exaggerations as it came from the pen of the chroniclers who were themselves mainly foreigners and products of [[Safavid Persia]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41880628 |author=Muhammad Suleman Siddiqi |title= Sufi-State Relationship Under the Bahmanids (A.d. 1348–1538) |journal= Rivista Degli Studi Orientali |year= 1990 |volume= 64 |issue= 1/2 |page=91 |jstor= 41880628 |quote=Firishta and Tabatabai, presents a very grim picture of the locals and refer to them as permanent enemies of the Sadat. There is some exaggeration in their account but one must not forget that these accounts of unfortunate affairs are all from the pen of the aliens, who are the products of Safavid Persia. }}</ref>

[[File:Complete view of Mahumad Gawan.JPG|thumb|[[Mahmud Gawan Madrasa]], built by [[Mahmud Gawan]] to be the centre of religious as well as secular education{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=91–98}}]]
The eldest sons of Humayun Shah, [[Nizam-Ud-Din Ahmad III]] and [[Muhammad Shah III Lashkari]] ascended the throne successively, while they were young boys. The vizier [[Mahmud Gawan]] ruled as regent during this period, until Muhammad Shah reached age. Mahmud Gawan is known for setting up the [[Mahmud Gawan Madrasa]], a center of religious as well as secular education,{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=91–98}} as well as achieving the Sultanate's greatest extent during the his rule.<ref name="8-17"/> He also increased the administrative divisions of the Sultanate from four to eight to ease the administrative burden from previous expansion of the state. Gawan was considered a great statesman, and a poet of repute.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=10}}

Mahmud Gawan was caught in a struggle between a rivalry between two groups of nobles, the Dakhanis and the [[Khoja (Turkestan)|Afaqis]]. The [[Deccanis|Dakhanis]] made the indigenous Muslim elite of the Bahmanid dynasty, being descendants of Sunni immigrants from Northern India, while the Afaqis were foreign newcomers from the West such as Gawan, who were mostly Shi'is.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAT1DwAAQBAJ&dq=firoz+afaqi&pg=PA168 |title= Islam in South Asia: Revised, Enlarged and Updated Second Edition |page= 168 |author= Jamal Malik |date= 2020 |publisher= Brill |isbn= 9789004422711 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC&q=deccanis%20gawan&pg=PA89 |title= Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent |author= Burjor Avari |year= 2013 |page= 89 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 9780415580618 }}</ref> The Dakhanis believed that the privileges, patronage and positions of power in the Sultanate should have been reserved solely for them.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&dq=deccanis+looked+upon+empire&pg=RA1-PA137 |title= Indian History |page= 137 |date= 1988 |publisher= Allied Publishers |isbn= 9788184245684 }}</ref>

The divisions included sectarian religious divisions where the Afaqis were looked upon as heretics by the Sunnis as the former were Shi'as.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mHLB4m75pisC&dq=deccanis+looked+upon+empire&pg=PA219 |title= India's Road to Nationhood: A Political History of the Subcontinent |author= Wilhelm von Pochhammer |date= 2005 |publisher= Allied |page= 219 |isbn= 9788177647150 }}</ref> [[Richard M. Eaton|Eaton]] cites a linguistic divide where the Dakhanis spoke Dakhni while the Afaqis favored the Persian language.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NUKGAAAAIAAJ&q=afaqis++merchants |title= Merchant Networks in the Early Modern World |page=75 |publisher= Variorum |date=1996 |author=Sanjay Subrahmanyam |isbn= 9780860785071 }}</ref>

Nonetheless, Mahmud Gawan found it difficult to win their confidence; the party strife could not be stopped and his opponents eventually managed to poison the ears of the Sultan.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&dq=mahmud+gawan+deccanis&pg=PA187 |title= Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One |page= 187 |author=  Satish Chandra |date= 2004 |publisher= Har-Anand Publications |isbn= 9788124110645 }}</ref> Mahmud Gawan was executed by Muhammad Shah III, an act that the latter regretted until he died in 1482.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=10}} Upon his death, Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri, the father of the founder of the [[Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I|Nizam Shahi dynasty]] became the regent of the king.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5C4hBqKdkEsC&dq=nizam+ul+mulk+bahri+regent&pg=PA17 |title= The Kingdom of Ahmadnagar |page= 17 |author=Radhey Shyam  |date= 1966 |publisher= Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 9788120826519 }}</ref> Nizam-ul-Mulk, as leader of the Dakhani party, led a cold-blooded massacre of Dakhani’s in the capital of Bidar.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wVh-EAAAQBAJ&dq=nizam+mulk+massacre&pg=PA65 |title= BRIEF CULTURAL HISTORY OF BASAVAKALYANA |author=  Dr. Shivakumar V. Uppe |date=2022 |publisher= Ashok Yakkaldevi |isbn= 9781387847860 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2FDAAAAYAAJ&q=nizam+mulk+massacre+afaqis |title=History of South India: Medieval period |author=  Pran Nath Chopra, T. K. Ravindran, N. Subrahmanian  |date=1979 |publisher=S. Chand |page=75 }}</ref>

===Decline===
Muhammad Shah III Lashkari was succeeded by his son [[Mahmood Shah Bahmani II]], the last Bahmani ruler to have real power.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=10–11}} The [[taraf (subdivision)|taraf]]dars of [[Ahmednagar Sultanate|Ahmednagar]], [[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]], and [[Berar Sultanate|Berar]], [[Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I]], [[Yusuf Adil Shah]], and [[Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk]] would agree to assert their independence in 1490, and would establish their own Sultanates but maintain loyalty to the Bahmani Sultan. The Sultanates of [[Golkonda Sultanate|Golkonda]] and [[Bidar Sultanate|Bidar]] would become in practice independent as well.{{sfn|Haig, 1925|pp=425–426}} In 1501, Mahmood Shah Bahmani united his amirs and wazirs in an agreement to wage annual [[Jihad]] against Vijayanagara. The expeditions were financially ruinous.<ref>{{cite book |title= Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture |page= 276 |author= John Bowman |date= 2000 |publisher= Columbia University Press }}</ref>

The last Bahmani Sultans were puppet monarchs under their [[Barid Shahi dynasty|Barid Shahi]] Prime Ministers, who were ''de facto'' rulers. After 1518 the Sultanate would formally break up into five states: Nizamshahi of [[Ahmednagar]], Qutb Shahi of [[Golconda]] ([[Hyderabad]]), Barid Shahi of [[Bidar]], Imad Shahi of Berar, and Adil Shahi of [[Bijapur]]. They are collectively known as the [[Deccan Sultanates]].{{sfn|Haig, 1925|pp=425–426}}

== Historiography ==
Modern scholars like [[Haroon Khan Sherwani]] and [[Richard M. Eaton]] have based their accounts of the Bahmani dynasty mainly upon the medieval chronicles of [[Firishta]] and Syed Ali Tabatabai.{{sfn|Eaton 2005|page=2}}{{sfn|Sherwani|1946|pp=10–12}} Other contemporary works were the Sivatattva Chintamani, a [[Kannada]] language encyclopedia on the beliefs and rites of the [[Veerashaiva]] faith, and [[Shri Guru Charitra|Guru Charitra]]. [[Afanasy Nikitin]], a Russian merchant and traveler, traveled through the Bahmani Sultanate in his journeys. He contrasts the huge "wealth of the nobility with the wretchedness of the peasantry and the frugality of the Hindus".<ref>{{cite book |author=P. M. Kemp |title=Bharat-Rus: An Introduction to Indo-Russian Contracts and Travels from Mediaeval Times to the October Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EDRAAAAMAAJ |year=1958 |publisher=ISCUS |page=20}}</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:Farman Of Feroz Shah Bahmani - 14 -05 -1406 A.D.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate's [[Firman]]]]
The Bahmani dynasty patronized Indo-Muslim and Persian culture from Northern India and the Middle East.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3zaRttYiekC&dq=bahmani+indo-muslim&pg=PA730 |title= Strange Parallels: Volume 2, Mainland Mirrors: Europe, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Islands |page=730 |author= Victor Lieberman |date=2003 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9780521823524 }}</ref> However, the society of the Bahmnanis was dominated prominently by Iranians, Afghans, and Turks.{{sfn|N.H|1988}} They also had considerable and social influence such as with the celebration of [[Nowruz]] by Bahmani rulers.{{sfn|N.H|1988}} This also comes as [[Mohammed Shah I]] ascended the throne on Nowruz.<ref>{{Cite web |last=N.H |first=Ansari |date=1988 |title=BAHMANID DYNASTY |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bahmanid-dynasty-a-dynasty-founded-in-748-1347-in-the-deccan-sanskrit-daksia-lit |access-date=8 July 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Iranica}}</ref> According to [[Khafi Khan]] and [[Ferishta]], musicians flocked to the court from [[Lahore]], [[Delhi]], Persia and [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FzVuAAAAMAAJ&q=quli+khawas |title= Annual Report |page=138 |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |date=1916}}</ref>

The Bahmani Sultans were patrons of the [[Persian language]], [[Culture of Iran|culture]] and [[Persian literature|literature]], and some members of the dynasty became well-versed in the language and composed its literature in the language.<ref name="Ansari"/>

The first sultan, [[Alauddin Bahman Shah]], is noted to have captured 1,000 singing and dancing girls from Hindu temples after he battled the northern [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]] chieftains. The later Bahmanis also enslaved civilian women and children in wars; many of them were converted to Islam in captivity.{{sfn|Haig, 1925|pp=391, 397–398}}<ref>Sewell, Robert. ''A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar)'' pp.57–58.</ref>

=== Bidriware ===
{{Main article|Bidriware}}

Bidriware is a metal [[handicraft]] from the city of [[Bidar]] in [[Karnataka]]. It was developed in the 14th century during the rule of the Bahmani Sultans.<ref name="TOI" /> The term "bidriware" originates from the township of Bidar, which is still the chief center of production.<ref name="art">{{cite news|title=Karnataka tableau to feature Bidriware|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/karnataka-tableau-to-feature-bidriware/article1079557.ece|access-date=6 March 2015|work=The Hindu|date=11 January 2011}}</ref> The craftspersons of Bidar were so famed for their inlay work on copper and silver that it came to be known as Bidri.<ref name="TOI">{{cite news| title=Proving their mettle in metal craft| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/hyderabad/30580986_1_bidriware-hyderabad-bidar| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508043800/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/hyderabad/30580986_1_bidriware-hyderabad-bidar| url-status=dead| archive-date=8 May 2013| date=2 January 2012| work=[[The Times of India]]| access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> The metal used is [[white brass]] that is blackened and inlaid with silver.<ref name="art" /> As a native art form, Bidriware obtained a [[geographical Indications]] (GI) registry on 3 January 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Innovative designs help revive Bidriware|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/innovative-designs-help-revive-bidriware/article1226893.ece|access-date=6 March 2015|work=The Hindu|date=26 March 2008}}</ref>

=== Architecture ===
{{Main article|Architecture of the Bahmani and Deccan Sultanates}}
[[File:Gateway to Bidar fort.jpg|thumb|Gateway to [[Bidar Fort]]]]
The Bahmani Sultans patronized many architectural works, although many have since been destroyed.<ref name="Rangan">{{cite news |last1=Datta |first1=Rangan |title=Bidar Fort in Karnataka: A treasure trove of south Indian heritage |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/places/bidar-fort-in-karnataka-a-grand-architecture-with-a-great-historical-past/cid/1942732 |access-date=11 October 2023 |agency=My Kolkata |publisher=The Telegraph |date=6 June 2023}}</ref> The [[Gulbarga Fort]], [[Haft Gumbaz]], and [[Jama Mosque Gulbarga|Jama Masjid]] in Gulbarga, the [[Bidar Fort]] and [[Mahmud Gawan Madrasa|Madrasa Mahmud Gawan]] in Bidar, and the [[Chand Minar]] in [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]] are some of their major architectural contributions.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=91–98}}

The later Sultans were buried in a [[necropolis]] known as the [[Bahmani Tombs]]. The exterior of one of the tombs is decorated with coloured tiles. Arabic, Persian and Urdu inscriptions are inscribed inside the tombs.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|pp=114–142}}<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sara Mondini|title=The Use of Quranic Inscriptions in the Bahmani Royal Mausoleums The Case of Three Tombstones from Ashtur|journal=Eurasiatica |year=2016|volume=4|doi=10.14277/6969-085-3/EUR-4-12}}</ref>

The Bahmani Sultans built many mosques, tombs, and [[madrasa]]s in Bidar and Gulbarga, the two capitals. They also built many forts in [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]], [[Golconda]] and [[Raichur]]. The architecture was highly influenced by [[Persian architecture]], as they invited architects from Persia, Turkey and Arabia. The Persianate [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]] style of architecture developed during this period was later adopted by the [[Deccan Sultanates]] as well.{{sfn|Yazdani, 1947|p=24}}<ref name="Rangan" />

===Turquoise Throne===
{{main|Takht-i-Firoza}}
The Turquoise Throne was a jeweled royal [[throne]] mentioned by [[Firishta]]. It was the seat of the sultans of the Bahmani Sultanate since [[Mohammed Shah I]] ({{Reign}}1358–1375). It was a gift of [[Musunuri Nayaks|Musunuri Kapaya Nayaka]], a Telugu King in post-Kakateeya era.{{sfn|Sherwani |1946|pages=77–78}} It was mentioned by Firishta that on 23 March 1363,{{efn|Firishta mentioned that Sultan Bahman Shah first sat on the new throne (i.e. the Takht-e-Firoza) on [[Nowruz]], the Persian new year, following the autumnal solstice in 764 [[Hijri year|AH]].{{sfn|Sherwani|1946|page=102}}}} this throne replaced an earlier silver throne that the first Bahmani sultan [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah]] used.

== Gunpowder weapons ==
{{Main Article|Gunpowder weapons in the Bahmani Sultanate }}
{{See also|History of the firearm#South Asia}}
The Bahmani Sultanate was likely the first state to invent and utilize [[gunpowder artillery]] and [[firearms]] within the [[Indian Subcontinent]]. Their firearms were the most advanced of their time, surpassing even those of the [[Yuan Dynasty]] and the [[Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt]]. The first recorded use of firearms in South Asia was at the Battle of Adoni in 1368, where the Bahmani Sultanate led by [[Mohammed Shah I]] used a train of artillery against the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] who was led by [[Harihara II]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Jagjit|title=Artillery: The Battle-Winning Arm|date=2006|publisher=Lancer Publishers, New Delhi|isbn= 978-8176021807}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Official Home Page of the Indian Army |url=https://indianarmy.nic.in/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.indianarmy.nic.in |archive-date=2017-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626223336/https://indianarmy.nic.in/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the initial use of gunpowder weapons in 1368, they became the backbone of the Bahmani army.{{sfn|Khan|1981|p=155}}

The scholar Iqtidar Alam Khan claims, however, that based on a differing translation of a passage of medieval historian [[Ferishta|Ferishta']]s text ''Tarikh-i Firishta'', in which he describes early use of gunpowder weapons in the Indian Subcontinet, it can be inferred that both the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and non-Muslim Indian states had the gunpowder weapons that the Bahmani Sultanate began to use in 1368, and that the Bahmanis had acquired the weapons from the Delhi Sultanate.{{sfn|Khan|1981|p=157}} Contemporary evidence shows the presence of gunpowder for [[pyrotechnics|pyrotechnic]] uses in the Delhi Sultanate,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSVnAwAAQBAJ&dq=bahmani+sultanate+cannons&pg=PA21 |title=Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships |date=2014-05-22 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-78093-813-4 |pages=21 |language=en}}</ref> and Alam Khan states that their usage in the Battle of Adoni in 1368 was rather the first military usage of gunpowder-derived objects in the Subcontinent.{{sfn|Khan|1981|p=164}}

==List of Bahmani rulers ==
{{Main article|List of Bahmani rulers}}
{| class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:#F0DC82" | Titular Name
! style="background-color:#F0DC82" | Personal Name
! style="background-color:#F0DC82" | Reign
|-
|colspan=4 align="center"| [[Rebellion of Ismail Mukh|Independence]] from [[Sultan of Delhi]], [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]]
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah''
|align="center"| [[Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah]] I
|align="center"|3 August 1347 – 11 February 1358
|-
|align="center"| ''Shah''
|align="center"| [[Mohammed Shah I|Mohammad Shah I]]
|align="center"|11 February 1358 – 21 April 1375
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Ala-ud-Din Mujahid Shah''
|align="center"| [[Mujahid Shah]]
|align="center"|21 April 1375 – 16 April 1378
|-
|align="center"| ''Shah''
|align="center"| [[Daud Shah Bahmani]]
|align="center"|16 April 1378 – 21 May 1378
|-
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Mohammad Shah II
|align="center"| 21 May 1378 – 20 April 1397
|-
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Ghiyath-ad-din Shah
|align="center"|20 April 1397 – 14 June 1397
|-
|- bgcolor="#D8BFD8"
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Shams-ud-Din Shah<br /><small>Puppet King Under Lachin Khan Turk</small>
|align="center"| 14 June 1397 – 15 November 1397
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Taj-ud-Din Feroze Shah''<br />
|align="center"| [[Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah|Feroze Shah]]
|align="center"| 24 November 1397 – 1 October 1422
|-
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| [[Ahmad Shah I Wali|Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani]]
|align="center"| 1 October 1422 – 17 April 1436
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Ala-ud-Din Ahmed Shah''
|align="center"| [[Alau'd-din Ahmad Shah|Ala-ud-Din II Ahmed Shah Bahmani]]
|align="center"| 17 April 1436 – 6 May 1458
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Ala-ud-Din Humayun Shah''
|align="center"| [[Humayun Shah|Humayun Shah Zalim Bahmani]]
|align="center"| 7 May 1458 – 4 September 1461
|-
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| [[Nizam Shah Bahmani]]
|align="center"| 4 September 1461 – 30 July 1463
|-
|align="center"|''Shah'' ''Muhammad Shah Lashkari''
|align="center"|[[Muhammad Shah III Lashkari|Muhammad Shah Bahmani III]]
|align="center"| 30 July 1463 – 26 March 1482
|-
|- bgcolor="#A7BFA3"
|align="center"|''Vira Shah''
|align="center"| [[Mahmood Shah Bahmani II]]<br /><small>Puppet under [[Malik Naib]], [[Qasim Barid I]], and [[Amir Barid I]]</small>
|align="center"| 26 March 1482 – 27 December 1518
|-
|- bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Ahmed Shah Bahmani III<br /><small>Puppet King Under [[Amir Barid I]]</small>
|align="center"| 27 December 1518 – 15 December 1520
|-
|- bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Ala-ud-Din Shah Bahmani II<br /><small>Puppet King Under Amir Barid I</small>
|align="center"| 28 December 1520 – 5 March 1522
|-
|- bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Waliullah Shah Bahmani<br /><small>Puppet King Under Amir Barid I</small>
|align="center"| 5 March 1522 – 1526
|-
|- bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
|align="center"|''Shah''
|align="center"| Kaleemullah Shah Bahmani<br /><small>Puppet King Under Amir Barid I</small>
|align="center"| 1525–1527
|-
|colspan=4 align="center"| Dissolution of the Sultanate into five kingdoms — [[Bidar Sultanate]], [[Ahmednagar Sultanate]], [[Bijapur Sultanate]], [[Golconda Sultanate]], and [[Berar Sultanate]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Battle of Talikota]]
* [[Battle of Raichur]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{citation |last=Avari |first=Burjor |author-link=Burjor Avari |title=Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A history of Muslim power and presence in the Indian subcontinent |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-58061-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = Bahmanid dynasty | last = Ansari | first = N. H. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahmanid-dynasty-a-dynasty-founded-in-748-1347-in-the-deccan-sanskrit-daksia-lit | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5 | pages = 494–499 | year = 1988}}
* {{citation |last=Chandra |first=Satish |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) – Part One |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&pg=PA177 |year=2004 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-1064-5}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2F9BgAAQBAJ |title= The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700 : Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India |author= Richard Maxwell Eaton |date=1978 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn= 9781400868155|ref={{sfnref|Eaton 1978}}}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGd2huLXEVYC |title=A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives, Part 1, Volume 8 |author=Richard M. Eaton |date=17 November 2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521254847|ref={{sfnref|Eaton 2005}}}}
* {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.46989/page/n1|title=The Cambridge History of India (Volume III)|last=Haig|first=Sir Thomas Wolseley|author-link=Wolseley Haig|year=1925|publisher=Cambridge University Press|ref={{sfnref|Haig, 1925}}}}
* {{cite book |last1=J.D.E |first1=Gribble |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNtjIJmhoIkC |title=History of the Decan |publisher=Mittal Publications |year=1990 |language=en}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Iqtidar |date=1981 |title=Early Use of Cannon and Musket in India: A.D. 1442-1526. |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/3631993 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=146–164 |doi=10.2307/3631993 |jstor=3631993 |ref={{sfnref|Khan|1981}}}}
* {{Citation |last1=Kulke |first1=Hermann |last2=Rothermund |first2=Dietmar |year=2004 |title=A History of India |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415329194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPVq3ykHyH4C |edition=Fourth}}
* {{citation |last=Majumdar |first=Ramesh Chandra |title=The Delhi Sultanate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8IKAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA248 |year=1967 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan}}
*{{cite book | last = Meri | first  = Josef W. | title = Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia | isbn = 9781135455965 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC | year = 2005 | publisher = Routledge | pages = 1–1088 }}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281016/mode/2up|title=History Of Mediaeval India|last=Prasad|first=Ishwari|year=1933|author-link=Ishwari Prasad|publisher=The Indian Press Ltd.|location=Allahabad}}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.68551|title=The Bahmanis of the Deccan – An Objective Study|last=Sherwani|first=Haroon Khan|year=1946|author-link=Haroon Khan Sherwani|publisher=Krishnavas International Printers, Hyderabad Deccan}}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279710/page/n1|title=Bidar, Its History and Monuments|last=Yazdani|first=Ghulam|year=1947|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9788120810716|author-link=Ghulam Yazdani|ref={{sfnref|Yazdani, 1947}}}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{EI3|last=Overton|first=Keelan|title=Bahmanī dynasty|year=2016|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/bahmani-dynasty-COM_25147}}
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/intoc.html#in0015 Library of Congress – A Country Study: India]

{{Coord missing|India}}

{{Bahmani Sultanate}}
{{Maharashtra}}
{{Karnataka}}
{{Telangana}}
{{Andhra Pradesh}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bahmani Sultanate| ]]
[[Category:1527 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1347]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1527]]
[[Category:1347 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:14th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:Former sultanates]]