Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

LURE - THRU THE AGES

ADILSHAHIS 1489-1686 A.D. 1600 Invasion of Bijapur territory by the Mughal troops during the reign of Ibrahim II. 1619 Ibrahim II's capture of Bidar. 1631-35 Mughal invasion of Bijapur during the reign of Muhammad, capture the Adilshahis; came to throne at the age of 9; was the nephew of Ali I; the Mughal army de- feated him in 1600 A.D. and collected tribute; he captured Bidar in 1619, defeated the Hindu subordinates of Vijayanagara; his rule was very prosperous, trade and commerce flour- ished; was a tolerant ruler and honoured Hindu scholars, poets and musicians, his coins bear the name of 'Jagairdar', built the temple of Narasimha; wrote a music book 'Kitaf-e-Nau- ras' in Urdu; patronised historians like Fer- ishta and Shirazi; responsible for the con- struction of Ibrahim Rauza, a great building at Bijapur, Sat Malika Jahan masjid, Ananda Mahal and Tajbavadi; he died in 1625 and was succeeded by his son Muhammad. Administration The king was the supreme head, fountain head of justice, symbol of power, the defender of people, the unbeaten conqueror and the only saviour and benefactor of his people; had 4 wings of administration under a council of ministers; the Prime Minister was called Vakil, Sadar-jahan — minister of justice, Shahifarz - minister in charge of military; Kotwal was in charge of the capital city; the kingdom was divided into tarafs (12) under tarafdar (governor); one-sixth of the land output was collected as tax; Karwar, Dabhol, Hubli, Athani and Bijapur were important centres of of Veiluru (1646) andJingi. 1686 Conquest of Bijapur. Ibrahim II He is the greatest among

Overview *

The Adilshahis (one of the five

kingdoms of the Deccan after the fall of Bahmanis) appeared after the decline of Bahmani sultans, ruling from Bijapur, consolidated their position after the fall of Vijayanagar empire. * The Persian literature - the writings of Far- ishta and contemporary writers are the main sources of information. * The first ruler was Yusuf Adilkhan, a Turkish noble and commander of the Bahmani rulers. Ibrahim II was the great- est. * The capture of Bijapur by Aurangzeb in 1686 ended their rule. * Their notable contribution is in the field of - Hindu-Muslim architecture (Gol- Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rauza). Advent Taking advantage of the feuds and civil war within the Bahmani kingdom, Yusuf Adilkhan, a Turkish noble and commander of the Bahmani kingdom, revolted and de- clared himself as the Shah of Bijapur in 1489 A.D.; they consolidated their position in the Deccan after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire. Chronology * Yusuf Adilkhan * Ismail * Mallu * Ibrahim I * Ali I * Ibrahim II * Muhammad * Ali II * Sikandar Wars 1510 Capture of Goa by the Portuguese from Yusuf Adilkhan. 1522 Invasion of Krishnadevaraya and capture of Bijapur during the rule of Ismail. 1529 Capture of Bidar. 1530-31 Capture of Raichur and Mudugal. 1551 Capture of Raichur doab from Ibrahim I (by Ramaraya of Vijay- anagara). 1568 Ali I s capture of the fort of Adavani (the Viajayanagara forts). (1489-1510) (1510-1534) (1534-1535) (1535-1557) (1557-1580) (1580-1625) (1625-1656) (1656-1672) (1672-1686)

inland trade; had well-organised postal service; Persian was the official language, Kannada and Marathi were also used, Urdu literature also flourished. Important Urdu writers were Abdul Mani, Abdur Razak, Abdul Kadir, Abdul Latif, Mulla Nusrati (Sikander Nama); Naraharakavi wrote Torave Ramayana in Kannada (16th C); Bijapur was the centre of their art. Their buildings are 'Hindu-Muslim' monuments; Gol Gumbaz built by them is a unique architecture in South India; they mainly built palaces, mosques and mausoleums; perhaps they excelled in the construction of mausoleums (eg. Gol-Gumbaz and Rauza); famous palaces are Gagan Mahal (1561), Sat Manzil and Anandmahal (of Ibrahim II), Asar Mahal; main mosques of the period Jamimasjid (Ali I), Malika Jahan Begum's mosque, Kali Masjid (fine synthesis of Hindu-Muslim workmanship). And a Masjid, Ibrahim Rauza (the Taj Mahal of the Deccan-Dr. Cousens), Gol Gumbaz (18,000 sq. feet) has the second biggest dome in the world (90 feet deep) and considered one of the architectural wonders of the world. Decline The Mughal expansion and Maratha inva- sions weakened the kingdom of Adilshahis. The rule of the Adilshahis came to an end with the capture of Bijapur by Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, in October 1686. The last ruler was Sikander and he was taken a pris- oner.

Malika Jahan Begam's Mosque (Bijapur):

Typical of the Bijapur style, built in A.D. 1586 by Ibrahim II, in memory of his wife Malika Jahan, daughter of Qutb Shah; chief feature of the Mosque is the accentuation of the central arch by a cusped contour.